I have watched the last three games (Chi, Det, and Mil last night), and, yes, TMac has returned to the lineup, but at least important, strictly from a 'fan-watching-a-basketball-game-on-TV' perspective, is the apparent decision by JVG that the young guys on the team are going to see a lot more time, and that he is going to be serious about using them, instead of merely running them out there because there is no other choice, a la the Dallas game a few days ago (where the Rox did not even bother to show up). And picking Hayes back up, whoa. Now obviously the young guys are going to see more time with all the injuries anyway, bu that's not exactly what I mean. It just seems like there is a different attitude. Lucas running the floor (did you SEE how fast that kid raced in for that layup??), Baxter starting to gain some confidence, taking some pride in defense and rebounding, being cheered by his teammates for drawing not one but two charges late in that game .. and Hayes, good grief, what can you say about THAT kid?? How tall is he?? 6'4" maybe?? If you could take Hayes' brain and put it into Stro's body, that would be a.. well, it would be a big bloody mess, yes, but if you could actually make it WORK, then you would have one heck of a basketball player. As it is, Hayes has shown that he is heady, quick, deceptively athletic, has a great set of hands, a real knack for getting the loose balls and rebounds, and has a serious hoops IQ. Keeper, no question. And Head?? Geez, how many of the people who, on Draft Night, were screaming 'We took WHO??? Luther Freaking HEAD??? NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!' are now among those who say they would not even think of including Head in a trade? That guy has made this town his. So is this the inevitable 'changing of the guard' that we all know has to come sooner or later? Wesley, Sura, Barry, Norris.. solid bench-caliber role players all, and most of them played a big part in our run last year. But these new kids are just more fun to watch. We'll keep our same core, of course, TMac and Yao, followed by Stro and Howard, and Head and Alston.. and Deke can stay as long as he can breathe and walk, as far as I am concerned (if we could win a championship with Charles Jones as our backup 5, we can win one with Deke in that spot). But even keeping Deke and DA, and with the addition of (probably) a mid lottery pick to go with the reast of these young guys, our team is going to get a whole lot younger next year. And this is not like Gaines or Tito Maddux - these kids just have that special something that makes you pull for them. I hope they stick around, and that management takes a long-range perspective on this, and decides to keep a kid instead of a vet when the time comes to make a cut. Maybe deal Norris for a future 2 or something. As dismal as this season has been, for the most part, it's nice to have at least a couple of bright spots. I just don't want to open the paper soon and see 'Rockets Release Hayes' or Rockets Release Lucas' ..
Good post. I feel pretty much the same way. I worry a little that the hunger these guys are playing with might dissipate a little when they get a gauranteed contract, but hopefully they can be signed to one year deals and still have to play every game like it's their last in the league. It's always disappointing when you see some guy playing his heart out for a contract, then once he does sign the contract you find out he must have literally played his heart out, because there is no heart left in the guy.
This was purely accidental; our use of young and energetic players was thrust upon VG by our MASH'd-up rotation. Nonetheless, we are getting younger and hungrier by default, and this is--as you have put it so well-- worth standing up and cheering for ! I just hope that young and hungry does not get shelved as the vets return...
The youth movement may well have begun for the Rockets. I don't think JVG has a problem with playing younger guys as long as they have good b-ball IQ. His biggest concern is them making critical, bone headed errors while on the floor. Basically if the young guys keep playing with hustle and smarts he will keep them in the rotation. There is a misguided perception on this board about JVG playing rookies and younger player but it really is he doesn't want to play dumb players regardless of age. Chuck Hayes seems to be a good rebounder for his size much like Charles Barkely was. Not saying he is the next Chuckster but he seems to know how to get good position on much taller players to secure rebounds. T-Mac seems to like the younger guys we have brought in so I expect them to continue to see a fair amount of minutes even when our veterans come back. This will also keep the vets a lot fresher due to the reduced minutes which I am sure is a good thing. Now if we can just get Yao back into the lineup we might be able to make a run for the playoffs. We are only 6 games out of the 8 seed as of today which is very achievable in my opinion. I haven't lost hope yet and won't lose hope until we are mathmatically eliminated. GO ROCKETS!!!
