Who has been the biggest disappointment so far on the Rockets team this season? I almost voted for McGrady as he is out once again with yet another one of his myriad of injuries and we have seen the team that he is supposed to be the "leader" of barely scrape over .500. But then I remember how the dude is always hurt and how he has never led a team out of the first round of the playoffs and then realize this is par for the course for him. So that is why I did not vote for him. I voted Mike James instead. This team has desperately been needing a 3rd scorer and one that can create his own shot. Many here, including me, have been trumping his return to Houston as something that would put the Rockets over the top. Instead he gets off to a poor shooting start and now he is in Adelman's doghouse as he is racking up quite a few DNP-CDs. A close second would be Steve Francis. I never thought he was a good fit here but I was excited to get him back cheaply and felt that if he bought in to the role he was supposed to play that it would only make the Rockets that much more dangerous. Instead he came to camp out of shape and has had a hard time getting along with Adelman. He finally gets his chance and starts to do well and now he has the flu, quadriceps injury, and other crap happen to him. A complete bust (like James) so far. Biggest surprise by far has been Alston. He has had a nice season (at least for him) so far. I still don't think he is starter quality but he is really the best option we got so far at the 1 spot.
Either James or Francis. Though, I have to say Battier's declining offense has also been a disappointment.
I have to agree with you, except for your characterization of TMac. I had really hoped James would provide a powerful punch of offense off the bench, and be someone who could knock down shots when TMac and Yao got double teamed. I thought his sucking in Minnesota was just because of chemistry issues. But, wow ... it seems like his career is over. Francis was higher risk, but again, I hoped that his play in NY was an aberration too, and that he'd come in and take over at PG. Francis still might come back ala Wells, because of coming in out of shape, while he was wallowing in his 30+million windfall, and just like Wells, has gotten injured. But, his knee just might be gone. I don't know if his career is over yet, but it doesn't look good. But, coming in out of shape is disappointing, in itself. I was dissappointed with Head too, but it seems like he's coming around. Alston wasn't doing very well for awhile either, but he's been pretty hot lately. But, I don't agree with a lot of the crap being said about TMac. TMac came in on fire, and a full believer in Adelman. As I've said in other threads, I don't think he lost confidence in Adelman, I think he was discouraged about how his teammates couldn't hit the side of the barn, when he thought we'd gone out and gotten good talent to finally put us over the top. I think he lost confidence in his teammates to get Adelman's offense, not him, and tried to experiment with whatever he could do to win. He may have let his discouragement affect him on his injuries, but from what I've now read, he had THREE injuries that accumulated because he kept playing through them. His output dropped because of those injuries. All these insults have to be hard for him to read, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did get moody and want to be traded for a bit, partly because his teammates were sucking, and partly because the fans here turned on him. Once he sees there aren't really any better places he could be traded to that would be better than here, and that his teammates are finally getting it, I think he'll come in and kick some serious a**.
To 99% of the users here, it has been unquestionably Steve Francis. Everyone here thought he'd be our 3rd scorer and put us over the top, but what a joke that turned out to be. I however never hopped on the Francis bandwagon. I predicted he'd dissapoint everyone who thought he'd be a major contributor. It feels good being right The biggest dissapointment to me has been Mike James. I actually thought he would be a solid role player but he can't play within the system.
I say James, I had zero expectations for Steve. T-Mac looked good than got banged up I'm really not upset about him being hurt because it's not his back just a fluke deal. He might be a little soft but I don't think he has lost anything.
Mike James has definitely been a disappointment. I expected him to come in pumped up to contribute to a contender after being saved from the rebuilding project in Minnesota. He talked a lot prior to the season, which a lot of people said we needed to increase our swagger, but the talk hasn't amounted to much on the court. We needed him to be the #3 scorer, and even though we know he's a jacker, that can be OK if you're knocking down the shots. When you're not hitting, then there isn't much place for a small, ball-dominating guard who can't pass or defend well on the court, even if you can spout off %$#&% after saying your name. Anyway, I hope he and Steve get another shot to contribute, but they both need to earn it because Luther and Aaron Brooks are only gonna get more comfortable with their increased PT.
