# Rockets eliminated from Playoffs



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

The Phoenix Suns have just defeated the hottest and supposedly number 1 team in the NBA. They will now be playing this same team, the San Antonio Spurs, in the first round of the playoffs most likely. I think Phoenix deserves this playoff spot even though it can be said that the Rockets threw it away, Phoenix has earned it more than anything.


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## 7M3 (Aug 5, 2002)

Why can it be said the Rockets threw it away?


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## Amareca (Oct 21, 2002)

The Rockets would not even be that close if the refs didn't give them a win for free against the Clippers!


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## NugzFan (Jul 26, 2002)

probably because talent wise the rockets are definetly top 8 in the west. they should have made the playoffs but didnt.


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## MiamiHeat03 (Mar 28, 2003)

lets face it they have better player

francis-marbury=even
mobley-matrix=matrix
yao-amare=amare

maybe next year they'll make the playoff.
is the mavs still in the hunt for 1st place.


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## NugzFan (Jul 26, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>MiamiHeat03</b>!
> lets face it they have better player
> 
> francis-marbury=even
> ...


you cant make this comparison to say which is the better team.


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## MiamiHeat03 (Mar 28, 2003)

those are the 3 stars that suppose to take them to the playoff.rockets they have fail and the suns did it with their stars.


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## sylaw (Nov 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>MiamiHeat03</b>!
> lets face it they have better player
> 
> francis-marbury=even
> ...


I'd have to disagree with your assessment. I think Marbury was clearly better this year. I also don't see how Amare is better than Yao. Yao averages more points, shoots a better fg%, better ft%, averages more assists and more blocks than Amare. He's only behind him in rebounds and steals. They are at most even but Amare is not better.


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## NugzFan (Jul 26, 2002)

i agree...both of those 'big 3s' should have made the playoffs...phoenix did it. rockets did not.


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## TheMatrix31 (May 28, 2002)

yea you guys choked ! 

and we represented !


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>MiamiHeat03</b>!
> lets face it they have better player
> 
> francis-marbury=even
> ...


What about Penny? Rockets don't have a role player who could get triple-double in a normal game never mind in a crunch game like Penny did last game vs Dallas.

And yeah Amare is no better than Yao.


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## francessuen (Apr 1, 2003)

Amare better than Yao???


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## John (Jun 9, 2002)

If Rocket want to make it to the playoffs, Mobley has to go!


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## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

There's no shame in barely missing out on the playoffs in the West. Rockets fans should be blown away by how much their team improved this year rather than disappointed. Rockets fans had absurd preseason expectations for their team. Everybody counted out Portland and Utah during the preseason, which was a huge mistake, these are well-coached veteran teams, they were GOING to make the playoffs ahead of poorly-coached young teams such as the Clippers. The Rockets did way, way better than I expected them to this season, so they get major props from me. I would expect them to add a major piece this offseason. There are some overpaid but GOOD players out there who can be had in exchange for the expiring contract of Glen Rice and a throw-in, say, Bostjan Nachbar. Shareef Abdur-Rahim would be a good fit for this team, I think. Antawn Jamison is another possibility; Jamison is way more available than people think he is (because of his terrible, terrible contract).


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## TwinkieTowers (Jul 16, 2002)

The problem with the Rockets was that Francis and Mobley did not give Yao the ball enough. They may be the only two players on that team who do not realize that the offense has to go through Yao in order for them to actually be a contender in the Western Conference.

The Suns is a talented team, but with their lineup they are certainly an Eastern Conference style team; they have no legitimate center who can bang it with Shaq, Vlade, Duncan/Robinson, etc..


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## Amareca (Oct 21, 2002)

So how come we are 3-1 against the Spurs? 3-0 against the Blazers? etc etc ?

Big Jake did as good of a job against Shaq as almost anyone when the Lakers luckily escaped in OT at Staples.


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## Tenshi25 (Nov 27, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>robyg1974</b>!
> There's no shame in barely missing out on the playoffs in the West. Rockets fans should be blown away by how much their team improved this year rather than disappointed. Rockets fans had absurd preseason expectations for their team. Everybody counted out Portland and Utah during the preseason, which was a huge mistake, these are well-coached veteran teams, they were GOING to make the playoffs ahead of poorly-coached young teams such as the Clippers. The Rockets did way, way better than I expected them to this season, so they get major props from me. I would expect them to add a major piece this offseason. There are some overpaid but GOOD players out there who can be had in exchange for the expiring contract of Glen Rice and a throw-in, say, Bostjan Nachbar. Shareef Abdur-Rahim would be a good fit for this team, I think. Antawn Jamison is another possibility; Jamison is way more available than people think he is (because of his terrible, terrible contract).


