Kind of long-winded, but this is the first game I've been to in about 7 or 8 years probably, so bear with me. I was in section 127 of Reunion for anybody that cares. Pretty good seats. I wish I could've gotten seats closer to the floor or at least at mid-court, but these were good nonetheless. I got to the game really early after having a late lunch with some friends (no, BobFinn, not my pc's). I got there early just to watch the warmups/shootaround. Warmups/Shootaround During the shootaround, about 3 or 4 Mavs players were out and about at 5pm. One was Eduardo Najera (remember him?). I'm not sure who the other 2 were. Obinna Ekezie may have been one. Two rocket players came out before everybody. They were out at about 5:30-6pm running drills with assistant coaches. One looked like Sean Colson (sp?) and the other was Dan Langhi. Dan had what I thought was a sweet jumpshot (until I saw Nowitzki shoot anyway). Kelvin Cato came out at around 6:10 and played some really serious one-on-one games with Langhi. If Cato's injured, he wasn't showing it much in their sparring match. He was all business. Langhi tried to drive on Cato several times, but Cato defended him well and even rejected a couple of his drive attempts. Langhi blew by him on one possession, but missed the dunk. Cato came out with an ice pack or large bandage on his knee, but quickly took it off before he went at Langhi. At about 6:15 Shandon and KT both came out. Steve and Moochie both came out about 6:30. Francis was popping 18+ footers and 3's. Not one dunk attempt was made, which I thought was cool -- the kid's not all about flash. Hakeem's agility at his age is amazing. During the shootaround as shots were being missed by his teammates, he would kick the balls in all different directions. He'd kick it with his foot back to his knee, bump it with his knee, then drop kick it clear across court to somebody waiting for a shot. He did this about 5-10 times. Really amazing to see someone that big display soccer skills. Cuttino came out in street clothes (to my dismay) and started joking around with Moochie and Carlos Rogers. Carlos really has a lot of love for these two -- you could tell. Carlos gave Cat a big hug on the sidelines during the warmup and Mooch toyed around with both of them. Nice little brotherhood the Rockets have. I never saw that with Dallas' team. They were more business-like. The Rockets were far more playful. The Game I won't waste space analyzing why we lost, how we lost, and what we can do to be better because I know there will be about 5-10 other threads saying "Rudy sucks", "Walt Sucks", "We Need Cat", etc., so I'll try to point out some things I thought were notable during the game that others may not have caught on tv. Steve Francis is one hell of a guy. Between the 1st and 2nd quarters, he went over to the Mavs bench, went up to Don Nelson, talked to him for a couple of minutes and gave him a big hug. That was just... cool. Dear God, I thought I saw an ISO for Walt. What on earth was that? Did anyone else see it or am I calling something an ISO when it wasn't? Walt used to have decent handles, but that was then, this is... well, reality. Vernon is still partly Vernon. I thought what made Vernon great was that he was 50% great athlete and 50% jackass. The athlete is still getting his legs back from a layoff, but the jackass is still kicking. Something you guys probably didn't catch, but Vernon was getting into Steve's head. On a couple of shots and drives Vernon would nudge Steve to knock him off-balance. Much of this happening away from the ball, I think. During one or two timeouts, Steve complained to the refs and even showed one ref what Vernon was doing. Vernon just smiled and started laughing. Vernon didn't have the wind to stay with Steve, but he still has that mental aggressiveness that drove Jordan nuts. Steve's not ready. Not ready to be THE leader of this team. That's all I can say after watching his mannerisms during the game. He can be one of the leaders, but he's not in a class where we can call him a floor general yet. His decision making during crucial points is brutal. The turnover at the end of the game was just one. I've watched Cat play in one or two games this year and I've watched Steve play now in person. I know that's not much watching, but from what I've seen I'd rather have Cuttino with the rock during the end-game. Steve's moves are incredible to watch, but they are also incredibly risky. His crossover is deadly, but if you watch him closely as he makes his moves, 30-40% of the time, he's fumbling the ball. His athleticism is what saves him in that he can catch the ball and out-anything his defender to get his shot off or pass the ball back out. Those of you saying he's got great handles, I'll disagree from what I saw. He's got great moves and erratic-and-at-times-spectacular handles. We lost our composure. I'm surprised Rudy didn't get T'd silly in this game. He was nagging the refs all game long, during timeouts, and stayed about 2-3 minutes after the game was over to torch one of the refs. I think much of it had to do with the fact that they weren't calling illegal d's on the iso's or whatever they were running. He was also raging about non-calls, some of which were valid. I think Mo Taylor and Juwan were going at each other and Juwan won. Just like Vernon getting into Steve's head, Juwan was getting into Mo's I think. Just a guess, though. Is it just this game or do we whine like a bunch of sissies at every call? Like I said, I don't get to watch