I agree with the OP's grades. I dont get how some people are making Ron out to be greater than he really is. He's a solid NBA player, good at defense and mediocre at offense.
Rick Adelman: A+ Daryll Morey: A- Yao Ming: B+ Tracy McGrady: C Ron Artest: B+ Shane Battier: A- Luis Scola: A- Aaron Brooks: A- Von Wafer: B Carl Landry: B+ Kyle Lowry: B+ Chuck Hayes: B Brent Barry: B-
Rick Adelman: B The team finally realized the benefits of his selfless approach on offense, but it speaks volumes that he needed "someone" removed from the equation to implement it. His inability to command the locker room is a severe limitation. A coach needs to be able to rein in guys when they start falling in love with ridiculous follow away 3s. Daryl Morey: A+ Not a single move busted. The moves he made paid off in a big way. Fairly simple. Yao Ming: B It's rapidly becoming clear that he has reached his ceiling in the NBA. He's a great locker room presence, all class, a guy you're proud to cheer for. But he's not going down as an all-time great. He's a 19-9 center that does not go off for 40 against teams. He'll have big games, but he only rarely dominates or takes a game over. He struggles late, and he struggles to make it through an entire season. In a league with such a dearth of centers, he still stands at the top, but not many GMs would choose to build a team around him at this point. Tracy McGrady: F The act he pulled this year was simply the most appalling I've seen from any Houston sports figure since Bud Adams. Had he declared himself out for the year in October, my feelings wouldn't be a fraction as negative as they are today. That he's left an impression that he's at best a one year rental next season doesn't help matters. Ron Artest: B- Without Artest, we don't survive the McGrady circus. Unfortunately, any off-season hopes that he could be a third star were dashed. His time as a 20 ppg guy are gone, and his penchant for easy but ill-advisable outside jumpers became a major detriment on offense. We needed the guy that wrecked havoc under the basket, the guy that was a true bulldog on defense but that guy has gone. Artest has aged into a complimentary player. Shane Battier: B- I'd love to give him higher marks based on the last two months, but it would be unfair to forget his rocky first 4 months of the season. As a defensive (and intangibles) specialist, pressure's off him a bit on offense, but we still need 10 ppg and above 40% shooting from him. This was easily his poorest offensive season of his career. Luis Scola: A We don't make the playoffs without Scola. He'll never make an All-Star Game, but he's become critical to our success. Efficient scoring, reliable, and one of the few guys on the team that will step up and score 20+ some nights (8 in the regular season). His 12 games putting up 12+/12+ were remarkable. Hopefully he continues to build on his game, after averaging 14-8 in the playoffs. Aaron Brooks: B+ Some nights he's Calvin Murphy, but too many nights he follows that up looking like Mike Wilks. So, consistency is a MAJOR thing for him going forward. Also, he's got to develop true point guard skills. Learning how to set up others is something he's missing, though he's a willing passer. Von Wafer: B A massive bonus for us, especially in January, when he showed how expendable McGrady is in his current state. The only problem was that he couldn't transition his success in January into a 6th man role afterwards. Can he grow from this? Having a SG that stands above 6-2 would be a positive step for the team. His bench incident and the revelation that it wasn't something new....troubling. Carl Landry: B- Last summer, the debate was over which was the better half of Scolandry. That debate is decisively settled. If Landry figures out how to bring it 3 games a week, he'll be a serious weapon off the bench. Kyle Lowry: B I'm happy that Lowry (and Morey) made me eat my words after the Rafer trade. I don't miss him at all, and if Lowry shores up his outside shooting, we've got either a fantastic backup 1 or a serviceable starter on the cheap. Chuck Hayes: B- Another year of what we've come to expect from Hayes. Unfortunately, he still hasn't gotten around to learning how to hit 5 footers with consistency. Brent Barry: C+ He's wrapping up his career. I liked what we got from him on offense, but it's clear that he's lost too many steps to be a rotation guy anymore. Dikemebe Mutombo: Thanks for a great career. Brian Cook: Best of luck in Europe. James White: Hopefully we'll see you in camp. We're now at a crossroads - realistically, we can give this roster one last shot next season. Do we see what happens with this same crew? Do we bank on a full season of health for Yao and Tracy once he returns? Do we take advantage of the 2010 sweepstakes (and/or the doomsday NBA economy) and flip Tracy's contract into a lower level all-star? Flip him for draft picks? Do we start considering a rebuild from scratch in 2010 ourselves?
Oh i forgot: Tmac - D- (failing to take care of himself. Really, if you truly take care of your body and not rush like Battier, you should be okay. His behavior regarding his injury and his comments are not welcome here) Barry - C- (Dude should retire by now...he is just one dimensional player which does not fit into the Rockets. That is why guys like Luther Head and Rafer are gone). We need someone that can attack and not just stand and watch. His passing skills is horrible and decision making is horrible). Morey - A (i give him A for getting Artest and Lowry and get rid of some of these 1 dimensional players that don't fit like Rafer and Luther Head). NEXT step is to resign Artest and Wafer. Get a decent back up for Yao and we're Championship caliber team again.
