Great article by Henry Abbott about what the Rockets have done to get here, and some questions about how things will work going forward. I think this is a great discussion piece. How exactly will things work with players and coaches? Do we have all the pieces? If not, what else do we need? I'll just post the link since the article is a little too long to quote, as it covers a lot of things about our team. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/61021/what-exactly-have-the-rockets-created
TrueHoop still does respectable work. Abbott himself is kind of a analytics guy... Always at the Sloan Conference with Morey. The article itself is definitely readable. Instead of reaching for definitive extremist statements he more so goes over a lot of the aspects with our team and asks some questions.
Some of the main questions addressed in the article are: Is Dwight Howard healthy? Can the Rockets still play fast? The Omer Asik issue Coaching Will there be enough basketballs? A roster with little wiggle room
If we can put down the rose colored glasses for a second, Abbott does bring up some profound questions. It can be argued that Asik was our most valuable player last season right behind James Harden. His effort night in and night out is something that can't be ignored now that we got Dwight. As much as Dwight is talented, he can sometimes psych himself out of giving 100% effort every position due to his frustration from not getting the ball, getting hacked, and arguing fouls. Losing his cool isn't something that Asik does. Asik puts his head down and sprints back down the floor everytime. He's got strong resolve as evidenced by Hack-a-Asik in the playoffs, something I haven't seen Dwight overcome. Will Dwight sprint down the floor every trip and get deep post position? Will he fight on the offensive glass? Will he get frustrated when teams intentionally foul him and foul him hard? These are thought provoking questions that Abbott alludes to. Which is why Asik is still a very very important piece on the team; to lead the bench mob and to spell Dwight if he's having a bad night.
The more I read and think about the whole situation. We should hold on to Asik until we have a team identity solidified and see whether Asik is a part of it.
What do they mean by "One thing that could happen, though, is that the Rockets could win a title in the next few years, which is new, and a credit to the franchise." Is he forgetting we won two championships?
I think he means that where we were as a team only a few years ago vs now, we have come a long ways. From potential lottery team to a potential championship contender in only a few years, really says something about this organization. I have complete and utter confidence in Daryl Morey and Les Alexander. I think that they know how to make the small moves to get the big guns. We will get another superstar for Asik. I just don't know which one. I can't wait until the season starts. I really want to see how everyone meshes together. Red Nation!! Let's Go!
Abbott left out Howard's upgrade on offense over Asik, which to me is more influential than his upgrade on defense.
Yeah, McHale/Morey have to convince Asik to give it one season. They should give him enough details to show him how he can continue to flourish and not just go back to being a backup like in Chicago.
Howard knows he has no excuses. I'm excited that (out of the three teams: Orlando, Lakers and now Rockets) that he'll have his most productive season with the Rockets. He'll be playing with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Nearly 20 Years ago. And it's been 15+ years since the team has even been considered a legitimate contender. I'd say "new" is an understatement.
I too think that Dwight will be very productive for us and have a better year than he did in LA... Taking into account that he'll be healthy and happy. I also hope we're able to convince Asik to play the back up role... The idea of having 48 minutes of elite paint protection and rebounding really makes me smile. If somehow a deal comes along where we can turn Asik into another contributing star, say at PF, then we definitely have to pull the trigger but we shouldn't move him for the sake of it. I really want to see how our coaching staff handles all this. We're going to need to implement some more set plays while also keeping our tempo up. McHale is really going to have to step up his game and get a plan together that everyone can agree on. I think Howard and Harden will work really well together, but there has to be a solid strategy for the entire team.
Not really. A stretched out article that says absolutely nothing new that hasn't already been said nor understood by the average fan. The article then finally summarizes with "We simply don't know what will happen. One thing that could happen, though, is that the Rockets could win a title in the next few years". Really? It took several paragraphs to summarize this? Why not actually get off the fence & give an opinion one way or the other with basketball reasons & evidence to support a theory? Very ordinary journalism again for ESPN, surprise, surprise.
One thing many have forgotten was that Asik was a better defender in Chicago than he was here. He was more aggressive, flying around getting more blocks, getting more fouls. The Houston version of Asik is a tamed version that tried to manage his longer minutes and fouls because we had no one to back him up. So yes, technically with Howard here, he's causing Asik to go from ~30mpg down to ~20mpg. But that 20mpg of Asik is going to be higher quality than what we had the past season.
Interesting and very cool point. I also like the idea of being able to keep some of the wear and tear off of Dwight by having such a formidable back up. 28 to 30 mil combined is a lot to pay for the center position but since we've already got it, let's run with it.
weird science! it's alive. daryl created chandler parsons from some old IBM software. It explains a lot if you think about it.
Thanks for posting the article. I do wonder what kind of shape Howard will be in this coming season. The article suggests that he's basically going to be a slightly gimped version of his old self. Does anyone have any information about recovering from his past injury? I hope Howard's willing to run the floor and keep our up-tempo offense going. Between he and Asik, we should be able to keep the defense honest unlike the previous season wherein we looked like a layup drill without Asik on the floor or does he ask the coaching staff to slow us down. So many questions to ask.