Rocket games at all, but my God, if I were a ref, I'd pop Francis. Whine after every freakin' call or no-call. We shouldn't have missed clutch free throws at the end of the game like we did. Shandon, Hakeem, and co. kind of blew it. Dirk Nowitzki is lethal. Probably the smoothest open jump shot this side of Alan Houston. I sometimes wondered how the hell this guy was so open all the time. Most of his points came on wide-open jumpshots and open 3's from what I remember. He's good. Reminded me a bit of Bird during the 80's in his prime. You leave him open, he will kill you. He's not overly quick, he's not overly powerful, but he's very tenacious. Juwan Howard could've eaten us alive if he hadn't gotten into foul trouble. He was talking to both Mo and Hakeem while scoring on them both. I thought it would come to blows, but it didn't... kind of scary to think he was out because of foul trouble and they still played well. He's got heart - disregard the salary. He's a good player. Why was Walt out there at the end? I don't know. I'll leave that to Mulder and Scully. Walt trying to guard Finley was painful to watch at points. Walt trying to be an NBA player was probably even more painful. Walt's a nice guy, but that was just agony... How about that 4-guard-and-a-Nowitzki lineup? It would've been nice to see Cuttino in there for that one. I think we would've matched up a hell of a lot better against that thing. Does anybody know if we went to it or did the Mavs go to it first and we counter? Hakeem seemed a step slow on defense. Did anyone else catch that? I mean I know he's older, but he looked lost on a number of plays. Juwan blew by him on occasions and while he had his way with Nowitzki and Bradley, he often left Nowitzki wide open to go help out with others on defense. Or maybe I wasn't watching it correctly. Feel free to correct me. I'm wondering if this and the fact Hakeem couldn't hit free throws/was winded had something to do with the fact he wasn't used much near the end. Anyway, nice win for the Mavs, but you know what? We didn't have our 2nd best player and we still played them pretty even. Not bad. GO ROCKETS! ------------------ "I was arrested for sexual assault involving an elderly man and I was out in 35 minutes." -- Achebe - programmer by day, geriatric ass grabber by night. As(s?) a side note, he did state he was cleared of charges. [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited March 04, 2001).]
Nice Post. Too bad they didn't win. Hopefully the Mavs and Rockets will meet in the Western Conference finals, and you'll get to see them again! ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
I saw that ISO for Walt and was screaming from my section 109 seats: "PASS THE BALL!!!!!!!!!!". I really don't know why he was in the game at all. He should be coming off the bench for a FEW MINUTES. Not the kind of minutes he is getting. Just disgusting. They don't usually cry so much, but come on. There were some pretty bad calls and non calls in the game- mostly in favor of the Mavs. You should come to Houston and go to more games! Ali ------------------ Poopy!
Nice run down DoD. I agree with just about all of your observations. Francis is a great person, but is still a ways off maturity wise to be an on the court leader. I quit counting in the 3rd quarter the number of times I'd see him whining to the refs while the Mavs were pushing the ball down court. Vernon played him well, especially with the head games, but Steve needs to stay focused and not fall into the playground tactics of guys like Vernon(Payton too). It's when another player gets into his head that he clearly gets flustered and makes poor decisions and continuously whines. We could really use Barkley in games like this to keep our younger players focused. As for your comments about Hakeem being slow on defense, I think thats because he was tired. In the first 2 quarters there were a number of plays where he was forced to get back on defense quickly because one of the other guys were too busy whining to the refs and not staying with their own man. On one particular series Hakeem barely was able to get past the free throw line on both sides of the court because Dallas pushed the ball quickly after a missed drive by one of our guys. Anyway, I think he played the best game of anyone on the team. He even blocked a shot to keep us within reach in the last few minutes. ------------------ "Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is." -- Barbara Bush
Nice post D0D. Dream has been kicking basketballs in warmups (and games) since his U of H days. Steve Nash must have played soccer as well, cause I see him kick the ball (with a lot of control) all the time as well. Nowitzki will be unstoppable in a couple of years. He plays the total game. Francis is coming along nicely as a point guard. He's young and still learning, but once he does, lookout. He is already one of the top 5 PG's (top 3 IMHO) in the NBA. ------------------ "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."- (Aldous Huxley)
Alright, I can't bare DoD not having league pass anymore. Who wants to pitch in to SaveOurDoc? Great post. You've started two threads this year about the games, as I recall, both excellent. Man, this year is so lacking on game action that isn't venting. sigh
Pimp: speaking of counting Francis, anyone want to start counting how many time his slips. I recall four slips last night, three with the ball and one on a cut. Every game there is at least one slip with the ball. What is up with that?
