http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2994751 By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Carroll Dawson knew he couldn't change everything that needed changing. So he changed what he could. He made one small trade, and then he made another. While Bob Sura was recovering from back surgery, Dawson reminded himself why he liked him in the first place. He believed Sura could make a difference. And then there was everything else that needed fixing. A work in progress Dawson knew he couldn't get the big rebounder he really wanted, so he settled for other things. Like speed. Like competitive fire. He kept an open mind about other possibilities. That's why the Rockets are bringing in rookie point guard Brandin Knight today. That's why they might trade for Donyell Marshall. From the moment Dawson made the trade for Tracy McGrady last summer, he knew his work wasn't done. He made the deal because he believed McGrady and Yao Ming would give the Rockets two elements of a championship. They're nowhere close to that championship, but if you'd become convinced it was time to throw Dawson off the boat and start over in the front office, you might owe him an apology. I'll put mine in writing and send a fruit basket along. The Rockets aren't a great team. They might not even be an average team. But they're moving forward. They've gotten better. They've also gotten more interesting and — here's the really good news — they look like they care. We have a pulse Look past the missed shots and turnovers in Saturday's 73-67 victory over San Antonio. Look past the fact the Spurs were tired after being pushed hard in a Friday victory over Dallas. Focus only on the Rockets. As coach Jeff Van Gundy tweaks his rotation, as he pushes McGrady here and coaxes Yao there, as he changes the mix and then changes it again, the Rockets have been transformed into something that seemed impossible in November. They've got a good strong heartbeat. They're a different kind of team because their two best players — McGrady and Yao — are two of their softer personalities. Their attitude was never going to come from those guys. They've found it since Sura returned, since Andre Barrett pushed his way into the rotation and since the trades for Jon Barry and David Wesley. They didn't know if the two trades would raise their talent level. They knew they'd bring some team speed onto the roster. They knew they might keep fighting on a night the shots didn't fall, on a night Yao was mostly ineffective. Even Van Gundy admits he's impressed. "It's a continual process," he said. "I thought the intensity level of both teams was at a very high level." The Rockets are Barry pumping his fist and Sura getting in a referee's face. They're Wesley driving up the tempo. Before Saturday's offensive brownout, they were averaging 102 points over their last 14 games. Until then, they had been averaging 87. Saturday's game wasn't the kind they would have won early in the season. They were down 11 after seven minutes. Yao was sleepwalking through a quarter. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were blowing by them. What they did Saturday, and what they've done the last few weeks, is keep going. Wesley threw in a jumper and Juwan Howard made one, and somehow the Rockets got within eight after a quarter. Then the Spurs missed 10 of 12 shots in the second quarter and the Rockets led 30-28 at halftime. In the final moments of the fourth quarter, they outplayed the team Van Gundy believes is the NBA's best. Sura nailed a 3-pointer, McGrady hit one too, and the Rockets held on in the final moments. If you're into basketball as art, this wasn't your game. The Rockets never had scored 73 points in a game and won. San Antonio's 67 points were a season low. The Rockets are having a turn-back-the-clock game Tuesday. They had a practice run Saturday with a game that would make Bob Cousy proud. "We turned it back to the 1940s," Barry said. "We didn't wait until Tuesday." Yet the Rockets made winning plays. McGrady threw in 28. Dikembe Mutumbo grabbed 15 rebounds in 20 minutes. Barry hit a pair of 3-pointers. The Rockets had 10 more rebounds than the Spurs. When they were done, the Rockets had won for the 11th time in 16 games and run their record to 20-17. "Tonight shows what type of team we can be," McGrady said. "There are the elite teams and we should be one of those if we do what we're supposed to do." By the time they return to work today, Van Gundy will find a dozen things to pick at. But he won't complain about the effort, and he won't wonder if his team cares. Those questions have been answered. The Rockets aren't the team they were in November. richard.justice@chron.com
That's exactly how I feel about the rockets. The team had no heart before and now they show that they do. I've never seen Tmac with this much intensity in his whole career. Deke and Sure is nothing short of spectacular considering the expectations we had for them. Although, I still don't like JVG, I underestimated his willingness to change. As I stated in my own thread a few days ago, the rockets are fun to watch again which is the only thing that is important to me.
So, no Yoyo Arroyo? So, is this a veiled message that a Rox - Raps trade is in the offing? So, is this vindication for a good man (tho not always 'great' GM), CD?
And from Feigen's NBA Notebook (there's more on Steve/Cat, and some other stuff, but here's the Rocket-related stuff. Arroyo on market Like most NBA teams, the Rockets made calls about Jazz point guard Carlos Arroyo, hoping to unchain him from Jerry Sloan's bench. Arroyo was impressive enough last season for his demotion to fourth point guard to draw interest, especially for a team willing to work out 38-year-old Rod Strickland. The Jazz, however, became the latest team to have no interest in the Rockets' contracts. If they were to become willing to move Arroyo for a trade exception, the Rockets would have to weigh whether they would add another contract and luxury tax. But that's moot for now. More than a month before the trade deadline, the Jazz will consider offers of players more valuable than what the Rockets have to offer. An answer in Greece? If the Rockets wanted to move cautiously on adding a point guard, the play of Vassilis Spanoulis might be a consideration. The Rockets' second-round pick last season, Spanoulis has been a more effective scorer than expected for Maroussi Honda of the Greek A-1 league. In consecutive games, Spanoulis hit consecutive 3-pointers, clinching a win in one game and pulling out a last-second win in the next game. He is making 53 percent of his shots overall and 37 percent of his 3s, averaging 14.6 points per game. He has not been confused for Tony Parker, but he is quick and tough and reportedly has the drive of a gym rat. The Rockets will not hand him the keys and make plans to retire his number, but it is looking as if Spanoulis will make next season's roster. Trade, anyone? The best trade action comes between the All-Star break and the trade deadline, but the NBA talks trade more than ever now as future deals are set up. Much of that January talk consists of bluffs. But the usual suspects are subjects of the talks now, with the Warriors and Raptors ready to move the older players on going-nowhere teams. The Rockets have been interested in Clifford Robinson and Donyell Marshall since the Rudy Tomjanovich days. Marshall would still be in their sights, but the Raptors, who are not interested in taking back long contracts, particularly for players to play behind Chris Bosh, could find better deals elsewhere. Without a first-round pick since Bostjan Nachbar, the Rockets intend to hold on to their pick this season. NBA Notebook
NIKE, That stuff was put in it's own thread here http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89829 Let's discuss those points in that thread.