Player grades from the Chron But first, here's my take on the players and the season: A switch needs to go off in our important rotation players' heads collectively that they want to win the championship more than anything. I think Dwight is close to that point but the rest of our guys are still too young & not fully mature. Parsons' aim is to get his big contract so he'll be less of a glue guy until then. Harden is about having fun and not yet fully focused. Asik wants to be a starter and even though he played an unbelievable series, he wouldn't have pouted at the season's start if he was 100% serious. Lin is habitually doubting himself and trying to fix his game so how can we expect him to contribute to top notch team play? Jones/Motiejunas are still improving their own play and trying to become consistent, same as Lin Our wing bench players are trying to prove they belong in the NBA to earn another contract. Beverley may be the only one playing for the team at the moment. To hope for the championship as fans, we first need to see the commitment from our players. We'll know it when we see it. They definitely weren't committed this year, proven by the fact that Sampson left before the playoffs. They talk big but I don't honestly believe that they're wanting it bad enough yet. They all want to "get better" but those are individual goals, not a group goal. I really think talent is not the issue for this team, and that Morey has more or less done his job. We need to find the key to get the players focused and set on the same goal. Whenever they do buy into the championship goal alone, is when our perimeter guys will start playing the kind of defense that we all would like to see from this group. ======= Anyway, here are the summaries from the link. They are pretty high all around given that we were a 50+ win team for the regular season. Harden didn't get his A though. He deserved it for regular season play, but obviously not after the playoffs. Omer Asik Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $8,374,646, guaranteed Comment: Asik began the season wanting out, let his frustrations boil over when he was removed from the starting lineup and struggled early in the season. But he was outstanding when he returned from a stubborn injury, especially late in the season when Dwight Howard was out and in playoffs. Grade: B Patrick Beverley Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $915,243, unguaranteed Comment: Beverley went from unknown to respected pest to among the top defensive point guards in the league. He was a good complement to James Harden as a ball mover and shooter, if not a consistent scoring threat. Grade: B Isaiah Canaan Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $816,482, guaranteed Comment: Canaan had an outstanding season in the D-League, which was all that was expected. In brief stretches with the Rockets, he struggled, but he was drafted in the second-round to be a project. Grade: B Omri Casspi Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $1,063,384, unguaranteed Comment: After a promising start, primarily as a range-shooting four, Casspi fell out of the Rockets rotation completely, never quite filling the enormous void as a backup small forward. Grade: C Robert Covington Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $816,482, unguaranteed Comment: An undrafted free agent, Covington was the D-League Rookie of the Year and D-League All Star game MVP. He never picked up a place in the Rockets rotation, but offered a promising rookie season under the circumstances. Grade: A Troy Daniels Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $816,482, team option Comment: After setting all kinds of 3-point shooting records in the D-League, Daniels, an undrafted free agent, was a show-stopper in the post-season in Games 3 and 4, including the Game winner in Game 3. His D-League days seem over. Grade: A Francisco Garcia Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $1,316,809, player option Comment: Garcia is among the Rockets’ most respected locker room leaders, but given the Rockets’ lack of wing depth, they needed more, especially in the post-season when he fell from the reputation. Grade: C + Jordan Hamilton Spoiler 2014-15 contract: Free agent Comment: After a promising start following the trade deadline deal, Hamilton faded and lost his place in the rotation. Grade: C + James Harden Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $14.728,844 Comment: Harden will almost certainly be first- or second-team All NBA and among the top five or six MVP candidates. His regular season was that good, even with his frequent and glaring defensive lapses. He dropped off badly in the post-season, however, where he knew players at his level are measured. Grade: B + Dwight Howard Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $21,436,271 Comment: Howard was brought in to take the Rockets much farther than just to six post-season games, but he stepped up big-time in the series, scoring, defending, rebounding and leading. The season was a disappointment; the star was not. Grade: A Terrence Jones Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $1,618,680 Comment: After playing rarely as a rookie, Jones took over as a starter and had a solid season. He had a tendency to go from making great impact, especially at home, and then disappearing. He could be a difference-maker, but given the wealth of power forward stars in the West, might not be the answer as the starter. Grade: B + Jeremy Lin Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $8,374,646 Comment: Lin moved to a sixth-man role where he could look for his own offense more freely, but he often struggled to be that assertive. Still, he was solid through most of the season, if not quite the instant offense force of the bench he seems capable of being in the Rockets offense. Grade: B Donatas Motiejunas Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $1,483,920 Comment: Motiejunas had his moments and brings great energy, but was often overmatched defensive. That kept him from the post-season rotation, and pushes him to a third season needing to turn his offensive skills into reliable production. Grade: B - Chandler Parsons Spoiler 2014-15 contract: $964,750, team option Comment: Parsons has come so far it sometimes seems that he ought to do even more. He was the Rockets third-leading scorer, had a strong playoff series and was the glue throughout the season, as the Rockets without him demonstrated. Grade: A – Josh Powell Spoiler 2014-15 contract: NA, unguaranteed Comment: Powell stopped by for the last game of the season, the only game in which he played. Grade: Incomplete
Feigen's much too smart to give less than a B to any player from whom he hopes to get game quotes from in the future. Or to put his name to the article.
Eveyone takes home a prize ratings. I'd guess the female reporter probably was the one tasked to write those summaries. Given that Feigen is the senior basketball scribe.
Parsons wasn't even that bad. But the difference in his level of play between the first and second half was almost night and day. And his defense at times was lackadaisical. All in all I thought he had a good year though and probably our most consistent player
How does Sampson being offered a head coaching position that he needed to start immediately prove that the Rockets' players weren't committed?
If the organization was locked in with a confident chance of getting through the western conference finals, Sampson would have stayed to coach our defense. The organization being locked in is a product of the players being locked in. That's how I went from A to B.
Both Parsons and TJones are overated, they played hard for stats sheet, I don't blame them, contract year....