There was a thread in another forum with poor reviews of his new shoes. DoD has DISH Network and League Pass is not a current option for him. I can provide the links if needed. Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited March 04, 2001).]
www.kicksology.com ------------------ Charles Barkley on TBS on the "fat track" poll: "What? 47% said I'd gain more.....why those.....they better be glad this is a family show."
This was my first Rockets game in 6 years and I'm addicted to seeing it live. I'm definitely gonna try to hit a game or 2 during spring break. I don't know how I went 6 years w/o going to a Rockets game but now I don't know how I can go 2 weeks w/o a live Rockets game. I envy all of the season ticketholders in here. ------------------
I'm almost positive Nash was a soccer player. He also kicks the ball around in almost every game. In my opinion he is the best South African soccer in the NBA. ------------------
He was born in South Africa (according to CBS sports), but I think he lived in Canada while growing up. But doesn't Nash look like a soccer player for some reason? ------------------
FYI on Nash and soccer... Grew up in Victoria, British Columbia and played Soccer, Hockey, and Lacrosse. His father played pro soccer in South Africa and England, and his brother Martin is a professional soccer player. ------------------
Great post DoD. I was at the game as well (though admittedly with worse seats). I guess I will add my experience to yours, since this is the only game I will be able to attend this year. Firstly, I agree, Hakeem did seem slow on defense. In many cases he seemed slow on offense. Most of his points came off long jumpers. If he score by going to the middle, it was because he was hacked. But he had a great game, and like any champion, he turned it on when he needed to. Steve needs to calm down I was very surprised at how easily the refs, Vernon Maxwell, and pretty much anything was getting into Steve's head tonight. He was dribbling the ball too much, and making some bad decisions. But for being a second year player, he is progressing amazingly. Moochie is amazing We really need to tie this guy up to a multi year contract this offseason, because he is a more than ample backup for Franchise. THe guy doesn't shoot that often, but when he does, you know that he picked the place and time for the best results possible. Dude missed 1 shot out of 7, and head two key three points plays throughout the game. Shandon played great defense I made sure to keep a close eye on Shandon and his defensive effort, and he did not disappoint. There was one play where Finley crossed him over and blew past him for an authoratative slam, but other than that, he was perfect fundamentally. Everytime he defended Finley, Finley was forced to settle for a long jump shot or a tough fadeaway. It was just through sheer talent that Finley made a great many of those fadeaways. I must admit Dod, I remember the Wiz ISO that you were referring to, and while I don't think it was planned, he still should have passed the ball. The play resulted in him dribbling for a long time, and then getting seriously packed, if I recall correctly. Steve gets consolation prize Despite his strugglings in other areas of the game, you gotta give it to Steve for that astounding slam he threw down in the last minute or so. I swear he took off from just inside the free throw line, and jammed it home. Probably on of the best slams I have ever seen live. The Mavs are a <u>GOOD</u> team They came to play, and despite the fact that it seemed the Rockets led throughout most of the game, the Mavericks turned it on in the clutch, just like a playoff team is supposed to. They played some hard nosed defense in the end, and even though it seemed some calls were missed, it is to be expected because the Mavs were the aggressors, and the refs always favor the aggressors. I must also agree with Dod on how much whining was done by Steve in this game. But it wasn't just Steve, it seemed like every player got seriously upset at some point in the game. I didn't have the benefit of instant replay like those watching from home, but I really didn't think there were as many bad calls as the Rockets seemed to think (though that taunting technical on Francis was just damn silly, he didn't look to be doing anything from what I could tell). I remember that play that Clutch mentioned in his recap. The one where the whistle wasn't blown until the ball had been rebounded. It was true that the call was very late, but it seemed like the right call to me. I thought I saw a foul. Not much you can say about the free throws... you gotta hit em, and if you don't, the good teams will beat you nearly every time. Just ask Shaq. Overall, it was a hard fought game by both sides, and the Mavericks just wanted it more. The Rockets had intensity, but they had no crowd to feed off of, and the players were not in the correct mindset. I am glad I was able to see Dream play one more time before he retires. I will sure miss his dreamshakes. ------------------ "all your base are belong to us!" "you have no chance to survive make your time!" [This message has been edited by RunninRaven (edited March 05, 2001).]
Speaking of Cato playing 1 on 1 w/ Langhi, anyone know why he hasn't gotten any playing time the last 2 games? ------------------
