http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/rockets/3501341.html Dec. 4, 2005, 2:01AM Offseason moves not finest hour By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle There will come a time this season when Rockets guard Luther Head won't do all the stupid things rookies do. Point guard Rafer Alston will get over the leg injury that has sidelined him. Stromile Swift might reach a point when he won't so often sprint up the floor with that faraway stare, the flow of the game as rigid and foreign to him as Buckingham Palace guards. Remember, I said, "might." But Derek Anderson and David Wesley will never get any younger. Or quicker. Bob Sura likely never will return to uniform. And when Jon Barry returns from injury, it hardly figures Barry suddenly will have extra spring in his step. The more you keep telling yourself this horrid Rockets start will right itself just like last year, the more this team seems intent on proving how wrong you are. Look deeper This isn't last year. And this team has much deeper problems than the oft-discussed misfortunes and correctable errors that have made headlines since the start of training camp. Sure, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has harped on mistakes defensively, ranting about pick-and-roll defense and team effort. Yes, superstar Tracy McGrady has been fighting back problems and again looked unsure at times Saturday night. And there have been persistent injuries throughout the roster and ongoing questions about Yao Ming's assertiveness. Unfulfilled expectations But the biggest problems hounding this team, pushing it further into an abyss, reaching a 4-12 low Saturday, are the ones that should have been solutions. Face it. Alston, Anderson and Swift came swooping in over the offseason, offering to cure ills and promising a legitimate Western Conference run. But, the only run this team is making is as far away from competitiveness as an NBA team can get. Until further notice, all three potential season-making moves have been nothing short of busts. It's hard to blame Alston, who suffered a hairline fracture of his leg. And with more time and effort, Swift could begin picking up Van Gundy's system and find a niche. But what the Rockets must address are guards whose age and flagging athleticism are getting exposed and exploited night in and night out. Wesley, whose contributions were well-defined during last-season's run to the playoffs, is getting overmatched any time he has to play significant minutes, like Saturday when he finished with five points and three turnovers in 27 1/2 minutes. Wesley, 35, is a complementary player no longer able to log the kind of minutes he once did. Anderson is 31 going on Dikembe Mutombo in off guard years. He has yet to come close to being a consistent answer on either end of the floor. Barry, 36, is fine when healthy and only in moderation. And consider Sura a non-factor in the Rockets' plans the rest of the season. It's a difficult thing for NBA players to admit these kinds of things. Few do. But Saturday's new low, a 90-75 pasting handed to them by Memphis, could not have been more revealing. The Rockets fell behind 34-13 at the outset, 47-26 by halftime and never were able to stop quick Grizzlies guards Damon Stoudamireand Bobby Jackson defensively, or get past them offensively. The final score hardly was indicative of just how one-sided this was. Put it this way: The Colorado Buffaloes showed up better prepared to make a game of it. It got to the point that in search of someone, anyone, who could defend the perimeter, Van Gundy turned to Moochie Norris for extended playing time. Desperation? To start the second quarter, Van Gundy had T-Mac playing point guard, Anderson off guard, Ryan Bowen at small forward, Swift the four and Mutombo at center. To start the fourth quarter, he went with Norris, Head, Anderson, McGrady and Swift. Van Gundy tried a little bit of everything in search of an answer for perimeter deficiencies. But you can't find what you don't have. Van Gundy tried diplomacy addressing the obvious: "Some of our older players who have been playing, David coming off surgery and Derek, not as quick as he once was, but being a very cerebral player ... they weren't brought in to play the minutes they've been playing." Neither were they brought in to be busts. If changes aren't on the way, Van Gundy should keep sending out Head to learn the NBA game the hard way. And sending a get-well card to Alston wouldn't hurt. john.lopez@chron.com
I hate the fact that we're in this mess the same season the All Star game is going to be in Houston. To have 2 (projected) starters on the All-star team, and have the worst record in the Western Conference-how embarassing...
