that's more like an enforcer type of role. what i really wanted to say is, this "leadership" thing has been overblown for a long time now.
What do you mean by what am I going to do? This is a forum. I don't get paid from the Rockets to do squat. I'm simply voicing my opinion just like everyone that posts on this board.
you lead by example. if you play like you don't care, then your teammates do the same. If you drop F-bombs on Danny Ainge and then go off for 35 points down 0-2 in Phoenix then your teammates will respond.
Actually, I felt the only chance the Rockets really had in winning this game was if Kobe Bryant jacked up over 30 shots in this game, with most of them contested jumpers. Well, he only attempted 17 shots and made 10 of them.
This is a good post and reminds me of my thoughts earlier in the summer. In the offseason I thought this would be a decisive year for Houston. If Tmac and Yao can't lead this team this year, I think Houston is forced to make a move sometime before or during the 09 season to start remaking this team starting with dealing Tmac and many of the other guys entering the final year of their deals. Tmac, Scola, Alston, Barry, Brooks, Hayes, Landry all enter the final year of their deals next year with Battier, Yao and Dorsey the year after that. That means they have to make a decision at the end of this year(starting with Ron Ron) because they can conceivably have a completely different rotation on the court in 2010....and it's not looking like Tmac and Yao are the future here(as a star at least) unless it's to complement another bigger star. Anyone ever heard of this Lebron kid who will be a FA in 2010?
yes. this is what leadership is all about. no more, no less. and back to the op (about ron) - ron has not fit into this "lead by example" model and i haven't seen his teammates responding to him. that why i said it doesn't feel right to say he's already a leader of this team.
Leadership may be less necessary when you have several talented, high IQ veteran players on the court and are usually winning a la the recent Spurs and Pistons. When things are discombobulated and the team is struggling, leadership is critical. That's why young, talented athletic teams usually suck and why most championship teams have plenty of veterans. When you need to make a play, leaders usually step up and make things happen. Right now, Ron is doing what leaders do more than anybody else. McGrady used to be our leader. Yao never was.
Then you are interpreting what is going on during these early games differently than me. The only reason Ron hasn't fully imposed his leadership on this team is that he is trying to let Tracy or Yao take that role. Neither of them are so he is being forced to.
brooksball, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. but, when was ron ever a leader on any team? it just doesn't sound right to me.
sorry but Odom had 9 pts and i only saw one time where he scored on Landry. one fade away jumper but that was it. this is just typical of a lot of people on this board. a player gets beat one or two times and you say he got torched and that he couldn't defend Odom. completely untrue
The other option I listed was that we have no leader. Do you see a leader? The only one I see remotely close is Artest. He has the talent, strength, experience, personality and passion of a leader. I don't think you can usually be a leader without those qualities among others. Do you think Yao or Tracy have all those qualities? They both have the experience but neither of them have the personalities and at least one of them definitely doesn't appear to have the passion. Why do most professional sports teams have captains and how do the captains usually get picked? What are their qualities?
it was hard to watch this game...but lets not jump off the bandwagon now, the rockets seem to always struggle in the beginning of the season, the timing is off, the shots are off, defense is NOT like last years.(we need battier back). but just keep playing ball the rockets will be fine. one of the BIGGEST concern is the lack of height and length!
wow i must say this was a shock game for me...rockets really didn't play good...tmac was on lockdown..and artest still in a shooting slump...yao was not dominate at all...and the way brooks was playin in comparison to the "big three" i dont understand why we dont just hand brooks the ball and let him do his thang...lol...also if morey reads any of these again...MUTOMBO is very much needed..man scola, landry, and hayes looked like little kids trying to rebound against giants out there...we need a taller rebounder, a blocker, a better presence in the middle, and most importantly the fire mutombo brings to the team....
oh yeah we dont have good rebounders on this team...only good rebounder, consistant rebounder is chuck hayes, and he don't play that much.
One thing is for sure. That Lakers team is awesome. I don't think any team in the league has less weaknesses. They have slashers, shooters, length, athleticism, guards and big men with passing skills, good ball movement, bench depth, experience, they can run or play in the halfcourt and now they have better rebounding and defense, too... not to mention last season's MVP. It will be interesting to see them vs the Celtics. Last season, the Celtics defense did the Lakers in. If the Lakers continue rebounding like this and Ariza turns into a strong perimeter defender to go along with Kobe, I think the Lakers may be able to put a smackdown on the Celtics like they've been doing to everyone else. If we want any chance of competing with this team down the road, not only do we have to fix our defense and get some semblance of a functional offense, we definitely need to add frontcourt length and rebounding. I have to imagine this is now the top item on Morey's To Do list, if it wasn't already.
