A nice writeup as usual from Hollinger. I've heard a lot of talk after the game about how the Lakers didn't show up. Not much focus on the resiliency this Rockets team has shown not only this season, but also last year when they extended their win streak to 22 games after Yao went down. I wish the national story was more about what the Rockets did, instead of what the Lakers did not do. What do you guys think? Is this current group of players better than the group that completed that 22-game win streak? I can see the arguments either way. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playo...?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-090511 [rquoter] "It's over." It's all too easy to write those words about a team any time a crisis comes up -- injuries, slumps, locker-room dramas, or whatever other obstacles arise during the long season. It's also, in most cases, completely inappropriate. And the Rockets and Lakers provide two compelling examples for us to study why. First, let's talk about the obvious one: Houston. Nobody gave the Rockets much of a chance after hearing they had lost Yao Ming for the rest of the playoffs; certainly, there wasn't a soul who foretold them being up by 27 after three quarters on Sunday. Yet the Rockets' success only mimics what they did a year ago. After Yao was lost for the season, Houston won nine consecutive games to run its amazing streak to 22 before finally succumbing; the Rockets went 18-7 without Yao before losing to Utah in six games in the first round. Even that playoff loss came in part because of a second injury, to point guard Rafer Alston, that led to home losses in the first two games. Compare that edition of the Rockets to this season's. Ron Artest fills in where Tracy McGrady was a year ago -- no big difference there. While McGrady was getting all kinds of ludicrous MVP chatter because of Houston's winning streak, he actually struggled offensively down the stretch last season. McGrady didn't make more than half his shots in a game once after March 8, a span of 26 games; the Rockets were just winning anyway. Go up and down the roster and Houston looks better at nearly every spot than it was a season ago. Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry are now the point guard combo, replacing Alston and Bobby Jackson, and that has to be considered an upgrade. This season's Luis Scola is better than last season's Scola. Carl Landry was battling a sore knee at this time last year; now he's back and playing very well. Von Wafer is better than Luther Head. Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier are no better than a season ago, but no worse, either. The only big difference is that they don't have Dikembe Mutombo around to protect the middle; instead, shooting specialist Brian Cook is the fourth big man in the rotation. So we shouldn't have expected the Rockets to be toast just because of who was on the sideline; the players remaining on the court have shown they can be a pretty effective force despite a lack of marquee names. Sunday's lopsided win only proved it. ... [/rquoter]
Sorry but I have to comment on the fact he said the Rockets went on to win 9 without Yao last year. THEY WON 10 STRAIGHT !!!! How come nobody can get their facts straight ? It's mind boggling how people, even Rockets players and people from the organisation still cannot remember how many they won last year in totall, without Yao etc. Also many analysts, incl. the guy from NBA TV doing the recap for nba.com who turns Lowry into Lauwry so it's not just Kenny who does a terrible job My point is, when you are a professional and it's your job, you get paid for writing a bull**** story, how come you do not have the time to even google something for 10 secs. Nice article by the way and indeed Deke not being here hurts, he was so key to the Rockets 22 game winning streak it's not even funny. Yes, Rafer turned into Skip to my lou and yes Tracy stepped up and all of that but it was Deke who protected the paint and blocked the hell out of everybody. So sad we do not have him, I would've felt a lot safer with Deke on the court. This guy could've been really effective in this series, believe that !!
He also made a mistake in how much we were up going into the 4th, which was 29, not 27.. I also don't like the way his article was written..diction, style, and all.
I'm getting tired of hearing peolpe weren't giving them a chance after Yao went out. There are many people on here that still beleived in our team. I knew that the Lakers weren't going to be ready for how good our defense is when Yao is not on the court. Our D rotations are spot on know with a mobile defender in the paint such as Chuck Hayes. No more exploiting Yao or Deke with high pick n rolls and shooting over the top of them because they cannot rotate fast enough.No more running turnovers down our throat since Yao is always the last man down the court on both ends.(Granted he tries the best he can.He simply is too damn big to keep pace)We actually can get fast break advantages now and we don't have to be patient anymore with the Offense running through Yao. We won last game with defense just the way we do it. Any game were the Lakers score in the 80's we know were gonna win now that we have the green light and heavy foot on the gas.
also, my opinion is that chuck hayes has improved alot. i used to cringe everytime the ball came his way but he handles himself better now and seems to know what his assignment on the court is. i enjoy watching him play now! and i agree on the facts and figures when writing articles. get it right!!!
Hur, Houston, they can win, considering they pulled something unexpected off last year, but maybe they won't win, because Lakers are not as bad as it looks. Lakers, hur, they don't have right to just own a team without trying, but, hur, they may still win. Anything else?
Our young guys are showing that they will be marquee names in the near future. This team will be good for years to come.
Hollinger's continued downplaying of McGrady's significance to that team last year is one thing that really baffles me. Noone is positing the claim that McGrady's worth on the team was his scoring/shooting, yet he continuously uses shooting %age stats to justify his argument in every article i've seen where he touched on the subject. To say that there is "no big difference" between McGrady and Artest, with respect to their importance to these teams, is just absurd. It would be conceivable if Artest's defense offset his atrocious offense/decision-making as it did in his prime, but he hasn't been particularly good on that end of the court this year save for a few moments. The only real sustained positive he has brought is intensity and agression/intimidation. I see no logical basis for a claim that for a team that struggles to consistently generate points within a set offense, exchanging Tracy McGrady's ballhandling and overall playmaking for Ron Artest's "intensity" was an overall net wash.
No, it's not. The Rockets don't have anyone on the current roster that is as talented as Tracy McGrady. They don't have shot-block or interior defensive presence of the same caliber as Dikembe Mutombo. On the flip side, they are now a quicker team, and perhaps more versatile offensively. With Scola, Landry, and Artest, they have better post up options.
Also didn't the rockets win 10 straight after Yao went down last season. Mr. Hollinger, you are sliipin. Two statistical errors in the same article.
He's saying why people shouldn't underestimate the Rockets without Yao, based on what happened last year, and why Laker fans shouldn't be panicking after a bad loss, based on recent history. It's a dose of sanity in a sports world where knee-jerk reactions pass as analysis. Not sure why you think that's worth mocking.
