listen, i love both steve and cat.. however that being said..cuttino is a dynamo one-on one player..perfect for crunch time..plus as cat can attest for me( i missed the game)..mobley was en fuego..no doubt in my mind cuttino was and shouldve been 1st option..heres an example..say ur the yankees,guaranteed of a playoff berth..my question to u is..do u want randy johnson, a dominating pitcher who chokes in postseason games or david wells a good pitcher who dominates under pressure in postseason berth?? ------------------ How Sweet It Is! How Sweet It Is! Gene Peterson on the rockets winning the 1995 championship over the Orlando Magic
Steve Francis, during the third quarter, was milked for nine consecutive points until he was triple teamed an then he was milked no more. Cuttino Mobley, late in the the fourth was milked for 11 consecutive points an then he was tripled teamed yet he was still milked, and milked, and milked. Why? How long can a situation be milked? Well, Francis knew how long. Did the Cat? who is the more mature one, again? ------------------
ok..now if he was being tripleteamed then he needs to hit the open man..if he didnt then we have a problem ------------------ How Sweet It Is! How Sweet It Is! Gene Peterson on the rockets winning the 1995 championship over the Orlando Magic
This isn't a contest of "who is more mature", it's "who should have the ball at the end of the game". Francis didn't stop milking the situation, Phoenix adjusted their defense, and they got burned because Mobley happened to get hot. It's not who is mature, and who isn't, and it's not Mobley vs Francis, and I don't know why people want to turn it into "Francis vs Mobley" when we have two guys averaging nearly 20 points a game! The real question was where did our offense go in the biggest game of the year? ------------------ Rocks2001 in disguise. . .
rule of thumb..u go with the hot hand in crunch time..and to me with the info ive been told that means mobley. ------------------ How Sweet It Is! How Sweet It Is! Gene Peterson on the rockets winning the 1995 championship over the Orlando Magic
The offense went down the drain because the Rockets went to Mobley too many times, like he was the only player out there. ------------------
The real question here is how long can Mobley and Francis be utlized in the face of single coverage and weak double teams. Obviously they're both similar and dangerous offensive threats. It's also obvious that Francis is the more mature one, or dare I say unselfish one. Franics will milk a situation, like the third quarter last night, until it becomes impossible to be milked any longer. When this happens Steve concedes either to Mobley or Norris, who are both benefactors of single coverage because of Francis's previous dominance. Mobley on the other hand, who is benefiting off Steves earlier dominace, is left single covered and proceeds to score 11 consecutive points. Mobley, is then heavly doubled as well, yet instead of immualating Steve's earlier keen senses, he insists on bullying his way through traffic again and again until the final buzzer. now, who's the more mature one, again? ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited March 12, 2001).] [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited March 12, 2001).]
Rocksmilleneum, you're right it's not about who is more mature. I say mature because I wouldn't like to use the word selfish. And the fact is if Mobley was selfless as Francis on the basketball court we would win more close games. ------------------
I can't believe people don't see that the ISO plays are causing us to lose these close 4th quarter games. Rudy and the Rockets coaching staff often point to stats that say that x% of the time Cat runs an ISO play he is successful. What they fail to realize is that the ISO's take the other Rockets out of their rhythm, so when the opposing defense finally doubles, or triples up on Cat (or Steve, or, incredibly tonight, Moochie Norris), the rest of the Rockets are ineffectual. It happens way too often where a Rocket goes off for three quarters, but collapses in the 4th quarter because Rudy goes to the same stupid well again and again. look at Mo Taylor and Steve Francise..they were dominant through 3 quaters and non-existent in the 4th. Did they suddenly start to suck? Is it just some sort of voodoo that happens to the Rockets against good teams? No! Rudy is letting his team down by being wed to meaningless stats. Look at the Rockets record against good teams...it is not up to playoff level. They have blown 4th quarter leads against most of the better Western Conference teams and Rudy's ISO-love is the main reason why, in my opinion. Phoenix was begging the Rockets to finish them off and the Rockets just flushed another one away. -Elvis, who also notes that Kelvin Cato is playing like a DOG again. $42 million woof! ------------------
Option 1 should be Cat, especially this game. When you score 11 in a rwo, why not give him the ball ? But when he hits a cold streak, that's when he HAS to give the ball up. Also, Steve needs to be more assertive. He and Cuttino are like brothers, but sometimes, he has to have a Keyshawn "give me the damn ball" type attitude. I also think Rudy has to step in occasionally and take the ball out of Cuttino's hands. Cat has proven to be a clutch player, but he's made mistakes late, and he won't ALWAYS deliver. Do we know if Steve can win us the game ? Our last two wins have been won with clutch plays be the Franchise. Will Steve and Cat win us games ? You bet. They can both lose the game for us. But, when we win or lose, it's as a team. None of this Cat is the only one who kept us in the game stuff. Mo was clutch. Walt hit a clutch shot. This is a team game, you can't win one on five. This game was a heartbreaker, but that wasn't exactly the Washington Generals we played. Phoenix is a deep, athletic team who matches up VERY well with us. I know most of you think I'm a Cat hater. I'm not. I just feel it is odd that there were virtually no posts about Steve being clutch in Golden State and the Atl. Cuttino, right or wrong, gets alot of credit when we win, and he undeservedly gets the blame when we lose. Bold prediction : We're gonna make the playoffs. I can feel it. ------------------ "Hey Snoop Dog, I got my bi-yatch to make you some muffins." [This message has been edited by gr8-1 (edited March 12, 2001).]
All across this nation, there are 8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,and 19 year old kids who make game winning shots. These piss-poor excuses about players being young have gotta go. The ball still bounces. You shoot when and if you get open in the scheme of things. If that doesn't work it's selfishness (or stupidity) not inexperience. As John Stoessel says, "GIVE ME A BREAK!" ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils. PowerbizOnline.com [This message has been edited by RichRocket (edited March 12, 2001).]
Those players aren't exactly in the NBA. It's a totally different ballgame. ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
I think RocketBooster is right when he says "How long can you milk it" or something like that. So milk Francis, then milk Cuttino, then what. Go back to Pick and Roll I say. Rudy had the wrong people out there. It should have been Francis, Mobley, Anderson, Taylor, and Cato. Run PNR with Francis and TAylor. But... if it comes down to one shot at the end of the game, give it to Cuttino. ------------------ The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why i didn't get more meat, ill just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where ive hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?
I hope you aren't referring to Steve. He was very clutch in our last two wins. I think taking the last shot is up to Rudy, not whomever is "man enough." ------------------ "Hey Snoop Dog, I got my bi-yatch to make you some muffins."
alaskasnowman: Granted the 8 year-olds arent' in the NBA... are we sure?! Through high school, college and pros, most of these guys have played 4-500 (or more) sanctioned games. Really, how long does it take to learn NOT to take a stupid shot at a critical moment? When I played high school ball, it took two times. The first time you did it, you got your butt chewed out. The second time you did it, you thereafter rode the pine at crunch time. Why is less accountability expected of professionals? ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils. PowerbizOnline.com
Double post live?? more like quintuple post. ------------------ The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why i didn't get more meat, ill just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where ive hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?
Elvis, you do realize your argument means that Phoenix-Marion ISOs won that game for them, and Dallas-Finley ISOs won those games. Every team goes to ISOs down the stretch, because it is the simplest way to initiate ball movement when you have a star that demands a double team...and we have two of them. You can name a bunch of complicated Xs and Os, but at crunch it is best to initiate ball movement via ISOs or 2 man games. We excell at both.
