Alright, I haven't been here a while but I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it just ocurred to me that we're not very talented. Seriously. Steve and Yao aren't that good, they would struggle to score anything more than 25ppg even on a bad team. At least we know Yao is on his way up, constantly improving. Steve's another story, he may have reached the peak of his potential as a traditional PG. But looking at the team, we're decent, but not very talented: Yao, Steve, MoT, Cato, JJ, Pike, Mobley, MJ, AG, Spoon. We'd be pretty DAMN good if Griffin was clean and was improving towards being 20/10 in his 4th season, but that didn't happen. Kandi/KG/Wally/Spree/Cassell/Hudson Shaq/Malone/Fox/George/Kobe/Payton/Fisher Miller/Divac/Webber/Stojakovic/Christie/Bibby/Jackson Nowitzki/Jamison/Walker/Finley/Nash/Howard/Fortson Wright/Gasol/Swift/Posey/Miller/Bonzi/J-Will/Watson/Battier Pollard/O'Neal/Artest/Bender/Harrington/Miller/Tinsley/Anderson Radomanovic/Lewis/Allen/Barry/Daniels/Ridnour/Murray Duncan/Rasho/Turkoglu/Bowen/Ginobili/Parker/Mercer Ben Wallace/Rasheed/Chauncey/Rip/Prince/Okur/Milicic Davis/Ratliff/Randoph/SAR/Miles/Woods/DA/Stoudamire So, when you think about it, we're around 10th in terms of talent (that's being generous), and I believe we're somewhere around 10th in the league standings. So why do I always hear how this team is so talented and should be banging with the big boys of the league? We should've gotten our hands on Rasheed. We could've. Nothing was offered in that deal that we couldn't match without losing a major piece. This summer, we need to add talent. Not add and subtract, no, we need to ADD. We need to sign Sheed and lose nothing, then we can seriously think about homecourt advantage and building a championship team.
IMO, the team has enough talent. In fact every NBA has good talent. Mental qualities like intelligence, heart, desire, chemistry are what's separating good teams from bad ones at this high level. Right now the Rox are lacking smart players. Besides the two Jacksons and Yao the majority of the team are composed of players that can't see the floor properly and don't have good composure at clutch time or when good opponents raise the level of intensity up a notch. The reason why the Kings are so good is becuase every member on their team is very high in basketball intelligence. Everyone knows where to go and what to do on the floor and they play the game efficiently. On the other hand The Rox espacially the guards have a tendancy to play the game more difficultly than it is. For instance I have no idea why Mobley and Francis were driving hard and deep into the zone. They were just driving into a sea of enemies and not making anything out of it when they could just relax and swing the ball around to an open player like a college game.
In the offseason the Rox should go after some smart players. I really think they should go after Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls. That kid is gonna become something speical. I would suggest trading SF3 and Taylor to Chi town for Hinrich, AD, and JYD.
It's not about being smart or knowing the system. It's not about hardwork anymore, EVERYONE is working hard on our team. This team just doesnt have enough PURE talent to be better than what they are at the moment. They have the talent of a 7th seed in the West. Everyone has talent, no doubt, but there's a big difference between Dallas and Atlanta for example. Getting smart players will improve this team, but trading one of our more talented players (Steve) for someone who's merely "smart" will end this team's hopes. Put Hinrich at the helm, everyone else will suffer because Hinrich doesn't receive half the attention that Steve does from opposing coaches. If we want to be better than 7th, we need more talent. If we do better than 7th, we'd be overachieving. If anything, we need to deal Mobley for Hinrich, or Francis for Hinrich and Chandler. We need to get more talented. Getting smarter is another prokect altogether, getting smarter is the difference between 1st and 2nd, not 7th and 1st.
I'll take that too. But since when is talent and smarts mutually exclusive? I think you are underestimating the babybull rookie. He scored 25 pts and 9 assists two days ago vs Memphis. He's no slouch. So, like you said...we need to improve on BOTH smarts and talent... PG - Hinrich/MJ SG - Cat <---his ppg would increase! SF - JJ/Boki PF - Chandler/MoT C - Yao/Cato ...that is a better team than we have now.
Oh PLEASE!!! The Bulls won't let him go, he's the ONLY bright spot they have on that sad sack team. They'll give you Jay Williams however. These trade suggestions are beyond stupid as if the other GMs are as pathetic as CD.