HERE ARE MY GRADES: for the season including the playoffs Rick: A- questionable subsitutions in the begging of the year but did a GREAT job with our ever changing line ups Yao: B+.. almost played the WHOLE season (75 games) leading scorer and rebounder and played well in the playoffs. needs to learn to adjust to the FRONT. McGrady: F.. missed 60 games and added more DRAMA to the team than we needed Artest: B.. just because he brought toughness to the team and shot alright during the season but way to inconsistent Scola: A.. in my opinion our MVP of the season he may not have put up numbers every night but no question our most consistent player Battier: B+.. slow start of the season but woke up during the all-star break came back with a tan and ready to play ball. Heart Hustle and Effort everynight Brooks: B.. took over the starting job after the trade deadline and did an alright job. needs to be more consistent and be more confident Landry: B+.. played well in the beginning of the year and then got shot and loss his agressiveness I wish he could just put a whole year together Lowery: C+.. great driver but needs to improve the jump shot. cant wait to see him play a whole year here Wafer: A-.. stepped up when tracy and ron were out wasnt given a chance in the preseason to make the team and made an impact Hayes: B-.. didnt play much during the season but stepped up big in the playoffs needs to find a offensive game Barry: D+.. never really found his role on this team. shooting was average but great locker room character Dorsey Cook White: I.. never cracked the rotation
this is more of a last 5 games report card than a season report card. it seems like everything is based on the lakers series. and brooks, he should be getting a much higher grade for his entire season's performance, remeber he came off the bench and did great for a long part of the season when rafer was still here. and ron artest... iunno, the guy can kill you and save you, and he did that alternatively thru the season, but i still give him an A- cuz he obviously brought us more good things than bad
I like Shane but he gets A's for his INTANGIBLES but no one considers Artest's INTANGIBLES Rocket RIver
i agree....i was actually a bit disappointed in ron ron this year....but mainly due to the playoffs. he was horrendous during the playoffs.
You almost have to grade Artest on a "bi-polar" basis, i.e. Tangibles (basketball skills) and Intangibles (leadership skills). I'd give Ron somewhere between a C and a D- on his Tangibles. Shot selection and completions were erratic at best. His defensive skills also atrophied this year. Disappointing as a rebounder and passer. Too often dribbled out the shot clock only to take an impossible shot from long range, or flinging the ball to another out-of-position Rocket for another miracle shot as time expired. OTOH, I give Ron a B+ to A on his Intangibles. He was great with our younger and/or inexperienced players. Didn't back down when some VIP-wannabe tried pushing him (or any other Rocket) around. Tried to keep everybody loose during the Playoffs and focused on the task at hand (Although, sometimes, he could have used that keep-the-focus talk himself. I think he could be extremely valuable to the team, especially coming off the bench. But I wouldn't break the bank to re-sign him.
Daryll Morey: A Yao Ming: A- Ron Artest: B+ Shane Battier: A- Luis Scola: A- Aaron Brooks: A- Von Wafer: B Carl Landry: B+ Kyle Lowry: B+ Chuck Hayes: B Brent Barry: B- very similar grades
Carl Landry: C- Shooting injury aside... he has not improved as expected. He failed to play at a consistent level all year. I feel as though he has done a poor job finding an identity as a player and contributor. His explosiveness and athleticism declined. Did not improve his defensive rebounding which I really felt he needed to work on. When a player penetrates he goes to help and jumps leaving the opponent the advantage on the rebound. Back to the back game is still raw and low percentage. On the upside he improved his FT shooting, extended his range, and showed potential as a weak side shot blocker (late in season) however that shot blocking mentality has been a detriment in the playoffs. Its as though he focused his improvement on finesse aspects, like he wants to play SF, not the direction he needs to lean IMO. He isn't Travis Outlaw. I only rank Landry so low because I expect a lot out of him.
when we got out of the 1st round and took the lakers, one of the favorites to win it all, to 7 games in the 2nd round.. c'mon you think we get that far without artest?
Yea I do. I am not sure why people think Ron is the reason we got passed Portland. We played excellent team basketball and got huge games from guys like Brooks, Wafer, Yao and Scola.
coach RA: F. Rockets should lost around 15 games to the bottom team. They should easily to be at least #2 seed in Western if not better. DM: A. Trade Ron is huge. I said Rockets should go for Ron probably in a couple of years ago. I dislike the trade of rafer, but it maybe turn into a good one just like what DM traded Jhowrd for mike James. Yao, A. He survived the regular season. that's enough to say. TMac, incomplete, Injury is not his fault, at least not fully his fault. If Yao didn't injured, Rockets should beat lakers in 6. Rockets should win it all even without Tmac. That's how good they are.
what is with the insults from some of you posters? disagree as you will, don't start insulting the person making a good insightful thread.
