It's another outbreak of that dreaded disease, McGrady Complex. Disease makes great ballers want to lead the league in scoring and assists with all play running through them until they get tired. Then they want to simply throw the ball to a shooter who jacks a shot with no dribble so they can still get an assist. Disease also causes great ballers to not play the defensive end except to cheat in the passing lanes to get their steal count up. So they play the passing lane until the play goes past them. Then they start jogging to the other end in expectation of a quick outlet pass that lets them make a play. Disease prevents great ballers from playing with other shot creators or distributors since those type players will water down great ballers stat line. This is the disease JBB was referring to after the game yesterday.
Damn. If Harden thinks Thornton is bad, wonder what would've happened to this team if Melo would've agreed to join?
"and so it begins"? "The team starts to unravel"? ahem, I think we 'turned that corner' quite some time ago . . . like when we were 0-3.
Great - so Harden doesn't like others to get some credit - is he that sensitive? It takes a team - Harden has his $$$$ he needs to let others shine too...a rising tide lifts all boats. DD
Good post. Good response. I think highly of him because I see his passion FOR his players and FOR winning. During a recent game, Dwight made some awesome plays and instead of continuing to coaching during the beginning of a time out, JB personally walked over and give him a high five. That inspires your guys to play and gies them that feeling that their coach believes in them. McHale looked disgruntled whenever we were down, whereas JB stands up and keeps us together. It's night and day. I will also admit that I wanted JB to take over after Kelvin left. He's got a great relationship with our players, and in my mind, more so than Kevin. Our guys liked Kevin because he let them get away with whatever. JB may still be a "player's coach" but he will speak to guys about it, instead of watching them leave the court to sit on the bench. Watch how JB coaches. When one guy misses a rotation, he stops them on their way off the court, reinforces the TEAM system, pats them on the nalgas , and brings them back in. Give him time and JB can be your Erick Spoelstra. He has it in him. It runs in his family and coaches around the league respect him. At this point, our guys listen to him and believe in his ideology. This was not the case with Kevin, who lost our team when he couldn't control the diverse personalities. JB rules with a dose of tough love, fairness and reinforcement. Really, Kevin facilitated and hoped for the best. JB stands up, makes on-the-spot changes and doesn't let the team fall. His timeouts are fantastic. I've noticed that he'll stop a run if it hits more than an 8 point lead. Kevin waited until about the 12-15 mark, and by NBA standards, against a good team, that's too much. With LowKEyMT, I've heard he's happy to be on the team and wants to be here. Admittedly, like I mentioned, when I was told we were going after the former Sactown Shoota, I was pumped. I don't think MT expected the fluctuating minutes, ESPECIALLY when he is one of our few guys who can shoot from anywhere. He's one of our few guys who can shoot a damn JUMPER without worrying about it being a three-pointer. This "doghouse rumor" is new to me, but yes, I have heard that ______(insert player(S) are frustrated when he's in the game because he is a volume shooter. THat's why he's stayed in the league. He can score like a poor man's Jamal Crawford. If you have guys on a team that believe THEY should be getting more shots, and you insert a guy who can ALSO shoot at a high level from inside and outside the arc, someone is going to be frustrated. What I don't like is that whomever is making the rotation changes fails to notice MT's passing. He's a great duo with Dwight and when he drives under the basket, he's great at kicking it out to the open man. It goes unnoticed. His salary makes him easy to trade, but what some folks don't understand is that you won't find equal value for him based on his contract and skillset. A guy who can shoot just as well as James from beyond the three at less than 4 millie a year is hard to find. A guy who is VERY coachable and does what he's told, amidst egos is hard to find. A guy who came to Htown despite being offered more money by PHX should be treated a bit better. Maybe DM is keeping him healthy in case a trade occurs , but as a fan of MT and as the annoying poster who told ya'll he was coming and tried to convince you that he would be a great signing, I'm disappointed that he doesn't get Corey's minutes, or even Ty's minutes when he refuses to shoot. Face it, our team needs easier buckets. Ty isn't ready to shoot the ball or penetrate. MT can not only shoot from anywhere, but he's an underrated when it comes to penetrating the paint. Even Dwight knows that his alley oops come easier from MT because the league expects MT to shoot more often than not. When this team makes the playoffs, I hope MT is here. He will be the guy that ca shoot us back into a game, or hell, be the Troy Daniels that wins a game with a three. I apologize for the rant, but MT came here when he didn't need to, and he's done everything that was asked of him. He gets a bad rap, and it's unfair to say "there's a reason he's been on so many teams." It has nothing to do with his attitude. It has everything to do with him being another SG battling for minutes. On our current roster he SHOULDN'T have to fight for minutes. We have a few guys that can't sink a 5 footer or make a simple pass. That's why I think MT is underrated, both financially and in regards to his ability to score and make a good pass. (Shoot, look at who gets Dwight the ball in the post most easily. It's not James. It's not Pat. MT has played with post players his entire career. It's an art to get the ball to your big man. Ask Clyde, Horry and even Matt Maloney) Once our guys trust one another to shoot the ball, we'll be okay. It's obnoxious that a couple of guys don't want other guys to shoot because of the fear of a miss. Even the greatest miss em. When DMo is fully healthy..imagine the kickout to MT...that's a beauty. And finally, I think people tned to forget how quick of a release MT has. How do you guard that shot? Before you can put a hand up, he's released it. Just my sentiments, and yes, I was a fan of MT before he got here, and I became an even bigger fan once I heard he was coming. DM made a great move. It's just up to JB, CF and Buck to put him in the right spots and push the notion of TRUST among our other primary shooters.
