Learning can be Ugly...

To all those who are griping about the offense, JVG, and Yao Ming's play.

Man we are an impatient group! It’s kind of funny how much we expect out of this team and this coach so fast. They are still learning each other’s game! JVG has what he wants to do, but he’s still learning what his players can do. Yao Ming is still learning the NBA style of play. Steve Francis is still learning how to be playmaker, instead of just a scorer. Both he and Mobley are trying to see how their game jells with Yao’s at the same time their wondering how they fit into JVG system. Mo Taylor has missed large portions of his Rocket’s career do to injury. He’s trying to get back to the level he was at before his injury. It seems on most nights, offensively, JJ is the most in tune with what he’s supposed to do, but then his whole career has be made up of fitting in somewhere new. The rest of the team, except for Boki who continues his stellar “bench” play from last year, are new.

Whether we like it are not the Rocket’s are still learning some basics as a team. Namely, how do we score? What, or who do we hang our hat on to get points? What do we force other teams to try and stop and then play off of? They’re still learning and learning takes time and it can be ugly, especially when learning involves transitioning from one way of doing things to another.

To use a potentially lame analogy the Rocket’s offense is something like a guy learning to type. First, he tries to teach himself. He uses the one finger hunt and peck method and manages to achieve a 55 wpm rate. Unfortunately, the job he wants requires a speed of 90 plus words per minute. So, the potential typist decides to take classes. In class his instructor tells him to put hands on home row. He tries, and feels very uncomfortable. His first few timed tests come out miserably. He goes from 50 to 20 wpm’s and looks stressed and clumsy with the new system. It looks like his digressing in performance, but actually he’s learning skills that will increase his performance later. The temptation to go back to the hunt and peck method is strong, but his instructor forces him to continue with his hands on home row. After a while, even if he doesn’t get to the 90 wpm goal, he’s going to be a better typist then when he did hunt and peck. He just has to have the patience to learn the right way so that he can find out what his real potential is.

This is what’s going on with the Rockets offense. They are learning a new system. I understand the need to vent, gripe, and moan, but just remember this is not a finished product your watching. It has to be given time before it’s fairly evaluated. Half a season is not enough. The offense may look ugly at times, but like I said sometimes so does learning.