We’re on the eve of the official mid-way point of the season with the 41st game tomorrow night. I had some free time (being home sick all week) and put this together. My grades are my opinion and most will differ, but thought it would be fun to discuss how you all view the team we love so much at the midway point (on a rational mind-not minutes following a W or L). It’s been a season full of ups, downs, highs and lows. The lows include: the lackluster opening loss to Utah, the blown double-digit leads to the Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, Snyder and Bonzi’s injuries, T-Mac’s struggles offensively, the return of T-Mac’s back problems compounded by the devastating injury suffered by Yao that would make him miss 6-8 weeks (leading many to believe last season’s injury riddled nightmare campaign was upon us again), fans and media questioning T-Mac’s heart and superstar status. The many highs include: the excillerating 31 point home opening blowout of the mavs, Yao’s dominance of Shaq in the win over the Heat, Yao’s MVP performance for the 27 games he played, superstar T-Mac’s resurgence following treatment from the “Waco Witch Doctor”, Luther Head’s 36 game streak of hitting 3 pointers, Deke’s resurgence and surpassing Kareem for #2 on the all-time shot blocking list (trailing only the dream) and Juwon Howard stepping it up offensively providing a much needed post presence without Yao. Coach Jeff Van Gundy A- Overall Record: 25-15 (3rd in Southwest Division, 5th in Western Conference); Considering all the injuries and games missed by key players, JVG has done a magnificent job keeping the team morale high and playing at a high level. He has them playing hard and believing that they can beat anybody anytime they take the floor with or without Yao/T-Mac. Games missed by T-Mac = 8; Games missed by Yao = 13 & counting; Games missed by Bonzi = 28; Games missed by Snyder = 25; Games missed by Hayes = 4; The Rocks are also 13-4 at home and 12-11 on the road. Being above .500 on the road, is the sign of a very good and mentally tough team. The cliché goes that the team usually embodies the coach, and in this case it is completely true. JVG has molded this Rockets team into his style: Hard-nosed, hard working, full of heart, pride and very gutsy. What I love about this team is their mental toughness and gutsyness. They play hard every single night and battle no matter how overwhelming the odds are. Besides the 1st game versus Utah, I don’t recall any other game where they lacked energy. They have not been blown out this season (the last dallas game was blown open in the last 2 minutes). This team is very resilient. They came back vs the Fakers when down by close to 30, cut it to 4 but ran out of energy. Down by 28 vs the Suns at Phoenix (2nd game of a back to back) and battle to take the lead in the 3rd qtr before running out of gas. No Yao and learned that T-Mac would be out hours before the game vs the suns and coming off a tough loss at dallas the night before, the team battled valiently and had a chance vs the high powered suns. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. The Rockets rank #1 in opponents points allowed (90.5 PPG), #1 in opponents field goal percentage (42.0 %), #1 in defensive rebounds per game (32.9 DRBG). I know there lots of criticism of JVG here, but I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else at this time. Rafer Alston B- I’ve been a fan of Rafer and have gotten frustrated by him b/c of his inconsistency shooting the ball and questionable decisions but overall he is having a solid season. His assist to turnover ratio is a little over 2:1, decent 3 point shooter, but poor FG percentage has him at a B-. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% RPG APG SPG TO PPG 40 40 37.1 .367 .361 .723 3.5 5.1 1.5 2.25 13.9 Tracy McGrady B+ He had a slow start to the season mainly because he seemed rusty, and lacked confidence. He also deferred too much to Yao. It’s going to be a challenge for JVG to find a balance between feeding the big fellow and letting T-Mac loose once both are together again. It can be done and will be a beauty to watch once it happens. Since Yao went down, and he visited the “Waco Witch Doctor”, he has been sensational and playing at an MVP level. He is dominating games even when not scoring in double digits, like his 8 point 12 assists trashing of the Fakers. He went on a tear of scoring over 30 in 6 straight and looked magnificent against dallas with 45 points. He gets a B+ b/c he still has room for improvement and his back problem has been very scary. He is averaging 30 PPG, 7.5 APG and 6 RBG in the last 8 games. