I don't care that much if they are or not. I just want all these whine threads by the repeat offenders in the GARM to stop. Hopefully we can have this quote at the top of the GARM.
Glad to know I wasn't the only one reading this between the lines. Dalembert is not fit, Patterson is not healthy, Scola is Scola, Jordan Hill is still the same Jordan Hill. And none of them know how to pass the ball. We miss Chuck badly both on offense and defense.
The Rockets are clearly evolving into a post play based team. It was clear in the hiring of the coaching staff and the Gasol/Nene fiasco. The issue is that other than Scola there is no one that is a real post threat. I believe Morey knew that and part of why he was so upset after the Gasol deal was blocked. Not much they can do at this point. They have to play Martin and Scola so they retain trade value. I am sure Morey would love nothing better than to deal Martin, as his style of play no longer fits and he is not exactly the most popular player in the clubhouse or front office.
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/01/19/morey-dalembert-exceeding-expectations/ http://houston.cbslocal.com/?podcas...=true&config_file=config.xml&dcid=CBS.HOUSTON Good Morning Daryl, Marc and John with you. How's it going today? 'Morning Marc, John. Congratulations on the winning streak. I know the schedule is a little bit different than it was from the first ten games, but you gotta be very pleased with the way the team is performing. Your thoughts on the surge for the Rockets? We're making progress. To your point, we gotta keep winning these games that are winnable. That's been great. The guys have done it. Our starting lineup has really been playing well. Our second unit is coming on as well. We'll probably know in the next couple weeks here as we mix in some tougher opponents. We got the Spurs coming up to...just how far our improvement has come. Rest assured, every night, even beating the teams that we should beat isn't a gimme. So its been great that the guys have been executing. We were talking earlier, on a broader sense, the impact of the lockout. What are you seeing that you can say that the lockout might have...be a part of that. Shooting, defense, both? Offense has struggled across the league. Just a tangible thing that I know the coaches are feeling and players are feeling. The players are obviously feeling extraordinarily tired and the coaches are feeling "Hey, there are a lot of things we want to get in there and correct but boy, we also have to give these guys a day off because if we don't, we might lose them.". That's been a real tension that we got a coaching staff that is new, a lot of things we want to improve as a team and players want to improve, but the reality is they just gotta...also gotta get rest in. It's been intense. I think we've played 7 out of 9 days and then we go every other day for the next week basically. Well, to that end, getting guys back certainly not gonna hurt, Courtney Lee, but on the other end, they still have to learn and implement themselves into the system. Good thing is Courtney Lee is a really smart player. Really picks things up quickly. Getting him back is actually really really good. It will allow, we had Kevin Martin in the 40 minute range. He's actually been real real strong and pretty fresh in that range but we can't sustain that, especially with the compressed schedule. Getting Courtney back will allow us to get his minutes down which will be great. Lets talk about Chandler Parsons. What a show he put on against Charlotte with that 20 point game. That's a high water mark but he has been steady shooting the ball since. Your thoughts on his progress. His best traits aren't anything you mentioned. He's not really a scorer. He fits really well with that first unit as a passer, facilitator, a guy who can hit the open look but defensively is where he's been really really strong. Obviously he has gotten pretty famous for these put back dunks, which he was also known for at Florida and has carried over to the league here but defensively he has been really really strong for us and has solidified that starting group that is really playing well right now. Dalembert, after a slow start for him, he's now really flourished with Lowry, Martin, Parsons, Scola, Dalembert, we really got something going where we're able to build solid leads in the games we're playing. I was calling this the "We-Got-Screwed-Bowl" against New Orleans. I know that's just me going over the top but is that over with now? Is there any hangover? Was that an impact earlier in the season? Yeah I think that's over. We've all been to therapy. We've moved on. The reality of the schedule and intensity of it is something that...we're focused on the team we have and moving forward, this is just another game we have to win tonight. Update on Terrence Williams? Terrence - frankly, as people saw, he had a lot