people were worried about the chemistry not being the same after bobby wasn't coming back. ...then after JB... ...then after Juwon... ...then after JVG... i know a lot of us are worried about deke retiring. i have news for you guys. our teams chemistry has nothing to do with the coach or any of the role players. i credit the two leaders of the team. yao and tmac. having two of the most unselfish stars has made everyone who plays on this team feel like a part of the team. to see mike harris added to the team more than half way through the win streak and still standing on the sidelines waving a towel is great. which brings me to my next point. our winning streak. a lot of us will defend our easy schedule, and rightfully so. easy or not, only one team has ever won more in a row. and how did they do it? every night undersized, and undertalented (i made up that word). they managed to keep winning through a major adjustment/loss to playing without yao. they kept winning through injuries to suporting players. they kept winning through a trade that forced them to adjust yet again. all of this was done because everyone on this team, down to harris and woods, believed they were a part of the rockets. so it really didn't matter who was playing and who wasn't, they were still going to play to win. it all leads back to chemistry and leadership. now i've been as hard on tmac as most have been, but i credit our success this year and our overall team chemistry, and heart, to tmac and yao's unselfish leadership.
Deke has been the core chemistry machine for the Rockets. You have to love him, he is so enthusiastic, so full of energy. Once Mutombo is gone, no one can replace him. We need to somehow get him to stay with the Rockets no matter what. The chemistry will remain no matter what, and I agree with you Yao and McGrady will carry it on.
With 15 guys on the roster, someone will always be there to lead obviously. But numerous players and coaches said they'd never seen a group as tight-knit as this one, that Super Bowl party being one of the examples I recall. I think in this group, the major leaders are Battier and Dikembe. Next year Scola will also emerge. The two superstars Yao and Tracy are a given but not as vocal as the other three I mentioned.
Put Deke as a bench coach.. seriously tell him we will hire him to teach Rox to rebound in practice and offer him a deal that will help him build his hospital in Africa