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 32 32 35.9 .430 .314 .665 0.8 4.6 5.4 6.3 1.1 0.5 3.03 2.00 22.8 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 15 15 37.1 .402 .307 .659 0.7 5.1 5.8 6.7 1.0 0.53 18.7 In December 9 9 31.3 .462 .357 .686 1.2 3.2 4.4 4.4 1.0 0.67 23.1 In January 8 8 38.6 .438 .293 .657 0.8 5.1 5.9 7.5 1.4 0.38 29.9 Shane Battier A- All I can say about “Citizen” Shane is WOW! The guy is everything everyone says about him: He does all the little things that do not show up in the stat lines. I love the way he gives his all on defense, throwing his body around, drawing charges, nailing big threes in crucial moments, scoring in the post when necessary, etc…He is a leader on and off the court and just seems like an extension of Van Gundy on the floor. Those who booed the trade on draft night owe him an apology! Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG 40 40 38.0 .449 .420 .767 4.4 2.5 1.2 0.8 1.03 10.8 Chuck Hayes C+ I love his hustle and tenacity but he frustrates me to death with his silly fouls and butterfingers in the post. I give him a C+ because he has fumbled away and missed so many easy lay-ups this season that T-Mac and Yao have opened up for him. His free throw shooting has also been abysmal. I still think he should be the starting four once Yao returns but hope he can work on his handles around the basket. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% FT% OFF DEF RPG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 36 21 21.1 .550 .565 2.6 3.8 6.5 0.7 0.2 0.89 3.50 4.7 Yao Ming A- He would probably be mentioned as the top MVP candidate were he healthy and playing right now. Yao is the most dominant big man in the league now (including Duncan, Garnett, both O’neals, etc…). He has been so clutch, taking over games in the fourth quarter and improved so much defensively. As much as I love T-Mac dominating, I miss the big fellow. Get well fast! Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 27 27 34.6 .522 .000 .867 2.1 7.4 9.4 2.1 0.4 2.2 3.81 3.30 25.9 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 15 15 35.5 .544 .000 .847 2.2 7.9 10.1 1.7 0.5 1.67 25.7 In December 12 12 33.6 .498 .000 .898 1.9 6.8 8.7 2.5 0.2 2.92 26.1 Luther Head B+ He benefited the most from all the injuries last season as he gained valuable experience and confidence for himself as well as gained JVG’s trust. He struggled early only when JVG tried to use him as the backup PG b/c it is not his natural spot and doesn't have the greatest handles. I love his fearlessness and ability to hit crucial threes. He had an amazing streak of 36 straight games with a 3 which was snapped against Dallas. He has cooled off recently but should regain his hot streak once Yao returns to feed him wide open shots again. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% RPG APG SPG TO PPG 40 8 29.0 .430 .442 .776 3.7 2.4 1.0 1.83 11.1 Juwon Howard B+ The most hated rocket since Stevie. I never understood why so many hate on him but you gotta give it to the dude. Coming into the season JVG said his role would be diminished and would only play backup 5 sparinly. Credit to him for working hard and not complaining and stepping up when called upon. Who knows where we would be without him since Yao went down. He is averaging close to 13 PPG and 7 RBG in 25 games in December and January. In the 9 games in January so far, he is averaging 15 PPG and 5.9 RBG! Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG BPG TO PF PPG 38 17 25.9 .462 .902 1.8 4.2 6.0 1.3 0.1 1.32 2.50 8.9 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 13 4 16.7 .348 . 000 1.000 1.7 2.4 4.1 0.8 0.2 0.0 2.8 In December 16 4 28.1 .492 .000 .917 2.2 5.5 7.7 1.4 0.4 0.13 10.4 In January 9 9 35.0 .474 .000 .862 1.3 4.6 5.9 1.9 0.7 0.11 15.0 Dikembe Mutombo A- Deke has been phenomenal. I gave him an A+ b/c coming into this season I did not expect much from him, if anything. 2 years ago he was good and helped a lot with Yao being in foul trouble but he was non existent last season. The way he has stepped up has been inspiring. 11 straight games with double digit rebounds and passing Kareem for #2 on the all time shot blocking list. He also stood up to that idiot fan in Orlando who dropped racial slurs on him. Props to Deke for being a great player and humanitarian. