Who will be the leader of the 04-05 Rockets? Last year it was clearly Francis but who will step up in that role now? T-Mac and Yao are not leaders. They are more passive by nature (and that is not a knock on them)...Will it be JJ? Will Howard come in and speak up when needed? Does it even matter?
I was sort of wondering the same thing. Also when you say leader do you also mean captain? Who will it be?
I still don't think Yao is a locker room presence or one who would rile up his teammates yet, I don't even know if TMac would be willing to do something like that cause he seems so laid back.
It's hardy ever true, in the NBA right now you can't name more 8 teams that are lead by their PG, it'll be like that with the Rockets too. I'd agree with the guy that said JJ would be the Rocket's leader...
What made Steve Francis a better leader, because he screamed loud after a play? And McGrady passive!? I expect Jimmy Jackson and Tracy McGrady to be the leaders of this team, Howard will probably speak up. Heck, many of the leaders on teams are role players. Derek Fisher was supposedly the most respected guy in the Lakers lockerroom. Mario Elie was the vocal leader for the San Antonio Spurs. Then there are teams who have an abundance of unsuspecting leaders like Detroit. Then there are teams who coaches are the leaders, like Utah. The Rockets are a blend of all of those.
T-Mac failed miserably in the leadership role last year with the Magic, and Darrell Armstrong was always the emotional leader of the team. McGrady isn't the kind of guy to tell a teammate the he needs to pick it up, and he's said the himself. Look at some of the great leaders we've seen recently; Magic, Bird, Zeke, Jordan, Avery Johnson. All were quick to commend their teammates when they did well, but also to criticize them when ther performed poorly. That's why I really though we could use a guy like Snow or BBarry. Both are vocal leaders and are good guys to have in the Lockerroom. That's why I think now we should consider Eric Williams. But it's not like we don't have good character guys as it is. Howard has been respected everywhere he's been. Jim Jackson's a smart, vocal veteran. Everyone in the lockerroom seems to like and respect Mo Taylor. But it would help to have an emotional leader on the floor to keep the guys focused and energized.
That's about all I have to say about that example. Then you go on to bring up MJ, Bird and so on. Ugh, this is not going to be a team relative or even similar to any MJ or Bird led team. If you just MUST have a comparison, if you just can't enjoy T-mac and Yao as T-mac and Yao, then I'd suggest Drexler and Hakeem. That's just the best you could do, cause they're not MJ and Pippen, not Bird and McHale, not Kobe and Shaq, not Magic and Kareem. Those comparisons are further off than Drexler and Hakeem. As for the emotional leader, well, you could only lead through emotion if your emotions are controlled and used intelligently. We all know that emotion isn't always a good thing if not used properly aka "Franchise". Well, I agree we don't have a player on the roster that fits that description, however we do have a coach that fits that discription.
I think JVG is going to start to emerge as the leader of this team. Slowly but surely, everyone on our roster is going to convert or be replaced by a "JVG guy."
