Nice board. This is my first post. Be forewarned, I am getting on my soapbox for it. The problem with the franchise (as I see it) in this current Francis incarnation is that the players seem too comfortable and self-satisfied with their positions. There seems to be very little desire to play teamball - to do better as a team rather than individually, to actually improve the franchise. The problems with the Rockets frankly encompass the whole franchise. You have backcourt buddies Francis and Mobley playing their own version of pro two-ball and roleplaying basketball black holes rather than a point or offguard; a frontcourt composed only of the zeroes on the players' paycheques: Cato, Taylor and Rice; and finally a coach who seems too content to let his players do as they like, even when they run the team into the ground. I am still a Rockets fan. Truth is, however I am not a Francis fan or particularly a Mobley fan, or a Cato fan. I am a Rockets fan. With the #1 pick in this 2002 draft the Rockets really have a chance to turn the franchise around, but to do that, I think the franchise has to make some hard decisions. Ideally I'd like to see a cleanout, and a complete and honest rebuilding process. That however seems fairly unlikely. But honestly as it stands, the #1 pick notwithstanding, I don't think the Rockets have a chance of doin g anything more in the playoffs - assuming they reach it - other than be first-round fodder. Replies, thoughts?
i am a hardcore Rockets fan and i have to admit that I agree with you 100%. I love watching Franchise do his thing on the court but I had major doubts about this team for the next 5+ years..........until we got the #1 pick and then my hopes skyrocketed with all the possible scenarios that you read from Rockets message boards like this......... Lets just hope Rockets management has a good month of June and makes sound decisions..........Once again, my motto is any offseason is better than the one where we got Jason Collier and Dan Langhi.......
Welcome aboard, I also believe as you do, though I think Ming is the answer to the problem. One year of seasoning for Griffin, a tall and talented Ming, and a healthy Mo T at least give the team hope. I would take Ming and if Francis and Mobes don't climb aboard the orient express I would listen to offers for one or both of them. DaDakota
Welcome aboard juice. I clearly understand how you feel. The way I explain it (and hope for a better day) is youth. Pretty much most of our team "has been the best player all of their life". What I mean is they batted fourth, played shortstop and pitched every few days. For the first time in their lives, just their great skill is not enough to get it done. This is where the learning begins, when they realize that they just can't do it alone. Keep in mind how increadibly smart our previous teams were. Olajuan, Barkley, Drexler and Pippen were arguablyfour of the smartest basket ball players of their generation. Especially toward the end of their careers, when they had 15 years of experience. Eddie Johnson, Kevin Willis Mario Ellie and others were long term vets. Maloney and Drew, I suspect stopped being the best athelete soon after high school, if not sooner. They got by on moderate talent and "smarts". (well off and on) I remember Kobe Bryant forcing up an airball to be eliminated from the playoffs a few years back. Webber cost Michigan a national title by calling for a time out they did not have. He still makes a lot of mental mistakes, but at least he hs not done that again. remember when Olajuan wanted to be traded because of mystery pains. 10 years later he makes his teammates pick up his MVP trophy. Bottom line, give these Rockets a chance. I don't know what else they need, or how far this group will go. But they do need time.
pat, i second everything in your post but you got dream's name all wrong not once but twice. this is the man here. olajuwon - remember it. all this team needs is time, and 3 years isn't it. i do understand frustration though.
You're guess is as good as anyone elses......including the Rockets' organization. I say we give them this year to show signs of improvement.....if we end up with ISOs and no defense, then something has to happen during the next off season.
I love the Rockets. That being said, we're a lot better than you and many other people think. If we did gut our team, we could get a whole lot in return. We have young budding stars. The difference between our 45 win team and our lottery team is three things. The absence of Hakeem(late in career), Maurice Taylor, and migranes of our star Steven Francis. This team lost it's 15 year leader, a guy who can play with his back to the basket and the other leader to health problems. This is the most exciting time I've had as a Rockets fan, bar the championships. We lucked out and crapped out in the same season. "Sometimes you lose, but you really win. Sometimes you win, but you really lose." Mark our words when playoffs come around next season. white men can jump
A rebuilding job takes at least 10 years with a constantly changing core if you're lucky. Give Francis time. I'm not too fond of Mobley's generosity with the ball. And how long can their friendship last when Mobley's next extension comes up? I can't guess about money issues and loyalty. Olajuwon was prone to foul trouble in his early years. And before he deeply committed to Islam, he was known more for his angry tirades and contract disputes. If someone told you that Dream would be a candidate for Sportsman of the Year in his career twelve years ago, you'd ask him to put money on it. It's a process. Stars aren't all like Grant Hill and Duncan who comes with a packaged smile and a bottle of Sprite.