I mostly agree with you robyg, that if you look at this season from some distance it has turned out to be pretty good, the team's record has improved dramatically from the 28 victories from last year, and Yao has turned out to be already better than many people thought he would ever be. At the beggining of the season I remember thinking that finishing with a .500 record would be pretty good for this team so, looking at things with some perspective the season cannot be considered a failure.
The most disappointing thing about the season for me as a Rockets fan (and probably for many others to) is that there has not been any visible improvement in the team's game and chemistry during the season. It's a young team, true, with a huge new addition, Yao, and you gotta change the whole game now in order to rebuild it around Ming, and that's a hard thing to do, true. But still, in the beggining of the season the team was making some mistakes, and 70 games later they keep making the same mistakes, and that's the most frustating for me, that the Rockets have been all season going back and forth: great games followed by terrible games. I could understand that in the beggining of the season but I had lots of hopes that as the season was going by the team would become more consistent, but that never happened.
All said I think the future for the Rockets is very bright and the team will keep on improving and hopefully (maybe with some trades) will become a playoff team next year and a contender in few years.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

*The Actual Solution*

Why the Rockets threw it away. They had many many chances to close off the race. Especially after their victory over Phoenix. But they threw away every opportunity they got, and the Rockets definetly troubled better teams more than Phoenix. The Rockets would slack off against teams with under 500 averages. Against the better teams, the Rockets could simply not close out the games. The Rockets are 3 - 11 I believe in games decided by 3 points or less. 

I hate it how everyone says Yao does not get the ball enough. The Rockets run their damn offense through him. He touches the ball on every other Rockets play. Right now he is not physically too strong, and after scouting reports went around, the solution to stopping Yao was the quick double team and physically abusing him, forcing him to pass or take tough shots. Unlike Shaq, Yao needs to develop getting better positions when he receives the ball. Shaq dominates inside and can push his way into a great position around the basket before receiving the ball. 

Giving off Cutino Mobley won't do the Rockets any good, as he is a valuable asset to them. He is relatively cheap - only $5 million a year. The problem lies in Kelvin Cato, Mo Taylor and Glen Rice. These guys are getting paid between $8-10 million a year!!!  Rice can easily be dealt to a championship calibre team or to a team in a situation like the Atlanta Hawks since his contract expires next year. But the Rockets are stuck with Taylor until 2007, and Cato until 2006. There is no possible way a team will want to be stuck with Taylor's gigantic contract until 2007, and I don't really see Cato being traded as well. So the annswer here, lies in Glen Rice, the Rockets veteran leader. RobyG the throw-in Nachbar you suggested, he is not a throw in. Lets see how he does next year, as Rudy T, Les Alexander and others are keen to see his progress. A throw in would most likely be Juaqin Hawkins or Jason Collier, the rockets reserve backup center. Terrene Morris is a sharpshooter and likely to stay with the Rockets. 

Antawn Jamison and Abdur Rahim? Those two cost as much as Stevie does, but Jamison looks to be a more solid player and has a longer contract, but Golden State will demand alot for him, the loss of Arenas and Jamison would put them back to the terrible old days, so that looks like a small possbility for the Rockets.

Other than that, Francis has got to improve. Become more of a leader Stevie, improve your jumpers, and start penetrating more. What people don't know about Francis is that he is as good as MArbruy if not better at covering up the ball as he goes to the basket, which makes it extremely difficult to swat away. 

Rudy T needs to hir a new offensive coordinator. The Rockets mvoe the ball around alot, but are near bottom of the league in assists. Need to create some plays suitable for Yao, sutiable for the kickout and plays that will highlight the strengths of this Rocket team.

With that, I hope to see an active offseason for the Rockets, and I hope they can trade Moochie Norris and Rice during the offseason, and get some good value in return for them.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

* Good luck next year Rockets!*


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>TwinkieTowers</b>!
> The problem with the Rockets was that Francis and Mobley did not give Yao the ball enough. They may be the only two players on that team who do not realize that the offense has to go through Yao in order for them to actually be a contender in the Western Conference.
> 
> The Suns is a talented team, but with their lineup they are certainly an Eastern Conference style team; they have no legitimate center who can bang it with Shaq, Vlade, Duncan/Robinson, etc..


Agree with you. The championship runs through Shaq and Duncan. Once Yao fully realizes his potential, we would be one of the few teams with a player who can counter them. That makes me a lilttle more optimistic about the future.


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## FatDaddy (Nov 13, 2002)

Francise stinks. Larry Smith stinks. They are responsible for the loss.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Could those who say 'Larry Smith' stinks and 'Francis' stinks please explain themselves, instead of just lashing out.


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## NugzFan (Jul 26, 2002)

goto clutchcity.net and rocket fans themselves will explain it.


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## shoprite (Dec 18, 2002)

I think the main reason for Rocket's late season collapse is Larry Smith and his misuse of Yao. Smith doesn't really have a clue how to coach. It took 3 quarters of the season for Rudy T to make sure that Yao gets around 30 touches, and the team started to play like a team. Ever since Smith took over, you saw a lot more ISOs and the team is going backwards. Yao's touches and production dropped a lot. Under Rudy.T, Yao would play during clutch time no matter what and we saw Yao got hot in 4th quarter and carried Rocekcts quite a few times. Under Smith, Yao wouldn't even play in the 4th quarter if he didn't have a good 1st half. I'm pretty sure that has attected Yao's play. He'd try too hard to impress Smith in first quarter ,resulting more forced shots and lack of engergy in 2nd half . Smith also doesn't know how to attack other teams weakness and avoid being attacked by other teams. Two example: Against Lakers, leading by a few points with less than 2 minutes left, he played Shaq one on one with Kato and Yao when Shaq was clearly dominant. Against Milwakee, he somehow managed to leave a no center lineup on the court when Buck's 2 centers had 10 fouls between them. Rockets is 6-9 since Smith took over and won 2 in a row only once during that period.


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