I had great seats to the game today, I was supposed to be behind the Rockets bench but had to settle for being behind the Spurs bench. Overall comments about the NBA game. Players do not play hard very often, only when they get jazzed up or it is late in the game do players actually hustle. There are exceptions to this rule, Posey is one, and Tmo is another, but for the most part the players themselves have less intensity then a good YMCA game. Thoughts on the team. Francis needed to be taught a lesson, and I am THRILLED that Rudy finally put his butt on the bench when he is playing poorly. He was killing us out there, not getting his teamates involved shooting terrible shots, and turnovers out the wazoo... I hope the 4th quarter benching gets his attention. Mobley does not play hard unless he has the ball or he is guarding Kobe on ESPN. Mobley seems to glide out on the court, always an economy of motion. Also, he is a very very VERY lazy passer. He hit Yao ming in the NADS with a pass and it forced Yao to fumble the ball....if Cat ever learns how to make a GOOD pass instead of a last second flip, he could be deadly. EG - Is very overmathed against strong PFs. Mo T really needs to start, if he can get his form back...I would rather have Mo T starting and EG coming off the bench. Right now EG is just too soft. Ming - Plays hard, and makes smart decisions with his passes. However, he has very little intensity around the basket, he needs to settle himself about 1/2 second before he shoots, too often he shoots off balance and he misses. I think he needs to jump more around the rim and force the defense to foul him....maybe next year. Posey - My gosh, I love this guy, he hustles, plays smart and rebounds like mad. Does anyone seriously think that if Rice was still in that the Rockets would be going this well? Nope, Rice is done...it is Posey time. Bench - TMO..TMO TMO....He is playing great....since he has pretty much given up on the 3 pointer and has moved in 2 feet, he is shooting around .50% for the season. I love the hustle and the smart play from TMO, he is playing very well. Moochie played ok, good at getting the ball moving, however his defense is awful. Steve Kerr beat him 2 straight times off the dribble...STEVE KERR...Ugh !!! MoT - touched on it earlier, but he is playing harder then I have ever seen him. He was working his butt off out there....good to see, and if he keeps it up, the starting job is his. Cato - HE IS PLAYING GREAT, he rolls to the hole well and finishes strong....he would be starting on most teams in the NBA. I really would like to see him and Ming on the court at the same time...especially against the Spurs. Coaching - Rudy T, I think he was sending the team and Francis a message about hustle and smart play, by having Steve sit the 4th quarter. If that is the case, I applaud him. However, I would have liked to see Steve come in about the 3 minute mark and take us home..... Rocks lose, but nothing to be ashamed of, the game was exciting and the Spurs fans were great to me. One last thing.....The Refs made some really really bad calls, and Rudy was exasperated by them....the call on Ming where one of the Spurs ran him over was terrible. DaDakota
Now this is the kind of analysis by a real Rockets fan. Thanks DaDakota. I wish more people are like you.
Dadakota you suck just kidding... I was there today to, but i had the worst seats possible. But you were right it was a good game. And you were also right about the bad calls. Which unfortunetly went mostly against the Rockets. One other thing I was suprised about where the SBC center was, it was in no mans land. Pretty much out in the middle of the field. Just imagine going from playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and then going to the SBC center. What a joke. Overall though it was a nice building.
Peleincubus, You are SO right about where the SBCenter is, it was in a horrible remote spot just off I-35. The parking was easy getting in, but we sat for 30 minutes in the SAME spot trying to leave. It was a nice building though, and I got to visit some of my old broadcasting buddies that work for the Spurs now.....I told them we would lose it in the 4th, and they were all talking about "Where was Francis?" I think our team is still learning how to win on the road, against ANY opponent. Anyone want to bet that Steve comes out more focused tomorrow night? DD
Great analysis, DD. I was at the game tonight with Genesis71, and damned if we haven't been saying the same thing all night. I especially agree here: Jeez, it got so bad that for a while we tried screaming reverse psychology to Stevie...yelling for him to dribble out the clock, or try to drive it straight into the meat of the defense. Not really sure about all the Rudy bashing going on. He dances with who brung him, and to do that nowadays takes some balls in itself. The lack of substitiutions late in the game didn't lose the game, nor did the officiating. The selfish, sloppy play that shows up from time to time lost it, plain and simple. Even so, what an exciting game. Can't say enough about the effort of Cato and TMo tonight. Let's hope for a strong rebound tonight in Dallas... Other notes: 1. What an ugly exterior (SBC Center). It's very nice inside, but the place looks like an airplane hanger or a Cracker Barrel... 2. What's up with the parking there? No problem getting in, but leaving was like every man for himself. I guess the parking staff and police just set up a billion cones and lets everyone figure it out for themselves... 3. I'm really saddened by the demise of Grumpy's in Flatonia. It was sort of a tradition to stop in on the way to SA...it is now known as 'McDonalds' 4. Still chuckling over that skit with Coyote, Clutch, and the little girl...