of very good minutes for us in our short preseason and even in the NBA games, what happened with him, Parsons, his emergence has really squeezed the minutes at the wing so he's out of the rotation. He's been doing a good job staying ready. Reality is, it's a long season so he'll probably get another opportunity to get out there at some point. I know you put all sorts of stats and data together as you're putting this team together. Is Dalembert doing what you expected or above what you thought? Above right now, which is great. Obviously it's a long season so I think the players, we don't need to tell the players in terms staying focused but we all got to stay focused. In the early going, once we got through the initial area where he was getting his wind back, getting his legs under him, and getting used to the scheme, he's been absolutely terrific. It is fantastic to have a guy out there with his size and length. Really has done what we hoped to acquire since Yao went down in terms of someone to really impact the defensive end. His timing keeps getting better. Hopefully he keeps getting better because so far, hes been exactly what we hoped he could do. Thoughts on Patrick Patterson? Patrick is someone who, frankly, has struggled more than Dalembert with having no training camp. His injury has just not allowed him to come back with the same bounce and energy. There has been progress each game. Each game looks a little bit better. Our second unit, which has been normally a strength, hasn't been as strong. As Patrick comes back to full strength and with Courtney Lee back, we're really optimistic between our starting group and Courtney Lee back and Patrick on a strong improvement curve that we'll get our second unit either maintaining or building leads. That's why we're excited to win these games that we should be winning and to get back and play some contender type teams and really judge where we're at as well. With K.Mart shooting just a shade under 40% from the floor, you expect that percentage to rise throughout the season, right? Absolutely. Kevin has even been telling me how "Hey, my 3 point shooting is down a little", and I'm like, "We're not worried about that at all.". What we're excited about is Kevin buying into what the coaching staff has been asking him to do both rebounding, passing and defending. We see progress there. The 3 point shot is something we're never worried about. That'll be something he's been strong at his whole life and will come back no problem. Seems as if the lockout, some of these younger guys, who it will affect the most. Guys like Morris, Hill. Is that one area you wish you could of had more time? Absolutely. All our younger players, even though it was a shorter time, they all did get a legitimate shot to show coach what they could do. Now coach has settled on a rotation and it's just about that. End of the day, to win in this league, you really gotta narrow your focus down to at most 10 guys. A lot of teams are successful at 8 or 9. We're down to about 10 that will get an opportunity to play most nights. The rest of the guys, we just gotta keep them focused and ready. The reality is, we will take injuries and we're gonna have times when we need to give starters a blow. Like our last game, one of the best thing that happened was our 2nd unit was able to close the game out, which should bode well for us tonight in that we were able to give Scola, Lowry and Martin and those guys time off at the end of that last game which I think will really help us tonight. With Kyle Lowry, I think it's a classic case of a lot of people looking at players, look at players and they are what they are based on what they see. You saw so much more. I look at obviously, assists numbers up, but the 3 point shooting is unbelievable to me. What do you attribute that to? Yeah, I say the guy who deserves credit for Kyle Lowry is Kyle Lowry. This guy has worked so hard on his game. When he has gotten the opportunity, he has taken it and never let go. When he got an opportunity here with the Rockets as a backup, he showed he was better than a backup. Aaron Brooks was terrific but he(Kyle) didn't pout. He worked hard. He got his chance when Aaron got hurt last year and took the job and never let go. Now instead of resting when he has gotten a long term contract, he continued to work this off-season. Probably the best player in the league by reports. We couldn't watch him but by reports, he was the best player playing in all these pickup games around the country. Now he's seeing the fruits of his labor. He has really worked hard on his shot, really worked hard on his game, better in the half court, better in broken plays, you know, who knows where it will end. He's such a hard worker and a good kid. Probably and you hadn't mentioned it, his step up that he's taken, and the reality is he has to maintain it and I think he will, that step up is one of