They don't have any energy out there. I don't see any defense, hustling, motivation...desire...emotion....man, sometimes i wonder if this team is so down that they just can't find a reason to be motivated. How can you have a lineup of Yao, Artest and Tmac and still get whooped by a Toronto team??? I don't care if they're not fully healthy...seriously! Why is this game playing to such a low level of basketball?? I think it's time to trade someone to replace a new sense of spirit in this basketball team...something is contagious and it's spreading to everyone...even Scola and Artest who i think don't need to be reminded when it comes to motivation....can not find a way to play great basketball. They have gone through playing TWO sorry azz teams at HOME and almost got themselves whooped by both team....how pity. Something ain't right about this team...i don't know if it's the coach or a particular player but how can an entire roster not playing up their energy level all at once??
Ask yourself a question after another first round exit. Energy will come but team needs a motivation leader, that's why Mutombo signing is important. He can be grandad to Joey Dorsey but yet he's important as anyone on the team. TMac's injured and that's also discouraging because players I guess have great respect for him unlike we fans and to see him limping isn't going to get you happy.
It's almost as if the players are aware that management has arranged a Tmac trade that can't be consummated yet---for example, not until Hinrich is back, or not until they can get a better deal. Or that Tracy quietly wants out and the players are aware. Whatever the reason, the team lacks heart and hustle.
This. The biggest problem is our crappy Backcourt, T-Mac and Rafer are the source of all our problems, we need to trade them soon.
I think it's a combination of coaching and players getting down due to seeing their key players injured. Still, there is no excuse for them not to play well or TRYING to play well.
Right, RA is our starting PG, the brain our this team, he is suck all this season, tmac is no desire, hope tmac sit out and never back, we can play nuch better with Ron and Yao. tmac is sucking.
After seeing the rotations and substitutions he has made in tonights, and the last few games it's hard not to... The starters play with no energy, and the bench gets the Rockets back in the game, then the coach puts the starters back in to get behind again or loose. This not only looses us games, but it tells the starters that they don't need to play any different cause they will get their minutes anyways. And i agree with the OP why is this team still playing basketball?, any other team would rest injured players until they were 100% again, not the Rockets they come back early and get re-injured, or just play bad.
why would mcgrady want out though? after the 22 game win streak last season and getting artest to help him this year, that theory just makes no sense. it's got to be something more than just his injury but him wanting to go to a different team just doesn't make any sense.
We blame the coaching because the Rockets have never played so poorly and without intensity and effort under JVG.
We thought that this team had enough of a veteran presence and maturity level and internal chemistry to ensure that once a player's coach like Adelman (remember Tomjonavich was a player's coach too) took over, they would be able to maintain their level of intensity and care for each game, each play. But right now it looks as though we need a disciplinarian again, someone to bench T-Mac for an indefinite amount of games until he decides to care. Anyone watching that atrocity out there can tell that it's not about the injuries. Is his pulse even above 80?
I'm really hoping on this one... I rather see TMac seat on the bench and gets healthy than play ONLY if he wants too and get injured... He is playing like a 58y/o guy right now
When players are playing badly... you can't just trade them for better ones. Thats not how the NBA works. I think riding it out is the best move. I know people would like a quick fix, but more often than not the quick fix does more harm than good. Case in point: Phoenix trades Marion for O'Neal, they proceed to finish the season at a worse percentage than what they started it at, and they lose in the first round in 5 games. Not only that, but they lose a ton of financial flexibility in case they want to blow it up, and if Amare leaves in 2010 (which he probably will), they aren't going to be able to properly rebuild for a few years because of all the bad contracts. Case in point 2: Mavs trade Harris for Kidd looking for a quick fix. On paper it was a good trade for the Mavs because Kidd is the better player and it would give them a great chance to win now. But it backfires, and now they are stuck with no picks, meanwhile Harris is looking to make his first All-star game in his career. If Tmac flames out the rest of the season. We can look to trade him as a 23 million dollar expiring.
Maybe because he wants to be the #1 option, or maybe he doesn't like sharing the spotlight with Artest. I don't know what the answer is, but its pretty obvious he has quit on this team.
Tmac is playing like CRAP. But if he wasn't playing today, Yao would still be shooting 40%. Artest would basically be a few 3 pointers and thats it. Rafer is the only guy that can penetrate today it seems. Brooks, Head and Barry can't hit anything. Not to mention on the defensive end you are allowing the Raptors to shoot 50% on you. Tmac is maybe a 10th of what was wrong with this team today.
