The Difference between the good and bad...

Now that the Rockets appear to be in the land of the lottery. Let's take a look at what makes the difference between the teams who stay there on a consistent basis (Clippers, Mavericks, Nets, Celtics-in the 90s, Warriors, Wizards ect) and those who are there for maybe one season and then back among the playoff contenders.

1. Consistent coaching situation

How many coacheses have the Clippers and Mavericks had since the made the playoffs last. How many coaches have teams like the Jazz had since the last time they missed the playoffs? A great amount of the Rockets struggles this season could be pinned on the lack of continuity of the players (due to injuries, trades, ect). The last thing you want to do is exacerbate the situation by creating a rotating door of coaches. This doesn't mean that Rudy shouldn't be held accountable at some point. But he shouldn't be fired on a whim and we would have to be extremely careful about who we chose to replace him.

2. No quick fixes

I would hate to be a fan of a team like the Mavs or Clippers. Everytime they get a good young team going they make a shortsighted trade in the hopes that they can reach the playoffs. We've seen lots of topics like "Who can we get in a trade for a 4?" and "What would we have to trade for a starting three?" Hopefully, the Rockets don't subscribe to this kind of thinking. It's one thing to make a great trade like the Francis trade to make the future brighter. It's something else entirely to sacrifice the future to bring in a veteran who may make this year less painful, but make the future less bright.

3. Change your thinking and stick with it.

It is absolutely assinine to expect players with different kinds of talents to do the types of things that other players could. Expecting Kelvin Cato, Carlos Rogers, or Thomas Hamilton to draw double teams or even beat their man consistently one on one. Jumbling up the lineup isn't going to help either. You simply can't get any continuity that way. Plus, asking guys like Cato to be what Hakeem or Charles were takes away from what they can really do. Whenever you have a team in our situation you need to stop worrying about wins or losses. What you need to worry about is getting your players of the future to focus on doing the things they need to make the team work. For example, tell Cato to focus on rebounding. If he can make it a personal goal to get ten rebounds a game then he will be a lot more successful and the team will be more successful in turn. If you continue to keep Hamilton focused on dropping 15-20 more pounds then he will continue to get better and the team will get better with him. If we can get Francis to focus on getting his teammates involved and try to average ten assists a game then he will get better and we will get better. Individual goals are not bad as long as they forward the goals of the team. What is wrong is to continue to put winning as the goal. Then, each player will try to do more than they can do because we aren't meeting the goals of the team. If each player focuses on reaching a personal goal that is reachable (maybe 8 assists a game is more plausible for Francis) then this team will win some games because of it.

4. Draft Smart

This has to be renamed the Mavericks principle. Only a team that has spent their last five drafts making stupid deals and picking a team of foreigners can be a true example of what not to do. When your a lottery team you have to focus on the value of the pick and not necessarily the position. For example, a lot of people on this board have talked about picking a big man. I'm not necessarily against that, but this particular draft is really strong in threes. If your choice is between a potential star like Terrence Morris and a solid big man then you pick the potential star everyday of the week.
5. Stick with defined roles

This pertains directly to the Cattino Mobley situation. People here have been clamoring for him to start at two guard for such a long time that I'm beginning to become sick of it. There are many reasons why this shouldn't happen. First, it isn't what you're going to do next year. Let's say that we're lucky and are able to take Morris. Then, either Anderson or Mobley would go back to the bench. Since Mobley has been effective there he would be the likely choice. Secondly, there is a reason he is there in the first place. Starting Anderson at the three and Mobley at the two gives most teams a size advantage at those two spots. That means that your defense suffers in the process. You also have to consider that Mobley and Francis give you two shooters in the lineup at the same time. When you're starting backcourt shoots the ball 33 times and misses two thirds of them you're not going to win. I know everyone is fed up with Walt Williams, but unfortunately he is all we have right now. All we can do is hope the draft will give us a better solution next year.

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Rockets When? Rockets When?

 

Rocketsfan,

I think we've started something that probably should go into a different thread because this is an interesting debate and I can see exactly where you are coming from. What is better? Two players who you can immediately add to your rotation, or one guy who will be a centerpiece for the future.

What's better? Two solid players or one very good one? Tough choice.

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Rockets When? Rockets When?

 

My point is that you start neither Drew or Mobley. You continue to start Walt Williams. For one, it keeps everyone in their accustomed roles and it also keeps Walt Williams on the floor. At some point he'll start shooting well and some teams may come calling for that. If he continues to get DNP- Coach's decision then no one will want him and he will be a waste.

As for the draft situation, I have to disagree wholeheartedly. Why not jump and get someone who you know is going to be a very good player instead of picking two guys who you hope will be solid contributors. I'm not sold on Kenyon Martin. He is a great college defender, but that doesn't always translate to the pro game. That's especially true at his size. Porter is much the same way. Morris has a pro game and pro size at the 3. I would rather trade up to get the proven commodity rather than drafting two unproven commodities.


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Rockets When? Rockets When?