Playing the right card is pivotal to all success, right? Nothing wrong with being political, but Bonzi made a great move IMO, it would be a win-win situation if it worked out.
Welcome back Bonzi. Thanks to both JVG and BW for getting it done. I think we might be in a bit of trouble with the Lakers tomorrow but with Yao and LH, who I think has been super big this year, we will always have a chance.
It obviously wasn't meant to be a serious comparison, it was solely to illustrate a VERY SIMPLE idea that Luffy obviously doesn't understand: past production does not equal present production. Same idea, just an extreme example. I COULD give PLENTY of other examples (Derek Anderson, Gary Payton, Chris Webber anyone?), but that wouldn't make the point as clearly. On the other hand, I doubt Luffy can give you a bunch of examples of PRODUCTIVE VETERANS who were benched for no reason. That's because there aren't any. Bonzi was benched because he was out of shape and not ready to play, not because JVG arbitrarily feels like screwing us over.
Well, that would be great if Bonzi comes back, settles down, and plays really well for about 10 games. Maybe then his trade value would go up and we could get something in return for him.
Bonzi told gundy give me 15 games to up my trade value and ya'all can trade me and get a good player in return. thats my gut feeling.
I lot of you guys are talking like we don't need Bonzi because we are flying high with a 14-6 record. The fact is Yao can't carry this team without T-mac yet. Sure he's showing signs that he may be able to do it one day, but right now the Rockets need Bonzi just as much as he needs them. Wait until the Lakers put a smack down on the Rockets with T-mac on the bench and Bonzi still not playing and a whole lot of tunes will be changing around here. Without T-mac or Bonzi we're back to lottery mode. Things went wrong between JVG and Bonzi, but it's not as one sided as we are making it out to be.
I'm about 85% confident when I say that JVG is 50% at fault for Bonzi not playing.. He's too stubborn to be a great all-around coach. sure he can coach "good" personalities. But when it comes to meshing the bad with the good, nobody can mess with the Zen.
can;t wait to see bonzi play, i love the guys game: 1) he rebounds 2) he gets to the line 3) can hit the open jumper 4) plays decent D 5) plus we friggin need him bad
So even if Panzi is still totally out of competitive form and shape, and knows little about JVG's game plans/strategies and plays without chemistry with the rest of the Rockets ?? Naaaaaaah, IMHO, we don't need to be in panic mode. As Jeff Van Gundy and Yao Ming put it right, this is a totally different team than last season's when TMAC was forced to sit out games due to his back spasms...... a healthy Rafer Alston, A re-energized Juwan Howard & Deke Mutombo, a rebounding beast in Chuck Hayes, a versatile Shane Battier, a more stable and clutch sharpshooter in Luther Head, and a bunch of hardworking bench/role players in Steve Novak and Vassilis Spanoulis... And most important of all, a dominating Yao Ming, who had gone through the tough way last season on how to lead his team through adversities (of playing without Tracy McGrady) and is now beaming with confidence and delivering MVP-like performance day-in and day-out, with or without TMAC........ Just believe....
JVG says Bonzi will be on the active roster tomorrow, and he could play! http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Notes_Wells_returns_to_practi-199677-34.html
It's good news, but I will be even more excited when Snyder rejoins the team and adds to our depth; we need all the big guards we can get, and definitely more slashers. Moreover, I think it's foolish to buy into the "Bonzi is seeing it JVG's way" or the "he's ready to put the team above himself" argument...the ONLY person Bonzi is doing this for is himself. He knows damn well that unless he plays and plays well, he won't get paid this upcoming summer. He is looking out for himself, not the good of the team. The two sides have come to an agreement that serves their mutual interests, nothing more. As a Rockets fan, I don't care as long as it helps the team win games.
I kind of saw this coming, which is why I emphasized 'need.' I should clarify my definition of need: we have a great record. It doesn't mean we're the best team, hell, we may not legitimately be top 10 if you want to nitpick everything. But we're not 4-16. We aren't in danger of falling so far behind that our season is already in peril playoff-wise. We aren't a team filled w/ one or two brightspots and deadweight. We aren't a team with horrible chemistry. We aren't a team still trying to figure out the starting lineup because everyone is so mediocre. I'm saying we don't NEED him now. If Tmac goes out for the rest of the season I would say we would. If Tmac is out for one or two or even five games I wouldn't say so. If Tmac is only gone for a game or two: Does it look like a sure thing we'll make the Western Conference finals w/out Bonzi? No way, but it still looks like we have a fighting chance. Would Bonzi put us over the top? Depends if he's willing to work w/ the team. If he is, I think he could put us over the top. If in the future he's disgruntled again, he may even bring the team down. TO anyone? It was fortuitous that Bonzi and JVG reached a mutual understanding (even if it may be temporary) at this time, right before Tmac was injured. I joked about Bonzi like everyone else, but if he's serious about making amends I think he deserves the second chance. I couldn't be more excited to see him in action. A somewhat twisted analogy: I'm a diehard Browns fan. I wouldn't want idiots like TO and Shockey on my team even if it meant we'd get a Super Bowl ring. I would rather cheer on my horrible team than having to watch those guys put on a Browns uniform. I'm not saying Bonzi is that bad, but I'm not fairweather enough to take on Bonzi in desperation, trade Tmac for AI, etc.
Great so this time we win more than 34 games and let's get real optimistic and say we even make the playoffs. Do we get out of the 1st round with the above improved team minus T-mac and Bonzi. Doubtful unless Yao becomes Dream v3.0. I agree we are improved especially when Snyder returns, but it's just another wasted year without T-mac and Bonzi both playing. We need T-mac to go deep into the playoffs and we need Bonzi to have a shot at beating the Spurs, Suns, etc.....
