I wanted so much for this team to get tough and I just didn't see it happening. I mean with a starting five of Martin, Brooks, Scola, Battier and Hill or Miller, I thought that was pretty much the most unathletic starting five in the league. But some how that team transformed in to Lee , Hayes, Lowry, Patterson and you now can afford a guy like Martin on the court in fact you need a guy like Martin to fit in with that mix. Amazing! To watch this team transform in front of my eyes. We can beat any team on any given night. And if we do lose it won't be because the other team is tougher and out hustled us. I would have never thought I could say that in the beginning of the season. I love Hayes. He is MR. Tough. Patterson is definitely following Hayes footsteps. Lowry is pound for pound the toughest guy on the court. And tonight I witnessed the emergence of Courtney Lee. Lee plays with such confidence on both sides of the ball. He does so many things that help the team win. Yes he still makes the occasional boneheaded pass or forces a shot from time to time. But he is doing it with less frequency and the rest of his game on both sides of the court is just solid. He is the final piece in the toughest team in the league. When you put Lee, Patterson Lowry and Hayes on the floor together that is brute toughness. And it might be that Lee is the clutchest of the bunch before it's over with. You can afford to have Martin out there with those guys. You can afford to play Bud with the right combination of those guys and Scola. But I think for most minutes you need 3 of those guys on the court. So if you start Scola then you need Lee playing the 3. And if you start Bud you need Patterson starting. Keep at least three of our tough guys on the court for most of the game and we will never quit. We will be in almost all games. Thanks to Scola and Bud's injuries I see the light. The real Rocket Rowdies should be on the court.
If anything, the #1 answer is the lack of Aaron Brooks, and the #2 is Jordan Hill first being pushed out of the rotation (replaced by the better Patterson) and now seeming to have a clue after coming back into the rotation. The starting unit was fine all year, but thing tended to falll apart when Brooks and/or Hill got off the bench. Now Brooks is gone, Patterson got in front of Hill in the rotation, and Hill looking better in limited minutes. Brooks was probably culprit #1. His dribble dribble toss up a bad shot and then play bad D act was getting really tiresome.
Maybe it's the result of finally having a semi-consistent lineup. At the beginning of the year, the entire offense was based around Yao. Then he got injured. Then we tried to bring Brooks back into the mold of the offense. He got traded... Maybe Rick and the Rockets had some sort of team self-realization during the all-star break. But this team was completely different after it. Kudos to them, they finally figured things out.
Agree with this completely, although I would add in that moving Bud to the starting rotation actually improved our toughness as well. as you said our starting line up was already solid and it was our bench that was falling apart. The second team of Hill Brooks and Bud wasn't working when they came in to replace the starters. Now with Bud in the starting lineup Lee is getting the extra minutes that he really needed and is a strong anchor in the second rotation with Patterson.
Our chemistry is rockin right now! We have no ego players, just guys who work hard day in and day out.
I was thinking about this the other day. I really believe, as much as I loved the guy, that Battier was the thing that crippled the starting lineup the most. He was great coming off the bench; shown by our run when we had Ron. AB not being here does not transform this team as much as Battier not being in the starting lineup does imo.
They're playing well. I'd say they're more "scrappy" than "tough", with Lowry being scrap leader. In fact, if I was to come up with a nickname for Kyle Lowry, I can think of no better one than Scrappy Doo. Uncanny resemblance.
Good observation. I will say I am with you on the Hill bandwagon. While a lot of people jumped off I was a late rider that thought this kid was better than I first gave him credit for. Of course I gave him credit for nothing. The thing that impressed me is he showed glimpses of playing D. And now those glimpses are lasting longer. I am a firm his late start in the game has made the game a little more difficult than Patrick who has been playing since 12. So I now see Hill as a real project that will get better next year and by seasons end he may be the Hill people hoped for this year. IMO he is much more valuable as a prospect than trade bait as many have suggested.
All I know is that Kyle Lowry is Scrappy Doo and Jordan Hill is Shaggy. I haven't figured out the rest of the characters yet.
Battier started 59 of 60 games he played in 08/09 and all of the playoff games when we had Ron. He wasn't coming off the bench. The starting 5 with Battier this year also had a significantly positive +/- compared to the rest of the lineup. So your theory is based on wrong facts and is utter bull ****.
One thing that I saw changed is that, during a particularly bad stretch in the middle of the season, whenever Jordan Hill comes into the game, he would automatically screw up defensive rotation and his man would get a dunk, sometimes in 2 straight possessions. Just utterly inexcusable. I can live with a missed shot, or someone scoring over you, or even someone overpowering you, but just leaving a guy alone for a dunk is just about the worst thing you can do on the basketball court. Now, he's looking much less lost. He still has stuff to work on, but being in the right position is a huge part of the battle. If he can just do this, he can actually use his length and leaping ability to benefit his team.
There is a position that sets the tone on the floor. They say this position is an extension of the coach. When heart and fire and sweat and blood drips from this position, the other players take the cue and channel his energy and exude his confidence. When this position is getting dominated by Patty ****ing Mills, the other players wilt. How did we become so tough? Ask the captain driving the ship.