Bingo! All of the above by Lopez. And in the get well card to Rafer (nice subtle hint there Mr. Lopez) Gundy should promise not to yell anymore. I'm still wondering if some of this is the NBA version of Blue Flu? "Les, as soon as you replace the Police Chief we can make this all good!"
Actually, it was right on the money, every single bit of it. Only guy he was possibly tough on was Luther Head, he was right to remove Rafer from blame, and everyone else deserves to be rung up. Evan
Truth hurts but read yesterdays game thread, everything he said about the team is there save the mindless rants from some idiots against Yao. Past is the past, now what do we do? Pick up Spree? What about Matt Barnes, George Lynch? Trade for Reuben Patterson? Try to salvage this season or go to the lottery? Glad I am not CD at this point.
DD, you know how I have typically agreed with your posts, in fact I look for them. The one you reference is no exception. However, didn't you push for the Rockets to get Derek Anderson? Even a year or two before they did? The current push for Spreewell (not you of course)is based on "what was" instead of "what is now." We tend to remember players at their peak. Our beloved Rockets are in deep trouble, and may not be able to recover this season. The Rockets organization really struggles with putting together the "right" personnel. Last season just worked, but, as they say, a blind squirrel gets an acorn every now and then.
It may take awhile longer to recover than next season also. The Rox, with their two max contracts, can hardly afford to hire new heads for the line-up. I'm not an amateur capologist like NIKEstrad, but it appears that TMac and Yao take up alot of room with their MAX's, especially when Yao is not a max level player, IMO. It is going to be hard to find quality role players with what is left under the cap. I am getting uneasy with the prospects that high school kids that enter the NBA may have prematurely short careers because of the considerable more wear and tear than college ball. The current age expectations (around 35) are built with experience based on college graduates. High schoolers may have much shorter careers. TMac and Yao, because of his size, may have shorter career expectations than is popularly thought. Just a thought.
Unfortunately DaD, I have to admit that I sort of expected things to be this way. I just wasn't convinced that Jerry West could be wrong about Swift and I definitely wasn't onboard with their depending on Sura, Wesley & Barry for another year especially after that last game in Dallas dramatically exposed this team's weakness at the guard position. The Alston-James trade would be a wash if Alton hadn't fractured his leg and you just can't anticipate injuries (TMac). At this point, there's not much that can be done other than playing out the hand they've dealt themselves and hoping for the best.
i hear you. i'm in detroit and we have the superbowl here, right after getting roasted on thanksgiving and having our coach fired...
Yeah, but that was when he was leaving San Antonio...about 3 or 4 years ago....and we still had a penetrating Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Now we need to get a Tony Parker type of player to change up the offense....actually Mike James was pretty good at it, but he was a bit selfish.... DD
Good points T-Mac is 26 but he's been playing 8 years already and says he feels 36. Yao has been durable to this point, but his minutes are increasing. The Rockets have 2 or 3 years to put a good team together and contend for the title. After that it will be time to rebuild.
From the Lopez article: "But what the Rockets must address are guards whose age and flagging athleticism are getting exposed and exploited night in and night out. Wesley, whose contributions were well-defined during last-season's run to the playoffs, is getting overmatched any time he has to play significant minutes, like Saturday when he finished with five points and three turnovers in 27 1/2 minutes. Wesley, 35, is a complementary player no longer able to log the kind of minutes he once did. Anderson is 31 going on Dikembe Mutombo in off guard years. He has yet to come close to being a consistent answer on either end of the floor. Barry, 36, is fine when healthy and only in moderation. And consider Sura a non-factor in the Rockets' plans the rest of the season. It's a difficult thing for NBA players to admit these kinds of things. Few do." We have been through this before. Clyde, Hakeem, Charles BArkley (30# overweight coming to training camp), then later an over the hill Pippen. We always get burned sooner than later with these older players.....
I think Lopez is spot on here about the age and inconsistency of our guards. On the plus side maybe this will convince the Chron to print a tombstone headline burying the Rox and we all know what happened the last time the Chron prematurely buried a Houston team..
