I watched the Spurs and Lakers game again. Man, the Spurs are good, so confident. Lakers fought hard at certain period, but their weakness was exposed and they just couldn't handle the perfect system of the Spurs. This could even be a very fast serie. When the Rockets played against the Lakers, we had our chances and we played pretty much evenly, except the 5th game. We might think we are just a little inexperienced against the elite teams. But when you look at the Spurs-Lakers serie, although just 2 games, you have to recognize that Lakers is no long a top team. I believe the Kings, Wolves, maybe Pacers all have a chance agaist them, and the Spurs are simply better. So our team really has a long way to go to become any kind of threat in the Western. We have to stick to our system, and execute it smoothly throughout the whole season, then we can have some real progress. By the way, just as a side note, for those who said Yao did nothing to guard Shaq, that Shaq's lack of production was simple because he's old and no long main option in the Lakers, I would suggest you to watch they play against the Spurs, to see his performance against the best defensive system. Maybe then you can realize there is just no reason to diss an important player in your team like that, simple because you don't like him.
right on! man right on. Having seen the Spurs played the Lakers, you bet the Roxs has a long way to go as a team. Not only Spurs has really really good players but also all pieces seems to fit really well together.
If Yao becomes a superstar, then the Rockets will be elite. If he doesn't, they will be eternally mediocre.
for those who said Yao did nothing to guard Shaq, that Shaq's lack of production was simple because he's old and no long main option in the Lakers, I would suggest you to watch they play against the Spurs, to see his performance against the best defensive system. We are not as good as the Spurs, but it is safe to say that between Yao and Cato the Rockets can contain Shaq better than the Spurs. That is why we could hang in there with the Lakers.
That's tough. Didn't know one needs four, unless you do, and know the real benefit of that, so you recommanded strongly
Exactly it. Whichever team in the league has the best player in the game is going to be the team to beat. The truth of the matter is you can mix and match whoever on your roster as much as you want, and maybe you'll be able to formulate a team with good chemistry to get 50+ wins consistently for a few seasons and maybe a 2nd round or Conference Finals exit, but unless you have the best player in the game, that's about all you're going to get. As much as we b**** about Yao not being a franchise player, the fact that we actually have a player who has the potential to be one, as well as possibly being the best player in the league in the future bodes very well when you think about teams like the Warriors, Clippers, Jazz, Sonics, Suns, Hornets, etc. who may have a star that can put butts in the seats but have absolutely no shot of getting a ring in the near future unless they luck on the draft and get a potential best player in the game themselves.
Londons Burning nailed it right on the head, and thats why they are gambling on yao to become a franchise player. A guard oriented high tempo offense never got near a ring. You could say New jersey had a chance last year, but were well overmatched. The kings had a chance a couple years ago but shaq and kobe got in the way. Even with the bigman shaq still needed someone like kobe. Francis is nowhere near kobe and never will be, he just doesnt play smart enough. He may be the emotional leader of this team but how can you lead the team when you make so many mistakes yourself. Francis cant get on someones ass when they make stupid turnovers or dumb plays because alot of them are his mistakes. Francis is 27 and suppose to be entering his prime of his career, but he has the worst statictical season of his career and still makes mistakes that rookies make.
Again this is turning into another Steve bashing thread. However, we now see the ushering in of a new generation of NBA pointguards: Tony Parker, Dwayne Wade and Kirk Hinrich. They play with a lot of energy and poise for their age. Cassell, Bibby and Nash plays the same way but they are getting old. Kidd?! A good point guard alone will never win a championship. He's also getting old.
talent wise, steve is behind kobe but not as far as many here believe. at 6'7'' kobe has a physical advantage over most anybody guarding him while steve has no such advantage. anyway, for the rox to get to the next level they have to learn how to play consistant. you can count on one hand how many times steve and yao both played well and i am not sure we had one game where everybody played at their best. aside from that, we need to add some depth in the back court, some size at the 3 and get a 4 that can defend and shoot.
The Rockets roster is fundamentally flawed. One this flaw is fixed, we can be elite, because there are enough resources to turn into complimentary pieces. The only players who should stay long-term are Yao and Francis, while the only players who should stay through next season are JJ and Cato. Everyone else should be traded for better suited players. In the backcourt, we need 3 players. One of them is Steve Francis. Of the other two, one should be able to protect the ball, set up the post and shoot it from long-distance while the other should be able to play tight D and be a decent jumpshooter as well as be able to hit the 3. I think JJ can be the second, while Tyrone Lue would be a good option for the first. A backcourt of Lue, Francis and JJ would be great for both Francis and Yao. At the 3, we need to look at a prime-time shooter, someone with decent height and who can hit 95% of open shots from anywhere on the court. Rashard Lewis would be great for this role. At the 4, we need a tough guy who can block over 3 shots per 48 minutes. This guy should obviously be a good defender, rebounder, shotblocker... It would be a bonus for this guy to be able to hit a jumper, but with all the other options, it may not be all that necessary. Most important thing is for him to score on offensive rebounds, alley-oops, etc... Tyson Chandler, Stromile Swift, Kelvin Cato in better shape, Rasheed Wallace and Elton Brand would be a dream, maybe Kwame Brown can develop, Emeka Okafor, etc.. At the 5, it's Yao. Off the bench: One of the 3 guards I mentioned would be off the bench, most likely the Tyronne Lue-type guy. We need a scoring Forward, and since we most likely won't get rid of him, it's probably MoT. Pike and Boki could help a lot. A C can be picked up for cheap, Elden Campbell will probably be cut this offseason. So how far are we? Not too far. In fact, CD can get most of it done this offseason, and he can complete it by midseason. Yao, Cato, MoT, Pike, Boki, JJ and Francis all fit in to this plan. We just need to subtract Mobley and the trade exception, while adding Rashard Lewis and Tyronne Lue. That would take this team up a notch, IMO.
That is an absollutely beautiful post. Most of the best teams have an energy guy, Steve Francis is that, only that he's an elite one. At the 2 we do need more size, and sending Mobley back to the bench would not be a bad thing; I remember the days when we used to love him off of the bench. I remember a few years back when he averaged 15 and came in 3rd in 6th man of the year, he's shown that he can do it. I like this post alot, totally agree. Having said that, those power forwards can be very hard to find.
A steve and cat being trade away and a brent barry, shane battier, kurt thomas away for being an elite team. We need smart players, even if they dont have the athlecism of sf and cat what the heck as long as they play smart we'll be ok.
Yoa becoming a superstar is far from a very sure thing. The Rox would be nuts to build their team around this expectation.