What do you mean the Rockets are over rated? Just look at the contracts on that team. You think players would be getting pay checks like that if they didn't deserve it..... Raven (counting the years until Cato's contract expires)
We are not that talented, but our players think they are. After the game, they blamed the lost to the Zone defense, stating that Zone defense should not be allowed in NBA playbook, bah bah bah!!!!. Folks, It is not the zone that killed us, it is our players who determine to shoot first that cause our collapse. There are tons of time they elected to jack up either the long bomb or try the toughest shot. If they sticked to the concept of passing to inside and outside, the game will be in our favor. Dallas has no one that can match Yao inside, if he is double teamed, he can pass to the open man for an easy shot. It is sad that the Rock doesn't know what is their best weapon even today. Signed.
Dallas is loaded w/ talent but nothing. Some have argued the 94 Rox were the most talentless, as a group, champions ever. You know the one factor that always seems to be present in contending teams. Strong veterans. Outside of that, you need talent... smarts... chemistry... luck and experience. You mix all that together in a bowl just right, only then will you contend.
We clearly don't have as much accumulative talent as many teams, but our talent distribution is favorable. Most of it is distributed between 2 or 3 players, and the top 2 are a very young, very developing center, and a still young, currently struggling point guard with remarkable all around skills, but n Achilles heel when it comes to vision and passing. You can go two routes in basketball; you can accumulate loads of fairly evenly distributed talent, as Sacramento and Dallas do, or as Portalnd did a few years back, or you can have concentrated talent. If anything the latter has proven more successfull. In the head to head matchups, the teams with the top stars and lesser support players have, recently, gone farther than those with an embarassment of riches spread throughout the roster; LA over Portland, LA over Sac, SA over Dallas, Hou over Phoe, etc. etc. When you look around the league for the succcessor to Shaq/Kobe as the league's best 1-2 punch, I would think many observors would put Houston very high on the list, provided they can find compatibility. But another key reason why we should transcend our on paper talent rating is that we are among the very few teams to possess a dominant center. Sort of like being one of the few teams with a great QB, it tends to elevate your status, if used properly.
When we lost Griffin, our track to the championship fell short. But, we have other options toward that goal. Our key pieces have key pieces missing. Yao has the intelligence, court awareness and talent, but not the dominance and consistent energy. If he develops into the best player in the game, with a discipline to dominate every night, and some rest in the off-season, he could lead us to many championships, regardless of the rest of the supporting members of the team. Ewing has been a help, but I wish we had Jabbar teaching him the skyhook. Steve has the talent and intelligence, just not the basketball intelligence and court awareness. If Steve were to study the game, ala Oscar Robertson, and subject his highlight moves to intelligent consistency, he could lead us to championships. Why haven't we hired Oscar Robertson or John Lucas to tutor Stevie? The problem is that Steve never stayed anywhere long enough before he became a pro to learn the game properly. Cato and Mo are one dimensional. Our two headed PF has been productive enough, just bipolar in terms of offense or defense. We only have one or the other in the game at a time. If we picked up a PF who could compete with the PFs in the West, without losing our core, such as a Wallace, I believe we could win championships. I'm hoping this is what our exception will bring us this summer, and glad we didn't panic before the trade deadline. Jax was the perfect veteran addition to bring some balance to this team for the next couple years, but he's not a long term solution for going to championships. Maybe Boki will step up by then, or Phoenix wants him enough to get us Marion somehow, using the exception or other players or picks. I know, I'm dreaming. But, I really like Marion. Even though Posey might turn into a great SF, I'm glad that the Rockets finally quit paying too much for guys that haven't proven they're worth it. Our FA signings this year were great value, even if Pike never steps it up. I hope CD continues this type shrewdness. Otherwise, we have to realize that Cat and Steve aren't getting any younger, and unload Steve, Cat, Cato and Mo for younger talent to rebuild around Yao. Yao is our superstar future. Everyone else can be bartered. We'd delay our championship hopes for a few years, but in 4 or 5 years, we'd be competing with it for the next 7 or 8 years. Something like Steve and Cato to Chicago for Hinrich, Chandler and their #1, which we use to take Ekafor. Cato can bring us a good up and coming PG, especiallly from the East, since he'd start for most East teams. Steve can bring us a star PF, although if Orlando would give us McGrady from anyone else on our team besides Yao, I'd do that one. JVG might not be the nicest guy, but he's kicking the excuses out the door, and raising the standard to a new level for night in night out excellence, from players who just got used to losing. I like that. I like that he's smart as a coach, and can often make adjustments throughout a game to beat the other team. We didn't have those two things with Rudy. But, once these guys are properly trained and develop consistent discipline, which Rudy didn't have the ability to do, it would not surprise me to see Rudy back at the helm, and I think he'd actually do a better job leading us to more championships with veteran players.Maybe JVG can do that, but he doesn't feel like a leader to me, someone who could inspire everyone to be all they can be. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling, JVG will wear thin and wear out his welcome here. I'm probably too nostalgic, but maybe JVG's contract was three years for a good reason, long enough to teach and train the younger players, and for Rudy to get his health and vitallity back. I really don't want him coaching somewhere else. It just wouldn't seem right. He's what the Rocket's are all about, and has the heart of a champion.
