Im seriously tired of the way this teams offense and defensive sets look. They are really unorganized, and dont look PRO like. I dont know what he teaches them in practice but it looks like all he does is jack off with the players. Moochie dribbles the ball way too much, Kenny Thomas is in his own place when he has the ball. You know what Im sick and tired of , ONE ON ONE BALL AND PASSING FOR 3s and just wishing it goes in. With the way Rudy runs his offense, I dont think this team can make playoffs. He is a great players coach, all the players like him but he is lost. Also I dont think Rudy knows what the SF position is, all he wants sfs to do is stand behind the 3 and shoot. Maybe Scottie Pippen and Shandon Anderson were right about their position. Watch Eddie Griffin when he plays, look at his size and skills. Watch where he is playing. Wait till Cuttino comes back.. Oh man.
I am so disappointed in Rudy. When will he realize that this ISO offense isn't going to cut it everytime? When will he tell Mooch to stop dribbling the ball so damn much? When will learn to manage his players better? By that, I mean not taking players out of the game right when they're heating up. Did you guys see Tierre Brown starting to get into the game, then BAM, Rudy takes him out. I just don't get it.
A hunch tells me that Rudy isn't telling Mooch to run the shot clock down to 4 seconds so that Cato is stuck shooting an 18 footer.
Once again his substitution decisions are just plain dumb. Moochie misses his last 4-5 shots b/c RT cannot find even a minute of rest for him in the 2nd 1/2.
Oh no I aint jumping on the "Rudy Sucks bandwagon" this year. I learned my lesson last year. Without Rudy the Rockets would be nothing.
I love Rudy, but he needs to change something. Our offense consistently shoots 35% every game. They are going nowhere if they don't start making more shots. It would help if Moochie didn't dribble away 15-20 seconds every posession.
Ah man, leave Kenny alone. I think he's been great so far this season. He can go around pretty much any power forward in the league. He's struggling with his outside shot a little, but because of it he's taking the ball to the basket and drawing fouls more than he is taking three pointers. He's been one of the few positives for the Rockets this season, and the only player who has performed above expectations. I usually can't stand Ainge but I liked some of the comments he was making about the Rockets tonight. I agree that if Kenny can just hit that mid-range jumper more consistently he could easily be a star, especially if he can continue to crash the boards like he did tonight. 19 rebounds! Not to mention some sweet blocks. With all that's going wrong with the Rockets right now I don't see how anyone could complain about Kenny's play.
KT Rocks, and so does Rudy. The team needs to reach between their legs and see if they have a pair. Their intensity on the defensive end is atrocious. DaDakota
<B>It's not Rudy shooting the ball. The point guard is running our offense. I support Rudy.</B> No, but if the point guard isn't doing what Rudy is telling him (ie, dribbling in circles), it's Rudy's job to either bench him or make him stop. If Rudy just lets him do that possession after possession, then he deserves some of the blame for it. If the team isn't doing what the coach wants, then the coach needs to be more assertive or what-not. If the team is doing what the coach wants, then the coach needs to change what he wants because it just isn't working.
It's about time the pro-Rudy fans admit that Rudy is one of the worst X's and O's coaches in the league. He's as bad as Lucas. I doubt that Rudy tells Moochie to do the shiite that he does, but damn, if Rudy could draw up a play that might actually work with his personnel, we wouldn't be subjected to the Moochie dribbling show and jack-up shot. Let's get some f-ing movement on offense!!!
Thank You kidrock. I wouldv'e posted the same a couple of hrs ago, but was too lazy to deal w/ the ensuing HowDareYouQuestionRudyMob.
When is it Rudy, and when is it execution. I think Rudy is a fine Xs and Os coach, it is the players responsibiltiy to execute, and right now our STAR players are far from HEADY !! DaDakota
Rudy's one and only X and O play is the ISO. Yea I would say he is a great X and O coach. Holler at me if you ever see another one.
Hey kid you don't have a clue. Bottom line is if you don't have the players to execute you can't execute the plays. Rudy is doing a great job with what he has. If you can't get the players to hit open shots it doesn't matter what plays you run. Tonight we were missing frances mobley taylor anderson and Olajuwon, the whole starting five from last year. In place we had cato who most people on this board seem to believe is a pathetic excuse for a basketball player. Glen Rice who is supposed to be a prolific 3 point shooter and can't hit the side of barn right now (and I'm starting to wonder if he ever will. He seems to be getting worst). Moochie a cba'er last year, who has heart but dribbles way to much and tries to do too much on his on. (you can't possibly believe that is what Rudy is telling him to dothat) He is still a good backup but that's all. Torres who wasn't even in the league last year and Kenny thomas who is playing excellent but still would be a backup if Mo wasn't injured. And yet somehow the Rockets were in this game till the end. The Rockets Suck right now talent wise. And the only thing that keeps them in the games is they play strong defense and they play with heart. These are results of good coaching and not because we have more talent than the other team. So wake up man and see what kind of team we have. We are young and even with a healthy Cat and Frances we are only slightly better than average compared to many teams. The rockets have always managed to get more from their talent than most. My only disagreement with Rudy is sometimes I think he waits to pull a player from the starting rotation. It's as if is loyal to them and believes they will improve. Maybe he doesn't want to undermine thier confidence. I don't know. I only know I couldn't be as patient as him. For example I am about ready to pull the plug on Rice. He just can't hit an open shot anymore. In the beginning I thought maybe he just needed to get his legs under him and he would start looking better, but tonight he just looked bad. The last three pointer he shot in the fourth was pathetic. I almost think it's mental now and maybe he feels pressure to contribute and it's just screwing his shot up. Whatever the reason I don't want him on the court in the fourth quarter anymore. Not until he starts showing some improvement. I think Rudy still has confidence that he will break up out of his funk. And I just don't share that confidence. Other than that I applaud Rudy and the rest of the coaching staff for keeping this team competitive in rough times. Maybe Rudy isn't the best X's and O's coach. But he is still good. I applaud Rudy and the rest of the coaching staff for what they accomplished tonight. And I stand behind them because I believe they are doing a good job and this team will only get better.
