"No Layups" NBA/Rockets Radio Show, Mondays at 9pm

Triple-D? DaDrunkDakota?

 

Nah, they were doing a bit about the "Odd Couple" and I used an interesting voice.....that might be very...uh...feminine.




DD

 

Thanks Puff, I got way more bullets in my gun.....lol.

DD

 

Heard the lastest show. Good work guys. And of course DD with few nice suggestions.

 

And btw guys, Let Raheel speak more :grin:

 

Thanks for the time guys....as always....

DD

 

Your so cool

 

I just know that Raheel and Nuno were snacking out there for a bit....knowing I would talk, they were probably EATING...lol.

DD

 

excellent discussion.

here is my view on the last question which scared our beloved CLUTCH.

1) yao's offense is not built on his athletism. btw, he doesn't have any. his offense skills are not going to disappear easily as age goes up.
2) his defense completely relies on his sheer size. i wish he could have more than just his size. unfortunately, it is what he is. on the bright side, his injury is not going to ruin his defense skill if you call the size is defense skill. :grin:
3) his performance has been so so since back from the injury. the reasons are the long layoff, a mental hurdle from his injury, and limited playing time. those issuse will eventually go away as he keeps playing.

i would sign him if his body can stay together at the end of season. his health not his performance is only thing i am worry about.

 

Re: End of career Hakeem & Yao

Mike Thugleavy's start to this season could be hope for Yao's ability to comeback. Similiar situation.

 

Cool ..i'll be there (not i live in Australia)

 

Try to follow along if you can. My apologies if you can't. If you can't, Nuno will hopefully post the podcast for you. BTW, thanks Nuno, Raheel, and Dave.



Comedy of errors. I was curious...Rockets woes started last year because....you cant put it on one thing. The Rockets were 28-25 when they traded for Martin. .500 afterwards(12-12). Kyle Lowry was out of the lineup. For whatever reason, when you make a splash, you expect to do better than before. Could be Lowry, not getting Martin involved, schedule, etc. This year, missing 2/5th of lineup, they are 3-10. I am not saying the problem is Martin. The production has not been what we expected it to be.

Clutch: You certainly lost Carl Landry. He was an energy guy. They have not gotten the pieces together they hoped to have with Martin in place. Terrible start. No sugercoating that. About changes or this and that, we need to have Yao and Brooks back first to make a valid conclusion. Injuries are no longer an excuse though. February is the deadline. Starting 05-06 season, every year something has happened. Fans are getting impatient.

If the Rockets are 8-22 or whatever by Christmas, you're basically out of it. What then? You probably take yourselves out of the Carmelo sweeptakes. What do you do?

Clutch: Let's see what the situation is at the time. They need to get these guys back and see what happens. If they have a lottery year, we'll have to live with it. But is this a good core? Can they determine that?

Worst year ever if Knicks are going to be a lottery team?

Clutch: It is. Helps you a little with the swap but...Only way Knicks can get out of it is get #1 pick or have worse pick than Houston. It hurts for this to happen. We coulda had the best of both worlds.

...

I asked you at the break, if what we're seeing with Yao, say he is a 10-8 guy and not injured. Do they bring him back?

Clutch: I think he is more than 10-8 if he gets more minutes. They got him on this schedule. When he gets back and can play 30-35 minutes..

We thought this would be mid-December.

Clutch: They did say that. But Rockets did also say this is all year long, strict minute count. Right now, not sure.

Would they take it faster if they're 10 games under .500? Would they consider trading him?

Clutch: It's interesting. BimaThug wrote an article on CF and made some great points. If they renounced everyone, only 10 mil in cap room. 10 mil for Yao Ming if he can give you 15-8, that is probably good.

How much a year?

Clutch: That's what I'm saying. You have to compare what you can get for that production.

4 mil, 2 years for Dampier?

I believe so but he is older.

With Yao, it's sucks, it's unfortunate. This injury wasnt because of the foot but a freak thing. This is tough to talk about so early but you have to. Going into the season, Morey said this team is bult to play around Yao. So this isnt fair.

Are they really built around Yao?

Clutch: This year - we talk about who they tried to get - they planned on having a team without Yao for stretches. They do have guys who you would think don't fit the Yao style. More so the JVG Rockets. They've always compared it to Kareem Lakers. Though, we havent had enough time to draw a conclusion. They needed to get out to a good start and that hasnt happened.

Carmelo aint coming here. And I wouldnt rent him.

Clutch: Yeah, it's high risk. They did do it with Ron. They probably looked at it as a bonus there. They need to get out of the gate strong and hasnt happened. But we havent and cant answer yet if the pieces fit with Yao.

What is Morey's style? Obviously numbers based.

I wanna pause at numbers based. He got biggest scouting department in the NBA. He uses scouting to justify the numbers. He got the biggest staff there.

