Morey recently came out with the statement that our top FA target is Rashard Lewis. My first reaction was -- nice piece of PR, with little downside. This got me to thinking: how much of what we have heard and seen recently is, at it's core, management of public perception of the team. 1. Ownership didn't like the perception that JVG ball was ugly and not fun to watch. Wants a more popular, fast paced, offense oriented offense. Short of that, and more important than reality, ownership wants the perception of that. 2. The Adelman hire is a clear indication that we're deading down that road, to a degree we won't understand until midway through next year. 3. We were all initially shocked by the Brooks selection. Then came the statements that Brooks brings us speed, and then the corrolary statement that speed is the NBA game now and we're shifting to that direction. Landry was also characterized as a selection based on athleticism. Both appear to be true on its face. but seriously, how much impact will these 2 rookies have in the next year or two? If we're relying on major contributions, which we can't reasonably be relying on, we're grasping at straws. I don't think mgmt is relying on these guys much. Just an excuse to reiterate the themes above -- speed, today's nba, etc. Here's the thing -- I'm somewhat concerned that all this talk about "today's NBA" and "speed" and offense is for real. 1. Pan the JVG rockets all you want. I firmly believe that the key in the Utah series was Yao's health, or more precisely, the fact that he had no strength or explosion. Insert the dominant Yao of early season, and we would have made the WCF. 2.Defense remains critical to championship aspirations, even in "today's NBA". 3. if we had kept Van Gundy, brought back a heathy Yao, did the Mike James trade, and used the MLE on the best PF available . . . I'd give us a 40/60 chance to make WCF this coming season. Would we be legit title contenders? IMO, we'd be close. I think James and a MLE PF woud have made a big difference. Many others feel this way -- a dominant Yao is the key to our future. The favorites would remain SA, PHX and Dallas, but we would be close behind that group, as would Utah. So where does this leave me (and this thread)? 1. I would have liked to give Van gundy 1 more year, but am fine withe Adelman hire. 2. I am concerned about the extent to which we're going to see offense at the expense of defense. It's generally hard to get milllionaires to scrap and give effort, and that is going to drop somewhat, the chuck hayes and battier factors aside. 3. I'm concerned about the talk about all the talk about moving Yao to the perimeter to "make things easier". that's OK for a handful of possessions a game, but i want him down low. He was MVP level dominant early last season and there is no reason to think he cannot recapture and sustain that. I think Yao knows it. Who would have ever thought he would bust out with "you can't ****ing stop me"??? that phrase, more than anything, captures the key to our future. 4. I hope and believe the volume of talk about "today's NBA", speed, atheticism, free flowing offense is more about changing public perception about this team and to sell tickets/raise excitement. You can sure bet that we'll be seeing ads featuring Rockets flying up and down the court in a blur, with fast breaks, dunks, etc. I hope that MANAGEMENT --- Adelman in particular --- understands that this is a legit team that should be intelligently refined and improved. Not Extreme Makeover. I hope Management understands that defense remains critical. Ademan, most of all, must understand that his talented Kings couldn't get a key stop, key rebound (bias by refs for Lakers understood) when they needed to. (Oh crap, I just realized that there are plenty of folks that are going to think that this is a cry to literally "Change Management" -- meaning fire Morey.) (The meaning/purpose of this thread doesn't really reflect the term "change management" as used in the corporate business sense.)
This is a very good post. I would like to add though until Yao stops playing full seasons then we are going to see a diminishing marginal returns from him as the season goes on due to fatigue.
I agree completely. For all the talk about fast teams, small-ball, and playing up-tempo, no recent champion has been like that, they've been traditional halfcourt defense-oriented teams. Having Yao play like Brad Miller/Mehmet Okur is a horrible waste; I still can't believe that people agreed with having Yao spot up for treys.
wow amazing. dude i love you. JVG should have stayed and we just add in Mike and a PF into the mix. I would have loved to see how far they could have gone with that line up and coaching staff. Especially with a fully healthy Yao and Mac
I'm more concerned that we will waste time and end up missing Lewis (expected) and not getting a quality 4, and have 30 point guards on the roster
oh hell. it's been a long while since I started a thread. How about "Reading Messages from Management". I dnno. I was trying to be clever in doing a pun on "change management", the business term. Cripes.
if jvg was still coach I'm not sure he would have let JH be traded away and if we did land james i'm not sure if jvg will give him significant minutes
Yo RileyDog - I agree with many of the points you made, but disagree with one critical factor. It wasnt' defense that did us in against Utah it was an offense that went completely stagnant for long stretches. We could NEVER get a double digit lead (or hold one) against Utah because other than Yao and TMAC, nobody could get a shot off (or in). Part of this has to do with some exceedingly wimpy players like Rafer and Luther who were so totally dominated by their opposites in a physical way. That's one thing. But as I've mentioned in other threads, and why I wanted SO badly for the ROX to go and get us someone with size, athleticism and a deadly shot in the draft is so those other things would NOT matter. It's often said that a good offense is the best defense and in the regular season, Dallas and Phoenix have proven that to be true. It's even true to a certain extent in the post season. So, with only a marginally improved offense we would have crushed Utah last year. Now however Utah not only has Morris Almond, but will almost certainly sign one of my Free Agent wishes, Mo Pete from Toronto. In 2 quick and easy moves the Jazz have gone from WC runners up to WC faves next to the Spurs. I simply do not see anyone, including Dallas and Phoenix (regardless of what happens with KG) keeping Utah from the #2 seed next year. I really think your concerns about the Public Relations part of the ROX Mgmt are well founded, but not in a good way. Rick Adelman, fine. Draft, weak. Free agency targeting Rashard is a joke. This is EXACTLY like Drayton McClane letting Andy Petite go to the Yanks knowing Roger would follow but trying to appease fans by spending 100 Million on a bat that will not win us many games when it's pitching that matters most!!!! The only PR thing Drayton had going was Biggio's 3000th hit. Watch as the Astro's attendance drops into the abyss now that he's got it. With owners, they simply do not care if they can keep their corporate dollars flowing. These moves have nothing to do with "regular fans." They have to do with advertisers, and those companies that buy suites and to a lesser extent with season tix holders. That's it. Long and short of it. As I said in another thread, I truly hope TMAC goes in and bounces Morey upside the head until somebody with an actual jumpshot can replace him for 15 minutes a game.
