They haven't been able to close out games because they don't have McGrady to close them out. Is there really an argument that if Yao could just play a little better we might be able to win? The guy is playing like league MVP and it hasn't been enough! Time to try something else. The Lakers are a 6th to 8th seed team and we lost twice to them without their second best player in the same week making the exact same mistakes in both games. Also the only thing we know about McGrady is that he is going to miss random groups of games for the rest of his career. I would hate to make it to the playoffs knowing that if McGrady misses one or two games in a series that we are going to lose that series. That is TERRIBLE planning because we now know it is going to happen. We might as well use these games without McGrady to try different strategies. We could have tried different things for the last three games and what would have been the worst outcome possible? We go 0-3?
Nice post doc.... I would add 1 other item to your list.... Van Gundy needs to get creative on offense... Especially in the 4th period, when you have to play half-court offense. T_Man
What about utilizing T-Mac as the sixth man-- thus limiting his minutes. I know it seems silly to pay the sixth man that much money but he's going to get that much money even if he sits out injured. Stretch out his season and his career by severely restricting his minutes. We can ride him like a wet horse when it is desperately necessary on a limited basis. I don't understand JVG. I looked at the box scoret the other day and all the DNPs: JL3, V-Span, Novak, Padgett. We lost!!!!!!!!!!
Regardless of all the points, come Play off we will be a very difficult proposition to deal with. Here is why 1. Bonzi- despite all of the crap that was spewed- is our Starting SG. Sure he needs to get more into the defensive schemes etc. But he is the only semblance of a 3rd option- in the team as we have it. Bonzi in the post-up mode can be really productive and will produce at a high level. He rebounds the ball well. Even if he comes off the bench that would be fine- as long as his role increases. This dude can play and defend 2. Tmac will in all probability be our PG- or Point Forward. We need Tmacs offense in crucial phase- Yao and others are perfectly capable of handling the load. 3. Yao will have rest between games. It will be National TV coverage- so officiating will be more in line. I am glad Yao finally said it, the 2 hands in his back happens every other possession. 4. Battier is Battier- what can I say about this guy! If there is a role Model in the NBA this guy is definitely one of the premier representatives. 5. Our bench will be OK when Kirk come back- anyway. Luther is not ready for a starting job. It will be best if he carries the 3 point shooting role. I am beyond disgusted with Rafer. So much so that after the Lakers game- I though J HO played like a rock star who suddenly drank from the well of eternal Youth and showed up to play! TWO games we could have won- barring stupid, avoidable mistakes. Luther's foul on Kwame was absolutely dumb- these guys are supposed to professional athletes. I would like to trade to upgrade- Juwan, Sura and Alston (that is 14 million approx) should fetch us something in the form of a PF and a Decent PG.
i agree with the topic but its not even guaranteed we'll make the playoffs. fact is, i dont think we'll make the playoffs without t-mac, and even if we do, i can't see us going past the first round. we need some drastic changes.
this whole win-now crap is pissing me off........ if JVG wants to keep his job, make the rockets better.... i could care less about meaningless wins if we can't even compete for a championship.
WE should never have been thinking like that in the first place. This is JVG and his contract forcing the Rockets into a NOW senario. Forget next season and the one after that!! How silly of us to accept this notion that the future is not worth building towards, because Championship teams are mostly built that way.
Yetti do you know something we don't know? If changes are indeed a couple weeks I wonder what they could be. Whatever they are I hope they make the Rockets a championship contender.
Easy, if Mark Cuban becomes the owner of the team, he will use his money to buy talented players from other teams, replace Alston with a decent PG, replace Hayes with a decent PF, get a decent backup center, get someone to backup T-mac even if T-mac can't play. He will also fill the arena with his marketing genius. He will call the referees' name to get more FT attempts for Yao and the team. He will hire the most assistant coaches in the league. There is so much an owner can do. But since the owner of the team is not willing to do it, let's face it, Rox won't win a championship in the next 3 years as there is not enough good players in the team.
