Before You Praise/Kill the Rocks, You Had To See It Live

Great post especially on your controversial review of the refs. I saw the game and felt the same way. In fact I was on the chat and kept calling the calls. The Rocks were slow and for the most part the call were right despite how one-sided it appeared.

I also agree with you on Collier. This was my first time seeing him and I hope I am wrong. He looked slow and lead-footed to me. He better have a good jump shot. Earlier I heard he runs the floor well. I hope so.

Mobley is better than you described. Many times last night I called him a punk. They are still young and I just wish some of Anderson attitiude would rub off on him. He would then be absolutely lethal. The whole league however has taken notice of our backcourt and correctly so.

No Cato again especially when Taylor and Thomas were in foul trouble. What's up with that?

Great win which should propel us to more. Tighten up that race.

------------------

 

Absolutely agree with you my friend. The Rockets have better chemistry than those early Ivy-lead Philly teams, but the similarities are uncanny.

------------------
"ON-BEE-TAH-BULL!!", Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, alumnus, University of Houston

 

I just got up myself from a long night after the game at MSG. I have to agree with ALMU about the game as for his observations. I didn't have bad seats nor did I have the greatest seats. My hookup placed us behind the basket about 30 rows. Section 234 Row C. Evidently, that's where they place all visitor team's guests. We were next to Kenny Thomas' friend-girl. I say friend because I don't want to spread any rumors that Kenny has a serious girl. For anyone that knows Pop Dance music, her name is Gillette that had a song a couple of years ago "Short Dick Man" and "Mr. Personality". She's really nice and has a new single out now "Sex tonight"(shameless plug). It was cool to be in a row full of Rockets supporters.

The Garden - I thought last night was a pretty pathetic and ugly game for MSG standards. The crowd was not really into the game until the final minutes. Prior to the 4th quarter,the only excitement that got the crowd cheering was at halftime when these elementary school kids were playing basketball. It was a pretty lame crowd for MSG standards. I was surrounded by Rocket Fans so it made the night go by fast.

Honestly, I really thought they were gonna lose because of them staying out late the night before. I even heard that a couple of Rockets were spotted at a Karoke bar of all places singing till closing time. I can't say who for fear that it may shock you who has a good/bad voice. They looked a little tired to me in the first half i.e. nice AIRBALL Kenny!

I agree with Almu about the MOOCH! This guy next to me was a Moochie Norris fan. He is more exciting to watch in person.

During one of the breaks I saw Spike Lee talking smack to Cuttino Mobley but couldn't quite understand what they were saying. Maybe Almu could help on that since he was behind the Knick bench. All I know Spike was up yelling something to Cuttino.

Celebs in the house - Samuel Jackson, Star Jones, of course Spike.

After the game, we waited for the players in Sections 81 & 82- the designated area for the guests of the team. There were prolly about 75 people waiting. 20 minutes after the game, the players came out. Steve, Cuttino, Shandon, Moochie, Walt, Kenny Thomas came out to meet with some people. Mooch had a big posse of people waiting for him. Steve had a smoothed out mocha suit while Cuttino came out in a darker brown suit. I was lucky enough to take a picture of my girlfriend with the 2 of them. They were very classy and gentlmen like. I don't like getting into pics so I just took them. They were all very cool. Got to talk to Kenny after the game and I asked him how he felt. He responded "My team did well, did you like my airball?" He's not at all that quiet like some people say. He has a good sense of humor. We asked him where Dan and Matt were but they already went to the bus. Afterwards, I thanked my hookup for the tix and they were off. They only gave them 15 minutes to hang out in the stands before they had to get on the bus and leave for Houston that night. I'll see them again in New Jersey when they come back.

I'm just happy they beat the KNICKS. It was very satisfying to see the Knick crowd stunned. All I kept hearing is what the hell was LJ doing with the ball. Man, you think we are bad for criticizing our team, you should hear NY fans after a game.



------------------

 

MSG is definitely the Mecca of Hoops.As far as being there or catching a game on the tube,I love watching games there,and it was great the Rockets pulled it out.Good job guys!For this quote "historic"game though,I was shocked at the appalling historically bad officiating this crew brought to the table...man
Yeah,we were short handed inside,Mo was in foul trouble and therefore were helpless as we watched L.J.pretend he was still at UNLV.Before his back injury he could work like that inside,but it's been a loooong time since I've seen that.I always felt for him after that,but not during this game.
Stevie just keeps on progressing as his overall grasp for the game continues...sky is the limit.....literally
That first half was an absolute disgrace,but,give our guys their due(and Rudy).Yes,Cat was there when we needed him and SA is always ther in some way,shape ,or form.The East is so pathetic these days that I honestly believe there are only a couple of teams that would make the playoffs in the West...........Almu,put that Knicks Jersey in a safety deposit box or something,we don't want you burning down your house!!!!!

