ClutchCity is Back!!!!!!!!

Clutch City ain't back until this team picks up a ring or at the very least makes some noise DEEP in the playoofs.

But I do believe we have genuine reasons to be excited about this season. Our depth, versatility and scoring capabilities are the best they've been in over a decade.

 

Yeah I ll reserve my judgement till June.

 

We were a top 4 team last year, so why settle for top 5 now? I expect us to be top 2 this year. Anything less would be a disappointment.

I wasn't happy when we had 4 straight years of lottery under him. I was happy when we won it all, so I'd rephrase it as "I haven't been this happy since Hakeem won us to two championships".

Yao has been the most dominant big man in the game the last 2 seasons. I don't expect to see Yao dominating as long as he plays a Vlade Divacs role. But yes, Yao will have a different role in this offense than what we're accustomed to, but I wouldn't take it a step further and say he's going to "dominate" even more.

 

how is yao not going to dominate more? have u seen the preseason? yes the preseason are not indicative of the reg. season, but it shows that this offense puts yao in more places to control our offense. he's not simply a low post player. he's a playmaker.

and don't look at a decrease or increase in scoring as an indicating of dominance or not. we'll look at his impact. if yao had been able to step out a lil bit last yr v. utah, we might have won.

v. teams like phoenix or warriors last yr, yao was EASILY neutralized at times w/ double teams. not this year baby.

 

I'm not arguing about Yao being a more effective player in the offense. I'm just saying, had Yao stayed healthy last year, he would have easily been a top 3 MVP candidate. THe year before, had he stayed healthy, he'd have easily been a top 3 MVP candidate. We know already know he can dominate.

Dwight HOward on the other hand, that guy is going to "dominate even more" because of the head coaching change. He barely made the allstar team this year, but you can expect him to be a top 5 big man in the game this season.

 

Alright guys here it is.


I have never really liked blogs or even felt the need to contribute to them. But with recent post that I have read from you all I feel the need to enlighten you.

Yes the Rockets are having very heated practices and players are at each others throats (on the court) but I challenge you to look past what you hear from the media.

Rafer Alston is not a starting point guard for a championship basketball team...Point blank...If the Rockets thought he was they would have never made the off-season moves that they did.

The main point of this off-season was to fix all of the weak links that the management a.k.a. "highly respected basketball talent evaluators" thought existed.

Point guard and power forward (which most people believe the Rockets aren't done searching for) where two glaring wholes that the Rockets saw they had.

Keep in mind that yes the system is new and it takes some time getting used to, but the fact that Rafer is looking so good right now is more of a testament to him being "USED TOO" playing with the starting five than his ability to pick up a new offense. Meaning he isn't necessarily better than Steve or Mike. He just looks better because he has the upper hand that he knows the other starters game.

With that being said it is with that same familiarity that the Rockets got bounced by Utah exposing the Rockets flaws Rafer Alston and Chuck Hayes.
Yes style of play will be different this year, but the game is still about putting the ball in the bucket and playing defense. And this unit couldn't get that done last year. Mainly because the point guard and power forward weren't good. And not just bad in that series (UTAH), but bad as in basketball ability.

Now, with that in mind the Rockets would be stupid not to start Rafer because they are currently shopping him!

The Rockets coaches would be stupid to not say good things about Rafer because they are currently shopping him!


They Rockets would be stupid not to spin the media's perception of him because they are currently shopping him!

Why?

Because his...lets say... summer of fun would make him less appealing to GM's .

Get my drift?

And you people are just eating what the media is doing...aiding the Rockets plot...

You all probably are the ones that still believe Bush is fighting "TERRORIST" and looking for "WMD's" ....lol...that's rich...

The Rockets are still looking for a power forward and wanted to use their glut at guard as a deal maker.

Small problem.

All GM's know that eventually those players are going to fall of the roster, and the need for a trade doesn't exist right now.

They are sitting back waiting to see what the Rockets will do come roster trimming time.

And the Rockets are playing spin doctor hyping up Rafer when his ticket out of town was bought months ago (fares are cheaper when you buy tickets in advance of your travel date... that was so deep I don't think most of you will comprehend that statement)

It's cute too. They even let him dress up as a Real Rockets Starting point guard.

But sorry Rafer... Halloween is on Oct. 31.

And the Rockets have a game that day.

And you dressed as a Rockets starting point guard will only happen if you are going trick or treating...

Who knows maybe for Christmas Santa will give you a starting job with a non-contending basketball team...

And then maybe Santa will give Chuck Hayes a new laptop so he can write blogs on Rockets.com, or send you emails from them Rockets bench.

It probably read like this:

Dear Rafer,

Hey dude. Things suck now that you've been traded and the Rockets got a legit starting Power forward. Man can that guy rebound. Which is good because you know I was never quite good at that. Or scoring either for that matter!!!lol It's cool though because now that I'm not starting and the rest of the power forward minutes are giving to Scola. I have found more time to concentrate on my blogging. I'm doing it courtside as I speak. Steve and TMAC are finally getting along and are playing together now. The team has really taken to Steve and his big heart that Yoa spoke so fondly of in television interviews. It seems to me that's what this team was missing. I still love Tracey but we kinda needed a guy with some grit who doesn't fold in the clutch. What's funny is Tracey and I were having a talk on the bus on the way to the game, and he told me he admired Steve's passion for the game. He said he never really owned that type of passion for basketball because he really never wanted to be a basketball player. He was just always freakishly good at it, and people where willing to pay him millions to do it. So he was like screw it. I'll go to the NBA. Who doesn't want a million dollars??? Crazy huh? What was funny is I youtubed and interview he had with espn about his life and progress and he reiterated the same thing...He is still playing lights out this year. But Steve is the guy people rally around, and he even defers to Yao and Tracey now. Steve's play this year makes you think. Was he tanking it in Orlando and New York just to get back to Houston. But what I came to realize that Steve is so passionate about the game that he couldn't play well at these places because he used that passion to fuel his play. And when he left Houston he lost his passion, and eventually his game.

But man is the kid hot right now.

Well gotta go the game is over and I gotta blog to do. GO KENTUCKEY!!!


Your friend and fellow culprit to the Rockets 06 playoff debacle,

Chuck Hayes

That's exactly how that letter would go. Rockets fans this is going to be an exciting season. We made changes and there are more to come. But please...please... Don't subscribe to the B.S. being pumped out by the media saying that the starting five will be the same, Rafer is John Stockton, Chuck Hayes is Moses Malone. And so forth... It's just the Rockets trying to send the message that in light of recent changes. Things are still the same, because we really didn't need to improve to win......a.k.a We wanna trade but we don't wanna look desperate to do so... That's how you get screwed into making bad moves



Good Day,

Rockets Fan who is highly logical, and sometimes forgets where the period or comma should go...But his message makes so much sense.

 

I agree....although I'm excited about this year, we'll have to wait and see.....

 

u proved ur nick,no doubt

 

so are you really Hayes?

 

Dang you had been hiding for a while. Two posts in 4 years

 

Rockets insider, you have posted that EXACT same post in THREE threads....you should stop that.

DD