I watched part of the Suns-Spurs last game. The Spurs brought everything, the Suns could not shoot, could not execute. What the Suns did was almost pull it out and in doing so we saw a show by perhapst te best player in basketball. If you saw the look on Steve Nash's face it was, "You are not going to beat me". Tracy is cloe but he is not as tough, not as determined. I have seen Steve Nash beat teams all by imelf. This is what the Rockets do not have. Is it setting on the bench? We dont know and with JVC we would never find out.
It was not the numbers. It was a man at war a war he would lose but nto from lack of that grit and balls that makes him great. Its killer instinct. Its saying I will not lay down and let you beat me. That is what the Rockets needed to beat Utah in game 7.
I agree with JVG...This and the timeline tells alot of what happened...Do I think we'll be a better team and get past the first round, yes...
It was hot shoot, and a will to take over. My points were that (1)TMac can take over if he really, really wants to. It's just that he seldom really, really wants to; and (2) we need someone how has this desire ALL THE TIME.
I am not sure about up tempo, but I would like the basketball to be more entertaining. More movement, back cuts, screen and rolls, and coming off screens for jump shots. I hope Novak becomse this team's Peja....and V-Span becomes our Bibby.... DD
Novak becomes our Peja...Maybe V-Span becomes our Bibby...Doubt It Man, it would be nice if V-Span could have a game like Bibby's, but I just can't see that happening. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong!!
Up tempo doesn't have to mean running. The ball moves faster when players pass than when they dribble. The Princeton offense, or even a basic UCLA cut would do wonders for this team in scoring efficiency. There are so many things we can do with Yao and Tmac. Yao sets a very big screen. Tmac should be able run off screens, and cut, instead of having to create so much. If the ball will move 3 times each possession, we'll see a faster, more high-scoring game. The way we play now, our two biggest weapons have to work the most. They get worn down. Better to serve them by using the other players in motion, to make space - not just standing around, watching them work.
I'll say it again. Balance. You can't just play one gear all of the time and expect to win. San Antonio added an uptempo game to their team when Duncan went out with an injury and look at how it helps them. Those guys can play with anybody.
This all sounds great, but the bottom line is that if Rafer, Howard and Head hit WIDE OPEN shots this year we advance. If we grab a rebound in the final minutes we advance. Wide open shots are wide open shots regardless of the offense being run. In either offense you need players who make those wide open shots or your offense looks bad and vs Utah the Rocket's didn't. If we lost with a clearly more talented team then I would be the first to call for a new coach, but I really don't see how anyone thinks we are more talented than Utah. I mean Boozer out played Yao by himself and TMac was good, but not dominant. Outside of Battier, the rest of our role players were out matched at every position.
well put. And it really is that simple. If the players made plays in crunch time then the rockets win.
So you were crying a river when the Rockets were winning those two championships with the world's most boring offense?
We can go uptempo. All Alexander has to do is write some big checks and become one of the top 5 NBA teams in salaries. Bring in some big names and don't be too worried about going over the luxury cap. But we won't. Cheap *******
Probably not. But if you're going to lose in the first round the super non-exciting way regardless, might as well change the pace a bit (literally).
If we are going to win the big prize we need to have a team that can run and gun when called upon to do so but also a team that can play smart half court Basketball. Les like it or not thats what you are going to get because that what wins championships!
