Jeff, please stay!

It was a close series and actually it was so close that ONE reversed call from the ref might have changed the outcome. This is why we are still so upset and feel the Rockets should be able to advance to the next round. This is why so many “if”. This is why some of Jeff’s mistakes are being magnified and then hammered again and again by many fans. However, this won't change the fact that the Jazz is a better team and Jeff is a good coach.

People blame Jeff not able to bring the Rockets to the next level. But look at our players other than Yao and TMAC, what kind of next level they can achieve? I am not seeing it, not even if they advanced to the next round. There are major flaws in the current roster: severely undersize and lack of speed. During the regular season, beside the Suns, which was the other team that the Rockets struggled to match up against? It was the Hornets, a team that did not even make the playoff! What do the Hornets and the Jazz have in common? A great pg and a good pf that can shoot from mid-range. These two positions, in the contrary, are the weakest link of the Rockets.

As everybody knows, the Rockets offense scheme is “inside-out”. The broad area between the paint and the three-point line is supposed to be the stage for TMAC to shine. He is our playmaker and is supposed to link up our offense. On his way to the basket, he has the choices to kick the ball out to our three point shooters (shane, RA, Head), to feed our guys under the basket (Chuck, Yao), or to finish by himself. However, TMAC has been slowed down by his back and settles more on the “out” game (jump shooting). That is when the Rockets’ offense becomes “boring” and “predictable”. In this offense system, Yao is supposed to be the finisher, a high percentage finisher who is going to force double-team and create room for other Rockets’ players. But both players, especially Yao, did not accomplish their tasks satisfactorily during the series due to their injuries. When our star players struggled like that, the current supporting cast was just incapable to make up. I can’t really blame the coach for that.

Also, I won’t blame the coach on not developing young talent. When our two star players combined missed 40+ games during a season, to survive in the wild wild west, there was not much margin for Jeff to play try-and-error. And indeed, he tried. Earlier in the season, Snyder was getting some pretty decent play time, the minutes supposed for Bonzi, until he broke his hand in Knicks game. After that, it was Span who picked up most of Snyder’s minutes until he got beat so badly by Damon Stoudamire during a Grizzlies game. Yao’s injury in December just forced the team to totally change the plan and focus on winning each individual game. Frankly, I bet no one in the clutch town had expected the Rockets would play that well during the stretch without Yao. Certainly TMAC played phenomenally and Juwan, Deke stepped up, but please give credit to the coach as well.

Be real, TMAC and Yao are not going anywhere unless they demand a trade. TMAC is on his decline and Yao won’t be much better than the one we saw in the early season. Rockets’ goal is still the same as when they traded Rudy Gay for Shane: Win Now! The players need to be shuffled to address those two flaws but getting a new coach is more like a far cry. And Jeff’s “slow pace, defense oriented” game gives Rockets the best chance: Hang in there tough and you will have a chance to win the game in the end! That is exactly how the Rockets won their games and even beat some elite teams with the current “scrub” players. With Yao on board as the franchise player, this team will never play Suns, Warriors type of game. The coach is heading to a correct direction when getting Shane. With several other proper additions, this team can be another “Spurs”.

Jeff, please stay to finish your business!