I know that slogan may come back to bite the team in the butt, but I really believe that this team is about to take off. I think Adelman has had a devil of a time trying to figure out who is "in" and who is "out" of this team. There were almost too many pieces to try, but I think with Brooks in as the backup PG, and the 2nd unit now running the offense at a break neck pace, I believe he has just about settled on this year's rotation. The team has had a couple of stretches of 3 or 4 days off in a row and it gives them a chance to REALLY practice the motion offense. And now that Tmac seems to be on board - FINALLY - the team can really take off. I believe all the pieces are here, but the attitude has not been. We shall really see in the next few games, as these are all teams that have beaten the Rockets, but are very WINNABLE games. If the team comes out and runs the offense, plays with energy on defense and MORE importantly does not BAIL on the motion offense in crunch time, I believe they will take off in the 2nd half. I do see some pot holes, as there will be some egos that are not going to be placated, in Mike James and Steve Francis and they may need to be moved to get the chemistry just right. Also, I have been down on Novak for the last 2 years as he just looked lost out there on the court, but his work in the D-League has made me think that he may be ready to be a bit contributor on the Matt Bullard level, someone to take advantage of opportunities that Yao and Tmac create at the 3pt line. And the one major tweak I think this team needs is for Chuck Hayes to be marginalized and Scola to take over the starting spot....The Tmac/Yao starting 5 needs another offensive threat, and Scola is proving that he is it. He moves without the ball SO well and the 1st unit needs an aggressive player who moves selflessly....Scola is it. So, sorry for the long diatribe, but I truly believe....IT IS TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!! TIME for Rockets lift off. 3 2 1 BOOM !! GO ROCKETS. DD
The last few games they have made a concerted effort to run the offense and their energy has been good. Now with Tmac saying - he is bought in....I think they can take off. The team's attitude and committment (particularly Tmac) was all that was holding the team back. As for Brooks, I think he is exactly the spark this team needed, give players a reason to run (easy baskets) and watch them move.... DD
I agree with the post. Although the Rockets went 1-2 in the last 3 games, you HAVE to be optimistic with the team. Improvements, galore. Losing by one point in a loss to Denver in double overtime, destroying the Bulls, and a loss to the Detroit Pistons. Honestly, I really don't mind the losses. They showed me improvements. They hit shots, they attacked the baskets, they added energy. These guys played TWO back-to-back series in five days. Orlando on Wednesday, Denver on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday, and Detroit on Sunday. As good as you are, that schedule can get the best of any team in the league. That November schedule was just brutal. I haven't seen anything like that in years. Yeah, I'm optimistic.
LOL - actually it is pretty darned good....just a few clunkers in there, most notably...Langhi.... This year though....IT IS TIME !! DD
Yes, it is time to win some games to make the playoff run. If rox can not win three games form next five, I say that it is time to make a big change although I hope rox can win more games without any change, it looks like a less likely.
DaDa, I agree that we should be able to "take off" but Francis needs to go. My gut feeling was "it's not going to work out" but I bought into the hype and unless Rick is willing to go small there is no time for all these guys and I don't think Mr. "Franchise" can deal with little to no time on the floor
Lets hope your right DD...Hopefully they'll have a big time post allstar break run.... IMO it's looking more and more like these guys need atleast one full season under Rick before things get rolling. Also, I think Mike James needs to go...
I think we need to keep James, he looks like he is in great shape and we need a hard nose type player at that position come playoff time. I have a feeling his shot will come around and I wish Rick would try a lineup of Rafer James T-Mac Scola/Hayes Yao with Battier/Wells/Brooks/and whichever pf does not start as your rotation Head/Novak/Deke=one trick ponies who will only see time because of injuries or certain matchups Snyder is still a raw prospect that I don't trust same for Landry and I think Steve is the odd man out maybe the 10th guy in a 9 man rotation
I feel as you do DD, not quite as confident just yet, but I'm getting there. As I've been saying in other posts, this team has a few more games for us to see whether they are going to turn the corner or fall into lottery oblivion. I am optimistic though.
I think the only way we can truly take off (as in an extended winning streak) is to have Adelman, Tmac, Yao, James and Francis sit together and work thing out.. we gotta be realistic here, we've seen what Rafer CAN'T do for this team.. the dude might have had a couple of good games, but we simply aren't going to win with Mr. Alston in the lineup, simple as that.. the other team would simply double off of him and the whole offense will become a joke, we will live and die by his extremely reliable 3 point shooting.. So the only way this team is gonna start winning is getting Francis to put his head in the game (no pun intended) and play like he wants to win, in addition, we need to have Tmac say what he has to say because he seems to exceptionally (purposely) suck when Francis is on the court.. once we get all the crazy weird psychological things figured out, we can finally have a great team with Francis starting at PG, James backing him up, and Rafer & Head traded for a real SG that can knock down shots (Korver?) .. call me a r****d, but I don't think Francis is done. I think the guy has a lot left in the tank and he can still go out there and play. he isn't the same old franchise, but he ain't no 38 years old Vin Baker either.. The guy can still get to the rim, shoot the midrange J, knock down some 3's sometimes (better than Rafer at least), and defend like a beast.. we've seen what he can do in Phoenix, and I think this was the reality and what we saw the last couple of games he played was just a fluke as a result of his injury and a possible problem with the coach/Tmac.. which brings us to James, who was really great for us in 04-05 but has suddenly turned into a scrub recently. I just think the guy has a huge ego and we have to address that. even though I am all against giving egomaniacs what they want, I think we should give James some time running the PG to get him to play right.. I don't think he was pleased with Adelman flip-flopping him between PG and SG and this translated into his sorry a$$ performance. We need to establish a rotation with him getting about 20 minutes a game at PG and we can go from there.. sorry to break it for you guys, but Brooks isn't going to work the whole year.. he had a good game and I give him major kudos for his efforts, but the guy is just a rookie, he can't handle a team in the "win now" mode.. we need the 2 veterans that we brought in the offseason to step up and handle their business correctly, and Brooks will eventually get his chance after we win the championship this year .. Man, I am so freakin' frustrated.. please Adelman, please, work things out with Francis and James and get us some wins, and stop trying some weird combinations that won't get us anywhere..
James is a ballhog, not fit in a sharing motion offense. TMac dominates the ball also but he is a franchise player. Head is getting more minutes then James because he is more of a team player, albeit more bonehead plays. Bonzi is supposed to be our 3rd scorer but he's been inconsistent, despite being good at times. Snyder a raw prospect...I was about to argue with this but realized he was drafted in 2004. Feels like he's been around longer. But reality is that he is what he is, I don't see more potential for him.