------------------
"me and four guys from St.Pete...Fo..Fo..Fo"-
Moses in the 80-81 finals

 

Hey Almu, nice to have you back. You made some good oberservations even though I don't agree with all of them.

Right on about the interior defense...it was pretty much non existent, but what could we expect when Mo' got into early fould trouble and we had to rely on The Wiz, Bull(defense...HA!) and KT to hold down the fort in the paint? The refs never allowed the Rockets to play the same type of game the Knicks were playing until the final 4 minutes of the game.

Walt was called for some horrible calls on the defensive end and then there were those 9 offesive foul calls. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but most of those callswere not legit. The refs called a horrible game despite the Rockets erratic play.

One call that was questionable on the right side of the paint. Childs went flying on a Francis drive and was called for a charge. There was another offensive call where Cuttino(I believe) was being guarded by Childs who was not anywhere close to being set(outside the circle). Then the kicker, Mobley was called for a tech for cursing at himself for missing a shot. Everyone within earshot heard Mobes cursing himself, everyone except the ref.

We definitely agree about Moochie. I love the way he plays!! He is a ball of energy and his crossover is plain wicked! One thing I'd like to see more is him going to the basket because he is great at drawing the foul.

Anyway, it was a good win that the team could really build upon.

------------------
Go vote for Steve Francis for the All-Star game!! You only have until Sunday!!

Vote for Francis!

 

Almu
Great post. I agree with most all of your observations except for the officating. I watched the game on TV and the replays showed a lot of those calls were BS. That was the worst officated game I have seen in a long time. I am really surprised that Rudy was still around at the end.

------------------

 

Almu,

Cuttino shot 48% and 39% 3s over the last 46 games last year. Start couting after his worst game when Rudy had a talk with him-- the Chicago game.

When the rest of the team gels, pressure comes off Mobley, and his stats make him a star. When our team does better in motion and doesn't have to do the ISOs, Mobley's stats go up. It's a chicken and egg argument of mine, though: Does Mobley do better by involving people when runnning ISOs and pnr's, or does Mobley do better when we run less ISOs by learning to run motion plays; the latter is more comlicated, and we haven't got consistent with it, yet. Hence all the Mobes ISOs and high PNRs clocking 60% success rate.

 

I don't think fans in Houston here realize what they have here in Mobley. How many teams have an explosive scorer you can bring off the bench and carry the team offensively when your main guy is struggling? People call Cat overrated, I guarantee teams like the Lakers and Suns and Kings would KILL to have him in the same role we have him in! He has more then a first step, because if that is all he had he wouldn't be scoring like he does. In fact Francis defense is just as bad as Mobley's. Mobley is our Vinnie Johnson with more consistency. I'll take that.

------------------
"I have a scale at home and it only goes up so far, I love that scale!"
- Charles Barkley
TNT Studios

 

Almu, great to see ya back. I missed last night's game, and the different recaps I've heard/read confuse me. Your version is much closer to what I read on the newswire than what I've seen here at this board (complaints about officiating). I wouldn't doubt that the Rox could have drawn legitimate charges last night though - they have the tendency to get drawn out of their rhythm easily by good defenses. They're young and will improve on that area, eventually.

I have a hard time understanding why the Knicks are so bad offensively. Between Spree, Houston, and Rice they should have an outstanding shooting/scoring tandem from the perimeter. Maybe Van Gundy isn't the right man for that team, anymore.

So are you going to bring back your alter-ego/nemesis, LHutz? This board hasn't been the same without the two of you.

------------------
"Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks
www.clutchtown.com

 

btw Almu, what would happen if I used your thread title in every debate; ie, the I have season tickets trump card. People would jump down my throat, calling me a know-it-all snob,... ! Your assessment of Mobley on one live game is just that, one game. jab!

I agree with the title though. You have to see it live!

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited January 12, 2001).]

 

I just finished watching the game on video and I hate to say it but most of the offensive foul calls were legit.

To Steve, you can't lower your shoulder and drive through people.

To Cat you can't slap the hands of the people guarding you while driving around them.

To Walt, you can't run over people on the way to the rim when they are squared up and have established position outside the arc.

Having said that there were still a number of horrible calls. The worst of all came in the 4th when Walt fouled out. The player guarding him fell down trying to get in front of Walt. No position was established and Walt did not make any contact.

KT was picked on by the refs bad. At one point in the 2nd he got called for consecutive fouls against LJ. The first was questionable. However, on the secound foul all he did was run by LJ. Neither player had the ball no contact was made. What in the hell did the refs see on that one?

My biggest beef with the refs on this game was they did not call it the same way on both ends. It was almost as if they were told to make sure NY got the record for consecutive games holding a team under a hundered. They did a better job in the 4th than in the 3 previous quarters.

