rudy's conventional structuring of the rockets just doesn't cut it any more. he needs to stop thinking about the inside outside game, the one dimensional shooters, and load up the rocks with more athleticism and intelligence. with zones abolished, the rocks need guys that can step off their guy, create problems in another area of the court and have the intelligence to assign and assess themselves whether to go immediately back to their man or another player. likewise, we can expect the same mentality used against the rockets. for that same reason, we need the athleticism and intelligence on the offensive floor to avoid defensive crashing and the ability to gun and board with hopefully all five guys at any time. furthermore, with the increased steals and quick shots on offense, we need 3-4 guys that can play the transition game extremely well and get the easy baskets that will inevitably come. the nba court is right now extremely more dynamic than last year and doesn't obey the former lethargic plays. there's more chaotic and spur of the moment plays which require better reactions. it's more like streetball. that's why teams like newjersey and the t-wolves succeed. that's why teams like the warriors and pistons are doing better. there are exceptions to the rule, but the rockets don't have them and the rockets probably won't get them. there are players that fit the bill, but they're just sitting on the bench while others like them around the league, have already been thrown into the game with success. Rudy is still a great guy, has great heart and finds talent in the most unpredicatable places... but frankly, Rudy is still thinking of applying newtonian mechanics on everything, when relativity and quantum mechanics have been invented for three weeks.
I don't completely agree with your contention, but I won't challenge it. However, I do want to point out that while Minnesota's winning, and they deserve props and respect for doing so, their schedule has been on the light side. Of the nine games they've played so far, only two have been from the West: Houston and Memphis. The combined records of the teams they've played (minus the games they played against them) have been: 40-57. Minnesota may be a top team in the West, but I don't think they have proven it yet. I wouldn't accept a critique of the Rockets based on the assumption that the T-Wolves are significantly better than the Rockets, even though the Rocks lost the game to the Wolves.
Just when i bash the rockets for not doing anything inventful, Rudy puts in Walt W. who has a good night and they beat one of the stacked teams in the west by 40. well, that was refreshing at least. but i stil stick to and think what i said will become more prevalent and severe as the year goes on. sometimes the rockets play it well, sometimes not. but one serious fault i feel lies in glen rice. i can't help but feel the guy hurts the team in so many subtle ways. at least cato is obvious but glen rice shouldn't get playing time over griffin and morris just because he's a big name or paid more. until he shows he's ready to really compete and do something on the floor, bench him.