the biggest thing we needed. Someone to really take another leap forward and so far he has been able to do that and we hope he maintains it. I remember having the conversation with you when he first got here. Someone who can get in the lane, maybe transition....he's anything but that now. It's crazy. I agree with you. His strengths that we knew when acquiring him, and obviously when we acquired him, we thought he'd be a very good player for us, but could never imagine...we'd never imagine Chandler Parsons starting this early as a 2nd round pick, we couldn't imagine Kyle emerging as an All-Star candidate which is a great story but his strength was transition so we knew we were getting that and we knew he could play team defense. Those two things we knew. To that he's added better individual defense, better half court execution, better shooting, a guy who can get us a shot late in the clock, he's added so much since he's been here, it's really a great story and the national news is starting to pick up on it but you guys and everyone sorta knew what we had as well. We're excited, even into last year where he led us into a 18-7 run there at the end of the season. What's your 5K time? You running Saturday? (Laughing)I am not running Saturday. I would probably collapse at 4K. Looking forward to the game. Rockets-Hornets tonight at Toyota Center. Yeah, we've had great home crowds. Would be great if folks can get out to the arena tonight. I think there are some tickets available. You guys made it tough today. I gotta compete with Cheech I guess. Entertaining radio. You did a great job. Thanks so much. Alright, thanks. Talk to you soon.
Of course it is....that is what Morey is doing on the radio all the danged time, probably because Les asks him too.... DD
A great interview for Morey, all things he said are true, just keep winning, we have a chance to make playoffs.
I like that Dalembert's shoulders are close to his head and that his neck is so short. Just like Shawn Marion, it makes his effective height bigger because now he's swinging his arms at you coming from a place where most people would have their chin. Makes for much better shot blocking and paint clogging.
Dude's the poster child for why height doesn't mean squat next to wingspan and standing reach. That long neck did get Hilton drafted in the lottery. I gotta give him that! Greatest Neck Of Any Rockets Player Ever??? :grin:
"Yeah, we've had great home crowds." (yeah, the Red Rowdies) "I think there are some tickets available." (spoken disingenuously or with a hint of sarcasm?)
Still waiting on 610 to post the podcast of today. I guess not. However, Morey was on 790 on the 25th(pre-Bucks game). Daryl 1/25 on 790 Spoiler http://www.bigshow790.com/player/?s...rogram_id=FeaturedInterviews.xml&mid=21759115 You know Daryl, if you guys take care of this homestand, you'll be halfway to the team record 22 game win streak. I dont know if you've already started counting down the days. Well the way we look at it, the 22 game win streak, thats only happened twice, but championships have happened every year so those aren't as good. In all seriousness, the team is obviously taking advantage of a softer portion of the schedule but you still have to win those games. In general, how do you feel about the teams performance over the streak? Well I think obviously the schedule has softened up. You're never as good as you look, never as bad as you look. I think thats a lesson early on. Still hard to win 7 games in a row no matter the competition. They keys have been Sam Dalembert and his play, Chandler Parsons, Kevin Martin started slow and has come on, Kyle Lowry has had a terrific season overall and a couple of bench men with Patterson and Dragic starting to get going and Courtney Lee healthy. Up and down the roster we've had good contributions. Coach McHale has been figuring out what players and what rotations and what plays are working best for us. We've refined things and Its shown on the floor. Do you think it happened rather quickly? It seems like its there. They have their rotation, its set, and they run it out there every night. Yeah. Turned out the schedule was tough, and it was tough, but thought it turned out the way we thought it might turn out positively if we could get through it. By playing these strong teams allowed us to play our five, which players would be a part of the rotation and which players would step up. We couldnt fool ourselves we were any good. Our guys were focused and results have shown now that we've played some teams that are winnable. I do think we had our best win in Minnesota. Coach Adelman has had them playing well and to beat them by the margin we did and the way we did bodes well. Obviously we'll have a tougher stretch after this home stand so we need to make hay now and set ourselves up for the playoffs. Real quick on Minnesota. Most people know how high you were on Rubio. He