Strathead You have now jumped to the top of my Christmass gift list. Welcome! You get it. We don't have enough smart players especially at the key positions.
Sane...in my previous post, I did mean to add that, the loss of Eddie's potential does, IMO, greatly reduce the odds that we will be a dominant team without the kind of addtion of talent you metioned. I was just arguing D's A on whether or not we should be performing better than we are based on talent alone.
Totally disagree. Yao is one of the very few players in the league that absolutely cannot be stopped by a single defenders. If he's playing well - he can single-handedly destroy teams that don't double him. That's talent - and rare talent. Francis, whatever else you think of him, is probably one of the 10 or so best scorers in the league. And I'd wager a great deal he could get 25 points whenever he wanted to, if he was willing to devote all of his resources to scoring. In addition to two stars, Cat and Mo Taylor both have significant talent. After that, there's not too much... but I think in terms of pure ability, the Rockets should be about 5th or 6th, overall. Above us, definitely the Timberwolves, Lakers, and Mavericks. That's about it, actually. I think the pure ability of our players is probably on par with the Kings (minus Webber) and Spurs.
You're right Sane. We're not that talented. Yao is good. Francis is good. JJ is falling off, Cat is erratic (average player), Cato is an offensive liability and can't pass, MoT is okay but also inconsistent. We need some COMPLETE players! People who know how to play basketball. The Spurs aren't that talented. We have more talent than the Spurs. All the Spurs is: one awesome player and a bunch of other players who would be crappy elsewhere but are really good at playing their roles.
haven, You bring up some good points. Let me run a few things by you and see what you think... One-on-one ability: What is it? Well, it could be an physical ability to get by single-coverage and hit the shot. I feel that while Yao doesn't have the speed that Francis has, he's able to overcome that with his height and shooting ability on a one-on-one basis. So, in my judgment, Yao is a better one-on-one player. Francis, using his speed and quickness, might get *by* his opponent, but shoots worse which lessens his effectiveness in the one-on-one situation in the first place. I mean, true one-on-one situations don't occur that often. In a perfect world, maybe, but not in the real world of collapsing defenses and zones. I know that I'm splitting hairs now between Yao and Francis...but let me go on... Lets get into another area...one that's lacking in today's NBA...and that is, "What does a player do when he's double-teamed?" Double-team ability: What is it? Well, it could be a mental ability to see the court, to recognize double-teams, and to hit the open man at the right time. A players ability to do this efficiently is what separates the good players from the great ones. And this is where I think that Francis LACKS greatly! He's not very good a learning how to deal with the double-team, after it happens. In fact, I think he's delusional about his OWN one-on-one abilities. What I mean is this... He *thinks* that his one-on-one ability is sooooo great, that he's good enough to beat most double-teams. Or should I say, one-on-TWO. <---this is a problem. He's not that good. But he thinks he is. Yao recognizes his limits. And he doesn't have delusions of his own ability. He doesn't press the double-teams. He doesn't try to go one-on-TWO. And that's a distinction about that phrase, "Make you teammate better." It's a natural tendency to look for your teammates when the double-team occurs. As opposed to having a natrual tendency to try and beat the double-team. Sure, Yao is not there yet. But he is learning after two years in the league. That's why people get caught up in points. Sometimes that's all they see. But it's what those "great scorers" do after they are double and tripped that's important. That's what makes them "great." They know how to adapt to each situation as it comes and not rely on just scoring ability, however efficient shooter they may be.
C'mon people. face it. Rockets live by pure LUCK. they win if the defense is sluggish. that's it. it's not Yao's skill that makes them win but his CHARM. the defense gets overwhelmed.
