The Rockets rank dead last in the NBA in assists by nearly a half an assist per game. Why? They don't trust their teammates. Hakeem Olajuwon didn't like to pass it much either until Rudy T. convinced him to give up the ball. When he did, he not only elevated his game from star to superstar, but the team won, eventually the championship. Just like that offense, this team's offense is based on exploiting the double team. You have to pass the ball to do that. This team must learn to trust each other and not just for alley oops. With 3 minutes left against the Warriors, Mobley found himself with Chris Mills on him and Griffin was wide open in the post with BOBBY SURA on him. Mobley, waved off Griffin and forced it against Mills ultimately missing a very difficult shot. Instead of giving it up to a 6'10" player in the post against a 6'5" guard, he went against a taller man who is a very good defender. I love Mobley and I think that he will eventually learn, but this is probably the single most important area of improvement that this YOUNG team must make if they are going to exploit the tremendous talent they have. When they do learn to pass the ball and trust their teammates, they are going to be incredibly dangerous.
Eddie's not exactly shooting lights out tonight, and it's alot easier to trust someone when they're shooting better than 1-7. But I get your point and agree... On a related note, it seems that Mooch has been trusting his teammates more the past few games. Not so much dribble, dribble, dribble, shoot. That's still there at times, but not as often as in the past. That's a welcome development.
why have a big small forward if they can put a guy 5" smaller and guard him. Mobley played good, but that play pissed me off.
I have been screaming this from the highest mountain tops, hmmm...maybe that is my problem....I am too high up for the Rocket to hear me. DaDakota
Somehow, someway, we have to get edie better shots. Shooting from 24 ft from the basket just won't do it. When we run the pnr and they switch, he should walk to the post and post up, plain and simple. this team doesn't share the ball, defend, or make the opponett turn the ball over. its quite a few stats that we're last in.
Agreed on Mooch. On EG, however, you have to remember that you live and die by the system. I'll never forget that night against the Spurs when Horry was like 0-9 or 1-9 or something like that, yet Olajuwon gave the ball up to him when he was doubled and Horry hit the game winner. You have to trust that your teammates will do their job and hit the shot. Barkley trusted Mobley and he hit the game winner against Golden State as a rookie. Olajuwon trusted Kenny Smith, Horry and Mario Elie (among others). Great players and great teams are great because of 2 things: 1. They have at least some superstar talent. 2. The superstars are willing to trust their teammates. Most of the reason the Rockets aren't there yet is because they are young. It took a number of years for Olajuwon to figure it out. I think they are still a few years away from really learning that, but when they do they will be very tough to beat. The good thing is that they already LIKE one another. If they stay together, that will only make the trust greater in the long run.
Jeff is right about taking time to trust your teamates. It comes with success, and the Rockets have not had a lot of that lately. DaDakota
I agree, but they never pass it to EG when he is in the post. They are more readily willing to pass it to no-hands Willis, Thomas, and in some instances Cato before they pass it to EG.
I think it is important to realize two things: 1. EG is not strong. He has a tough time in the post because he just doesn't have the muscle yet to overpower guys. 2. EG doesn't have good footwork. It is hard to expect a guy who only played one year of college and never needed good footwork to have it and EG doesn't. He just doesn't have any post moves at all - no jump hook, no spin move, just that one little turn around fallaway. I don't think the Rocks are going to make him a post option until he bulks up a bit and gets some more moves down low. The good thing is that Larry Smith and Carroll Dawson are two of the best big men tutors on the planet. If anyone can help him, they can.
I think the biggest problem, for our ranking last in assists, is Mobley. He has to be the biggest ball-hog in the league. Its great when he makes those blindfolded shots, but awlful when he misses. That one play Jeff mentioned, pissed me off as well. I think EG created the possession, on the defense end, and Mobley did not reward EG with the obvious mismatch. Cuttino may never grow into a unselfish player. Hakeem and Barkley kept him in check, early in his career and it is obvious that Rudy does not have the balls to control him. I am not sure what the answer is, but the Rockets will never be champions until they get rid of these egos. Jordan figured that out the hard way, and when he got his teammates involved, he created a dynasty. You can tell in Moochie and Cuttiono eyes, when they have the numbers (on a fast break), that they would rather EAT ****, then pass off the ball for the easy layup.