Hasn't Francis alread been given enough time? We can't keep excusing ourselves from the playoffs by blaming it on injuries or chemistry or maturity, when the real problem seems to be our singular lack of talent, leadership and or a superstar. Francis is neither a leader or a superstar. A superstar displays leadership; he puts the team on his back and carries them to playoffs, to the finals, to championships, regardless of injuries, chemistry or general lack of talent. The problem with Francis is that he believes he is greater than the franchise. No player is greater than the franchise, the only player who should even countenance telling management which players should stay and go, which players to draft and which to trade, are players with rings. Lots of them. The last player to actually do that was MJ, and right now Francis sure ain't MJ. Quite honestly Francis' atittude and temperament are the biggest problem with the franchise, and i don't see them getting better. Right now the Rockets franchise seems to lack direction - trying to plug holes when the whole dam is about to bust open. I do think it is time for a new direction. Time to rebuild.
maybe welcome, maybe no You are giving this man absolutly no credit, and for that I must discredit your opinions. Go Rockets!!
i guess you're joking. since when is not even 3 full years alot of time? let's look at his progress. rookie season - team still belongs to the vets, he begins to learn the ropes, we struggle but not by his own fault. second season- he leads us to the best record EVER to not make the playoffs. third season - our whole team is injured, steve most significantly, we have the most roster changes in the league made worse by being one of the youngest teams, we win something like 2 games without steve. i don't see what the problem is, other than a young team taking some growing pains. gaining maturity and injuries are not just excuses that we make to feel better. why? because our team is in fact really young and we were in fact severely beaten up. i hate that more than anything. it's like someone says to me. "hey let's go play ball." "no, i can't i broke my leg" "well, so you used that excuse last week" "but my leg is still broken" "well it doesn't matter you can't use that excuse anymore" this is basically what your're saying. now if next year we're healthy and we don't improve i'll agree with some people here but i believe last year was an aberration.
I agree with you juice! This franchise isn't going anywhere. Francis is a total bust after 3 years! Man the Grizzlies ended up getting the better of that deal Even worse, the same thing is going to happen if they take Ming #1. That will set the rebuilding effort back 15 years. Abandon ship! I can't wait until my 40s for the Rockets to become good. I say just get rid of everybody and model after the Clippers. I can't wait until my 40s for another great Rockets team and since CD won't take my phone calls and advice, I'm becoming a Clippers fan.
God I hope I haven't been out with amensia that long. Who's the president? George Bush you say? Whew...I guess I didn't miss that much
I definitely agree with ya. There seems to be a terribly casual attitude on the team right now. They talk a good game but they have a lot to learn about what it takes to win. Neither Francis or Mobley are really leadership material right now. It's the blind and dumb leading the blind and dumb right now.
DaDakota, are you suggesting that Yao Ming should be the centerpiece of this franchise. He won't be able to attend training camp or preseason workouts or even all the preseason games. There will be a language barrier. He won't dominate like other franchise players do (think Dirk Nowinski when he first came into the league w/ out the benefit of training w/ his team or knowing the language). This cat will not, I REPEAT WILL NOT, turn this franchise around. Francis is the truth, he wants to win, and he is willing to stick w/ the team till it gets to where it needs to be. I agree the organization has problems (many of the problems originate w/ Rudy T) but give the young guys credit, they try hard. Ming is a curiosity, nothing more. Give Steve a team that he feels comfortable passing the ball to. Give Steve a team that knows what defense and rebounding is. Give Steve CARON BUTLER (shameless plug) and in 2 years we will be in the western conference finals w/ Sac town. Really do we need another guy that can shoot lights out but not play defense, really?
The Nets The Celtics The Kings The Mavericks The Warriors The Cavaliers The Grizzlies The Timberwolves The Nuggets The Hawks These are all teams that floundered for 5-10 years maybe making a low seeded appearance in the playoffs here and there but overall just generally sucking. Some of these teams have finally gotten themselves to a competitive level. With the exception of Kidd, the teams that got competitive stuck with the stars that they have (tweaking the roster instead of overhauling it Florida Marlins style). You think it so easy to just scrap what we have and get two more 20 ppg scorers. How long did it take with Kenny, Vmax, OT, and Dream? We kept them together for quite awhile adding pieces (Horry, Cassell, Mario, Chucky Brown ). Your argument irritates me a bit because it is shortsighted and impatient. This is our big opportunity. The planets are aligning for us. Sit back and enjoy the show!
Exactly BBFreak. The worst thing about fantasy leagues, everybody thinks they can play GM and assemble the best tream by making blockbuster deals. It's really getting tiresome. If CD constantly changes the players, they'll never learn to play as a team and team play is sorely needed. I'd be really pissed if the Rockets make drastic changes to the roster. Patience guys. Patience.
Why do people keep throwing around the 45 win season like it was something special? That season was a disappointment, not fantastic. Trends have appeared and they don't seem to be being addressed by Rudy. For some reason blind loyalists don't see the problems on this team or like to talk about them.
