As the Rockets begin to develop its identity as a team, I am reminded of the Del Harris/pre championship Lakers. Obviously, such a comparison should not be made lightly and will inevitably raise expectations for this team. But the parallel is there: (i) All-Star caliber centers and guards; (ii) overabundance of potential contributors (Van Excel, Elden Campbell, AC Green, Eddie Jones) (Mobley, Griffin, Thomas, Taylor, Cato); (iii) team leaders starting to assert their leadership roles; (iv) transitioning from chaotic/directionless offenses to passing/team oriented offenses. The Lakers brought in Phil Jackson, cleaned out Van Excel, Campbell and Jones, and replaced them with people that would be more willing to accept their roles . . . Horry, Fox, Harper (and Rice, but he was malcontent for a while too). The Rox are in the early stages of this transition. Players are just now understanding each other and how to maximize the team results. The question is whether it will take the Rox as many years of struggling. Ultimately, the Rox should run everything through Yao. It took Kobe a long time to accept that everything should be run through Shaq, and he still forgets that from time to time. This is Francis' first year with Yao, and I think he's ahead of schedule (relative to Kobe). Also, I think Francis has less ego than Kobe. As to the other Rox, the question is which will come first: (i) they adapt to their roles, or (ii) they get traded or dropped. The key is whether they realize that they are very replaceable. Kenny Thomas is the first one that really needs to make that decision. I think Mobley has started to adapt. This team is now VERY WATCHABLE.
