After reading much doom and gloom on this board lately, I think a little reality check and happier thoughts is needed. I personally like some of the moves made recently including letting Jon Barry go, and the rockets if indeed miss the playoffs would actually be a blessing in disguise. Rockets being one of the oldest teams in the league overachieved last year by winning 51 games, and promptly lost out in the first round. I don't think any of us like to be reminded how old Jon Barry, DA, Wesley, and Scott Padgett are. Although last years team had great chemistry, the talent level simply wasn't there. By letting Jon Barry go and possibly signing another young gunner, the Rockets are essentially taking a step backward to freeing up playing time and fast tracking the development for luther, gerald fitchpick, and Bogan. The caveat of all of this is the possibility of a lottery pick to restock the barrels for a championship type season in the next few years.
Thats all good, but our window of opportunity is narrowing with Tracy's health - back. If we have to restock with these Van Gundy players (old) every couple of years -we will lack the continuity to develop into a championship level team. I do not know if VAN Gundy will want to develop young players. I witnessed Van Gundy screaming at Luther Head in a game for taking too many shots- Head had scored 6 quick points. HE should have congratulated Head, but scolded him. I will rememeber March 1st as the day Barry was cut and the day we lost to the Phil 76'ers-our slim chance of a playoff birth vanished.
Nah, if we miss the playoffs, our record will still be good enough to deny us a top draft pick. This season has no upside, other than Yao's continued development. We just have to hope we can find a great SG in the draft. Wesley, Head, Bogans, Barry, Sura, DA - each one is a has-been or a never-was. Everyone can see that the new NBA rules favor guard play over big men, but yet we get zero from the SG position. That's gotta change.
I agree, Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when Dallas got hot and just barely missed out on the playoffs? That is what I hope happens to this team, it discovers it's abilities and that leads to a Rockets blast off next year. Tmac will heal, his back, his pyschy everything. Yao is asserting himself, we have some good young role players, this team will be good. Just not for a little while yet. DD
