There is none. Tmac and Yao are not leaders, they are just two superstars. They don't take it personally when our team is down... They are not motivators, they don't push this team to the limit. We are playing with no passion, just walking up and down with our heads hanging down... I know our team have no attitude problems and i know everyone on this team hope the best for the team, but when things are down, we fall apart... Who is going to be that guy that pushes us and drives us??? Tmac? Battier? Yao?JVG? we need a robert horry or a sam cassel on this team... or at least someone who can give this team some damn energy
I've been thinking this since we tanked the last game. We may have some brilliant basketball players but we have no one with any fire on the court or directing plays. We have guys on the bench (VSpan anyone?) who might fit the bill, but no one getting signifigant PT right now.
I know Clutch and some others would back me up on this, but if we would have gotten Mike James at the deadline, we would probably be waiting for Golden State in the 2nd round by now. As much as everyone wants to dump on James and his contract and his age and his ball hogging, he has balls and heart. He would have been our Cassell this year and wouldn't have let the Rockets play with their tails between their legs.
Im not sure that MJ is the answer- I really think we have the fire on our team right now, we just have to nourish it. Furthermore, I'm wary of ego-stoked players, ala Barkley, Rodman or Artest. All players I LOVE, but soooo high-maintainance, and we all know that JVG doesnt do that.
Mike James is no Sam Cassell. Not even close. And I sincerely doubt he could function as one. Chances are better that he'd be just another 42%-3pt-shooter who's lost his aim in this series.
For a team with no leaders, being tied 2-2 with the Jazz is pretty impressive. When will you guys get it? OK lets see... the first two games were played @ Houston and we won. The next two games were @ Utah and they won. Anybody see a correlation?
You can't nourish something you don't have. They aren't playing with any fire or urgency. This is like what happened two years ago. They got out to a 2-0 lead and got complacent. This is like how the Rockets can't close out 4th quarters but magnified. You can't just say "we have to have the killer instinct" or "I need to impose my will on the game" or "I need to take the ball more to the basket" if you don't truly act upon it. As for Mike James, maybe I made a stretch when I compared him to Cassell. But all I know is that he wouldn't be playing scared like how most of the Rockets are right now. They need to channel some Rockets of the past or something.....
T-Mac is the captain of this team. He should be our leader what he was doing when the game on the line nothing. He need to take charge by making other player better. His assist went down at the same time with his shooting. Our bench showed up but no effort to help out still outscore 33-10 will not count garbage time. Jeff is being stubborn by not playing Kirk Snyder why? I hope we were be able to use Bonzi Wells in this series. Let's take care our home court and finish them in 6 I do not want to go 7.
When we got Shane Battier. . . I was told he was 'our HEART guy' He was suppose to bring that HEART to this team I remember alot of people saying that is what the Big Intangibles brought to this team Rocket River
And Battier does bring the intangibles. The problem is the game is won with tangibles like scoring. Our team rises and falls with T-Mac, no question. He has to lead. Has to. I still have nightmares of Game 7 in Dallas..... Does a leader allow that to happen? Does a leader allow his team to lose 19 in a row? This has always been the question with T-Mac. When it gets tough, can he get tougher? So far in his career, the answer has been "no". Evidence: 0-for whatever in playoff clinching games. And he has always been the go to guy since Orlando. Yao can't carry this team because his productivity is, to a good measure, dependent on those around him feeding him the ball and helping to get rid of double/triple teams. T-Mac doesn't have that excuse. He has to lead.