Now that the 2003-2004 season is over, what should the Rockets do to improve?

trade yao for a real power forward!

 

Denver's.

 

I agree with you that the NBA has great big man coaches. The difference is the CBA coaches taught Yao the fundamentals, and Ewing is now trying to impose a physical style on Yao, which I do not object. There is no need, though, to reduce Yao to bump, bump, initiate contact, turn around for either a jumper or hook shot, which seems to be the way Yao are concentrating to do these days. Ewing has done good by making Yao getting used to physical contact play, but I suspect Yao has went overboard by trying to do the same power move again and again, especially when he isn't that powerful and stable in his upper body, especially when he is going up against Malone and Shaq who has the build and experience to counter power game. Limiting Yao's game style limits Yao's post creativity and comfort level. The fault isn't all on Ewing, I'm just saying one year is enough for Ewing to teach Yao, and beside that, Ewing has little use on this team except being a moscot on the bench.

If I'm a guard and Jordan sits beside the court commenting on my every play, I guess I'd feel restricted too.

 

Actually, ummm...

Remember that playoff triple double, followed by a near triple double playoff victory?

And Yao did that when?


Right.

Face it. SF rocks. Yao will too.

 

I'm all for it if you can sell 6'3 for 7'6.

 

How many triple doubles do Jason Kidd has in the playoffs?

 

offensive efficiency....and consistency:

someone who can deliver passes to yao in the block--Marion

Jackson was good this year, but as you saw tonight....he can go cold real fast for a long stretch....I can deal with him if our 4 improves...

Taylor is a great backup and a potential mismatch some nights, but this team needs a night in and night out mismatch who can consistently score... McDyss (leg and all)

Some bench shooting depth...Pike apparently did not cut it....

 

Panda...great point on Yao...I see less dipsy doodle with Yao these days and he does not recognize the D fast enough..he needs to be moving and limited ball ont he floor...

 

Nuff said

 

My how soon they forget. Before Yao got here we all watched Steve play his heart out. Yao and JVG come along, Steve tries to modify his game to mesh with the emergence of Yao and gets crucified.

When the team really needs him he steps up and all anyone wants to remember is his ONLY bad season.

Let's hold Yao to the same standard or it may 5yrs before we get back to the playoffs.

 

Let Boki play as starter to replace JJ and sign a PF such as C. Boozer/ E. Brand.

 

Our best & maybe only hope: It's Draft Day 2004.

The Clippers have won the lottery. It seems like a no-brainer, and it is. They draft Emeka Okafor #1. Oh. Things look bad for the Rockets; the team's war room was really counting on the UConn star to slip down to the Rockets' perennial draft position at #54.

But then, in a flash of brilliance not seen since he convinced the Franchise that Siberia was the capital of Vancouver, CD calls up Emeka's dad Archie Manning and intimates that the Clips used to play in San Diego. Tensions mount; the draft clock is ticking. A yellowed NBA almanac is consulted. And yes! Archie forces the trade!

We get our native son power forward, CD escapes Les' hangman's noose, and Donald Sterling gets the Rocket's most coveted NBA assset: the much-maligned Glen Rice salary cap exception of 2003-2004. And, best of all, Archie Manning earns the love and respect of his favorite son.

(Also, everybody falls in love with this year's actual #54 pick, a gangly Botswanan center project. He lacks any inherent basketball skill or defensive prowess, and really can't even be considered tall. But his accent sounds vaguely like Hakeem's, and so, the thinking goes, he will someday play like him too.)

 

Yao Ming is by no means KG in that propostion. However, Sprewell is by no means T-Mac. Neither is Steve, so if there's a way to trade him along with someone else, for T-Mac, do it, that's all there is too it. Sign Brent as our PG, if we can that is at the MLE and use the rest of the funds to buy us a decent PF with a decent balance of an offensive/deffensive game. If unable to sign Brent, focus the money on getting us a good PF, have MIke Wilks bring the ball up? Btw, how's Mike's perimeter game? Never seen him play, all I've seen of him is that he is quick, goes in to do what the coach tells him to do.

Still, Yao and T-Mac, plus JJ and Nachbar is a WAY better core to build around than Yao, Cat and Steve. You add Brent to that line up and its a pretty balanced line up. Brent, nor JJ nor Nachbar demand the ball on offense BUT all three have good offensive games/perimeter games, can spot up shoot nicely. While you have T-Mac and Yao as the two top two scoring options, with T-Mac being a better driver to the basket than Steve, we can really focus on Yao's outside game. And not force him to be what he's not. Think about it, you'll have Yao and T-mac as inside and outside scoring options, the main focus of your offense. If T-mac can't drive it in, has Yao to pass it to for that 17ft jumper. If Yao can't hit it, you have Brent, JJ and Nachbar out on the perimeter just waiting to drain a 3 pointer or a jumper. Plust Brent and T-Mac have much better ball handling skills than Cat and Steve.

As everyone has said, Yao just isn't ready to take over a team as leader. He himself has admitted it, and Steve is just too stumbly and inconsistent and erratic of a player who has been in the league for 5yrs ,be the one to constantly look for to help us out of binds with a streaky mixture of clutch/boneheaded moments. So you let T-Mac be the man, let Yao be as someone else suggested the "solid" second option, and let him be who he is. Stop forcing him down low and making this a half court offense. It only wears him out and really kills his natural finesse,passing and shooting abilities.
And you have your spot up shooters we so much need, Brent, JJ (although he has his bad moments as he did this last playoff game, it is nowhere a constant occurence and as streaky as Francis), and of course Nachbar, who btw also has slashing/driving abilities and defensive ones. I really think from what I've seen of him, that we'd be pretty damn surprised if we gave him starting playing time.

And all this still leaves out the pf we might get through FA or through some other smaller trade. And it already looks good. I say if we can do this, do it. It's just too damn tempting to pass up on this possible line up.

 

Hell no...

 

The Rockets would not of won this series... especially with JJ taking the amount of shots he took, period. Get over it, without Steve, this team would have been swept....

 

This is highly over-used. Yao would not have taken the Rockets to the play-offs while in steve's position. Yao, this year, has had Steve, Cuttno AND a better supporting cast. Steve had Cuttino... and.... Cuttino.... and half Olajuwon for 1 season (almost made the play-offs).
You can't compare the 2 without adding in the other factors.

 

We need to move Steve to the 2, and get a PG that can do 3 things:

1) protect the ball
2) defend the SG's
3) hit the 3



We need that PG, and a PF, and these are the resources we have:

Mobley
MoT
Weatherspoon (like anyone would take him, lol)
7M trade exception
Maybe a future pick?


The way I see it, we need to net a PF through Free Agency (McDyess would be great), and then use our assets to pick up a PG and a backup SG/SF.

 

Steve is too small and not fast enough to make up for his lack of height, to move to the two.

I mean cmon, would YOU be against moving Steve IF and only IF it got us T-mac?

 

perhaps you should acquaint yourself with the CBA, what the salary cap is at, and the houston rockets' cap situation.