struggled somewhat in Europe. Even though its for another team, is there a "Damn, I knew this guy would be good" or "We were right on this guy" even though its not for you? I think its great that hes a part of the league. Hes exciting, already top 3 in voting which is amazing. Obviously Kyle has outplayed him over his career and to this point. Sometimes its not fair. He's going to keep getting better. We target a lot of the guys over the years and he has been one but hes a Timberwolf and its good for the league hes there and as long as we play them and dont lose to them, I think we can admire his game. What do you do as it pertains to continue to build on the move with your team during a season? Are there ever phone calls that go on? Are you actively moving towards trying to build or is this the time its a lull and nothing for you to do other than watch your team and focus on who you have on your roster right now. Trade wise? Just from the standpoint of contingencies moving forward. YOu're always looking to move forward and build on what you have. How you balance the team you have now vs the team you could potentially have. Yeah we're always trying to upgrade in terms of looking for opportunites but there aren't a whole lot. Teams are generally happy to evaluate and sit back and see where things are at. Even if there were opportunities to take advantage of that, takes two to tango. Its difficult to make any major changes in the early part of the season like this. You look at the numbers and play Sam Dalembert has put up, its not too far from removed from what he has done in his career. It feels like he is doing better than he has traditionally done. Has he been what you expected or has he exceeded what you expected? He's exceeded. Big credit to goes to Sam for that. He wasnt satisfied with his year last year in Sacramento and really wanted to get back to a winning situation. I think that has really sparked his play and has put a lot of work in. Second, we had a big need. And then third, when we sorta studied his history, when he had a winning situation and a coach he believed in, he always had a higher level of play. We were hoping he would hit that and so far he has done that, obviously its a long season but to this point, has been a positive development for us. One of the things that seemed to play out, and you already hit on Kevin Martin a little bit, is the way the officiating is. It certainly seems to effect his offensive game. Did you have any inclination about how things were going to change this year. What are your thoughts about how games are officiated from the standpoint of what he likes to do offensively. I gotta be careful on this answer. I would say, the officials call the game and its up to our players to adjust what they're doing. Its been an adjustment as our guys figure out how the refs are going to call the games this year. Its an across the board NBA deal though. FT attempts are down. You guys have taken advantage of it as well as anyone. Do you, you guys have not been much of a fouling team anyways but have you seen tangible benefits on the defensive end for your team with the way they're...the way they're interpreting some of the rules. Great point. Our team and the Spurs, teams that are aggressive but didnt want to put people on the foul line. Coach Sampson comes from a more aggressive system both in college and with the Bucks. So we are being more aggressive in what we message to players but also the choices in terms of who's playing and how much. I noticed you and a number of people including Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had a tweet up for your sports conference. Do you have conversations with people within baseball. You operate in a cap sport, football too, but curious when you hear a guy gets 9 years 204 million, what you as someone operates on a budget, thinks about being able to operate on a budget vs having less of a budget. I think...we have, one of our staff members is from Detroit. They were excited about that. I sorta had to take a step back. Its an interesting sport where theres no impact to how much you pay for a guy. I guess they have an luxury tax too but other than that, no impact in terms of up and down the roster like ours is. Where as, whatever players we bring in, it has reprucussions up and down the roster where as in baseball, if you get a guy, you get a guy. Thats more simple for the fans. I always think for the fans it might be easier. Instead of worrying about this guy maybe constraining your ability to get that guy, for the fans, they can just say "I got Fielder! That's exciting.". What would you do with 214 million dollars? (laughing)One thing that amazes me is, I had players that have been offered more than 100 million dollars and it doesnt faze them. Sort of an amazing thing when you think about it. We're in this little bubble of non-reality where we're working on a game that