Defense is complicated. And keeping in front of your man, and keeping him from getting to the cup are both important. But so is knocking him out of his rhythm and keeping him off of his favorite spots. I'll certainly concede that Kobe is a tough cover. But I'll bet (way to lazy to do the research myself) that if you look at the hotter half of any good players games and the lower half of poor defenders against him, you will see a lot of similarity.
A lot of threads could be considered knee-jerk. Give jopatmc a little break here. Many threads are started just to vent feelings of frustration. And which CF reader hasn't felt that ever since the championship years? EVERY team's fans want a championship. How is that possible? I'll never forget what Bob Lilly, the famous Dallas Cowboy lineman said he felt after winning their first Super Bowl. He said he was in the parking lot after the game and even though he was SO glad to have won he couldn't help thinking and feeling, "Is that it?" Sometimes we make things in life more important than they really are. Of all the players that have played basketball and brought enjoyment and distraction from stress in people's lives for decades, how many of them have championship rings? Yet so many of them are great human beings. (Which is why I can't bear to hear ANY player referred to as a scrub. Some may be lazy or have less than average skills, but they are more than an athlete.) There's not a fan on this board who doesn't scream and slap their forehead occasionally while watching the games. I can see both sides. I don't think we'll win a championship as currently constructed, either. But I also think there are players developing and getting better. The hard part for Morey and McHale is you always have to be thinking about combinations. I could make a case that a starting line-up shouldn't be so fixed. Since games are about match-ups, why not have players understand that depending on who you're playing, the starting line-up might change from game to game. If a "system" is what is being played, and if you try to fit it to the talent you have, this shouldn't be a huge disruption. It's the egos that prevent this as much as anything. Talk about head games that are over-blown. How many of us here think the combinations for starters and second-unit could be tweaked, or downright shaken up? In such a screwed up shortened season, McHale is having to do this much more on the fly than normal. How many think T-Will should be given more minutes? I don't know that he's been given enough to make a fair assessment. How does anyone develop, AND develop chemistry if they never get to play much? That's just one example. There's enough frustration to go around. jopatmc, like all of us here, is a fellow fan. Please, let him (and others) vent without resorting to calling the vent "stupid," as long as the opinion expressed is respectful. In fact, doing so, is just frustration on the part of "another" fan. That, too, is a knee-jerk reaction. We all want the team to do well. And so many of us know "exactly" what should be done. So much so, that it's hard to believe the answer to the team's success hasn't already been gleaned and analyzed by the Rockets staff reading our gems of wisdom here. Clutch remarked one time that they do read CF... don't they? T-Will says he does. Artest was supposed to have checked it out. If they do, they probably look many of the posts and think, "Duh? Don't you think we already know that... what "obvious" and "stupid" posts." Posting the "obvious" happens all the time. Venting can be healthy and constructive as long as it's respectful. (This post is nothing more than another "vent," correct?... no doubt, "obvious"... and a lengthy one at that!) Congress has probably one of the lowest ratings in history because they are so uncooperative with one another. They're really supposed to be on the same team, playing for "us." Maybe they are really just a reflection of how we all get along in this day and time. There are real serious problems in people's lives beyond their favorite sports team. It's just one of the places they try to find a distraction from these problems. Is there NO refuge? Being civil and tolerant with each other would, I think, help all around. Maybe there are some who really enjoy arguing and name-calling. I can't imagine that, though. It's never felt pleasant to me. Again, just my two "venting" cents. If I've made anyone angry by posting this, I'm sorry. I just want us to enjoy following the Rockets as much as possible.
I wasn't just venting. Been watching this bunch for awhile. This is not based on 1 game or 5 games. This its based on watching this team compete since Yao went down. I like this team. I like this group of guys. Love their heart. You can't find more gritty ballers than Lowry and Scola. You can't find more offensive efficiency than Kmart for the money. I love Courtney's hustle, his springs, d his defense. I like Chase overachieving as a second round draft pick. I like Chase's hops, love how he runs the pin downs so much like RIP does. Lord knows I love everything about Lowry (our best player). The bottom line is we are not good enough nor will we ever be good enough by trying to add pieces to Lowry, Martin, and Scola. Dally doesn't make us good enough. Twill doesn't makes us good enough. Even if Twill breaks out, we aren't good enough. We simply need to make a major trade or go to the lottery and reset the team or both. We are not big enough and not skilled enough to compete for championships as currently constructed. We are mediocre and I'm sure Les, Daryl, and Kevin already know it. We either have to make a major trade that changes our core or we have to tear it down and reset the team in the lottery or we have to get lucky in free agency with Deron and/or Dwight. This trade deadline is crucial to which direction we take.