What makes me like this team is that in many of the games where we had nobody playing, we were in the game down to the 4th qtr... meaning, they never really gave up. They suck, but they're cheerably sucky. I still doubt they do enough damage this season, but hopefully they'll have better luck without injuries next season.
I have never really given up but it is so much fun now to watch, hope and root for the good guys. This Hayes has done something to me. Interestingly Hayes, Head and Baxter were part of the solid starting 5 that took the summer league by storm en route to winning every game. Those guys contributing to this team now must "good-karmaly" have something to do with this impending upswing. Oh btw, great thread and contributions so far - 5-star worthy.
Agreed, Fegwu.. And, come to think of it, I was totally forgetting VSpan too next year.. hm. I think this is going to be a very interesting offseason and next year is really going to bring us a bunch of guys with different numbers on their shirts. Anyway, let's just see if we can finally win a HOME game tonight against one of the only teams in worse shape than WE are!
Per Nero: "It just seems like there is a different attitude. Lucas running the floor (did you SEE how fast that kid raced in for that layup??), Baxter starting to gain some confidence, taking some pride in defense and rebounding, being cheered by his teammates for drawing not one but two charges late in that game .. and Hayes, good grief, what can you say about THAT kid?? How tall is he?? 6'4" maybe??" Good thread and I am really enjoying watching the games again!! We gave Detroit a competitve game at home!
It was not just that we were losing that was so depressing, it was knowing that all we have to look forward to is more old or cheap vets trying to come back from injuries. I say, keep going with the youth movement. Trade Deke (who deserves better and has been a real stud) and Wesley, Stromile, Anderson and Moochie etc. for some youngsters. Keep auditioning young talent from the development league or wherever. Maybe with Hayes we have struck it rich. Maybe we can find someone else. Having some young talent could help us in the future or even give us some more tradeable assets, something we are sorely lacking. This team is not going to win it all next year either, so why put Deke and us through this? Why waste Yao and T-Mac's young years hoping some old guys can play again. Maybe if you get rid of the really old vets, then Yao and T-Mac will be forced to be the real vet leaders they need to be. It will still be two or three years till we are ready to challenge, so why not build for then and put out an interesting product out in the meantime.
It's all about getting winners. It is so obvious to me Hayes and Baxter are winners. I would be disappointed if we don't keep Hayes for the playoffs to come for the next several years.
Something tells me that lil Hayes is going to be a Rocket for a long while unless a team like makes a ridiculous trade offer to nab him. Nero's thread is good karma. P.S. I knew this team was on to something after watching them push Detriot despite being depleted. Keep on rolling Rox.
It's been pretty amazing, but our young guys have been carrying us these last few games. The key for them is the college experience. This was the lineup that helped us pull away tonight: Luther-4 years at Illinois, national title game Baxter-4 years at Maryland, national championship Hayes-4 years at Kentucky, national defensive player of the year JLIII- 4 years of college, including 2 at OSU, making the final 4. All 4 of those guys were out there together and playing great. Also, Rafer really seems to have chemistry with Baxter and Hayes. These guys are better at the catching and finishing around the basket than Juwan because they still have some hop in their step. Hayes has the capability to change a game defensively. Brezec tried to post him up, and Chuck made him look like a fool. He also has deceptively good shotblocking ability. Don't forget that he hung in there and did his thing against the Pistons as well. They are about as tough and long as you can get. I love this guy and hope we never play Bowen over him ever again.
I completely agree with you, Nero. Fantastic points. Let's jettison some of these old non-players and keep our finds.
I think we can go on a big time win streak even without Yao. We have toughness and solid rebounding in the frontcourt now with Hayes. That is what we have been lacking.
