It is not pointless to plan for an injury. Why do you think we have Dikembe on the team? For his great production behind Yao? If we didn't plan for injuries there would be eight players on every team. A third scorer would be nice, but I still don't think that would be enough for us to be contenders this year. Unless Scola just turns it on above anything we've seen from him, or Landry starts becoming what everyone hopes he will become. I see us crashing and burning no matter what with the same core.
or you can consistently catch a bad match-up...and then finally breakthrough once they are out of the picture circa Rockets 94'
I love games! What if your scenario were actually more likely than it is not likely? Now that would be something...
First, your assumption of health is flawed and the results totally predicated on your over-evaluation of the talent on the current roster. You have absolutely NOTHING but your opinion and a 22 game win streak against the dregs of the EC to support your "talent" claim. Secondly, you're a businessman, right? Don't ALL good business people have contingency plans? Going to the Lottery because of injury, getting bounced around in the standings because of injury, and getting bounced out of the 1st round because of injury and not PLANNING for injury is about as dumb as it gets. Thirdly, "chemistry" is overrated. Remember how badly the Rockets sucked for the first 20 or so games last season? Winning is what builds chemistry. The Celtics didn't win because they had great chemstry...they won because they have 3 HOF-level talents. I like Scola and I'm damned glad former Spur and Cav's GM Danny Ferry was an arse and passed on him last summer. But Scola will never impact a game on the same level as Parker or Manu. Parker has a huge edge in transition and Ginobili can take players off the dribble. Both are 3pt capable. Scola must defend (arguably) the toughest position in the WC. Scola averaged 5 PF's/g vs the Jazz. Scola averages 4 PF's for every 35 minutes played. That's 0.7 less than Chuck Hayes for 2007-08. Much as I like him...he's not the answer.
55 wins in the toughest western conference in history without Yao for 27 of them, & 22 in a row are not just opinions, those are facts. Not apples to apples, there is no way you can find a replacement for Yao and Tmac...it is just not possible....and...neither can the Spurs or Celtics, or Pistons or any other team find a replacement for their top players. If any of their stars go down, they don't win either. Yao has been injured the last 3 years....2 by freak injury and one by stress.....but the first 3 years he was totally healthy. Tmac had a pretty good year last year but for a freak bang of knees.....you can not plan for those, you just build a team that can survive a while while they heal...and hope they have only minor injuries. The Celtics are a perfect storm, we are not gutting our roster to bring in a 3rd hall of famer, they started from scratch, we have a 55 win (almost there) team already......totally irrelevant comparison.... And if you ever played team sports and particularly basketball, you would NOT be undervaluing chemistry. Isn't that your opinion? And what you were saying I was basing my arguments on? What is good for the goose, has to be good for the gander Gater..... 14 and 9 against Utah as a rookie PF is not bad. Scola was a rookie, it took Manu and Parker a couple of years to get to where they are......and Scola has led a team as much as Ginobli has...and more than Parker.... I am not saying he is the answer, but he is a heck of a lot better than you are giving him credit for, there is a reason the team took off when he began starting......because....well....he is good. DD
I just want DD to chew on this. Yao,Tracy, and Francis are the only player on the Rox that has avg 15ppg in a singular season since 03-04. Go and check all the playoff teams in the west and check how many they have had in the same time frame. To make it worse, Francis played less than 20 games last yr. If you narrow it down, check the players that have played at least 20 mins per night.
DD: "We have good chemistry. Now all we need is a healthy season. We're due for one. Championship contenders, baby!"
The last time I checked it was the total team points that count, not just the top three. Again, I am fine with upgrading, just be judicial about it...... Exactly.....welcome aboard !! Watch the Brent Barry Press conference, he is saying EXACTLY what I have been saying that the Rockets are right there, and that adding pieces around a core is what they should do.... DD
DD, I know you're not changing you're mind and I don't expect you to, I'm just saying and stating something that is attributed to this teams failures in the playoffs. When guys aren't confortable in making plays because they've never done it their entire career, its asking too much for them to start. That's the reason Riley went out and got Williiams,walker,payton and posey. When Wade was hobbled the year before and the pistons were doubling shaq, eddie jones and damon jones couldn't make plays. They couldn't do it because they were out their "element" playing that role. Even if Yao and tracy is healthy, but a little hobbled, they don't have any player on their roster with any kind of recent track record that suggest they can elevate their offensive game in big moments of the playoffs. Recently, that's what's been the problem. The rox have asked ordinary role players to step into star status during the playoffs. I like how you bring up the spurs. The Spurs did something the rox don't have the nuts to do. They groomed Daniels to be the next pg, but they saw his ceiling which was just a avg player. They saw a 19 yr old Parker and saw his ceiling of being a elite player. They wasted no time and got Daniels out and inserted parker and won a ring. They lives with Marbury abusing him in the 1st rd, but he had upside. Also they carved room after winning the title for a 25 yr old Manu. To show they have vision, they got rid of players because as a 2nd rd pick, they knew they would need cap room to match a offer. The nuggets offered, the spurs matched. As with any business, u have to see upside in growth and potential. What player on the rox can grow as fast as Williams,Paul,Roy,or Bynum. None, because we are wasting our time on Rafer and the Battier's of the world. Scola is maxed out on his potential because he's 28. So, I don't see him ever being considered near all star for the rox which is needed in the west to compete for a title. So you keep going with your health issue and next season, we'll see how far the rox have gotten.