JB is wasting Rockets talents... His rotation is far worse than Kevin McHale's. If Dmo and Thornton can't get minutes, in no way that KJ and Harrell will.
It's not about a doghouse with Thornton and DMo. The reality is we need to put our best defensive 4 man team out there. Hard to play defense with 4 guys, but more athletic, rangy guys like Brewer and Capela at least have a chance I guess.
Cod, I also love MT - we need guys that can score the ball, we have enough guys who are challenged at that area. It is all about flexibility, with Harden, you need a defensive specialist at the PG spot, but that doesn't mean that MT, can't come in for Bev a bit, and play for Brewer. Brewer shoots too danged much, I would much rather have MT in there shooting instead of Brewer, and MT actually stays on his man on defense, doesn't sag into the passing lanes every time down the floor. And someone needs to sit down with Harden, if he is going to have the ball in his hands and be the by-proxy PG, then he needs to be into getting shots for shooters....including MT, DMO and Howard. If we only had a TEAM first approach across the board, we would be good. I would like to hear who is leaving though, I just hope it is not one of the pillars I hope to build with: 1. Harden 2. Dmo 3. Capella I would put Howard, but for the right deal - Porzingas or Whiteside...he would be gone. DD
I agree, but it could be because the Rockets are showcasing Ty Lawson to trade him at the deadline. Thorton has been everything I as a Rocket fan expected and more. That said to save this season we have to get Lawson out of here for something of value. I do feel that as bad as Houston has looked this season, home court advantage is not a key for this team. Playing smart and together is a much bigger issue than actually having a great 82 game regular season record. The victory against the Spurs told me a lot and to me that and the Clippers game were the only 2 games where our coaching staff did not have to motivate our players to play for 48 minutes.
Completely agree with you DD. I personally would add Harrell to that list. I really think he has a ton of upside. Even though he's a rook, I wish JBB would kick the tires on him. I'd like to see Brewer/T-Jones and maybe a pick to somewhere for a solid PF who can shoot and plays with a team mentality (Pau Gasol?). As for Lawson, a trade to the Knicks for Jose Calderon would be perfect in my opinion.
This is all "ears," or what I get to hear from my profession and contacts within this beautiful league. There isn't turmoil in our locker room, allegedly. There is just a lack of trust, which depending on who you are, is even worse. The trust issues were here with Kevin, and JB is working on fixing them with his passionate, hands-on coaching. But, trust is difficult to teach anyone, even children. If you have a guy who can drop 20-30 points a game each night without trouble, he's going to assume that he's the best shooter/scorer. This is natural. I've coached plenty of college athletes that think they're the best scoring option because they can drop buckets like it's nothing. However, as basketball is a team game, when you bring in guys who can ALSO score in bunches, there is a threatening element. In other words, the "man" doesn't want his output to be overshadowed or decreased, despite the available talent. Let me put it this way, if you're used to scoring league-leading numbers, and although you are on "good terms" with your teammates, you may not believe or want to believe that they can score in the same manner. So, while we have a deadly, top-5 player, some of his choices seem to suggest that he doesn't want his numbers to decrease, by virtue of other guys raising their ppg averages. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is this man that lives in the post who can give you 15-20 points a game easily, but how can this player do that if he only shoots the ball between 4-6 times a game? Is it because he's guarded that heavily? Does he get double teamed enough to prevent him from scoring? Or, is it the same thought-process of "I am, by far, the best shooter on this team, and if I give the ball up to to _______, he probably won't score"? To be fair, even with the distrust on this team, we have a guy who is averaging a great deal of assists and distributing the ball pretty well. The problem is that he seems to be choosing which players to set up to score. And, these choices are the less threatening ones. Our guys may not be the best of friends, but they are civil. What they lack, and what we need to get this back rolling, is trust. Plain and simple. From guy 1 to 15, you trust your teammates to make the right decisions, and your LIVE AND DIE with their shot. That's trust. MT may miss 4-5 in a row, but if you look at his career stat line, he can light it up with that quick release quicker than you can count Ty's DUIs ( I keed, I keed) There are many guys to blame, but I'm tired of the excuses related to the big fella. If he's not shooting at least 10 times a game, it has nothing to do wtih the defense. It's a choice, and a glaring one at that. As much as I despise Screamin' A and Shi* Bayless, they think Dwight is overrated, but they fail to acknowledge that he gets less touches than Corey Brewer, Pat Bev and sometimes Ty. That's inexcusable. Still, we're right in the playoff hunt, and we're going to be fine. Just be glad we're not Phoenix. OMG that locker room....lol Patience 4 All.
If it's Lawson PB is ok and Harden is angry! That's his guy his game will be better on other teams the trade may include a Terrence Jones as well. DMo not going anywhere too offensively talented and too necessary especially if Dwight Howard stays. To be honest just throwing it out there, but a possible destination could be Indiana for George Hill. Contract not longer term and he fits our needs quite a bit.
There is no reason that MT should not be getting every minute at SG while Harden sits. That solves the issue. I would also lower hardens league leading mpg as well by a few minutes...
Codman, any hints on who DM is looking at? Are they previous targets (Pau, Nene, K-Mart)? You say changes are coming too. Are Brew and Ty being showcased in your opinion? I value your input a lot and am curious to hear your thoughts.
