We have found the answer and it is JOPATMC! On the money! You nailed it! Now, make an appointment with JVG and, no, that won't work. Email or Fax your remarks to CD, no, actually, nobody listens to us. But if they would, we would have this team competing at higher level, right away!
A truly excellent post from jopatmc. This team suffers from two problems: coaching and player selection. Jopatmc's post was absolutely on target about the problems with coaching strategy. The other problem lies with how talent is assembled for this roster. With the current regime, they have tried to build a team through trades and cheap FA pickups rather than through the draft. This has been going on for years and years with pretty much the same results. It should come as no surprise to anyone here that our rookie draft pick is outplaying the 30-somethings on the roster. Now just imagine how this team would look with TMac, Yao, Head & a REAL PG. For the past 2 years I have been asking the question on whether or not the Rockets have the right people in place making the personnel decisions. The majority view on this board was that once they signed TMac, it was a virtual certainty that Dawson and company would find the right players. So far they appear to have found 1 (Head) maybe 2 (Armstrong). That's simply not good enough particularly when you are competing in the West. IMHO, the temporary loss of TMac exposed the poor construction of this roster and how opposing teams are exploiting that weakness. I don't expect that to change much when TMac comes back because he can only do so much. Even with Yao playing at his peak and Head lighting it up, you will still have to contend with the lack of production at PG & PF. While it may be enough to get them into the playoffs, it's just not enough to make this a contending team.
jopatmc, agree with your post.....with the addition that if JVG is unwilling to adjust his coaching of the offense, then Yao needs to do what is within his power and fight back against the physical post defenses he is facing......when Yao feels 2 forearms in his back, an elbow to the kidney, or a jab to his spine......he needs to immediately turn around, grab the defender, and toss him across the lane (preferably like a bowling ball into a few other defenders from the opposing team).....Yao needs to make a scene and draw the attention of all 6 eyes on the officiating crew.....he needs to make the zebras watch the post defenders on him with a magnifying glass.....he has to make them believe that if they do not clean up the rough play inside, that a brawl will ensue and they'll have an even bigger problem on their hands.... we have seen what Yao can do when defenders play honest against him.....the first half against Mourning in Miami is just one example....actually, against legit centers, Yao has always had success on the offensive end.....players like Shaq and Ilgauskas and Amare, who do not want to get into foul trouble themselves and pride themselves on not having to hack in order to stop an opponent, have never been able to contain Yao one on one.......it is the Jason Collins and Dampiers and Reggie Evans of the league, whose sole purpose on the court is to hack Yao into a grave, that Yao has had trouble against......incidentally, Zo was not able to slow Yao down until the second half in Miami when he started using both arms to incessantly hack, dislodge, and push Yao further out away from the basket... and we don't need to hear how Yao supposedly doesn't have it in him to fight back.....we have witnessed his meanstreak during the Olympics when he not only carried the Chinese team on his back in several games, but also showed tremendous emotion during entire games - intimidating opposing players on the floor and calling out teammates....he has also done so for stretches during this season.....his attacking the basket on Ben Wallace, for example......he had a string of vicious dunks on Ben until he started getting called for offensive fouls.....I say he should have kept attacking....and he should let the refs give him 2 techs for tossing hacking defenders into the stands, as well...
There is nothing I would relish more than Yao to lay an elbow into the chops of some defender who is pushing and pulling and riding him in the post. But we've been waiting for that to happen for a couple years now. If Yao had that kind of attitude, he would become "Americanized" and would earn the respect of the officials and the players. It's a sad state of the game that players have to resort to such tactics to earn respect in this league. How long are we gonna wait? Should he have to change his personality to be an effective player in this league? Kareem didn't. I say let Yao punish the defense by letting him have the ball out on the floor when they do all that pushing. Let him start canning those jumpers. The revenge will be on the scoreboard.
That's a great idea and I'm sure man like JVG have thought of it, and how come he did not let Yao do it? (Pulling out for mid range jumper mixed up with low post power moves) I guess the reason could be he wants Yao to get all the attention inside so his teammate can have some daylight to shoot, especially with TMac out.
I'm also worried about Swift. He needs to score more. When Gasol was out he did pick up on offense. He is new to JVG's system but when Yao can't score Stro needs to attack the rim. I think he could be effective in the 1st,2nd and 3rd quarter before the defense tightens up provided he learns how to stay out of foul trouble.
T-mac has been proven that he can't carry a team in Orlando. The magic team lost >18 game in a row with T-mac on it. With the personnel on this Houston team, can you say this team is better than the old Magic?
any highlights to the last few games? Ive really been interested to see the Head highlights again. wow.
