Collier makes that shot, he's a hero and Francis gets credit. He missed, so Francis will continue to be criticized and Collier wil lcontinue to be ostracized. That's just the way it goes.
And honestly, that's why you lose credibility. Noone mentioned anything about Francis that was relevant, yet you had to bring up that Francis can't do what Mobes can. Fair enough. It is just really clear to many of us that you give Mobes the benefit of the doubt and have Francis on a short leash. Why, I don't know. I don't know if you liek to go against the grain or you flat out don't like Steve. But, your motives are clear to us all. You can't stand Steve.
gr8-1 I think the motivation for saying Francis can't get seperation comes from the fact that 99.9% of the people on this board act like Francis can do no wrong, yet they incessantly bash Mobley. Some of us feel that Francis is defended well enough around here so we have to stick up for the other players. The Cat used to do it all of the time for Collier, and i, crispee, and a few others try to stick up for Mobley, especially when he is bashed for things he does as well as or better than Francis. Defense is one example of this. Nothing on this board irritates me more than when the Francis lovers bash Cat's defense. Cat is one of the most underrated players in the league, and is definately the most underrated Rocket on this board, with Cato a close second.
kidrock-Ability to do so, and doing so are different things. Francis can sometimes do it, but not in 3 seconds. His ability to get separation is no sure thing IMO-he is terrible at doing so in transition-which is part of the reason why are fastbreaks are non existent and/or suck. WinkFan-Collier hit an identical shot to tie the game with around 2 minutes left.
In 3 seconds no. But, with 20+ seconds left he can. Mainly because the opposing PGs sag off him so much.
If anyone was watching the Por-LA game, and you saw Rasheed's 3 at the end of regulation, that is the type of play I am talking about. Por had Steve Kerr, screen away from the ball for Wallace, who WAS WIDE OPEN for a 3. Moreover there was only 4 seconds or so on the clock, meaning this 3-second excuse that people come up with is basically flawed. What happened was Kerr was picking Fisher, while Fox was playing for the switch. All while Rasheed was drifting behind the 3 pt line by himself. At best case scenario for LA, they would have had Fisher trying to guard Wallace, on the switch.
Kidrock, didn't we have 17 seconds for the Francis to Collier play...that's the difference. That is my contention all along. You chose are really bad example of a 3 second play to make any assessment of what we should or could have done. It's just silly for you to suggest wide open shots are easy to produce with 3 seconds. As for the Cuttino "drift away." He has a step-back as well. His separation is produced by his speed. All he has to do is stop his dribble when the defender is stepping (not ready to jump) and his "drift" or "step back/jump back" gets plenty of separation. Turnaround, fadeaways are not the only way to do it. Speed can do it all by itself. Kobe does not have Cuttino's speed. As for the Wallace play. That was a wide-open 3-pointer for the tie by Wallace. It was an inbounds play with a weave-pick largely making it look like Kerr was the trying to get open for the 3-pointer. The equivalent play for us would be using Mobley in weave peaks with Kenny Thomas or Taylor. He got open. Nice execution. Nice shot. But do you really believe Phil Jackson thought a weave pick should produce a wide open 3 pointer,,,or do you think he was pissed?
I thought of this thread as soon as he made that shot. Great call. This pretty much sums up kidrock8's point, where was the strategy, the 'element of surprise', the execution on Mobley's shot. Could Mobley, or anyone else, had a better look if the Rocks actually tried a Mobley\Thomas weave? We'll never know.
Yeah, I was trying to be fair to his assessment. My point remains that these successful calls involving the "element of surprise" on and inbounds with less than 5 seconds end up as busted plays more often than we see produce a wide open shot. And haven't we seen plenty of inbounds patterns being run (and covered) prior to the inbounds pass where the inbounder has to settle for a safety valve pass. I have. Question: Does Jackson think that was a brilliant call, or does he think it was a huge blunder by his defense (especially his PF), to allow a skip pass all the way over his defense, when a 2 point shot doesn't have to be guarded. "We'll never know." And I think that's my point. Going for a long skip pass to Wallace for a 3 is a gutsy call...great timing...great execution. Seems to be a formula for getting these wide open shots in under 5 seconds. Our play to Mobley looked like a pick from Thomas failed...thus, with 3 seconds, Mobley is pretty dead in the water upon getting the ball. You may question Rudy, but do you really think he drew up a play with Thomas so close to Mobley that didn't involve a pick to release Mobley or Thomas. So, why do you say "We'll never know?" imo, we saw the results of a busted play. So, we do know.
Crispee-The Blazers could afford to throw a skip pass across the court to a 6 ft 10 Rasheed Wallace, especially with a 6 ft 7 Rick Fox guarding him. When your tossing it up to the tallest guy in the area, it's not that risky of a play.
I'm not really saying it is risky, compared to any other 3 to a PF you can draw up. Just easy to defend. Doesn't Wallace have to be pretty damn wide open to make 3s. It is not like he is a specialist who can shoot them under pressure. You make it sound like they can get Wallace a wide-open 3 for the tie anytime they want, despite the fact the defense doesn't have to worry about a 2 pointer. Look at the video at nba.com. Fox is lost. If he follows Rasheed around the pick or possibly even under it (as Kerr is picking the guard who switched onto Rasheed after the 1st part of the weave) then Rasheed is likely shooting a pressured 3 or having to find an open man with 4 seconds left. Or they are left inbounding to Kerr for his one on one magic...ooh boy. These plays can bust just like ours did. If we compare Fox not following Rasheed to Kenny's pick not working, what are we talking about. Execution. again, is this really an example of a poor call from the bench? Do you think Rudy drew up Thomas standing that close to Mobley without picks being drawn.
Crispee and Kidrock, the problem's that are talked about with the Rockets are the same principles i say we have with or without Taylor and Rice. The Rockets don't have good big players! When I say big players, I'm talking about a guard ,forward, or center 6'6 or taller that can get a clean look regardless or who's covering them. The only team in the west that don't have one is probably us. If you recall earlier in the season against the Pacers and someone else, all they did was put their best and longets defender on Mobley. One time it was the 6'9 Al Harrington, the next time it was some other 6'8 guy and both times Mobley had to fade away to get any kind of seperation. All the guys did was kind of play a little off and use his legnth to disrupt the shot. The couple of times that happened, Mobley shot like a 20ft fade and a 18ft fade. Now many people will say if you add Taylor and Rice this changes the dynamics, but Rice neither are quick enough to get to the basket or is able to braek his man down and get a look. This is why I've been saying for a while that the Rockets are more than Taylor and Rice away from being serious players in the west. There is no prize or moral victories in losing close game because the way the nba is watered down, just like the nfl, most games are going to be close. The Rockets won that game, but problems are still at the forefront. By the way, I guess Mobley's flu was better by 12 midnight seeing that he was at Maxxis sunday night in his brand new sl600 convertible with the top down.