Agree! I'm so tired of Rudy's "small ball" & "iso and passing for 3s" I still remember 3 years ago when Barkley's here, Rudy's system is like fed him the ball and only to see Charles run the shot clock down to 5 seconds and then kick out for 3s. and for the past two years, Rudy asigned the "shot clock killer" job to Cat and Moochi. I'm not sure if Rudy knows any other offense plan. I also believe that Steve is underachieved because of Rudy's system and Cat's ball-hogging. If the friendship between our guards isn't a concern I really hope we can trade Mobley for an equal-talanted but smarter player. someone can score too but with more experience, pass the ball better, and make better decision. my suggestion is send Cat, Rice, Cato to Indy for Rose, Croshere, and Best. and maybe Langi to Philly for A. Jones to replace Cato. Also Willis should be start at 5 and get consistent min. (28~32 mpg). Griffin is best at the PF or even a SAR type SF but definitely not a center. Rudy needs to call more play for Griffin and tell him to use his best weapen- turnaround Jumper, not 3 point shot. and let's go for LaFrentz this summer.
Old Man-Tell me how Rudy is anything more than a bad tactician? Clearly, the Rockets are a poor man-to-man undersized defense. So you would think playing a zone defense would be beneficial right? Well, Rudy apparently doesn't think so, and his stubborness shows. The Rockets are among the worst in the league in FG% allowed. How often do the Rockets score when coming out of a timeout? Come on, the Rockets are at least an AVERAGE NBA team, meaning they should be able to exectute anything more than ISOs and Pick and Rolls. Rudy didn't know how to use Pippen (then still in his prime), nor does he know how to utilize Glen Rice. He tried to make Pippen a 3 pt shooter, which is the last thing in the world he is. Yes, Rice is a good 3 pt shooter, but often times 3 pt shooters need to get some layups or get some easy shots to get going. Rudy clearly does not setup anything to allow Rice to get going. Rudy does not know how to use his talent. Look at the Olympic team. They BARELY won in 2 of the games against inferior opponents. Rudy is horrible when it comes to diagramming plays and schemes, as well as putting out 5 players on the floor who can gel.
Guys...lay off Rudy. Right now, he is the only reason we will have half a chance to be a .500 team without Francis. You can't sit here and blame this entire situation on him. Injuries are a huge part of any professional sport...especially when your 2 best players are the ones hurt. Think about the lineup he has to work with... Cato..possibly the worst center in the league Rice..it took him 3/4 of the season to get used to the Knicks offense and it'll take him at least that long to fit in ours KT...possibly the only bright spot we have to work with at the moment Torres...has potential but he hasnt been thrust into the limelight yet Mooch...I was a naysayer on his contract but he showed me last night that he CAN step it up when he needs to Does he risk throwing Griffin into the fire too soon and kill his confidence? These, among other things are things RT has to deal with every day while you and I sit here and second guess his moves and motives with hindsight. Bottom line...yes, players make the plays..but coaches prepare the players to make the plays and from what I saw (even though we lost) our guys were prepared last night and almost stole a "W"
I really enjoy Clutch city BBS because almost everyone here knows more about Basketball coaching, strategy, rules, and tactics than I do. I am a fan. I really enjoy basketball for fun.I enjoy reading other parties viewpoints that challlenge mine -it makes me reflect and examine my own opinions more closely. I want the Rockets to improve each year and grow. It is very difficult in this league to gain ground-particularly in the West. That being said- I always thought that as coach - Rudy provides the means for the players to execute. I thought that Scottie Pippen's problems here were mostly his own. He had an open door with support from Rudy to do as he pleased to run the offense. In the one game we won against the Lakers in '99 playoffs, Pippen stepped up with a good defensive effort and a well balanced game slashing to the basket, with mid and long range jumpers. Rudy did not hold him back. I could be wrong. I would love to see the Rockets use the zone defense for 2 reasons: No 1 - The Seattle Supersonics in '96 used it under George Karl -called trapping, but absolutely stifled Hakeem Olajuwon while he was still playing at or near his peak. We could have matched up better with the Bulls that year than Seattle did, but could not get by their Zone defense. No 2 - At present - the Minnesota Timberwolves are using the zone effectively with a fast paced game, with few turnovers. I think we are athletic and can run with anybody if we can control the turnovers. I do not understand the zone, only that it can be effective. I think it would be difficult to teach and coach. We might need a college coach to help us implement it, but I think we need it for continued growth and improvement. Even the smartest coaches get help- Phil Jackson has Tex Winter help teach the Triangle offense. Pete Carrill of Princeton helps Adelman of Sacramento teach offense. I don't know, but I bet Flip Saunders has help teaching the zone.
