I know this has been brought up in other threads but I'd rather steer clear of the negativity in the most recent thread about them. Let's talk about last season. Last season the Rockets gelled around all-star break before going on that win streak. In fact if the Rockets didn't lose against the Celtics before the All-Star break the Rockets would be looking at a 24 or 25 game win streak. That game was without T-Mac and was very close towards the end. The Rockets started to "get it" around this time. Battier I was against the Gay and Swift for Battier trade at the start. I'm still against it, but I can't deny that his impact on both ends of the court is invaluable to this team. We've heard criticism that this team is too nice the past few seasons and that's well and true. However the Rockets finally started to play a brand of basketball last year that if healthy, were legitimate WC Finals contenders if not better. The reason why? The Rockets dumped Hayes mid season as a situational defender without losing the defensive efficiency with Battier as the floor general on defense. Scola came in, and Landry surprised everyone. It's more than just matching up against the best offensive player in the back court though. Battier directed traffic and defensive assignments that could be bad mismatches for the Rockets. He kept the Rockets composure on defense and offense which I think is sorely missed right now. He shot a very efficient near 38% in 3 point attempts. Artest isn't really known for his range, and this does effect spacing tremendously. Artest is a good player. He's a volatile player though, and I think that is effecting the team chemistry right now. His volatility isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not assuming there is any sort of divisiveness in the locker room on his part. On the court though, he seems out of place. He really is. So when Battier comes back, I do think he should be the starter on the roster. The Rockets won 55 games with him as a starter. You don't fix what ain't broke. Pray for a healthy Yao and McGrady over the course of the regular season and you have your championship contenders (I'll take out of the 1st round for now though.) Move Battier as a starter and you got the team's composure back on the block. A positive attitude in the locker room and on the court is invaluable. Mutombo I know people are saying we need to get Mutombo back as soon as possible. I'm one of them. Mutombo got barely any minutes in the first half of the season. He rarely got any minutes until Yao went down. Physical exhaustion from him is unlikely. He has better conditioning than Yao even at his old age. He's just an extremely durable player born with great basketball genetics. The Rockets need length. He provides it. The Rockets need someone to clog the paint. You got a 7'2 blocking machine with a heart of gold waiting to be signed. You don't ignore that until the team is on the verge of a possible break down. But that's not all that he brings to the Rockets. He is yet another positive attitude in the locker room. The Rockets do need volatility. They got it from Artest, but I do think it is a sort of shake up that this team isn't used to. They need a balance to that crazy attitude by countering it with Battier and Mutombo. Don't you miss Mutombo doing his finger wag on the bench and swinging his towel over his head while having a great time? I sure do. I know the Rockets sorely miss him. The Rockets Presently No doubt even when Mutombo and Battier come back, there will still be growing pains. The growing pains won't be as bad with both of them back though. You get your starters back that could have probably won over 55 games had Yao not gone down. You get the roster that blew out the Lakers, Hornets, Mavericks, and Nuggets during that streak. You get the roster that didn't need fixing. On the bench you get a possible 6th man of the year candidate or starting PF. You get length back on the Rockets. 7'5 Yao 6'9-10 Scola 6'9 Battier 6'8 McGrady 6'2 Alston All players that complement each other. Heck maybe even move McGrady to PG with Artest at SF if Adelman really wanted to experiment. But again don't fix what ain't broke. On the bench you get a legit 7'2 defender to stop the dwarfs we currently send out there when Yao needs a break. Get those two players back and the Rockets are back on track. Assimilate Artest into the roster more easily and the Rockets can build chemistry while gearing up for a deep run into the playoffs. Get it done Morey!
Sounds like a plan to me, too bad we don't have the money to sign Mutombo now and Battier will still be out for a few weeks.
you're absolutely right. i believe mutombo's veteran presence in the locker room and on the sidelines is being missed.
I wouldn't agree that Artest has been volatile with the Rockets so far, although he certainly could be. He has actually been quite the opposite, Ron Ron has been one of our Rocks, a Ron-Rock, considering the amount of minutes he has played with TMac nagging, Battier out, Rafer and Yao bricks... One of the obvious drawbacks has been that, our third main scorer Ron Ron is also building a house with his bricks... This season Ron Rock has certainly favored one-on-one, which has always been a part of his Game in his many years as an NBA scorer. But, you can't entirely blame him either, considering the times when no one can score and all stand around expecting Artest to do something with the ball, like with TMac, or when Rockets are stuck in cement, instead of playing D-Fence (while building their new homes) Sooner than later, the Rockets will incorporate better team play/involvement... By the way, "Absence Does Make the Heart Grow Fonder"
When your two best players play like crap, you're in trouble. I have faith in Adleman, and I'm sure that we eventually will be very competitive. But to reach the top level, Tracy and Yao have to be at least 80% or better.
We need improvements,such as Lakers and Celtics,when one of their best 3 plays well,they can win the game,we should get this race,so we can be possible to get the championship this season,we still have much to do,fortunately the season is just starting,they is enough time leaves,still we have 75 games before we make in the playoffs,I'm faith in Rockets,we can not only win a series,someday we will meet Lakers in playoffs,lose one can let us out,they are 7 games tatally GET RED.ROCKETS
Rockets need Mutombo bad. Rockets r getting killed with opponents grabbing tons of offensive rebounds and scoring in the interior.
Oh man we need mutumbo soo bad The clogging up the paint, the waiving finger. Most importantly is giving yao a rest.
MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTOOOOOMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The biggest problem is that we don't have a "court coach" like kidd or nash, so we always fall down when kind of crisis comes. I would rather to trade battier for such a guy who can stand up when we faces some troubles. How about Battier and alston for billups?
Also our coach needs to start acting like a coach and finding solutions to these issues we've been having lately. Its not like we dont have plenty of talent to fill any current void as a result of missing Battier or Mutumbo. When you have a lot of talent and the chemistry just isn't there then its up to the coach to fix it. What else are we paying him for?
totally agree with u man.....except the part u still think the battier trade still bogs u....come on....no stat can ever support wat battier brings to this team. our defense is currently below average. and when battier is back, hopefully it will be fixed. im still really bummed about the loss to the Lakers. and yes, we need Mutombo back for sure.....pls let it happen!!
Right,so I have some advice: 1.PG is one of our big problems,so we need a Nash,but I think it doesnt need to do some trade,Tracy is an appropriate candidate,and I also think we can do much better at this position,not as shooting guard,just because of his poor shooting percentage 2.Do some trades are required,when we move Tracy to PG,so we don't have candidate to suit the SG,if Francis can recover about 70%,maybe a good one.But look on present,he has trouble.Even have trouble in making in the activation name list.So now we need to trad.But very sorry,I dont have candidate.Maybe we could let Barry start before trade comes. 3.When Battier back,Artest come off to the bench.Battier become our SP.
Check this out. From the Utah vs Philly Recap: Notes: Jazz C Kosta Koufos made his first career start. Koufos, a 19-year-old rookie from Ohio State, was called on because Utah was without Okur, Kyrylo Fesenko, who traveled to Canada to resolve a visa issue, and Jarron Collins (right elbow). Former NBA C Dikembe Mutombo watched the game from the first row alongside agent David Falk. Brand had six blocked shots for the Sixers. Mutombo is a assassin!! He's a cold blooded killer out to hunt the Jazz!
Probably Philly. We need to get on this NOW. We could have really used him against the Lakers (or any other game for that matter). He can rebound, play D and block shots...just what we need from a backup center. PULL THE TRIGGER AND SPEND THE MONEY
