The rockets didn't make the playoffs because of their style of offense. They are one of the most talented teams in the league, yet they are the second worst passing team in the league. You must have set plays to be succesful and all they do is pass it to one player and run away and let him try to beat his opponent one-on-one. I'm sorry but that doesn't work when the sport your playing is a team sport. The allowance of zone defense has really hurt this team. but you can only blame the coaching staff. No disrespect towards Rudy T but I think he should step down or be fired and take his assistant coaches with him. The rockets need a coach who knows how to stress team ball not every play were it's isolations.
I am a big fan of Steve's, but two specific plays really hurt my feelings (and play-off chaces). Both were by Steve. First game after the all star game. Home then away with the Jazz. We are two maybe three games behind them in the standings. A pair of wins would really make a statement. Game one at the Laptop. Rockets up by two, have the ball under a miinute to go. Francis gets fouled. Misses first free throw, leaves the door open. Trade baskets - three pointer buzzer beater ties it, Jazz win in OT. Next game in Utah, we win by thirty. It could have been a statement. Missed free throw by our leader killed us. Few nights ago against Portland. Yea, that futile effort. First quarter we are playing well. No sign of the total offensive collapse to come. Leading by nine we have the ball. Run down court, just inside the three point line Francis jacks up a long two. Long rebound, fast break the other way, foul. Portland cuts what could have been a double digit lead to six. We get back in synch about a week later. OK, one more. This one has a happy ending. Our last win. Seattle here, we have to win three in a row of go home. Seattle gives us a 10 point lead in the first quarter. Not really thinking this game is important we piss it away and give the lead back to Seattle. Second quarter, another 10 point lead, game aparently still not important, we piss it away also. Seattle sucks, we win easily, everybody goes home happy. We play a better team (Oh say Utah or Portland) and we are playing russian roulete on a game we have to have. Well I guess we didn't have to have it after all, but you understand where I am comming from. They are small things but they are what the games turn on. And on those games the season turned. Those things happened on court. I hold the players responsible. Maybe the players were not properly prepaired. I don't know. But I do know a loss when I see one.
Okay. That Portland game we should have won. But the coach put Moochie, Mobley, Rice, Griffin, and Cato in. Our lead just went away. Moochie sucks. He's blown a couple of leads. He's widened a bunch of defecits. He can't run the offense...the one we don't have. He can't score. He should not be playing like 14 mpg or however long he plays. I think our starters actually do a good job SOMETIMES. There was a period where they kept on having horrible starts and had to comeback.. But Moochie just sucks.