I love Posey, but he was completely out of control on offense. The man looked like a chicken with his head cut off. I love everything about his game except his offense, which is terrible. He needs to learn some control on the offensive end and try not to force things sometimes.
Thanks for the info but sending Steve message to have him sit the fourth is wrong. Read the S.A. article on Rudy's decision. No way does Tim Duncan sit out the whole quarter no matter how bad he is playing, even Parker who wasn't playing that well wouldn't sit because he gives the Spurs the best chance to win. We will soon find out if this decision will better Steve.
As far as I am concerned the starting job is not MoT's. It is good to see him start to get his act together and he should be allowed to contribute but he was still a major liability last night which you did not mention Dada. He is short and his play can improve all it want he will still be a liability. The team's competitive advantage is having him come is as a reserve and give him some touches. The only way he can dominate is if his jumper is falling. EG on the on the hand is a major contributor on the board and defense, plus the combo of Ming and EG is heads and shoulders above the Ming/MoT combination.
Rudy went with the hot hand and if we had won, we would be saying something different today. If you would like to be fair, somebody should have mentioned that we have another big game tonight. I am sure that was a factor.
great analysis and even DaDakota felt the lesson and message was sent. from here in Houston, I did not think Francis was not hustling. I just thought he seemed not on his game and should hav ebeen benched earlier. but, when the flow changed at the 1:50 mark, now is the time to say, "Steve play smart and lead us home!" Forget that nonsense Rudy said about a crime not to finish with those guys". Their role is to do exactly what they did and now it was time for Steve to give us the finish with Yao and Posey.
I would have loved to have seen Kevin Willis and Hakeem Olajuwon in at the same time. But Rudy never did that then, and don't expect him to do this now. -Tariq
To be fair to MoT, not everyone is a 7'1 PF, and Duncan is THE best PF in the league. If what Mo's saying is true, and his injury has improved dramatically, I'm looking forward to him playing more. He works well with Yao and Steve, and is a better passer than Griffin. Griffin is too inconsistent to start. 10pts, 5 rebounds, 4 assists That's pretty good. If he really turns it on before February 15th, we may even trade him in a deadline deal for a vet with a short contract.
I saw the Wizards and MJ at the SBC Center earlier this year and we had floor seats on the opposite side of the benches about 5 rows up. From there, the seats were great but the opinion of the rest of the arena was so-so. What I did like in particular was the separate food court and lounge for the floor seats and the comfort level that was there. It is definitely an upgrade from the AlamoHole, but I hope the Rockets follow a better design.
MoT played very well yesterday, he had Duncan bottled up until the 3 point play at the end. EG was getting destroyed, I think Rudy did the right thing in having MoT in there at the end. I do wish he would have put Francis back in, but I think maybe a message was being sent. DD
Great post. Thank you for the analysis, DD. I can understand "the message" with Steve, but Yao too? Come on. Personally, it made me absolutely sick to see 3 chances to sub in the stars from the final 3 min pass, when SA had Duncan back and the clamps down and the game was being literally fumbled away. You've got to have your unstoppable force in then, hero or goat. (Cuttino was apparently happy to take the goat horns away from the real stars, but he didn't get a benching). I was absolutely disgusted. Credit to Taylor and Tmo for nice games. Question - if Cat is off, what do you do? I have my answer (and I've seen Rudy's answer ) but I'm asking y'all. You can answer for this game only or more generally.
If Cat is off, you play Posey at the 2 guard spot. NOT MOOCHIE !! Ming did not come back in because he was being owned by Robinson and Duncan and Cato was playing them much tougher. I agree completely with Rudy's decision to keep Ming out of the game.....I would have put Francis back in though....but I believe Rudy sees the bigger picture. DD
Tariq, I might be completely wrong, but I thought they actually started together for a few games. I believe it was when Barkley was coming back from injury, and he came off the bench to avoid disrupting the team chemistry. Anyone remember that, or am I just talking rubbish (as usual)?
DD, respect your BB commentary. But Duncan & Robinson totally owned Yao ? Give me a break...Duncan was supposed guarded by a PF, and Robinson' 17 points came mostly form 15' jumpers. And above all Yao had already 4 offensive rebounds in the limited time on court !!!!
I think this will send a message to Francis. I know raising my kids, sometimes you need to do things that don't benefit you and may even hurt you in the short run. I think Francis will spend the rest of the season thinking "I may be a big star, but RudyT may sit my ass on the bench If I keep screwing up today, get it together man!"