Cat's job is to score, not pass the rock. I think he does both of those things exceptionally well (scoring and not passing the rock). I view any assists he gets as a bonus. Especially when he's off the mark shootingwise... We've got Steve and Mooch to pass/distribute. If they aren't doing it, then there's room for complaint. Mooch is IMHO getting much better at sharing, too. His assist #s have been pretty high in recent games. And he's still scoring well to boot... Bottom line, in the past few games - which I personally think are more indicative of the future, as opposed to that huge team-wide slump-funk everyone was in for about 10-12 games - Cat has been scoring and Moochie has been passing. What is everyone so upset about? The Rox - especially Cat, Moochie, and Kenny - appear to have taken the losing streak as a learning experience. They apparently realized what they were doing wrong, and I expect that knowledge to pay dividends in the future.
treeman, it's everyone's duty to pass the rock when there's a better option... that's called smart and playing with a team. there's nothing that gets hustle, trust and morale in your teammates like a good simple pass (needless to say easy ass buckets) if the rocks could for once remember it's five on five on the offensive end, and five on five on the defensive end, maybe we'd make our wins look easy
Cat's job is to help the team win, PERIOD !! If that means he passes to EG in the low post a few times rather then waving him off, then so be it. Unselfish play = harmony = wins. DaDakota
Does anyone think KT will ever pass the ball? His numbers are always good but I counted at least three times (especially the one where he did that really cool spin move) where he could have passed the ball to a wide open EG under the basket, but instead waited until he was guarded to do some move. I think he scored on two of those occasions, but nonetheless when will the other players on our team realize that the game will only get EASIER for them if they pass it. I hope this isolation crap isnt being shoved down EG's throat, as he seems to like to shoot sometimes as it is.
JZ, I posted the same question a few days ago. KT is becoming a black hole. He seems to be so focused on his improved abilities to score and get to the basket that he forces the shot no matter what; and worse, he forgets about his teammates who just stand and watch him. He showed really good good passing skills last year, but has forgotten about them. He would be an even more effective scorer if he dished off for easy baskets occasionally. Opponents would be less likely to run a second defender at him when he gets into his spin moves. I love his heart and energy, and he is much improved. But he has this disease which has infected the whole team: "won'tpassitis." DR
You know, I've been critical of Cat in the past too, but I think we may be missing the point on him. It isn't that he doesn't pass the ball. He actually does and very well at times. Cat's problems really center around making decisions. He has a tendency to force things that aren't really there. I have no real qualms with him as a player. He is a lights-out offensive player and a tremendous asset, but his decision making needs to improve. Remember that he has only been a focal point of this offense since last year. It takes guys several years to find their own in the league. The thing that is impressive about Cat is that, on most nights, teams know he is the guy who is going to come at you (especially during Francis' absence) and they know that he is going to iso but they cannot stop him even after being in the league this long. That is the mark of a special player.
I mentioned earlier that KT doesn't pass the ball anymore, especially to EG. KT a solid player and all, but now he's picking up some bad habits. I believe he is becoming selfish and wants to prove that he belongs in the starting lineup. That's not good basketball. This team really has a lot of selfish tendencies and that's big reason why they are 9-21. Rudy has to shoulder a lot of the blame for allowing these players to hog the ball time after time. I agree with what an earlier poster said, Rudy just doesn't have the balls to coach this team. The lame-ass excuse about this team being still young is getting played out. A lot of these players should know better by now.
I was on the chat and looking at the game and I called out Mobes for that play. I remember lamenting it a couple of weeks ago when he waved off OT at times when OT was hot. Mobes is a special player but he must realize that the better he is the more those kinds of situations will arise with EG or someone else getting a matchup advantage. I just want to be convinced that Mobes knows what to do in this instance. I kinda want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Probably he thought that EG is not sufficiently adept at taking advantage of that situation. He may know that from seeing him in practice or being very familiar with what he is able to do in that situation. Regarding the black hole, KT. He is a pretty good passer but it seems he is consumed exclusively with finishing the play. Rightly so because he is not the best finisher and I would think that he would be all caught up in finishing the play. It looks like he is not aware of where his teamates are, even those around the basket. His typical play seem to be getting the ball on the left wing, then shooting or taking it to the basket. In taking it to the basket, he seldom seem to have considered driving purely to draw the defense for a drop off. KT is a real strange one. He is very quick and has hops. Like Mobes, I would have thought he has the ability to literally skywalk and keep his shot aware from defenders like Mobes. But unlike Mobes he does not and he gets blocked or misses the easy close shot when challenged while Mobes does not. KT would be consistently unstoppable if he improves his finishing around the basket. And like other great and effective finishers, he would then pass more around the basket. The development we hope for from Mobes, we should hope for the same for KT.
So how often did EG pass to KT? Jeesss . . I guess if EG [the new God of the site] don't get the ball everytime down SOME ONE is being selfish etc Rocket River
I watched the Mavs tonight without Finley and they still passed the ball. Sportscenter showed 1 possession where they made 7 passes in 1 possession! They may not pass it 7 times everytime, but very rarely do you see 1 pass and shot. Rudy , needs to watch Utah run into the fast break then continue straight into the offense. If they don't have a break, the wing players circle and the offense is started with 20 secs on the shot clock. The Bucks are missing 1 of the top 6 shooting guards and their leading scorer, all they do is plug in Micheal Redd and continue beating teams like SA twice and reeling off wins after losing to the Rockets. They didn't build their offense around 1 person and most teams don't unless he's a big man. This team needs to diversify and get other players invloved in the flow of the offense. Its times down the floor when you don't even touch the ball. Its hard to stay ready mentally if you there more than a 75% chance you're not going to get the ball at all.
