After watching last nights game I finally realized what the Rocket's main problem is. LEADERSHIP. Yes T-mac and Yao are our go to guys, and Yao even has his moments when we need leadership. Look at the players body language when T-mac is not on the court. Everyone seems puzzled and we struggle to score. I honeslty thought we addressed this problem in the offseason by getting James, Francis, Scola and I'm not sure if its going to take some time, but what I'm seeing now is a bunch of players who are all relying on T-mac to carry them. I hate to say this but when you look at other teams such as the Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Celtics you atleast have 3 main guys who can score without anyone setting them up. The Mavs have so many weapons that don't have to rely on Nowitzki at all times. I honesltly hope our problem is that the Rockets are just trying to get Adelman's offensive schemes, but from what I'm seeing is that the Rocket's are lacking another leader who can take the pressure off of T-mac and Yao. I do believe we will easily make the Playoffs but what good does that matter when we cannot compete with these Contenders.
absolutely right. i completely agree with you. Battier Hayes Rafer and James seems can't get points by themselves when MacGrady is not on the court. i expect two thing: adequately to bring Scola's talent into full play . and another is Yao become more truculent.
I have never been the kind of guy to suggest this type of thing. I guess sometimes for fun. But never seriously. I hate threads with some random guy suggesting a trade. But we need a leader -a player who wants to be here -would fit in quickly -make an immediate impact -who has been there before -isn't afraid to yell or challenge players (nobody yells at T-Mac for taking bad shots) -doesn't cripple us with an outrageous contract -doesn't require we trade our assets or wage our future -a player with dreams of becoming a coach -a competitor -a trash talker -someone with fire and passion God dont take this the wrong way... But that guy is Sam Cassell. He is streaky, shoots a little too much, not great on D, and is injury prone. But he possesses the intangibles we so desperately need. Francis+salary 4 Cassell Seems crazy now. But the first time you see Cassell pull McGrady to the side and talk to him after McGrady has just gone 2-13 shooting mid range jumpers you will love it. The first time he gives D. Williams a hard foul. When he hits a buzzer beater at Dallas, looks over at Avery Johnson and smiles. You'd love it. Sam only has 1-2 impact years left though. I still believe Francis can contribute, add to the fact Bonzi may jet next season for money. But we can win now. So let it be.
Wow, you just raised the average level of english vocabulary by about 10% and you are Chinese? Truculent is a word not used much anymore, rather archaic, or something used at Universities. But it is a good word. Let us know when you have an idea of how to make Yao more truculent. I can imagine Tracy commenting to the rest of the bench: "Boy Yao's truculence is at a high level tonight!" And everyone would nod in agreement. Then they would all get on their electronic blackberries and ask a friend: "what does truculence mean? Is that anything like flatulence cause that is not a good thing!"
Currently TMac is the "unofficial" leader as in last playoff he said it was on him to make sure Rockets pass the first round.
I`d be fine with Cassell, but did you notice that most of the things on your list would also apply to Steve Francis?
Leadership needs to come from your guards. They're the guys with the ball in their hands the most, and they're the primary decision makers and playmakers. When you're relying on players like Rafer, Mike, Luther, and even Steve to lead you, you're dealing with erratic personalities and gameplay in Rafer/Mike and very poor decision makers in Luther and Steve. I think that's a problem.
yeah,my english is very poor,and thanks to point out my fault. and i am thinking if i passed CET6 ,shoud i thanks to tou again. i found your imagination is amazing,i'm sure you can be a good novelist if you want.do you think so
Our two leaders aren't very good in crunch time. We can't depend on T-mac because he loves to pull up for contested jumpers. When penetrating, he can't finished or dish out to guards who can't consistently knocking down 3's. Yao is horrible in the 4th quarter. He either turns over the ball or too scared to shoot. Praying for the double team to come so that he can give up the ball. Then the ball usually ends up in Alston's hands. Of course, our starting PG would up and miss by a mile. The Rockets needs a finisher. T-mac and Yao haven't and probably will never get the job done.
The best possible leader on this team is Steve Francis. I don't know if he can handle it for sure, but definitely none of the other guards have the potential to be that guy. And as someone already mentioned, it needs to be from the guy with the ball in his hands the most, the point guard. Steve is a veteran, but RA has taken away any leadership ability that he could have brought to the team by making him the last person on the bench. That destroys your credibility with teammates in my opinion. We need some more veteran meaness or championship experience on this team though. Right now, Tmac wants to be the vocal leader for the team because he is the most talented player. But Tmac doesn't have the pyschological skills to help other players raise to their highest level of performance. I think everyone is worried about pissing off Tmac, not looking to him for guidance on the court. And I think Tmac may be the problem for Steve because he could be uncomfortable with the possibility of Steve becoming the vocal leader on this team. Regardless of whatever Steve lacks in talent compared to Tmac, I think he has more fire in his heart. Even Kobe takes a step back and allows Derek Fisher to be vocal and run things on the court most of the time this year. It take pressure off of Kobe and allows the team to get into the game more. Kobe can still be Kobe when he needs to be, but the rest of the team is building their confidence behind the leadership of Fisher on the court. Tmac needs to take a page out of this book and beg RA to start Steve so that they can start getting their chemistry together for the playoffs. With the current roster, they will need Steve to play 35 plus minutes in the playoffs if they have any hope of being successful at all; and about 38 to 40 minutes plus from Yao and Tracy; probably 35 plus for Scola as well.
Tmac is the accepted leader in the locker. And that the problem because it's like putting all the eggs in one basket. It's better to have strong system in which everyone knowing what and when to execute than having "superstars" carrying the load. Great teams like Spur, Mavs and PHX have the mentality or atmosphere that allow and encourage surrounding players into solid contributors instead of just relying on the "superstars". We have the "it's Tmac and Yao team so why should I care" mentality. Well, when your leader goes off and stated "it's all on me" on TV, no wonder teammates are not motivated to work extra hard for the team. There are no I in the team.
