If we could we would but not with Mo's Contract and i doubt Orlando is going to let go of him. Mo will be moved out this year but to where and for who is beyond me. Maybe a nice Draft pick or somethings since we have given most of ours away in the past few years.
Hey, m_cable... I was just throwing it out there. I'm no CAPologist. So, there's no "loose my voice" about it.
A stupid article by a whiny reporter still b*tching about Houston. Both teams got better, and both teams have the talent to contenders in their conferences.
Because those "players" will get help from Yao Ming and Jimmy Jackson and Mo Taylor and others. Ooops, forgot that part!
Just like its convenient you ignore that Francis only played about fifty games when the team only won 28 games, and its convenient you ignore that a core of Francis and Mobley already won 45 games in the WEST without Ming. So, when the Rockets had a horrible year it was because Francis was hurt, but when Orlando has a horrible year it's because McGrady wasn't a leader! You forget that McGrady CONSISTENTLY took Orlando to the playoffs and Orlando had that ONE bad year. Its also silly that Rockets fans want to say that we got all these good players besides McGrady and then when you point out how the Magic sucked last season you guys say well McGrady didn’t have any help. Last I checked, Yao Ming, Maurice Taylor and Jimmy Jackson wasn't on Orlando last year. The truth is we got the core of a team that won 21 games last season and they got much of the core of a team that won 45 games. And we combined that "core" with an All-Star center, one of the best role-players in the game, a strong offensive PF, a strong bench and picked up a solid role player (Sura once he's healthy). You can’t have it both ways, if those players sucked in Orlando and didn’t give Tracy any help, how are they so much magically better because they will play for the Rockets. You sure don't have a problem having it both ways. When the Rockets lost 28 games it was because Francis was hurt and didn't have help. When Orlando lost it WASN'T because McGrady was hurt (which he was) and didn't have help. So, magically, Orlando is better with Francis and Mobley but the Rockets AREN'T better with McGrady? The Rockets won 45 games without Yao Ming, and one less WITH him. McGrady consistently went to the playoffs with Orlando and had one down year. Bottomline, the "core of a crappy team" actually had success save for one down year. Howard was on a couple of winning teams, Dallas and Washington, and it's easy to call him a "loser" because he was on some bad teams. Francis only made the playoffs ONCE, and Mobley twice. So, using your logic, Francis and Mobley as big a group of losers as Howard right? Can't have it both ways!
You’re right, there isn’t much difference between the value of Mobley and the value of Juwan Howard. As far as Francis is concerned, the Rockets have had a winning percentage with him on the court in every season except his rookie season. Even the season the season he was hurt, they won most games he actually played in. So you can use they didn’t make the playoff argument, but they won just as many games as the Magic in a much tougher conference with and without Ming.
I like Howards game and he is showing some good stuff in the pre season. He is still a rookie and pretty raw but will add some support. Now Hill of course has talent we all know that as long as he is Healthy. I would rather reevaluate his help a little bit down the road when he has played at least 30 games. If he doesn't do that it's just the same old Hill.
Hey, pgabriel. You said, "they won just as many games as the Magic in a much tougher conference with and without Ming." Well, watch how many games McGrady/Howard/and Lue win WITH Yao. See, it's called a team. And "team" is something that Francis has a hard time figuring out. Also we'll see how much tougher the Western conference is once McGrady/Yao finish the season. And we'll also see how, for some reason, the Eastern conference suddenly (in your eyes) becomes "tougher" now that Francis is there.
With the exception that Francis will help himself (see his stats this year) more so than pass to Hill or Howard. He has an inablity to maximize the player's talent around him. A key role of a PG. Oh, we've all heard it before. "But he's a scoring PG." Yeah, tell it to Orlando fans at the end of the year. "Scoring PG" is just an excuse for a PG that is bad at passing. Again, Francis has that problem with uniting the team.
Lets break out what "team guy" means, and how it results (or doesn't) in more wins. McGrady: 1) McGrady is a shooting guard. His role is much different than a PG (although, he's capable of running the point sometimes; low turnovers). 2) McGrady (or Jordan) can't do it alone. But that doesn't prevent ANYONE from watching McGrady's game, analyzing it, looking at the decisions he makes, how he plays from day-to-day then making an assessment on whether or not he'd be better off with Yao (or better talent). 3) If the talent level increases on a particular team, the chances of a "McGrady type player" to be successful (more wins or play-offs) will relativity increase based on point(s) #2. 4) So, McGrady "saying" that he needs more help, is NOT an indictment of him "not" being a team player. It's him being realistic in that he realizes that ONE player trying to carry the whole load isn't going to get it done. That's just maturity. Maybe he thought it was going to be easy to "carry the load" due to his ability to take over a game (32ppg). He's wised up since his younger days. That's why he's here with Yao. Francis: 1) Francis is a point guard (in role) trying to play like a shooting guard (except that he's less capable as one). 2) Francis (or Jordan) can't do it alone. But that doesn't prevent ANYONE from watching Francis's game, analyzing it, looking at the decisions he makes, how he plays from day to day then making an assessment whether or not he'd be better off with Yao (or more talent). 3) As the talent level increases on a particular team, the chances of a "Francis type player" to be successful (more wins or play-offs) will relativity increase based on point(s) #2. 4) Francis never "saying" that he needs more help, is NOT an indication that he's a "team (PG wise)" player. Technically (as the last 5 years has shown) he's incapable of uniting the team as a PG (or SG). We know that ONE player can't get it done. But we also know that Francis isn't good at running the team as a PG (individually/technically or team-wise). Enter Yao. Not much changed. And that's why he's was traded to Orlando.
