How the hell are we supposed to attract free agents like this... Juwan Howard '04 Rockets 7.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg '03 Magic 17 ppg, 7 rpg Tracy McGrady '04 Rockets 23.1 ppg '03 Magic 28 ppg Bob Sura '04 Rockets 7.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 5.9 rpg '03 Hawks 14 ppg, 5.3 apg, 8.3 rpg Cuttino Mobley '03 Rockets 15.8 ppg '04 Magic 17.4 ppg Steve Francis '03 Rockets 16.6 ppg '04 Magic 21.8 ppg Kelvin Cato '03 Rockets 6.8 rpg '04 Magic 8.9 rpg Ward and Lue aren't worth comparing.
Then I guess Yao will average like 25 pts/game and 12 rbs/game if he plays for another team. Now I know why Golden State is clearing up their salary cap space to make a run at Yao in 2006.
Have you seen T-Mac's numbers this month. 27 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 5.5 apg. Not much of a drop-off from him at least.
If Golden State is going to get him it won't be until 2007. Convenient to post Bob Sura's numbers on a tanking Hawks team. Care to compare them vs. his Detroit (where he played more games) or his season numbers? Never mind TMac's steals, blocks, and rebounds are up, his assists are the same, and his turnovers are down. PS- We could really use Steve Francis' 3 point shooting right now.
Det got Sheed. Lakers got Malone and Payton. We got Tmac. Miami got Shaq. What does these have to do with anything? Look at those player's stats before and after the trade. Kinda defeats your logic. BTW, unintentionally, I've listed a great team. I blame CD for not getting on those free agents. Payton-Tmac-Sheed-Malone-Shaq
Golden State is NOT going to get Yao after locking up all these contracts this past summer. They gave Fisher, Richardson, Foyle, and Troy Murphy big contracts...they are locked up w/a bad team for awhile. I'm VERY happy w/our Rox team and contracts compared to them.
I think a big reason for a lot of the players' stats dropping under JVG's system has a lot to do with the fact that he insists the offense go thru Yao in a half court set. This slows down the game and limits the easy baskets and thus high fg % that comes with fastbreaks and a running offense in general. I bet if JVG was fired and the new coach or whatever put in an offense that did NOT run thru Yao, then everyone's numbers would go up except for Yao's since the offense would not run thru him anymore and he would not be the 1st offensive option. Im not sure if this is a good idea or not, since Yao is supposed to be our best and most dominant player down the road. Look at last year for example, our team did better because we had 3 prolific scorers: Steve, Cat, and Yao. Although last year's offense ran thru Yao too, our team was better because Yao had to carry less of an offensive burden. Thus, I think the best short term solution to our problems would be to find a 3d scorer who can create for himself. Although we do need rebounding PFs and all that too, we need a 3d scorer (ie someone more than just hitting wide open shots but who can create like steve and cat) most.
For all the talk about the offense going thru Yao, he's averaging ONE more shot than JJ and 7 less than TMAc. I think he would be getting 22+ a game somewhere else.
You can solve it all with one roster move and he isnt even an active player. Just fire the Head coach.
Yeah, this offense really isn't running through Yao. Because the entry passers miss him over and over again only to settle for a much more difficult shot. Yao's too nice to say anything to them. He needs to pull a Shaq daddy on them and get them to throw him the rock early when he is open. Don't want til the last 5 seconds of the shot clock and the whole defense is collapsing in the paint.
The point is that you'd think at least ONE of these guys' stats would drop, not ALL of them. Also, I'm not comparing them during Rudy T's years with the team. Feigen said the Rockets are tanking because they're too big, slow or can't shoot. However, both the unanimous stat comparison and personnel management seem to indicate JVG's system is dictating that.
"Amateurs" and "novices" like you should just stick to reading until the rough edges are knocked off. I wanted to take on your initial post but I figured it would be a waste of time and you there is a huge chance that you might not get it. I do not know if you understand statistics or have any idea how to proffer a logical point but you have woefully failed on both count. I am sorry to inform you that your "argument" is filled with holes and it is elementary at best. It may be better for you in the future to just ask questions rather than "expose" yourself. Methinks.
Somebody needs to learn something about statistical correlation. If Kobe Bryant's stats go up this year, yet they don't win a championship, what does this mean for your theory? If Mobley, Francis, and Cato all have higher output, yet don't win a championship, what does this mean for your theory? For a bunch of fans that always talk about "team first", what does it mean when you look at invidividual stats to figure how good your team is? The type of FA's I want aren't the ones who are looking for their numbers to go up, but rather for their ring count to go up. We're lucky we have 2 stars in Yao and TMac who think like that. Now we need some FA's who do as well - not someone solely looking to average 20-30ppg.
