We have all heard over and over again how the current Rockets lineup gets along off the court. We especially know that Steve and Cuttino are like brothers. They are best friends off the court, and they play well together as co-leaders of the team. What is going to happen to team chemistry as our team develops? Out of all the current Rockets players, many would say that Griffin is going to be the best player in several years. An optimistic scenario, which is very possible based on the bits and pieces of information we have been exposed to so far, is that Ming will develop into an all-star center in several years. If the Rockets follow through and draft Ming, what does that do to the future Rockets chemistry? Steve and Cuttino might be the 3rd and 4th best players on the team. As far as personality compatibility goes, I would imagine that those 4 guys could co-exist quite well. Griffin is soft spoken, and can do his damage on the court every night without uttering a word of encouragement or dissent to his more emotional guard tandem. I think that he will be happy as long as things are good on the court. Ming, because of the cultural differences, might not ever be friendly with his teammates. I can't think of two more different cultures than African-American and Chinese. You know that Steve and Yao won't be going out to dinner together. I can hear the conversation now: Steve: Thanks for those 4 assists. How about I treat you dinner. Yao: How about Chinese? Steve: No, too salty. I can't have soy sauce. Yao: How about Japanese? Steve: No, more salt. Yao: Vietnamese? Steve: No. Yao: Korean? Steve: No. Yao: Thai? Steve: No. I don't think that this will be a positive or negative though, because he should have plenty of support from other sources, and there isn't a place in the NBA that would be different. We don't know Yao as a person yet, but I would guess that he will make strong efforts to fit in well, and he won't rub anyone the wrong way (at first). On the court, I think there could be some problems. Steve and Cuttino will always be the emotional leaders of the team, but can they handle that job while playing with a talented team? The Rockets are moving towards a team that is balanced between the front and back court players. What happens when the big guys feel underutilized?
Steve & Cuttino need to be leaders and walk the walk.........If they can't pass this simple test of playing with Yao Ming & watching Griffin improve his game, then we dont need players like that on our squad.......But I have a feeling that Steve & Mobley will step up to the plate and do just fine as far as team chemistry goes....They have a real competitive and fiery side to them, but their hearts are in the right place and it is all about winning with them.
There is absolutely nothing in the world for chemistry like winning. The four of them will be doing plenty of that.
We were one of the WORST] teams in the league last year. New players first, THEN worry about chemisrty. It would be great if we did get a player or two that turned out to be even BETTER than Stevie and Cat. It may not happen but wouldn't it be great?
How do you expect Ming and Griff to be better than Mobley and Francis? Ming could be a top 5 center, but that won't make him the best player on the team. I like Griff, but he doesn't seem to have the competative fire you need to be great. I like that he's quite like Duncan and doesn't talk trash or celebrate too much, but something in the way he looks on the court makes him seem too passive. He's young and I wouldn't worry about his developement until he's at least 22. The only guy I worry about when it comes to chemistry and Mentality is Ming. Your right about there being culture problems, but it's not a black and chinese thing because black guys and chinese guys can get along fine, if they're both americans. It's a culture thing from the point of China and the USA. Most likely, he'll be fine, but you never know. Another thing is that Ming is so dominant in China, how will he adjust to not being the man? Sure, I know he will say it doesn't bother him, but you don't go from being the favorite son of a whole nation and viewed as the Michael Jordan of basketball over there to a third or fourth scoring option and getting knocked around by stronger guys without negative feelings. It isn't the same as being the star of your high school team or your college team, this guy is a star to over a billion people. He's going to have some pressure/stress issues along with his cultural adjustment issues. Ming is the only guy who I'm worried about when it comes to chemistry.
Don't worry about Ming, he will be alright........He has a great heart and attitude about working his way up & following his dreams of playing in the NBA.........Its not like he is motivated by money, or material things, etc...He is actually the guy I least worry about on the Rockets as far as mindframe and motivation...I just hope that all the Ming-haters dont get to his head in the first years and then he gets frustrated...I just hope he feels comfortable enough with the city of Houston, being in the US, his teammates, and the media to be able to just relax and play carefree basketball that has made him the player he is today... PS: I hope he also gets comfortable in the gym working out & eating as much food as he can to strengthen his upper body!
One difference between Ming and most high school and college guys is his international experience. He's had a taste of the kind of guys he'll play against(Olympics,etc. ), so he may come in realizing he needs time to adjust. This may temper any negative feeling he could have.
