OK, I see some people got my 'big picture' argument, and others didn't. Again, I am NOT arguing about this season or the next one or any particular games. So yes, I would've brought this up regardless of our current funk as a team, because even though we lost last night, I was supremely happy with the team's overall performance and the fight they put up against an elite team like Dallas. I think some posters here made a good point in that since we don't really have a two superstar team (although we're building the team based on the belief that we do) Yao/T-Mac combo can win a championship, but the key might be a reliable third option. That makes a lot of sense to me, because think about it: Detroit has a third and even a fourth option on any given night (Wallace, Rip, Billups, Prince), the Spurs have a solid third option (Parker or Genobili, and even Horry/Finely/NVE can do serious damage any given game), even Dallas from last year had multiple options (third option could be Terry, Van Horn, Stackhouse), Miami has a third option who's an all-star player (Walker), etc; Indiana is a team that I believe is in a similar predicament, with two all-star talents but having lost their third option player in Miller to retirement, although their supporting cast is pretty solid. Now let's carefully examine the Rockets; when you look at the Rockets' roster, who's that reliable third option that you know can be there for you every single night? Swift? Too inconsistent and has been his entire career. Rafer? Might not be the best fit to this team. Anderson? Over-the-hill player that will be gone in a year or two. Head? Big question mark there, but may be given the time and the investment in him, but that's a big problem if your hopes are hinging on a rookie. I think we will eventually make a free agent signing next season that will provide that 3rd option we so desperately need. I am hoping for a Jalen Rose type who can score with the best of them and man up the SG position for a few years to come, hopefully Head would've earned the starting PG spot by then, and that would give us two solid, solid shooters who will most definitely make teams pay for their overzealous defense on Yao and McGrady. So again, I am not bashing anyone, I am not making an emotional argument based on short-sightedness, I am merely interested in hearing your take on the 'big picture' as far as the future of this team, i.e. what do we need to do the only thing that matters, the only thing we're hungry for, and the only standard we'll accept: win a championship.
tiger, I got your "big picture." I think the team is well built with the 2-star model. The second half of last season showed that we could win with the TMac-Yao tandem with a bunch of smart and tough role players. We just lacked athleticism on the whole. So this offseason, we went out to get Swift and Anderson, and drafted Head. (Alston was a Plan B when Sura fainted.) It made a lot of sense. I knew Swift would be a slow learner. So while everybody was harping on benching Howard without even seeing how Swift play, I predicted it would take a long time for Swift to take Howard's starting job. I didn't expect Wesley, Barry, Howard, and Anderson to be in a shooting slump. However, I didn't expect Head to be anything either. We are in a deep whole because of TMac's injury, which also coincides with an extremely tough schedule. If TMac was healthy and the schedule was a little easier, we could have been 8-3 instead of 3-8. Shooters will snap out of the slump. Wesley and Anderson have shown sign of that. Head is ahead of schedule. These are good signs. Swift is still clueless though. I hope he will come around quickly. But I would bet Howard to start shooting better sooner than Swift to have learned JVG's system. Anyway, I still think this team is built the right way, and with some luck, we will be contending for championships in years to come.
All valid points, good post. I agree for the most part, although I think that as the league only gets tougher to win in, the bar will be raised as to how much talent will be needed to put us over the hump, and I don't think we're there yet, although we're not too far away from it. Obviously, the biggest concern for the Rockets not just this season but beyond is to make sure that McGrady is healthy and playing to help us achieve this goal, or everything we're doing will be futile/for nothing.
I think there's a lot of doubting of JVG, the offense, the role players, the star players, etc. I'm still not worried. The only point I'll be worried is when these guys are all healthy and have played together for a bit and they're still losing. I know some of you guys will still call this a moral victory, but we very well could've beaten the Dallas Mavericks without Tracy McGrady. We played the Spurs and Pistons fairly close without a completely healthy TMac. I've seen life out of this team the past couple of games. They were hustling, they were active on defense, and they were aggressive. Did they win? Nope. Do you want to call those "just moral victories"? Go ahead. I call it "possible signs of improvement" - especially with the backbone of your team not able to function at 100% (or even at 0%). Does this mean I think the Rockets won't crater? Nope. Does it mean that JVG will take them past the 1st round or even to the playoffs? Nope. But what it does mean to me is that I will give them time and not panic or say the system is a failure when major components haven't played with one another for a long time in a very demanding defensive scheme and on a team not functioning at 100% nor shooting 40% (generally speaking).
How long did it take for Phoenix to play together last season? The problem I see with the Rockets are that their major additions are not upgrades. Swift is useful, but he's a bench player who may or may not give you good minutes night in and night out. For every plus that Alston may eventually bring, its offset by everything you lost with James. DA is no better than David Wesley at this point, though he may eventually be, and if you factor in maybe losing sura, he's a minus. Even Swift right now is at an even because his contributions so far are no more valuable than what Scott Padgett could bring. Two different styles, but the same impact on the game. Right now, Head is the only player looking like a plus from last season, considering he's played well and there is no player you lost to offset his contribution.
