Finally someone who can hit the OPEN outside shot. Walt caught fire in the 4th quarter hitting 3s and driving layups. He also made the defense stay at home so Mooch could get to the basket for layups or pick n roll with Kenny. Kenny also had a great game scoring and rebounding. He usually does against teams without a bruising power forward. And even though Cuttino started out slow he brought it on in the second half. And the shot he hit at the end of the game to help put the lead back to six was the nail in the coffin. Now I look forward to us killing the Lakers tomorrow who should be without Kobe.
Yep, I agree Cato13. Although he is very, very streaky, when Walt is on the Rockets are very hard to beat. They key stretch of the game was the 14-3 (or something close to that) run from around the beginning to midway throught the 4th. Walt scored 8 points in a row during that run, and 13 of his 16 points came in the crucial 4th quarter alone. Once Walt started that run the momentum carried on until one point where the Phoenix fans started booing after the easiest layup Moochie had ever seen in his life. Good thing they were able to build that lead with the momentum too, as they almost let the Suns get right back in it. That Moochie behind the back pass that lead to a Phoenix steal and Marion dunk almost turned the whole game around, but they finished strong. Great game overall.
If Walt keeps on shooting well,he should be signed for the veteran's minimum next year. I didn't see the game so can anyone tell me why didn't Francis score more points tonight? I hope he wasn't having another migraine.
saleem - Francis was simply having an off night. The Suns had Marion on him for a while, who is a superb defender. Anyhow, knowing he was having a bad shooting night, Francis wisely decided to get others involved in the 4th. Today Rudy went with Super small ball at one point, playing Francis, Moochie and Tierre all at once. The three didn't score too much, but they fed the guys that were hot (Walt, Mobley and KT) very well throughout the game.
Walt made a difference in the fourth in this game, but for what they pay him, he should show up to more than one game in five. The vet minimum and a roster place is too much for a guy who comes to play once in a blue moon.
Williams has been extremely inconsistent and has had very few great shooting games as a Rocket. What about Kenny Thomas; he shows up most nights.
MM, Willis has poor stats because he doesn't get much playing time. I'm pretty sure we aren't resigning Willis. It would be a disservice to him. He probably could get a job on a contender instead of a lottery team. He isn't playing because Rudy want's to give the young big guys a chance to play, Rudy's said as much in interviews in the chronicle and said Willis accepted this.
Wiz is good. He is a point-forward, because he can run the team by setting up easy buckets. I don't care what anyone says. I say it doesn't hurt us when he's off as much as it helps us when he's on.
Watch Walt get hot again and we pull another string of late-season wins to get us nowhere a la two-seasons ago. That would be fun but useless because the chemistry gained would be for nought next season. And we'd also just end up with a #9 pick instead of a #5. I would definitely be in favor of picking up Walt for the vet's minimum for a Bullard-type bench role next season. It would also be good for the wuvfest.
