imho, it's not a single issue. usually things are far more complex than that. so it's probably a combination of all the things that were mentioned in this thread. obviously, players are concerned of being traded. but it's also mental and physical fatigue after the brutal schedule in the first 2 months of the season. plus, after almost 3 months of basketball every single team in the nba finally knows how to play the rockets. another thing to consider is that now that mcgrady won't come back to the team some players finally realized that there won't be a savior this year. t-mac will not be back and neither will yao. i know the players would never admit this in public but i wouldn't be surprised if some of them thought before the season that they'd just have to fight extra hard through the tough schedule early in the season until at least one of their star players comes back. now nobody's coming and the players know deep inside that this season isn't about winning the championship anymore.
I knew Shane had been struggling, but didn't realize just how bad he has been. Budinger needs more minutes for sure.
This is becoming a problem....we are playing really bad right now no matter what the reason may be we need to pick it up. Our roster can't afford "mid season lulls" and even at our best we haven't been able to keep a win streak going. We are one loss away from being out of playoffs and our next 6 games are SA, CHI, ATL, DEN, PORT, PHX....5 of which we will lose unless we are at the top of our game (we can escape CHI with a bad game). We can be really far out of the playoffs starting February...guys need to get their **** together.
That's a really good point! I'm sure that was in the back of their minds that hey...we see this guy working his ass off and at the least he'll give us another extra body to give us a good productive 20-25 mins
I don't buy the trade theory because nearly every GM says no one is untouchable unless you talk about a Yao or Lebron. And these guys were so mentally tough around all the T-mac drama...now they are suddenly fragile when they realize they may get traded? I just don't buy it. I think we're just seem other teams adjust and play with more fire against us. Hustle can only get you so far.
It is brutal to maintain the mental toughness and all-out team play this team needs to be competitive for 82 games. It is wearing on players. I think this squad has performed admirably this season, but over time it becomes more and more difficult to fight through injuries and fatigue when there is no "name player" on whom to rely. To presume this team could maintain the intensity with which they began this season for an entire 82 games was naive. There is no precedent for it in the modern age of the game. There have been successful teams that played great team ball, generally. But these teams also had reliable scorers to help them through. We do not, and neither Chase nor Carl nor Aaron nor Luis are that person. No offense to any of them, or others. I like them all and am glad they are Rockets. There are probably 8-10 truly outstanding players in this league who can take over games when needed. Behind them, there are 9-25 really strong players on whom teams can rely when the chips are down because they are very difficult to shut down and demand double-teams in the clutch to do so. I put Yao Ming in this latter category. There is nobody in a Rockets uniform today that fits in either category. It is not the players' faults. For the most part the effort is there. Maintaining it on the part of all 8-9 contributors every night, without exception and regardless of injury and fatigue, is what it takes for them to win. And it is not Les' or DM's fault, as neither could have predicted the injuries and McGrady's questionable attitude. The question is this: What to do right now? To make the playoffs in the West, this team needs a true scoring option who takes the pressure off teammates and demands the attention of the defense in order to slow him down. And we need a defensive presence under the basket who makes penetration more difficult. It's that simple, and DM knows it. DM must be trying to do so without sacrificing much of the grit and team-based talent the Rockets currently possess. It's a tall order, even with $25 million in expiring contracts. I hope we do it. But we need to do it fast. Uncertainty kills any professional organization, and I don't care who you are, if you think your job is threatened in any field of endeavor, it does affect your performance and mental preparedness.
Sometimes when dealing with egos it is more prudent to say something like: "We love our players are will do everything we can to hold onto them all".......but really mean they are all on the trading block. Lesson learned by Morey. DD
no disagree with OP. these guys are NBA professionals, the nature of the beast is that any of these journeymen can be traded at any time. they know this they dont need to see Tmac on the sidelines to know this. couple of guys upthread nailed the reason on the head: it's a long season. other teams were inevitably going to start taking Houston more seriously, other teams are getting their **** together as happens as the season progresses. and even our guys cant be 110% miracle workers ALL SEASON I agree that they handled the Tmac badly, but mainly because as I posted at the time because Tmac might have been able to help the team through this as he played into shape. and it would force teams to adjust onto Tmac, instead of shutting down scola, brooks, ariza and company every night. Did you all truly believe that this team of 2nd stringers would continue their march through the league all 82 games? BOGGLE. I think it'll get better but this wont be the last bad stretch of the season either.
WTF is morey waiting for, i think hes waiting for the rockets to fall further out of the playoffs... hes an idiot in my mind
Really? The closer it gets to the deadline, usually the more desperate teams get. Be patient, we all want something to happen, but making a deal now when they can probably make a better one later isn't very smart. I want to make the playoffs but reality says we won't make a deep run. So, if we don't make it, it will just increase our chances of landing a solid talent in the draft
We just need a consistent scorer who can create, that's the bottom line. I don't see that on this Rocket team.
Patience young grasshopper...... This scenario is like EBay.. Always wait until the last minute to place your bid!!!
Actually I get tired of seeing this because, IMO, it is a failed philosophy for the most part. If you wait until the end, generally a lot of times you get stuck holding the bag because no one stepped up, or interested parties moved on because your asking price was too high. I believe in taking a deal, WHEN YOU ARE HAPPY with it, regardless of timing. DD
Yeah Houston needs a guy who can create his own shot reliably. But they also dont have a guy who can command doubles and open things up for his teammates nor does Houston have the ability to create mismatches on offense. All 3 of which they've had in past seasons.
The more this losing streak continues more people will come out demanding blood. I am sure Morey is well aware of what is happening and a good deal will eventually be done, now whether it will be too late well that is another story
Though this has been stated by Morey multiple times recently. No good deals really happen until much closer to the trade deadline. What trades are we seeing happen right now that are nothing more than cost cutting moves like in New Orleans? I'm sure it varies year to year depending on economics, how teams are fairing to this point in the year, and who is available, but don't most deals really get done as we get closer to the deadline? There is typically a flurry of them near each year, so I don't know if GM's around the league agree that this is a bunk philosophy.
Yeah fair enough, I just think that when you have such a large asset it takes a lot of moving pieces to get him traded, and for that reason waiting too long could cause him to be unable to trade him. Even if there are deals that they might want as teams get tired of waiting on DM to make a deal and move on to other deals themselves. Granted we have the largest chip at the table.....along with J. O'neal, let's see what happens. DD