Ctry, I agree with everything you have been saying. I look at the Rockets the exact same way, that's why I was such a big proponent of the Rockets getting a guy like Maggette. Obvously we can't afford him, but the Rockets to me still lack that obvious penetrating, or creative 2 guard to go along side TMAC. Barry isn't Novak, as in stuck in mud, but Barry really isn't a slasher per se. He'll create alittle bit and hit the spot up 3, but at 36 I'm not really sure he offers more than a solid 20 or 25 minutes max. I still think they lack an athlete who can just put it on the floor and take it to the foul line. Where teams have to respect that players dribble drive. Too much of the Rockets offense IMO, is 3 point related. Teams double TMAC, but the player open is always standing at the 3point line waiting to huck up a 3. It's great if it goes in, but it's a low percentage shot let's face it. I would love to see when TMAC gets doubled, a player that could get the ball not take the 3 but penetrate off the rotating D, get a higher percentage shot. I just have seen the makeup of the starting unit, and the same thing always happens in 4th quarters of close games. The offense just bogs down too much and too many 3's are jacked up. We need a creator along TMAC that teams have to respect. Rafer is passive alot of the times, and his finishing at the hoop is questionable at best. He was better last year, but he disappears a lot in 4th quarters. I guess I'm just one of those people that when I've seen a particular team for a certain amount of years, I can spot their weakness. For me it's glaring, and to be honest TMAC and said it numerous times "GET HIM SOME HELP". What he mean is a penetrator creator wing man. I'm just not sure why management hasn't been listening.
The last guy left who can make us an impact a as a bench player is Josh Childress. With his floating style and above the rim game he would be a major beneficiary off t-mac to be honest. or Yao for that matter
No way! We only had 4 guys who scored in double figure (2 of them 13, 10) therefore we suck! Look at the really good teams and how many double figure scorers they had: Chicago - 7 Los Angeles X - 7 Sacramento - 7 Atlanta - 6 Indiana - 6 Denver - 5 Golden State - 5 (3 above 20ppg!) Memphis - 5 Seattle - 5 LA Lakers - 5 (only ever 4 at one time - Bynum/Gasol - and only 2 over 14ppg) Boston - 4 (not even 1 guy who averaged 20...) Clearly this shows us that you need a whole bunch of guys who can score if you're going to win a championship..... What's that? The best defensive team normally wins? I'm totally with DD. Don't screw up the team (and particularly our D) for the sake of a 3rd scorer! I totally agree that we should be looking for a backup scorer - but if we have to move Battier, then we've just shuffled things around and suddenly we're looking for a premiere defensive player who can shoot the 3 pointer at 40% (hint - there aren't many of them). As far as looking at the careers of our players and saying 'no 15ppg scorers there' - that's plain stupid! McGrady, Ming, Jackson, Francis, Mutombo have all done it. The rest haven't really had a chance... Scola, Landry, Brooks, and Harris are rookies who weren't being asked to be the main scoring threat (the team had 2 other 20ppg guys) and you'd be hard pressed arguing that Scola wouldn't average 15ppg this season if Yao Ming didn't play (post all star break he was 13.6ppg and 8.4rpg - in his first season) - but because he defers to the better scorer in the post, most likely he'll be around 10ppg again. In starter minutes, Brooks averages 16ppg. Head is a 3 year player who has also never been asked to carry the offensive load. Dorsey and Greene haven't played NBA yet (Dorsey will never average 15 per game though) Granted, Novak never will --> he's a 'situational' player and will never log enough minutes to score 15ppg. And Hayes - well, he's there to do that other thing that wins NBA championships.
I believe that I am partail to crazy J.R. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/spdL6-QR0hw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/spdL6-QR0hw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Doesn't that sound like Ricky Davis? I mean make a move on battier for outlaw and diogu, the offer Davis 3 yrs at 3.5 per. Or maybe offer head and hayes for josh boone and sign Davis for that same amount.
JR Smith, yessir! As long as we first secure Landry, I'd welcome JR to Houston. We'll also get rid of Head, obviously.
You know what.....I am done arguing this point.......we are all Rocket fans.....and any upgrade is ok with me. If they do it, fine, if not, fine..... All I care about is they win. DD
Davis would be the perfect addition. I would think he'll be a full MLE player to some team - OR re-sign with Miami. Would NJ be interested in moving Boone? And if they were, they wouldn't want 2 guaranteed contracts in return - they already have 15! Besides, Boone is only on $1.2mill - so I'm not sure the salaries would match up for either player! But they might look at Head - he'd at worst be a backup G who can shoot the 3pointer for them! I'd be thinking they'd like to keep Boone around - perhaps Sean Williams might be tradeable? Or Krstic signable? We definitely need a backup C who can contribute something on the court! Preferably one who can nail a 15' jumper (Krstic/ Pachulia) or score in the post (Boone/ Krstic/ Pachulia)
if we were a last place team trying to ensure a spot in the lottery Ricky Davis would definitely be a solid pick-up!! but because we are a potential contender...stat-padding cancers who have had a negative impact on winning their entire career need not apply... seriously, look it up, negative +/- his entire career. seriously lee, I respect you for being passionate and not backing down from your beliefs...but you're becoming the Ricky Davis of Clutchfans...
