You really think you need the best player in the league to win the title? Realistically, you need a top 10 player in the league to win it. The Rocket's already have many pieces in place for a championship caliber team. Francis is already a top 20 player IMO, and can easily become a top 10 player in this league Cuttino is already a top 10 shooting guard, who can cancel out the other teams star guard offensively Kenny Thomas is the ideal backup power forward for any team Dan Langhi could turn out to be a valuable role player, and role players are an integral part in a championship team's success. Despite many people's high hopes for him around here, I see him developing into a Jud Buechler type player, which aint too bad! Moochie brings a different aspect to the game, and can step in, and often times provide more than the starter. Perfect complimentary player,and can handle the rock come crunch time, when the Rockets go small. Mo Taylor is a gifted power forward, with one of the best 5 face up games of any big man in the league. You surround him with a player who is the ying to his yang, and he's going to be even more effective. He just needs someone who can cover his back when he's banging with the elite big men of the west, who can help out in the rebound department, so that he doesn't get worn out, and can worry more about the offensive end. The basic makeup of this team doesn't have to change.The players the Rockets get in the draft could answer some, if not all, of the problems the Rockets have. The Rocket's are one big man and a scrapping small forward away IMO. If they do this I think they go from pretenders to contenders. ------------------ [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited April 24, 2001).]
Is it "diagnose chemistry" or "measure" it. Is it quantitative measurements like outcomes or qualitative tastes and bonds between players? ...ok, that was pretty geeky, nevermind.
TheFreak, jamcracker, heypartner, What do you think of this quote I found from somebody's post of a year ago? "....................IMO, chemistry is the one thing an NBA coach can add to his players. They already know how to play the game (most of them), so you just need them to agree on a system and embrace it as their own. In a nutshell, that's what I call chemistry. For that reason, I give Rudy top billing, even though I agree with the strange substitution critique. I tend to back off heavy criticism of substitution patterns when we find he has achieved excellent chemistry. Coaches sometimes have to use the bench and doghouse to get a response from a player. Rudy managed that pretty well..........." Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated.
Chemistry is not about 2 guys being best friends (Cat & Francis) it's about 12 guys that know what each other are suppose to be doing on the court & 12 guys who want to win and don't give a fuc$ about individual stats. All they need to worry about is winning not who is the leading scorer or anything else. I still believe that to win a championship that you must have the best player in the league on your team. Someone who can carry a team when needed. THere are games and series and points of games where someoen needs to carry the team. Shaq, Duncan, MJ, Dream, Isiah, Larry & Magic had that ability.
HeyPartner, Doesn't SAR block shots and rebound? Why would you want a shot blocking rebounder, but not him? In addition to those things he can drop 20 a night. ------------------ "Of course, thats just my opinion, I could be wrong" -- Dennis Miller
Hydra, It's the Chemistry, stupid ....hehe...sorry I just had to repeat the title. lol Seriously, there is no way for me to explain it. I can't, other than to say Kenny rebounds and blocks shots, too; see my point? No offense to SAR and all that he is, but he isn't going to stop any premier power forward, and he is no Shawn Marion maniac SF rebounder, albeit similar rebounding numbers. I have this gut feeling that SAR wouldn't fit right. Call it my bias against star SFs for this team.
HP, Complete hypothetical. Would Odom fit the chemistry with the rockets better than SAR? ------------------
as the system exists now....Yes. So would Rose. I would consider that a 3 guard line-up, because you are adding excellent passers...two of the best in the game. Rose and Odom would not require any system changes; they would allow Rudy to add all the options that currently fit the system. With that said, I'd still pass on those two for cap reasons, if it meant not being able to land a maniac-man like Shawn Marion or a PF/C defender/rebounder. The defender/rebounder is the safest way to go cap-wise, in my opinion. I would not spend cap money on the first star available.
I'm talking mainly about on-court chemistry. Knowing where your teammate is going to be before he gets there. Knowing so-and-so likes to get the ball at such-and-such spot and delivering it perfectly. Everyone on the team knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses, and utilizing that knowledge to its fullest -- instinctively. My number one criteria for a champion is having that one guy that can beat anybody in the league anytime he wants (what I usually refer to as the best player in the league, but that will always be arguable--a lot of times the guy that ends up the best player in the league is someone who's neck and neck with a few other guys during the year, then makes the last push to carry his team to the title). The next most important factor is the "chemistry", what I tried to describe above. One of the last is the number of "stars" on your team -- if you don't have the one guy, it doesn't matter (at least historically). ------------------ "I'll be gettin real drunk and making fun of everybody"
TheFreak, Do you remember a thread that covers some of the points brought up in this thread? http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005154.html Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated.
