I think this is a great article that touches on everything that we fans on the board have been asking and saying.. Do we need Yao, We are so much better without him. (This article said that Yao need to save his energy for the offensive end since he have to carry most of the offensive load on this team-great point) While all of the critics said that if we lost to any of the top teams that we going to be playing next week, if we lose to them, we're a joke, just a pretending contender (this author said that we can go 2-3 on the week, and STILL believe that we're a force to reckon with in the playoffs, it all depends on how we lose these upcoming games..that is IF we lose ... if we compete and gives all these team all they can handle, then rockets fans have nothing to worry about) great article so I jsut want to share, hopefully no one have posted up yet link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080311 By Tim Legler ESPN.com (Archive) The Houston Rockets' recent run has been nothing short of amazing. Nineteen straight wins with this particular roster? Even winning eight in a row is difficult in this league. The Rockets are now sitting on the victorious 19th hole after the 91-73 win Monday over the Nets, and have a very good chance of surpassing the second-longest win streak in NBA history, the 20 compiled by the Bucks in 1970-71 season. The Rockets need a win over playoff-hungry Atlanta on Wednesday and then at home against Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. The record is 33 straight set by the 1971-72 Lakers. Right now, the Rockets have the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in their sights, sitting one game behind the Spurs and Lakers, who are tied for first. It's been a quick rise, using a NBA-best 28-4 mark since Jan. 1 to vault from out of the race to having a chance at the No. 1 seed in the competitive West. Of greater significance, let's jump ahead to next week, putting aside what happens in the next two games. Starting Sunday, the road ahead will bring some challenges, with five games against the Lakers, Celtics, Hornets, Warriors and Suns approaching. They might go 2-3 in those five games, and some might write them off as a fraud. But that judgment based on wins and losses would be wrong. You're going to drop some games in this league, even if you're a team as hot as the Rockets. What's more important to me is how they compete, and if they are able to do the same things defensively. Even if they lost some games, I want to see if they make teams miserable with their defense. Stifling half-court defense is the name of the game in the playoffs. This streak has shown us that the Houston style would be tough for many teams to deal with in the postseason. This Houston team is a perfect storm of role players. Outside of Tracy McGrady, Bobby Jackson and perhaps Shane Battier, this is a group of players who know they have to make a name for themselves in this league by hustling. Case in point -- in the win over the Nets, Chuck Hayes did not attempt a field goal, grabbed 10 rebounds and fouled out. As a role player in my playing days, I find this very refreshing to see. I see fouls often as a sign a player is playing aggressively, committing himself completely to playing physical defense. You see some of the great scorers in this league play 44 minutes and commit only one foul. That's usually not a sign of a great commitment to defense. There is also this matter of confidence. This streak shows the Rockets have a great deal of confidence in themselves and each other. Once you get to that level of belief, you're not going back. The hard part is getting there. Houston is there, with role players and coaching staff believing they can win. So when Yao Ming went down after 12th win of the streak, the roof wasn't going to fall in because this team was already at a high level of self-belief. With Dikembe Mutombo in there, I think the Rockets are even better defensively than with Yao in the middle. Mutombo's focus on defense and rebounding makes him an anchor back there, allowing teammates to be more confident in taking chances defensively. He set the tone against the Nets, swatting five shots. Yao has to be concerned with saving energy for the offensive end of the floor, since he's expected to carry much of the offensive weight. That's not an issue for Mutombo, who is counted on for the occasional dunk. Toward the end of the win over the Nets, we saw Mutombo and Jackson perched on the bench, two mounds of ice on their well-worn knees. When you're icing the knees with more than four minutes to go, you know things are going well.
Where does the article posit the question as to if the Rockets are better with or without Yao? All the author says is that the Rockets are better defensively (in his opinion) with Deke in the middle because he doesn't worry about scoring. Coming from Legler, who doesn't seem to be a huge Yao fan (going by recent evidence, I'm not going to check his past articles) or a Rockets fan in general, I'm going to give this article a firm, "Thanks for the positivity, you can have a seat at the back of the bandwagon."
^^^ it's just an analysis piece that is fairly spot on - though, you could easily argue that Bobby Jackson and Shane Battier also are forced to rely mostly on hustle these days. In either case, why do people here feel the need to be offended by articles like this? give the dude a break.
Boo decent analysis. Hooray ignorance! The Rockets are only better without Yao if they get a CRAZY trade for him. Better without one of the best centers in the league? Are you drinking the Ewing Theory Kool-Aid?
I believe Tim Legler was one of the few ESPN analysts that actually picked Rockets over the Mavs in the playoffs a few years back. The article for the most part is pretty accurate.
this is posted in the overall ESPN surprise surprise thread because it is exactly what he says in the video analysis of the Rockets streak.
