This wasn't the prettiest game. It had its moments, but our backcourt had starting backcourt FIFTEEN turnovers. It is sick that we can win a game, score 90 points, and have 31 turnovers. We are the first to get over 90 agains the Spurs this preseason. 1. This team can LIGHT IT UP- Francis and Mobley were hitting 3s with ease, as was Walt. Morris, KT and Torres can hit it from there too. And throw in Glen Rice? 2. Rockets Big Men- Eddie Griffin looked ok. Don't let the 1-10 number fool you, as he hasn't had any court time in awhile. Most of his shots were from the outside, about a step inside 3-point land and he got some good looks. His defense was very good, and the biggest thing of note was that most of his minutes came at the 5. He did a solid job against Duncan, and didn't get outmuscled too much by Mark Bryant/Cherokee Parks. He was very nervous, but he rebounded well, and was a good presence inside. He had 6 rebounds, all defensive, which tied Cat for the team lead in defensive rebounds. He changed a lot of shots, most memorably a David Robinson attempt. Cato played very well. The box score only said 3 rebounds, but he tipped a bunch of them out, and we outrebounded the Spurs by 21, so rebounding was hardly an issue. With Cato, Morris, and Griffin, the Rockets did an excellent job of challenging shots. Thomas was hampered by foul trouble, but made some gorgeous passes. However, I feel like this team needs one more big man than it had tonight, and a solid rebounder that can spread the floor and shoot would do the trick. Griffin and Morris logged a lot of minutes at the 4/5 and did a pretty good job, but beware of burning them out if they have to play a position bigger than they should for long stretches of the season. If Collier can shake off the rust he's had, we may be able to hold down the fort until Mo gets back. If Mo really can get back around the all-star break, look out. Morris has been a gem, shooting pretty well, being the consumate team player, and better than advertised court vision/passing. 3. Francis/Mobley. Holy cow. This was their first game together in the preseason, and their first real action against others, so they made some mistakes, but there were stretches where they were UNSTOPPABLE, like in the 3rd quarter. They went 20-29 from the field, which is unreal for a pair of guards going against Duncan and Robinson. Francis basically turned on a switch in the 2nd half, and looked Jordan-esque with an array of dunks, layups, 3s, and impossible fade-away mid range shots that fell through the net. Stat of the game: The Rockets had more offensive rebounds (19) than San Antonio had defensive rebounds (17)
NIKEstrad Francis was a work of art in the third period. That was breathtaking. The duo of Franchise and Cat continues to be spectacular. I also believe Griffin's 1-10 is going to throw some people off and give the trolls on this board fuel for their fire. But no way do those numbers represent EG. He'll be fine once he shakes off the nervousness. His offensive productivity is going to go up steadily. I can't wait to see Rice knock down some triples. And about Mo coming back for after the break. Hells yeah! That would be awesome. Francis/Norris Mobley/Torres Rice/Morris Taylor/Griffin Cato/Collier
Hey Nike what do you think is our best defensive lineup. Say we have to protect a lead late in the game, which five do you send out? Cato Griffin Morris Mobley Francis That sounds good till you realize that two of those are rookies and the other two are kind of sorry. We are going to have a real hard time stopping people from scoring this year.
Same here. Good breakdown NIKEstrad. I couldn't see the game tonight, but am glad to hear that the young Rockets put on a good defensive showing tonight. The shooting will definitely come around. If we play solid, team defense throughout the season, game in and game out, we will be a playoff team. The key is defense. I still would like to hear/see how Griffin would perform at the 3.
re: best defensive team Cato Griffin Morris Torres Mobley would probably be the best five. Although it means you lose Francis' myriad abilities, Cat could probably handle the scoring load. Depending on how well they rotate, this could be a fine defensive squad.
