With the acquisitions of Scola, Francis and James, the resurgence of Bonzi and the appointment of Adelman, we, and the rest of the league knows that we have the talent to go all the way. The only doubt in my mind, is whether we have the experience and the leadership to win those close games when it matters. People often say you have to experience a deep playoff run before you can succeed and go all the way and the only players on our teams to have done that is 2 bench players in James and Bonzi and a aging warrior in Deke. IMO this is the major concern because neither of our 2 stars have been there before. To compact the issue, neither of our stars seem to have that "grit" or "determination" to step up and come up big when it matters. If you look at the other "contenders" in both the East and West each team has players who have been there and have that will to win. the one exception to this is Cleveland last year but none the less it is still a rare occurrence to see teams deep into the playoffs without fierce leaders who are on missions to win. Does this concern anyone else, or is it just me?? What are your thoughts on the lack of leadership and playoff experience on this roster?
I think Adelman can give T-Mac and Yao the right mindset to win. Scola is a proven winner and I think (I'm hoping) that his competitiveness and winning attitude will rub off on the team. I think the passion this team has is going to do the trick and help our superstars finally get over the hump.
How do you qualify good and bad leadership? Is leadership herditary, or can it be acquired with experience? Once a loser, always a loser?
As i stated in my post before, i think the saying "you've gotta lose one before you win one" is a good way of expressing what im trying to say. In football terms it could mean you have to lose a Super Bowl, or at least experience the whole event, before you can win one. In NBA terms im saying a deep playoff run is where a lot can be learned so that next time you are better prepared. Our current roster lacks those personnel. I disagree with once a loser always a loser. Someone like Tmac is clearly not a loser just because he hasnt left the first round. Just check his playoff stats and you can pretty much blame his team mates for those failures. I do think though that a deep playoff run can be a valuable experience. I wouldnt be surprised if you see us lose in the WC Finals to one of the big 3 and then come back better prepared and more ready for a championship a year later. (if the team stays in tact)
i think leadership is defintely an issue. t-mac and yao arent vocal enough to be leaders, and they cant lead by their play. t-mac will disappear for minutes during games, and yao will get stuffed by midgets like nate robinson. that's why i really loved the mike james signing because hes so passionate.
This is why we have Steve Francis. Yao and T-Mac are quiet guys so that makes Stevie the vocal leader. During his time here, Steve was all heart and passion. If there is a vocal leader on this team, all signs point to Steve Francis. He knows how gets guys hyped up and bring them together.
Leadership is a huge issue with this team. This team needs a true team leader who encourage teammates and give pre-game talks. Otherwise, it may be a tough year.
yes, lets have the guy who is the slowest to pick up the offense lead the team. anyone can be voal. its whether people will listen to u. i really doubt t-mac or rafer will listen to francis who might not even be a rotation player.
tmac and yao are CLEAR leaders of this team. whenever tmac is on the floor, james and francis, from what i have seen so far, have passed him the ball 99% of the time when he wanted it. i would prefer them to pass yao the ball more when tmac is out and just pound it into him. but they've been good at that. as we win games throughout the season in a dominant fashion, the respect for those 2 will increase, as will around the L. it will reach the pinnacle when we go deep in the playoffs.
we have mutombo, who was part of a 8th seeded team, beating the top team. mike james won a championship with detroit. steve francis almost averaged a triple-double in his only playoffs. i don't believe leadership is a problem at all. if you want leadership from your star players, get ready to be disappointed.
Wow, I applaud you on your hate for Steve Francis. I never seen so much hatred poured into one player. Which is extremely sad. Anyways, you are an idiot. Being the vocal leader doesn't necessarily mean you are out there running the team, creating the offense and telling guys what to do. You can easily be a leader by motivation. Like it or not, Steve is the most vocal player on this team. So far, nobody has been more talkative with their teammates than Steve. He brings everyone together. UNITY.
I really don't see how this board doesn't see Yao's Leadership potential. All you have to refer to is Yao's CLEAR leadership position on the Chinese National Team. I saw a really undermanned CNT beat Serbia under Yao's constant leadership and determination. So that leader we all want to see is definitely in Yao but it's just a matter of him wanting to assert it on the Rox.
the chinese' team is full of SCRUBS. they DEPEND on yao. being a leader on that team does not mean u can be a leader of this team. tmac is still the on-court leader b/c he's still the most accomplished player, but off the court i don't know. i hope we still had sura, dude was the emotional leader.
The obvious answer to this question, and probably the most valuable asset that he brings to this team is leadership, that player being Shane. Smart, Professional, hard practicing and playing, defense, team first, well spoken, accountable. There is a reason Battier made the pregame speech before our first home game last year. He is the leader of this team and perfect to take the heat off of our more quiet superstars. I think Battier is going to have an awesome season
There is only one winner in this team, Scola. All the others are losers till now. (Mike James has a ring, but he's not the key player in that Championship team.)
Yao Ming has all the qualities necessary to be a bonafide leader..in China. And on the China team, he is the bonafide leader. Outspoken. Aggressive. and at times, harsh. But in the USA, it's a differnet story. Yao still has all the qualities, but his English skills are not good enough to translate his Leadership qualities to the Rockets Team. T-Mac...as a leader? Well..no. I dont' think the players necessarily respect him as a Leader. This is a guy who skips games, sits out practicies. He's too moody and "unstable" to be a leader. Battier...quite possibly. but he's not vocal enough, and he's not a star player. Steve Francis. Definitely a leader type. Outspoken. Passionate. When he was here 4 years ago, he was the leader on this team. But he's not an All-Star anymore, and his resume is tarnished. This team has no legitimate Leader. It's going to have to make do with flawed leaders in Yao and T-Mac. Yao because of his language skills, and T-Mac because of his character issues. I don't know if a team can win it all without a bonafide Type A leader. We'll see.
Dumb comments from you. Being a leader doesn't require the players to be All-Stars. Yao is a natural leader. The only problem is his language skills. T-Mac the most accomplished player? Are you kidding? What has he accomplished? 10 years without advancing past the first round? What an accomplishment. For you to say, T-Mac is the most accomplished player on this team, is not saying much. It really isn't.
^ did i say him being the most accomplished does anything. if u read, he's like the on-court leader by default b/c he's the most accomplished that's all. i didn't say he was a great leader. in fact, he's not. he simply does his job and goes home. that's why i put sura in there as a guy i wish we still have.