What kind of talent does he find? Like Landry, Budinger, etc. Players coaches can work with. They're nice pieces. If you have all these pieces and do nothing with them and sub-par team, what does that say?

Daryl has excelled at acquiring these pieces for nothing.

He started with crap.

Clutch: I look at 07 season, he went into that year and thought he would have to lose Shane to get a PF. He got 2 in the draft and Scola. That's what he does. He hasnt had that homerun yet. He looks at numbers but he got a great team. He relies heavily on his staff.

They're more like a baseball team.

That's not what I'm dogging but there is so many pieces to work with Yao or Carmelo or LeBron, whatever. These pieces by themselves are what they are.

Timing - timing has not worked in Daryl's favor. Ron Artest was a great addition to a team that had a healthy McGrady and Yao. He built a team that would have been great the year before. He does it for the moment and future. what he does is sees his situation and tries to improve it. No one thought Tracy would rapidly decline. Tough to judge Morey on W-Ls. He turned a 23rd pick into a star PG. Landry into a key piece to get Martin. He's turning nothing into something and hoping something meshes into something.

Clutch: Look at the Spurs. Got a core. Had a core that has been rock solid and healthy. What he(Morey) has done, he had 2 very good players that would be a foundation. That hasnt happened and thats where he/it failed. Now we're stuck with role players.

[Talking about the Houston sports owners]

Les has proven since 92 that he will make a move, give his GM to make a move to win a championship. Always been that way. Drayton wants to win but hasnt different vision. So does Bob. Les style has worked.

Clutch: He inherited a great team. A great owner who always tries to bring in star players. He always tries to make that big splash. I'm happy with him. Some knock him because not paying the LT. The LT would have been a negative for the Rockets. Perhaps not get Chase and other guys. He has been a terrific owner. Which direction do we go in? That's to be determined by February.

[Fan]: I blame Morey. This team is trash. No pieces people want.

I disagree. We got people pieces want.

...

Talking about Battier and pieces to move. A lot of pieces. Perhaps how these pieces fit with Yao or moving these pieces. If teams want Shane so much, his play has declined.

I dont know if they want him right this second. He was attractive in the past, he may be so towards the deadline.

Clutch: He def. can be dealt. Any time that a team is contending, they can use a solid/vet player. His numbers are down but they can use a vet/leader like him. Only would be a few months rental for a team. Detroit - He is from that area. He wants to finish his career there. Contending teams would be interested in him as a contract and player. He can be moved.

Can we do something? Memo to Rick Adelman. Can we put something out saying no more Chuck/Shane on the floor at the same time. They are liabilities on offense. The Rockets score big but they arent coming throughout the game. The offense is...put the best product on the floor if you know your D sucks.

Clutch: Yeah, looking at a few games, in GS and against PHX, you started Battier and Hayes. Gave up 130 against GS and 123 against PHX. You have to ask, what impact did they have? They are there to slow the opponents down and dont contribute much on O.

They give up a lot of points because...yeah they're D sucks but..because of amount of possessions.

Clutch: Yeah. Pace has had an impact. Seemed like they were rebounding. Dropped 4 in a row. 4 L - pace has played a role. It's not just pace but their opponents killing them from the field.

Rockets 3-10. No positives. If this goes on, what point do they consider this a lost season. How far under?

Clutch: Thats a good question. West is strong. They have to turn it around before Yao gets back. The exact number? I dont know. They may take a look by January. I dont wanna sit here and say Morey is a genius but I think they're positioned to go either way. They can go a variety of ways. They didnt flip the Knicks picks. They can go young. They have guys here they can move in either direction.

Say they go young, anyone lose their job? Coaches or anyone?

Clutch: I dont think necessarily so because he(Rick) didnt do well but...Rick may not want to go in a young direction or into rebuilding. He came here with Yao and T-Mac and wanting to win or expecting to win. Nothing to base that on, just my hunch there.

How does the rest of the month play out. Take me through Jan. 1st. Surprised how little Miller plays?

Clutch: Surprised in general. Adelman still trying to figure it out. He is playing matchups.

See Daryl saying something to Adelman if things get out of hand? We have to find out about these guys.

Clutch: That was a frustration early on. Hill is inconsistent. Sometimes not in the right spot. He is still learning. He can hurt you out there sometimes. Hill does need time. Either gotta move him in a deal or find out if he's ready to contribute.

Monday or Tuesdays No Layups?

Clutch: Good either way.

 

Love Yao but NO WAY you can trust him even if he returns healthy. If your going to spend the 10 millionish in cap room on a center then force the Griz to choose between Gasol and Randolph, sign Marc to a 10 million dollar offer sheet and see what happens.

 

First of all, the 10 mil figure is based on a LOT of assumptions (read my article for them).

Second, if the Rockets renounced their rights to Yao to go after Gasol, they run the risk that Memphis matches, another team swoops in to steal Yao in the interim, and Houston is left with nothing.