NIKEstrad - Thanks for the observations! Wow we outrebounded the spurs with our smaller line up, that's good news. Either we made most of our shots or we got alot better at rebounding, if any of these is true that's great! I still can't believe we had more offensive rebounds then them defensive rebounds. Hydra - I also think that Cato, Griffin and Morris would be a good defensive frontcourt, they could get alot of blocks together since they would probably challenge every shot! I remember in the SL games that when ever Morris and Griffin would get together and swarm a player taking a shot one of them would most likely get a block on them. With Cato in the mix with them that would be even more awesome!
Good job Nike. As for Griffin's 1-10 shooting, it appeared to me that he was short-arming his shot, which is a natural occurance for someone who is nervous and rushing their shot. Once he settles down and follows thru on his shot, all those clangs off the front of the rim will start to fall.
I was at the game last night and would add that this Rocket team has yet to gell. But when they do, mercy mercy Comparing this team to last year's, they are much more athletic. The boost comes from Torres, Morris, and Griffin. All three play tough D, rebound (yes!!!), and run like gazelles. The slimmer, trimmer KT also adds to the more athletism. I dropped by jaw when he took Duncan off the dribble for a layup. It will interesting to see where Rudy will take this team when the new players settle in and when everyone gets used to the new rules. I am guessing that the Rockets will look a whole lot like the Suns of years past, but with better low post D thanks to Cato and Griffin. This is going to be a really fun year to watch the Rockets
Aside from Francis being fantastic what I noted most was the brief period when Cato and Griffine played together. You had the swarming shot blocking that the other poster noted with Morris and Giffin, but better with Kelvin better able to avoid being pushed around. If we can keep Cato and Griffin on the floor we can avoid being crushed by the sheer size of what used to be called the twin towers" of the Spurs. Also Calvin and Bill commented a couple of times on Cato being in good shape and working out over the summer. Is this true? Is Cato bigger because he added muscle and not just weight.
I wouldn't get too high over last night's win. Down the stretch, with the game on the line, the Spurs had the dominant force of Cherokee Parks battling the Rockets front court. Steve Francis looked great, but he was being guarded by Tony Parker. Which is a great lead-in to a comment made by Jeff Balke... "He spent 43 minutes brutalizing San Antonio rookie Tony Parker who will be dreaming of Francis stealing his croissants after getting buzzed by the Franchise tonight." Hahaha!!! Hey Jeff...why not mention that every time Steve attacked offensively, Tony just crumbled to his knees and surrendered??!! Even though SA's big guns were not in during crunch time, the Rockets appeared to be playing a lot more like a cohesive unit. Steve Francis, barring injury, looks like a good preseason choice for first team all-NBA offensively.
I'd trade Mobley for Francis. I think Steve is a better defender cause he has more steals and even rebounds. Plus he offers so much more offensively. But I agree that Torres should be in there. -krosfyah
Sorry about that. It's just that I hadn't seen a good action shot of him in their uniforms & thought I would let everyone reminesce for a moment. In actuallity, I don't think Dream would be as beneficial to us as he will be for the Raptors. If you saw the game last night, this team is as quick as a hiccup. That's why it's so important that Cato continues on throughout the season with this renewed attitude & hustle he's been showing this preseason. He's the prototypical type center that this new Rockets team needs to be successfull. In a perfect world, the Rockets will meet the Raptors in the Championship game & win it all in seven. If I'm gonna' dream, I'm gonna' dream big.
That's nice, except Mobes is a better defender than Francis and was DPOY in college while Steve is routinely torched by the likes of Terrell Brandon.
Mobes was Defensive Player of the Year in college? I never heard that one are you sure? Francis defense has been a huge upgrade in the preseason from last year. He is doing a much better job of fighting through picks and just playing better all around D. One reason Terrell Brandon and Sam Cassell have had some good games against Steve is because he would try to go around the picks and they would use that as an oppertunity to put up an open shot. I don't think you will see them having such a huge game against Francis this year...but only time will tell.
It was either DPOY or All-D 1st team. He didn't play in a powerhouse conference, but it does show he has the ability to be a pretty good defender. He also did a good job defending the PG in his rookie year IIRC. Francis may well be improved this year, but until he proves he is better defensively than Mobes, I will stand by my Defensive unit.