Great catch Mango. It seems there was a time when I used to put some thought into my posts. ------------------ "I'll be gettin real drunk and making fun of everybody"
". . . Knowing where your teammate is going to be . . ." Yes. I'd say the Rox need to "get more experience playing together" or "get more familiar with Rudy and his offense", rather than saying the Rox need to "improve their chemistry". Yes, the players will play better together the more they play together. Yes, the more time the players spend with Rudy, the better they'll be at Rudyball. I wouldn't call that "improving chemistry", I'd say it was more experience playing together and with Rudy's system. This is just a semantic argument, so if that's how you and heyp wanna define "chemistry", that's fine with me. I figured that by using "chemistry", TheFreak was using the media's definition of chemistry: the attitude in the clubhouse. Stuff like: ". . . Hopefully Francis will mature a little in this area and not always pass to his 'lover'. " " . . . Francis thinks about none of this, though, and ALWAYS gives the ball to his buddy Mobley. It has NOTHING to do with Francis not having confidence in Shandon, and everything to do with Francis 'looking out for his boy'. I would be surprised if Francis had chosen Anderson over Mobley even one time this entire year on a fast break. Pathetic." If "chemistry" means the Rockets need more time playing together and more time learning Rudy's system, then I heartily agree. If "chemistry" means that Francis needs to change his attitude toward his "'lover'" Mobley, or Francis/Mobley needs to be less selfish, or the Rockets need more "leadership", then I say you're a fool. We don't know what goes on the players' heads, we don't know how their personal relationships affect their play.
For the sake of this discussion on Chemistry, suppose Webber is a Rocket next season. Will it be Webber's team with Francis as the #2 guy? Francis's team with Webber as the second banana? Don't give a lame "Equals" response, because only one name can be said first when discussing a roster and its star player(s). Currently it is Francis's team and he considers it his team. There will always be somebody that is "First" among equals. Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated.
I'm sorry, I have been reading posts on this board for 2 years now, and TheFreak, and Heyp, are all making great logical points... DON'T IGNORE THIS POST We have good chemistry we've agreed on this. Pf: MO, good scorer, draws pf out, shoots long for the zone, KT: perfect hustle man and bvackup settled Backcourt: The Best Entire Backcourt in the NBA starter to backup. Period settled Center and Small Forward. We have Hakeem who has been productive for at least one more year, and if collier can develop and at least make the show he shoots, and provide some inside prescence and Cato getting a heart transplant, we should be fine. SMALL FORWARD: Draft Richard Jefferson and SIGN RUBEN PATTERSON C: Hakeem/Cato/Collier pf: Mo/KT sf: Ruben/Jefferson sg: cuttino/colson(or whoever) pg: steve/moochie Dan Langhi being the utility man of the future (3 or 2), maybe pay Bull some money and we have a CONTENDING TEAM. seems very simple to me. ------------------ -jbond77
Mango brigns up a serious issue. Basketball chemistry must be fueled from one centre, one player, not two. Right now, any sound on-the-court chemistry will emit from Francis, period. But with Webber in the mix things could change. And I don't believe for the better. Why? I think Francis, even though he could be more assertive and productive than Webber, would succumb to his youth and respectfulness by obliging Webbers desire for the ball. ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited April 27, 2001).]
Cat brings up a very good point about the help defense from the frontline. If you notice, the Rockets guards get hurt on pick and roll defense the most. Guarding this play is a 2 man job; the frontcourt player needs to help out the guard. The frontcourt defense on this team is awful, and the offseason acquisitions need to address that. The ideal scenario to address these needs would be Webber-Battier, but Davis-Battier with Mo Taylor at the 4 spot would be a good second option. I have no qualms with Shandon Anderson leaving b/c I feel a player like Shane Battier would be a much better fit with this team, and Dan Langhi should also be a very productive wing player. Clearing off Shandon's and Hakeem's salaries gives the Rockets enough cap room to sign Davis and re-sign Mo Taylor or ink the big prize in Chris Webber. If the Rockets can address their needs in this fashion, I think we could be looking at a top 5 seed in the West next season and a contendor 2 yrs down the road which would be a quick re-building process. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