brings entertainment to folks but the idea of 200 million is hard to comprehend for really anybody, even someone like myself for someone who works in the industry. Milwaukee tonight, Wizards Friday, Knicks Saturday, T'Wolves again Monday. A good chance to keep the winning streak going and certainly get people out to Toyota Center. Appreciate you spending a few minutes with us. Are you in town. Will we see you tonight? Yeah I'll be here tonight. I was a Texas yesterday for their win. A good win for that program. Think they're on the bubble a little bit. I'll be in town tonight. Coach Sampson giving us the in-depth scouting report. Hopefully that helps us. As you mentioned, we're playing exciting ball and have had good crowds. With the compressed schedule, its been hard for our business staff to get folks in the game as much because there are just so many games in a compressed time frame, its even hard for the fans to come to every game. Given that, its been great crowds and we got these 4 games. Its going to get really bumpy soon. Even though there are games that look a little more winnable, to not win them would unfortunately be tough on us. We need to maintain right now. Appreciate it. Thanks, talk to you soon. I won't have the word-for-word recap of the 610 one yesterday but some talking points(paraphrased). However, don't quote me on anything from this point forward. Serious! Spoiler -It was a letdown energy wise. We were low energy. It takes high effort to win the game. We can't just go out there and depend on 1-2 guys to ride. -(Declining the options on 09ers. What does that mean in terms of big picture for the Rockets?): Doesn't mean they can't necessarily come back(Bima) but gives the flexibility to use for a trade or signing. Gives us the ability to add a major piece if available. -(Looks as if it gives you room to make a run at FA?): FA but it can also be trade. Gives you a lot of ability to upgrade the team. -(On Lowry's 2-16 night): Obviously won't always have a night like that but when Lowry has a off night, we need others to step up. When you're chasing in the West, you have to win the games that are winnable at home. By losing that game, we went from being on pace to making the playoffs to missing. We had to win 11 in a row to be on pace to make the playoffs. It's about to get tough after this stretch. -(How is the schedule affecting teams?): We saw that yesterday. A bunch of our guys are playing heavy minutes. We've needed that to get the wins but we saw that yesterday, where they're mentally tired. You feel like this is a team you can beat. Instead of giving 110%, you say I can give 100%. It's difficult to bring high effort. It why teams have guys they can ride during a season. (Arent you facing superstars less?): I was thinking of ourselves. We have been a team for awhile that...we have no Yao Ming. We have no guy we can ride. We're a team that you gotta bring high energy every night. Some nights you will have nights like last night. -(Thoughts on Parsons?): He was high energy yesterday. He'll find it hard too. He was terrific yesterday. A bright spot in a loss. I thought he had his best game yesterday in what he was able to do and pick up his teammates. -(When you see the quote high energy guy in college, does it translate to the NBA game? Is that transferable to the next level?): Yeah I think its one of the more transferable things. It is hard physically and mentally to do it like the Tyler Hansbrough. I do think its something that translates. Chandler continues to surprise us with, he unveils new things as we go along. He figured out early, I'm going to the rim. Yesterday, he showed some new things in terms of ability of a guy that can attack the other team. -(4 young guys(09ers) and trade that wasn't, on McHale handling the locker-room): Coach McHale does an unbelievable job with constant communication with the players. Brooks last year, that was a challenge. Also goes the other way where players are motivated. With McHale and staff, they've been excellent in terms of constant communication. We played 8 guys last night and 7 who thought they should play. You might not be happy on the plane but he takes the time to talk to those 7 guys about why they're not playing and what they need to do. McHale does an excellent job. -(Best of luck against Wizards/Knicks. Thank you Daryl.): Appreciate it. These next 3 are critical to stay in the playoffs chase.
Is this a slap of Adelman? Or a sincere measure of his team vs a great coach. can't tell. Regardless...sounds like they definitely had that game circled on their calendar. And McHale probably did for personal reasons as well. the fans should not have booed him. "Oh, you're going small 'eh, Rick. Well guess what...we had this planned all year."
Thanks, it seems like the Rockets might use the 09 busts' expiring contracts to execute a salary-eating trade if a beneficial one is available.