And on the last shot. Mo did leave his feet but did not make contact with LJ. Mo was back on the ground with both feet and the shot was off when LJ intentionally fell into Mo trying to get a call. Good non call.

------------------


[This message has been edited by crash5179 (edited January 12, 2001).]

 

I guess it is easy to see how watching the game live and on tv can lead to different beliefs about officiating. Watching on TV, with instant replay mind you, made it plainly obvious that at least half of those offensive foul calls were bogus, but we won this one so i wont complain too much.

What i havent seen mentioned about last nights game yet is the success of the rockets offense when they do run set plays. The Shanon pick to Walt to pick Francis to go down the middle play in particular worked fabulously. There are also other set plays that are being used more and more and more effectively. One that i really like that works occasionally is the one involving the backpick for steve, usually by bullard for the alley-oop dunk. Worked against toronto the other night.

------------------
"There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them."
Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)

 

Yep Jay, that is a variation of Clutchplays #2.


<FONT SIZE="2" FACE="Verdana, Arial"><A HREF="http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum3/HTML/009854.html">Clutchplay #2: 34 Elbow Flex or Wave Off the Low Post</A>
</FONT>

They run that at least once a game, and use it as a decoy, too. The way the play develops is Francis and Kenny are out high, Bullard in the low post. Bullard picks for Kenny so Kenny can take the low post position on the opposite block of where Francis will be slamming it. Francis gives it up to Walt or Mo, and then receives the back pick from Bullard above the ft line. They do this with Collier, too. Kenny going to the low post is open if his man attempts to give help on the back pick. And Bullard becomes open if his man helps on the back pick.

The reason I say this is run at least once a game, is because when the help stops Francis coming around Bullard, then either Kenny or Bullard get the ball, so we don't see the Alley oop.

It is very effective.

There is another play with Mobley that is becoming popular. It is the 24 High pnr play with a Walt double pick on the weakside developing at the same time. We seem to need more work on the timing of it, though. This is Mobley without 4 around the arc watching. This is a big development in my eyes, because it means we've probably been practicing for months some weakside options for Mobley to use other than spot up jumpers. It takes time to roll them out, but I do see signs that Rudy is trying. Look for improved weakside options for Mobley plays to be sweet in the future.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited January 12, 2001).]

 

There we go!!! I knew you couldn't hold back forever. Completely ignore all the good games, and the positives about him that can be seen from games earlier this season, and wait for ONE bad game when he isn't even close to 100% and then go off. How typical. I'll say this about Collier- I sure wouldn't trade him for Hughes or Crawford. (if I'm the Rockets of course)

To Almu,

Collier had a string of EXCELLENT games earlier this year, where he displayed the kind of skills he has. He can run the floor well for a big guy, can hit the outside J out to 20 ft, and sets picks like a brick wall. A guy that does a lot of the little things and fundamentals. Watch some other games before you jump all over him- you have to remember this is a guy who has been out for 6 WEEKS with torn knee ligaments, which probably aren't 100% yet. So combining that and a lack of conditioning because of being gone that long, what did you expect? 40 pts? Be realistic. I'll guarantee you this though- he's at least giving 100% and making an effort to recover from his injury and get back in the rotation, unlike another Rocket center named Kelvin Cato. If you want to criticize somebody, criticize Cato, not Collier.

------------------
President of the Jason Collier and Mo Taylor fan club!

Draftsource.net
ClutchTown.com

 

I think he is capable of being one of the best backup centers in the league and possibly a good starting center- I honestly believe that. I've watched him for 3-4 years now, and I really like his game. He showed some of his potential earlier this season, and when he is fully healthy, I think he'll go back to that form. You can apply Chevious to anyone, so I don't see the relevance of bringing him up here. I'm not saying he'll DEFINITELY be what I think he will be. But I think there's a good chance. I think this guy has legit skills, and when he is fully healthy again I think he'll have another chance to prove the doubters wrong. What you saw yesterday was a guy who hasn't played basketball in 6 weeks with a bad knee trying to work his way back into the rotation. You cannot expect too much in that scenario. And for the record, exactly what rookie picked after Collier that was a legit consideration for us has outplayed Collier? Sure hasn't been Pryzbilla. Not Moiso. Not Etan Thomas. Not only have we gotten the better player so far, we get a 1st rounder next year too. That move looks ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT right now.

------------------
President of the Jason Collier and Mo Taylor fan club!

Draftsource.net
ClutchTown.com

[This message has been edited by The Cat (edited January 12, 2001).]

 

alright Almu, I love you, man. But coming out of lurk mode to get The Cat scratching posts again after we stroked him into bliss is ... ugh!

Please don't say Mo' Sucks...hehe