i think the Lewis thing is 95% PR. We're not going to miss opportunities while holding onto that lottery ticket. if we do, we're idiots and this thread should be about changing management
great post. i am also a little worried about moving yao away from the basket too much. I know he can give you a little different look there, but 80% of his time should still be on the block. I also agree that there is a lot of PR going on with speed, running, etc. Buzz words that sounds nice. And another great point about 'todays nba'...the champions are still 'yesterdays nba'
Rockets R Us -- IMO, Mike James for Howard would have made a huge difference against Utah. More importantly, a healthy Yao would have beaten the crap out of Okur, rather than get stuffed in 1 on 1 coverage. In fact, I think an early season healthy Yao plus James would have given the spurs a 6 or 7 game series. 7 I think. Mo Pete would be a huge get for Utah. Morris Almond won't see time behind the likes of Harpring. In fact, he's Harpring, without the proven toughness and mid range shot. On balance, I think I'm happier with the overall direction and state of the franchise you are, but we share some of the same concerns.
Van Gundy's defense was overrated proven by the Utah shot over 48 and 50 percent the last two games. When our defense failed, we had no offense to fall back on. Winning is about having a good defense and an effecient offense. Although Adelman is offensive minded, he has shown in his history to be able to deliver both. JVG's teams historically have been at the bottom offensively. JVG is a one trick pony and good coaches like Jackson, Pops and Sloan have exposed him on every occasion.
That would be horrible, and not that it means anything to them, but I would have a hard time rooting for this team. PR fluff and the not trying to win, but will be happy with it if we do attitude has no place in the Houston Rockets. We got two championships, granted they were pretty much on the cheap, but you can't do that these days. Let's go for Rashard, but not really, is really insulting already in itself.
This seems to be certainly true. And, I think, warranted. As a fan, I'd rather watch the Suns or Wariors lose in the playoffs than the Rockets. I'd rather watch the Rockets get to the playoffs then the Warriors not for most of the past 5 years, but if we're talking about disappointment at the end of the season regardless, I'll take exciting basketball. It'd be great to be both exciting, and successful - something Addelman has had some modicum of success doing. might be true, but might also be short-sided. Utah got manhandled by San Antonio. No reason to think we also wouldn't have. The goal is improvement, for sure, but there is only 1 winner every year. We need championships, not trips to the WCF. I doubt this team stays at the same defensive level and gets a lot better offensively under Adelman. It would seem more likely that they drop off defensively and improve offensively. But to the extent that, even with Mike James isntead of Juwan, JVG's defense (even at the expense of offense) mantra hurt the team (imo), a change was necessary. So maybe next year we lose in the 1st round again, or the 2nd round. That's what we'd been doing anyway. If it means two years from now we are serious title contenders as we work back up the defensive charts and the offense continues to get more efficient, I'm fine with that. agreed. one would hope that what RAdelman is suggesting is re-incorporating some of those skills from the early years, where he'd knock down an 18 foot jumper or two during the game, while continuing to improve his dominant performance down low. This will make him that much more of an MVP possibility. but it is obviously a wait and see type thing. It doesn't look as if management is suggesting radical changes, UNLESS such changes come with great benefit. I'd say trading Battier is a radical change, as he was a very key player last year. But if it means getting Rashard, any team in the league would do it. Would the Spurs trade Bowen for Rashard? That's a tough one, but I could definitely see it happening. Morey and management are just trying to adjust where they felt the team lacked last year, namely: -Offense, speed and athleticism and frontcourt help. To a certain extent, they've addressed the first two (Mike James trade, coaching change, draft). Frontcourt need is now the big concern. Maybe it should have been addressed first, but for the next few weeks/month, we'll have to wait to see how FA and trades pan out.
where is this not really stuff coming from? It is truly odd. We contacted him as soon as was technically possible. We will make our pitch to him. If he wants to play for us, that's great, we'll take him. We can't make Rashard want to play for the Rockets, though, can we? Jsut because it may not be likely doesn't mean management is just jerking our chain to appease fans...
I didn't say that this is what they are doing, but if it is what they are doing, I would consider it an insult.
Anyone willing to give Assistant coach Gundy another year doesn't want to win. Get over it and face the fact that the guy is a freaking loser. Don't even want to hear all of this crap about Pat Riley's Knicks about a decade ago. The fact is this new NBA is gearing towards offense, fast point guards who can get to the bucket, and the league has done its homework in making sure a defense only team won't win. Assistant coach was a fool. Pet players, stand still shooters (only) and relying on one guy to run everything = a sure failure. I can still see some of his residue on some of the posters here mumbling about defense as if he was the only person who ever taught D. The offense was so poor that it was far too easy to expose, and too many first round exits was the best way to get himself sent packing. Good Riddance to him.