Great post. Repped. Courtesy is golden. Name calling is childish. Insults are hurtful and totally uncalled for. Civility of the board appears to be declining and that is sad.
I think you are just being realistic; it is what it is. Under Les I have generally felt that the approach is to do just enough to keep the fans interested and coming. I don't see the Rockets going on a speeding spree like Dallas did.
Just like lakers gave odom away, the rockets need to do the same with scola. Just. Find a team with enough cap room and get a pick. The rockets are in the worse place to be and have been for a few yrs.
when trading a superstar turns into a day dream (in other words, no superstar wants to come to houston), we run out of all soultions but getting picks.
Then we better get started ASAP, because every season we spin in circles only prolongs the inevitable.
It won't. The Clippers were inept. Baylor couldn't pick talent and when he did get lucky with a good player in the draft, he'd trade him for peanuts. We've already had our unlucky. We are unlucky right now. Both Yao's and TMac's bodies failed. How unlucky can you get? Then Stern boy blew up our key trade. How much unluckier can you get? We're already bogged down in unlucky. The difference is our front office knows talent. They know how to evaluate it and properly value talent. You gotta give Morey credit for that. He's a thousand times better than the former Clippers front office. And on top of that, despite the naysayers, we have an owner that wants to win and win big. He thinks championship every season. Unlike Sterling who thinks of ways to cripple his franchise and doesn't care about the playoffs and isn't willing to gamble on the playoffs up until now. And honestly, Paul and Blake Griffin are just a recent stroke of luck. It remains to be seen how it plays out with Sterling. Don't be surprised if both players are gone in a year or two. Sorry, Sterling doesn't have a winning history nor a winning pedigree. Everybody knows it, the players know it, the coaches know it, the GMs know it. And the Clipper fans know it. If the Clippers are successful long term with a good playoff/championship run through Paul and Griffin, it will be because Sterling, for once, did things different. We don't have to worry about that. We are mired in mediocrity. What we have to worry about is Morey convincing to break down this mediocrity if a trade does not materialize this trade deadline for Dwight and/or Deron. If we can't get one or both by this trade deadline, it is time to trade away Scola and Martin for picks and young talent and go to the lottery.
I will complement the good play and point out the deficiencies. We cannot compete against championship quality teams that have length and skill. You can brag up us being competitive. Lowry played his a.. off. They all played hard. Can't think of a player who really dogged it in the Laker game. It is what it is. This team as currently constructed is mediocre. It's last years unit minus Chuck plus Dally. We may actually wind up slightly worse. We could wind up slightly better, in the 6-8 slot in the playoffs. Best case is we get blown out in the first round. Worst case is about the #10 pick in the lottery. We're not bad enough to get a top 3 pick. We're not good enough to compete for a championship. We are mediocre. We are a good team that plays hard most every night, that outperforms most every game, that is entertaining to watch when our shooters get hot but that consistently gets beat by the best teams in the league. We are mediocre and time isn't going to change it. Trades will.
Morey did and Stern did screw us over and Stern should have to face the music for what he did. However, that's water under the bridge. The best players that are possibly going to be available over the course of the next year are Dwight and Deron. Morey should (and I'm sure he will) throw the whole kitchen sink to obtain one of the two. Because it really doesn't matter if they leave for nothing. If they do, it is time to go to the lottery anyways because there are no more players of that stature that are going to be available any time soon.
This. I wondered about that and thanks for pointing it out. The result wasn't all on the players. I thought we played a remarkable game, until the end. Martin was really working on defense. So was Bud. I even liked what I saw from Terrence Williams, and I've been a critic of his. There were good things to take away from this game. Luis struggled with his defense, but he was working hard and his scoring kept us in it. I'm wondering if he's having a difficult time adjusting to a new system. McHell has tinkered more than I expected this early. It's way too early for threads like this. Unless you see wins preventing us from getting a high lottery pick.
signed, clyde, barkley, pippen, francis, griffin, yao, mcgrady, martin, and almost bosh, melo, gasol and nene
Are you kidding me? Love the game too much to stay away. I've seen enough to know we aren't going anywhere until a major shakeup. Doesn't mean I won't be watching and surmising what happens next. The next big time is the trade deadline. I'm going to be watching to see which of our players plays well and increases their trade value between now and then.
I think most of us already knew that this team was going nowhere, but were hoping for a miracle. Unfortunatly, like Austin and rain, it is just not gonna happen. DD
