Rockets standing pat through end of season By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle This is the team. No trades. No changes. Thirty games. Good or bad, or whatever the Rockets should make of themselves, they will play their current hand, coach Jeff Van Gundy said, and then measure themselves by their 30-game "second-half." The Rockets are so set on their current makeup, that with trade rumors, suggestions and speculation swirling around Steve Francis throughout the All Star weekend, Van Gundy said he called his point guard in Los Angeles to tell him he could relax. "I read a couple of rumors so I just called him up," Van Gundy said. "There's very few times you can tell somebody he's not being traded, because it's open season. Everybody can be traded. Everybody can be fired. But our team is going to be our team, I would think, going forward, and certainly Steve, I can't see any possibility of him being traded here right now. "I think he knows that. I was just telling him. There's going to be rumors about every good player. Any rumor can be started, so certainly there's some about Steve. I'm sure there's going to be some about other guys. All I'm saying is, I would be shocked if this wasn't the team as we go forward. That's how I'm planning. "I would think this is the team we're going forward with. Carroll (Dawson, the Rockets' general manager) hasn't brought anything to me. I think we'll be the same team after the deadline, and that's not a bad thing." Rockets management has clearly wanted to end the speculation about Francis since his one-game suspension for missing a team flight to Phoenix. Dawson said on Saturday, "I haven't talked to anybody about anything involving Steve." But the rumors persisted to the point that 76ers star Allen Iverson, himself the subject of a reported deal to the Rockets for Francis, offered Francis advice on dealing with having his name caught up in trade rumors. "I don't care. I talked to some players over the weekend who ... (have) been rumored to be traded for years," Francis said. "The best advice I got is `When you wake up and you're traded, that's when you worry about it.' Until then, you're content with where you're at, and you keep playing. "To me, I'd love to be here, but you never know what can happen. The NBA is a business. Some of the best players have been traded. If that's what it is, I'm willing to be man enough to face that. Whatever happens." But since that is all but certainly not going to happen by Thursday's 2 p.m. trade deadline, and with another form of roster shakeup nearly as unlikely, the remaining 30 regular-season games could determine whether the Rockets will be willing to keep their roster together long-term or rebuild. In a tie with Memphis for sixth-place in the Western Conference heading into tonight's game with the Wizards, the Rockets have a 4 1/2-game cushion on Utah, the next closest challenger for a playoff spot. "It will be a test, these 30 games," Francis said. "We want to be consistent, and we want to hit a stride in these 30 games. I'm not going to say it'll make or break us, but it will be a time to tell us where we stand." Asked if the team must prove in the remaining games this season that it should remain together, Francis said, "I know that for sure. It's definitely going to determine the makeup of this team in the next couple of years." As for the next couple of months, the Rockets will be tested as they have not been so far. Of their remaining 30 games, 24 are against Western Conference teams, and half are against teams in position to make the playoffs. "Our whole goal from the beginning of the year is to be in the playoffs," Rockets forward Jim Jackson said. "We're in a position now, when we play well, we can play with anybody. Anything short of that will be a disappointment. "We have to be focused. We have 30 games to make a move. You want to be in a position to get a really good seed." If there is any area in which the Rockets said they must improve after the break, it's consistency. They reached the break winning four of five games, but they lost four in a row before that streak. With the season ending with 11 of 16 games on the road, the Rockets might need a cushion. "I think we're in a good position right now," forward Maurice Taylor said. "And the way our conference is, if we don't play well, we can be on the outside looking in. I think our chance is as good as anyone four through eight. We went into the break winning four out of five. That's always encouraging. We just have to get better. I feel we're going to make the playoffs. I think it will happen for us. I'm confident about our team." The front office apparently feels the same. How the team's management feels after the season is to be determined. "I think certainly, myself included, we should all be judged by the results," Van Gundy said. "There's nothing wrong with that. We should look forward to that. I'm excited about tomorrow, about the four (games) in five nights after that (beginning Saturday in Dallas), playing great teams the rest of the way. I'm excited about that." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2405565
well that should squash any rumors. trading francis during his BYC doesn't make sense anyways. we all know what this team is capable of. it's just a matter of consistency now. here's to praying for some in the second half.
Consistency would be great. It should come more too, with the guys having a few months behind them now.
You know, our schedule looks pretty friendly the rest of the way too. March has some tough teams, but all in all we really ought to do well the rest of the way. Especially if we can start beating the Grizzlies. jeez.
The Rockets magic # for making the playoffs is 26 against utah seattle & portland and 25 against the warriors. Start counting!
good call rox.... guys like steve are hard to come by. i don't care what other people say...this guy is simply too talented to be doing this badly. his work ethic is great and his leadership for the team is great. mistakes have been made and lets just hope this makes the team stronger. JVG has been great for the team even though he has been harsh at times. he doesn't let crap slide anymore and he is turning these kids into men. our team is as talented as ANYONE in the west...now we need to start showing it. time to start kicking ass rockets...no more games. its showtime.
This is great. Now we can finally put all those trade rumors to rest. Like it or not, this is the team that we have and we are stuck with it. Lets go Rockets!!
THANK GOD! Just say no to Allen Iverson. Iverson's a great player, but we don't need to trade Stevie for him. And I'm glad Van Gundy called Steve to squad those rumors. This team is in the driver's seat for a playoff spot. Unlike last year, this team is far more mature and disciplined and ready to finish the season strong, especially with Yao having a full season and a half of experience and getting physically stronger, same goes for Mo, and the addition of Jimmy Jackson. We're going to the playoffs this year so don't trade Steve, or Cat or even Cato.
The Rox is having a 5 games advantage for the last Playoffs spot right now. SO they should build upon it and play every game as if it's their to take and don't thinking ahead. They should think of winning every SINGLE game from now on and just think positive and they should be alright.
I want Okafor as well, how can the Rockets get there hands on him in the off-season? I would seriously think about giving up Ming in order to make it happen.
I can't see us putting together any consistency now that I look at the schedule. However, I do believe we can go16-14 the rest of the way, good enough to lock up 6th seed. Memphis are a very deep team. They're built to have more energy when it's needed, with 2 capable players at every position. Now that there's 30 games to go, they can up the important players'minutes, especially the ones who clearly are playing well, and go to war with that the rest of the season with relatively fresh legs. No one else to worry about. I would be shocked if we snatched 5th, but I'm hoping we grab 6th and face the Mavs.