One of Yao's favorite restaraunts is Tony Roma's- ribs & such. They have many American chain restaraunts/stores in China, believe it or not. Yao loves to go jet-skiing, too. He'll have a great time in Galveston Bay. I'm sure Steve & Mobes could take him there for starters this summer while the weather is hot.
Hey, Ming is just a kid. He can never dominate his elder teammates in any team. He is just a heavyduty worker. Think about Dirk in Dallas. But Kobe is an exception. Age matters a lot. I am sure steve will like him. But I don't know what Mobley will do when Ming is developing.
That would be a sight to behold. A 7'6" Chinese dude jet skiing in Galveston! We would win 8-10 straight championships if Steve and Cuttino were a teams 3rd or 4th best players.
There are always differences between teammates on any team. The Rockets will be diverse, but being a teammate of someone kinda has a way of making those differences go away. Having someone like Ming on the team might help some young players grow up. They will realize that there is more than one way to do things. I'm sure plenty of you reading this have had a similar experience to what the Rockets are about to go thru.
I think when people talikng about Ming adjusting to the game, they mean before he becomes a monster. His first yr , if he gets 14pts 8rebs and 2 blks, they will not call him dominate yet, but by his 3rd or 4th season if he's getting 20 and 10 thats when it gets fun. People want to compare Kandi to Ming as far as big man development, but Ming has played international ball since he was 16, Kandi didn't play ball until he was 17. Ming has played pro ball since then while Kandi spent 4 yrs at Pacific. He will develop much faster than Kandi will. Chemistry is nice and good to have, but you can have all the chemistry with no talent and you'll live in the lottery. These guys don't have to be buddy buddy as long as they respect each other on the court its fine and dandy. Once Cat and Framcis see how much easier their job is, they'll love playing with Ming rather than against him. If you don't believe me, ask Penny Hardaway. He said he didn't realize how good he had it until shaq left. When Shaq is out now, Kobe feels the heat of having to make every play in a entire game,like McGrady. McGrady can't ever have a bad game much like when Hakeem was here he could never have a bad game and the Rockets win.
Oski, when you say Griffin doesn't have the competitive fire, I don't think you have enough evidence to prove your case. I may be wrong but as a 19 year old rookie, Griffin seemed to me to be a wide-eyed kid. At first just happy to get in games and then content with making a few shots, grabing a few boards, and blocking a few shots. He's different than most players that enter the league who think they're the center of the universe and talk more smack than Charles Barkley. He's calm and wants to learn and is just trying to take everything in. Although he may never be a vocal leader, I fully expect him to have high expectations for himself and his teammates and to want to produce more and more each year.
Thumbs up, LAfadeaway33. People seem to forget that competitive fire can burn fiercely without trash talk and other forms of posturing. Exhibit A: The Dream. Exhibit B: Tim Duncan. There are many, many other examples in the NBA.
The first time Ming throws down a dunk, slaps the backboard, hip-hops down the court, and draws a T, the team chemistry issue with the backcourt disappears.
LMAO at grummett. Man that was funny, i can picture him doing that. Just imagine if he twirled around in the air like francis.
You must have skimmed my post if you came to those conclusions. Duh, of course I know EG WAS only 19 last season. That's why I said that I'm not worried about him until he turns 22. Why 22, because that's around the age that Kobe, T-Mac, and KG were when they put it all together and became allstars. Did I ever say that I want Griffin to start trash talking and thumping his chest to show his competitive fire? No. Did I say that I like the fact that he doesn't do those things? Yes. Did I compare him to Duncan in that respect? Hell yes! So how in the hell did you guys gather that I want Griffin to be a trash talking, chest thumping, go to guy in his first year? I said he seemed passive (because he spent 90% of his first year camped out on the 3 pt line), that I like the fact that he acts like Time Duncan, and that I'm not worried about his developement until he's at least 22. Please, if your going to question my opinions, have the courtesy to read it correctly or don't read my post and leave me alone.
Before you totally freak out, I just wanted to note that you didn't qualify the first two sentences in the quote up there. "Competitive fire" and "development" were presented as two completely separate issues in your post. The way I read it is that you are saying Griffin won't develop into a great player. I also don't think that Eddie is a passive player. He just has a calm demeanor, that doesn't really reflect his personal drive.