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 38 13 15.3 .548 .000 .696 2.2 4.2 6.4 0.2 0.3 1.2 0.53 1.90 2.9 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 14 0 8.1 .526 .000 .800 1.1 1.9 3.1 0.0 0.1 0.5 2.0 In December 15 4 12.0 .455 .000 .563 1.7 3.3 5.0 0.1 0.2 1.4 1.9 In January 9 9 31.9 .625 .000 .750 4.6 9.3 13.9 0.4 0.8 1.78 6.1 Bonzi Wells C- C+ is generous considering it appears he has not put the full effort to get into game shape to help this team. Partly b/c of injuries, partly stubbornness from him and JVG but we all know how good he can be. He has shown flashes of it like vs the Spurs in the big win at San Antonio. I thought he played very well vs the Suns on Wednesday and gave max effort on defense with 2 spectacular blocks on jump shots. I really hope the Rockets do not trade him for Dale Davis or another scrub. Wells can be that 3rd option when Yao and T-Mac are on the bench. Pleaaaaaaase let him play more and do NOT trade him (unless it is a great deal). Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 12 0 21.2 .393 .000 .458 1.1 2.9 4.0 1.3 0.9 0.5 2.33 2.40 6.8 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 2 0 15.0 .300 .000 .000 2.0 2.0 4.0 1.5 1.0 0.0 3.0 In December 9 0 22.9 .403 .000 .478 0.9 3.1 4.0 1.1 0.9 0.44 7.7 In January 1 0 17.0 .429 .000 .000 1.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 6.0 John Lucas III C+ I thought it was another overreaction by the Rockets to sign him this offseason following him leading the summer league in scoring but I am glad he was signed. I like the change of pace he brings when he comes in the game. He reminds me of a poor man’s Boykins in that he brings quickness and instant offense. His only problem is that he is not a very good 3 point shooter and is very undersized. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG 21 0 9.5 .417 .250 .900 0.3 0.9 1.2 0.8 0.2 0.0 0.38 4.1 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 1 0 8.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 In December 11 0 8.2 .486 .385 .875 0.2 1.2 1.4 0.5 0.4 0.0 4.4 In January 9 0 11.4 .378 .154 1.000 0.6 0.6 1.1 1.1 0.1 0.0 4.2 Steve Novak D- I gave him a D- (even though unfair b/c he has not been given much of a chance) because right now he is a one trick pony and looks completely lost on defense. He has a sweet stroke but needs to improve other facets of his game. I think JVG showed us all that he is not ready to play meaningful minutes when he started him in the loss at Phoenix where he went 2-5 from 3 in 19 minutes. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 22 1 5.4 .344 .292 1.000 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.05 0.40 1.4 Scott Padgett D I still do not know why JVG brought him here besides he knows the system and can hit shots but he just seems to be a body on the bench. I guess it is better to have him than Rybo ;-) Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 19 0 8.7 .295 .286 .444 0.5 1.5 2.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.37 1.70 2.0 Kirk Snyder D + Didn’t really get too see much of him in but he shows promise as an athletic big guard who relentlessly attacks the basket. Too bad he got injured. Hopefully he and Bonzi can get back into the rotation. I gave him a D+ cause he is not a good 3 point shooter and has not contributed due to injury. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 15 1 14.3 .422 .176 .688 0.4 1.3 1.7 1.3 0.5 0.2 0.53 1.30 4.2 SPLIT G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG In November 11 1 19.0 .432 .188 .688 0.5 1.8 2.4 1.6 0.6 0.27 5.7 In January 4 0 1.5 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 Vassilis Spounalis D+ I think he has lots of promise and shows flashes but is not ready to contribute night and night out. Wish the Rockets would either play him more or send him to the D-league so he can get more experience in the American game. Season Stats: G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 18 0 10.0 .311 .200 .824 0.1 0.6 0.7 1.1 0.3 0.0 1.00 1.10 2.6 Bob Sura E for Effort? Wish he could make the successful comeback but seems highly unlikely at this point. Will never forget his 1 great season here. We could use his rebounding, toughness and shooting at the point. To conclude, I LOVE this team and the players that compose it. I think when at full strength, they can beat anyone in a 7 game series. Can't wait to see how the second half develops and see the pieces come together. Below are some of my Favorite plays/moments of the first half of the season: 1. Yao Ming dominating Shaq 34 pts, 14 rbds in 22 point win over defending champs 2. Luther Head’s dunk on Touriaf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGMolLGsBc 3. Mutombo’s block to surpass Kareem as 2nd all-time shot blocker in league history http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR1kz_9XYdk 4. Shane Battier’s block on Ben Gordon in the final seconds at Chicago 5. Yao Ming dropping the “you can’t f***ing stop me” bomb on the Clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jss1xEzh5b4 6. T-Mac’s 45 point outburst on Dallas, 21 in the first qtr.
