You said that you can't win with just one creator. You need two. Then you say when McGrady returns, that should change nothing. The ball should still stay only in AB's hands. Seems like a contradiction.
Not at all, AB would be the main option, and if healthy Tmac would be the 2nd one..... The heirarchy of who is the closer remains the same. Look - A healthy McGrady is not walking through that door (at least for a month, if at all), celebrate whom we have playing now. DD
I actually wouldn't mind it, if they limited the amount of games they can play, so we have both in the playoffs, but they need a paycut if that happens. I don't think we have to have players who play all 82 games, I would be happy with 60-70 games.
Great win. That was a foul when B.roy was reaching around AB's body trying to steal the ball Jump ball I hate Portland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd like to see Dorsey get some playing time. I'd like to see him in place of Andersen for a while. We're hurting inside. Maybe he can show us some of that fire we saw during summer league...
I disagree, Mcgrady gives you the second playmaker our team sorely needs, and I can honestly say that Brooks might be one of the better playmakers in the league. Ariza will not score like he did tonight. The guy plays off his team and is not a great creator YET. Our team will only get better and a healthy Mcgrady coming back will help our team tremendously.
Yeah, that is what I meant, AB should be option 1, but we do still need an option 2 for late in the games. Whether that is Tmac, Chase, Ariza, Lowry....whomever, we do need a 2nd penetrating player on the floor. DD
The problem I have with AB is, as soon as Tmac or Yao is back he will be just like last year where his favorite passing target was Artest. I hated him for the sheer fact, he would pass to Artest first at the top of the key. As a PG you find the best option not who is demanding the ball. Right now AB knows he is 1st option but that will change. Rockets are not paying Tmac to play second fiddle and I never felt Tmac played 2nd fiddle to Yao, so I can't see our 23 million dollar player be happy about AB still being the #1 option, when he comes back.
This is a really fun team to watch. They have such disadvantages in the post that any victory seems much bigger than in years past. I guess I am failing to look at the advantages they have in speed and fight. I love this team! I think Brooks and Landry would really thrive with a healthy McGrady. He has the best court vision of any player the Rockets have ever had.
One of many reasons I want him traded......we don't want our young up and coming star players defering... DD
It's only 3 games in but it looks like he is struggling a bit. He is picking up very quick fouls and just seems out of rhythm at the moment. Hope he picks it up b/c we need him to hold it down when the second unit comes in.
Here is what I have learned, watching the game first-hand: -Brooks is starting to get more comfortable and deadlier with his pull-up threes. -Ariza is starting to find his shots more; still hesitates a lot at times, but is showing signs of progress. -Battier's hand defense is still exceptional, however his vertical quickness is decreasing. He's also terrible at reverse layups. -Scola just can't play well against Portland. -Landry is starting to settle on long jumpers, and not driving to the rim... -Lowry played well, not well enough to warrant a starting spot IMO. -Budinger just isn't showing the same premise that he showed us in the pre-season. (He also missed two key free throws in a row in the clutch...) -Hayes actually had a decent offensive game today... Defense is still spectacular. I'm also wondering why Pops didn't play today... I thought we were desperately in the need for shotblockers and defensive threats in the paint near the closing of the game where Brandon was just murdering our post defense. Just a quick note to all: We only won because the Blazers, as a whole, did not play well tonight. Only Lamarcus and Brandon's shots were falling... Even with the flurry of threes by the Rockets we only managed to squeak this one out by four points. Our defense needs to get better, and better fast... Other than that, overall. Great win. Hope to see this Rockets team get tons better over the course of the season.