How many games have you actually watched Manny? So far - The Bad. 1.) Rick Adelman's system not producing. Even when Tracy comes out and drops 47 on the jazz and we're 6-1 I could tell this offense wasn't running smoothly at all and it was going to take a while to make it fit. 2.) Tracy's injury troubles / motivation. The continuous hotbed of GARM discussion. 3.) Mike James starting out strong and then disappearing off the face of the earth. Very disappointing to say the least, Mike has given us next to nothing. 4.) Shane Battier not being reliable at all on the open shot. His defense is invaluable but no doubt he's been very inconsistent when it comes to knocking down the 3 ball. Usually you count on at least a 2-5 performance, but 0fers have popped up too much. 5.) Steve Francis not even being in shape enough to get minutes. Not much of a risk, but Steve cannot do what he used to do and just gets blown by time and again vs the quicker guards in the league. It was nice when he showed some of that heart vs the Suns to get us that win, but I don't think he has much left in the tank at this part. I'm not too disappointed because I for one was not expecting him to be the starter, but I guess I thought he could at least chip in off the bench. 6.) Bonzi's inconsistency / inability to make layups or Free Throws. Some nights Bonzi seems just unstoppable, then some nights it looks like he doesn't care as much. Overall this hasn't been a big problem because I think for the most past he's been great this year, but the blown layups and missed free throws are really aggravating. 7.) Yao's decline in production due to inability to hit open shots. This is starting to get better, but when Yao was getting mugged down low because nobody could hit a shot on the kick out, things were not looking good at all. 8.) The stalemate of trying to run a high scoring offense without losing our 2 defensive specialists. You lose so much by taking Chuck and Shane out of the lineup, the +/- stats prove that. A lot of people want Luis Scola to start and it must be tough for Rick to not play him more some nights. 9.) The officiating. I must say this is my first year getting to watch every single game on TV... and for the first month or so I was appalled at the officiating against Yao. I always knew Yao wouldn't get some calls, but my god sometimes the refs are so stupid and have no idea what they are doing down there. It has gotten better lately, but I swear I was screaming WTF REFS at least 10 times a game for a stretch there. The Good. 1.) The Guard play in the past few weeks. Specifically the leadership of Rafer Alston. His sudden ability to take the ball to the hoop (the teardrop has become unstoppable.) And of course Aaron Brooks contributing in his limited minutes while Luther Head, (despite a somewhat inane ability to throw a boneheaded pass 2-3 times per game) stepping up as our best shooter. 2.) Yao Ming settling into the offense and looking more comfortable because of the guards hitting shots. 3.) Luis Scola's constant hustle and tenacity. You've got to be excited about our 2 rookies. Luis is developing into an offensive force to be reckoned with and Aaron Brooks has shown he can play point guard in this league. They have a couple things they need to get ironed out still, but still you have to love the energy these guys bring off the bench. 4.) The Defense. If you watched the game last night you know why the Rockets were able to win despite a glut of miscues. Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes simply locked down Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. JVG might be gone but with Tracy out of the lineup, the commitment to defense has been the reason we've won games. I heard Greg Anthony talk about how Yao and Tracy aren't going to win a championship like a Wade/Shaq because they aren't good defenders. I disagree on the Yao part, I think his defense has gotten so much better over the years. He doesn't commit too many bad fouls any more, and he seems to be able to get a lot more blocked shots by not getting fooled as much. That comes with the experience.
Sherlock, I have always enjoyed reading your posts as I know you know your stuff. I was probably a little too hard on McGrady, but it has been so frustrating to me as a fan to see this guy get hurt all the time. My biggest worry is that we have the "Ken Griffey, Jr" of basketball players. A guy with tremendous ability but never healthy enough to lead the team to the championship. I mean when Griffey Jr first came onto the scene, people were talking about how he would be the one, not Barry Bonds, to break the home run record and it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he would win a few WS rings. Now look at him - no WS rings and no shot at breaking the home run record. I am afraid that we have the basketball version of Griffey Jr on our team.
moe, Good post; I have only been able to see about 3 or 4 games this year (the ones that have been on ESPN). I knew, realistically, that we as fans had set our goals too high with this team as they were adjusting to a new coach and offense plus several new players. I am just amazed that Mike James has been so terrible - that's all (as well as how McGrady keeps getting hurt).
Definitely MJ, he is not suitable for RA's system, he does everything on his own, he's not a team player.
Gotta go w/ James too. We were expecting something out of him and so far he's fallen to the very end of the bench. We picked up Francis like picking up a dollar bill in a parking lot.
I'm sorry but did Anthony really say that?? Did he really say that Wade's defense is better than TMac's?????? Anyone who has watched Wade knows that he gives effort, but the man simply too often lets people get by him. His best defense is that he flops around on offense and gets 2 quick calls on the man he's supposed to be defending on the defensive end.
I voted for Francis, but it was close between him and James. The reason I voted for Francis was because the last couple of times he played he just looked terrible and even old and washed up. I actually thought James was just in a shooting slump and that he would come out of it. But I guess the only thing he's gotten out of is..the rotation.