Wow, great analysis. I pretty much agree with your grades, except for Snyder and Spanoulis. They both get incompletes from me, because I haven't seen enough of either.
I didn't see much analysis myself. For such a long post I kinda wish it had more meat to it rather than being a letter grade for each guy, a paragraph telling us what we already know, and some stats we can find all over the internet. Not knocking the post really. I'm sure it'll be a good conversation piece, but some more in depth stats would have been cool. Some things that don't come across so obviously on the surface. I suppose I'm spoiled by durvasa and Kim (at least I think that's who posts the shot chart type stuff). By the way, some of the letter grades aren't consistent from below the picture to the paragraph. For example, Dikembe got an A- under the picture but then an A+ in the paragraph.
Great analysis. I'd go INC for Novak and Snyder and a little higher for Span since none of them have really gotten time, though in fairness (Snyder's injury excepted) they haven't really earned it. And I'd have given JVG and Yao an A+ and T-Mac an A-, but I appreciate that you see room for improvement in each of them. Overall: great, great post. After ten years wandering in the desert, it's so nice to have a Rockets team to be so excited about. If everybody's somehow healthy at the end of the year, it'll be the most exciting playoffs for Rockets fans since 94-95 at least and that was the most exciting playoff season ever.
Hey, you don't need fancy smancy stats and charts to make a nice thread, but yes, I do rock. Kudos and get well soon. This is better than most newspaper midseason team grades, and definitely better than anything ESPN would do.
Good post. Like the others have said, I would give Snyder, Novak, and Vasilli incompletes because they havent gotten enough time. I thought the grade for Wells was pretty generous, though. The fact he hasnt gotten more time is all on him. When he has played, he hasnt really contributed. Id give him a D-.
I'm perfectly fine with the grades on Spanoulis and Novak. Especially Novak -- he *has* been given many opportunities to make himself valuable to this team and all he has done is miss open shot after open shot, get lost on defense and display a mind-boggling incompetence at setting picks. I still have high hopes for him ... hopefully he will become a deadly bench scorer for us sometime in the future. But right now, he definitely deserves that D-.
great analysis. great thread. and for the first time, i think most people here will agree with the grades. i agreed with just about everything except for bonzi. he hasn't shown anything yet. he has played at a similar level (or worse) to snyder.
yao should probably get an A or an A+. you didn't really justify why he has a minus. out of all the players, he has been the most consistent and most productive, and definitely surpassed everyone's expectations this year. the injury can't really be considered a detriment to his grade since there isn't much anyone can do to avoid injuries except not play.
tmac only got a B+, right? haha! yeah, i actually thought he shoulda got something higher than that, but then again, he stunk it up the first part of the season, "deferring" to yao, plus he has that back problem which makes us collectively hold our breath whenever we see him wince. tmac is my absolute favorite player, but i guess we have to be objective here. he is a god though.
i'd give snyder a very generous C- i know we havent seen much from him, but he was a very good perimeter defender the 1st month of the season
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6381724?FSO1&ATT=HMA Don't know if this has been posted yet, and I thought this would be a good place to put it. Hope you don't mind Rivaldo2181. I would've created a new thread for it but can't because I'm a rookie still. There's grades for all the teams but I only wanted to show the Rocket's team grade.
Nice post. What does it say about Bonzi that his pic is this: ...while everyone else has on-court action pictures.
rivaldo, great job. Some of the posted grades: i.e, b-, etc., don't match the copy. just a note. thanks again, agree with 90% of this, if such a thing can be quantified. hee, hee
imo i think you've underrated tracy...i mean firstly look at our record without mcgrady then look at our record with yao and no tracy or no superstars at all...there's a noticable difference...i think some people undermine tracy's role as this half playmaker and the way he rallies the team with his unselfish play...we cant blame his back for lower than average ppg...he's just adjusted his game to make way for yao...what i'm saying has been said over and over again i'm sure so there's no need to carry on... and deke...A-?...i love deke but his game is near one dimensional with his rebounding and blocking...someone like novak is one dimensional too and i'm sure if we gave novak the same playing time as we are giving deke now...novak would blow the world away with his sharpshooting skills...deke certainly deserves the praise for his outstanding performance in the last few weeks but saying he's more instrumental than luther and tracy is an exaggeration...perspective must be maintained...
