What a great compliment by Sloan. Boozer looked terrible ... He had at one point only shot 6 times for the game and it was late in the fourth quarter. The Rockets weren't playing ball denial either. Talk radio must be killing him.
Money wise, u know that won't work. Unlike many on this board, u know I would trade anyone. I wonder if we could get tay and kwame for tracy and in a separate deal trade shane for camby. Having ariza and prince on the wings with chase backing them up would be pretty good. Then Yao comes back, brooks is already the dude and u have a detroit type of team with 5 guys avg between 12-17 ppg playing team ball. No more dumping it low and yao using the shot clock for up, no more guys passing up looks and throwing it to tracy for bailouts either.
I know some people think Ariza and Battier are sort of the same, but Ariza and Prince are more alike.. wouldnt be too goo imo Plus I dont think anyone can bring what Battier does to this team
Chase is the ticket, but no reason to get rid of the expiring because chase is alo the player we would want back
"This team has a awesome set of Tools!" <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ln-fcl6ZU6o&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ln-fcl6ZU6o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
this is the first game I watched in its entirety. (my tv was sick last week) WOW, the Rockets appear to be gelling and effectively moving the ball. They did let up near the end of the fourth quarter right before the bench came in but the game was pretty much over. Big game on Wed. Lets GO ROCKETS!!!
See the problem is that the Rockets are not on National TV this season. No fan is going to know of Brooks so the only way to get him there is the China vote. By the way, I was half joking, not meant for it to be taking seriously.
IN DARYL MOREY WE TRUST!!! AARON BROOKS and TREVOR ARIZA for the all-star team... If Shane Battier keeps up his crazy +- insanity, he should be considered as well. Forsooth, He never will be...
does anyone have nba league pass broadband? It would be cool if you can get a screen shot of Deron Williams with his head down and hands over his face near the end of the game while on the bench.
One thing that really jumped out at me in this game: Pick 'n Roll defense. Throughout the preseason and in the first game against the Blazers, our defense on the high PnR was TERRIBLE. I was completely baffled because I would think sans Yao this team would be much better defending this play out at the top of the key. Yao was too slow to flash out and slow down the guards and would get in the way of our defenders who were trying to switch back. It was clunky but something you lived with since Yao was going to get anymore fleet of foot. But in the preseason and game 1 it really wasn't any better, and that concerned me. Then against Golden State and Portland, it was like a light bulb went on. Suddenly Landry/Scola/Hayes are flashing out and slowing down even the quick PGs and then switching back before their man could roll to the basket. I was concerned that it was GS or Portland not executing well. I knew that Utah would be a real test since that play is their bread and butter. So what did we do? We defended the PnR about as well as any Rocket team I have ever seen. And the result was a Utah team that struggled to consistently score in any other way. We may get pushed around by teams with big men who have post up games, but this team is ideally suited to playing against teams like the Jazz now. And that makes me all warm and tingly inside.
I was very impressed with how we overcame the atrocious calls esp at the end of the third quarter. AK scored 5 BS points in the second half.
What a great game last night. The one stretch that really stood out for me was when it was tied at 80. 1) Budinger comes down the court and off the pass hit a 10 footer that kisses the glass. 2) Next possession, Rockets swing the ball around, Budinger drains a 3 ball 3) Next possession, again great ball movement down the court and Lowry drains a baseline jumper. Just like that it was 87-80. To see this Rockets team play so unselfishly is a complete treat. For all the posters that think Chase Budinger will make McGrady expendable, please slow down. I realize that McGrady is a lightning rod for criticism on this board, but lets not forget what McGrady brings. McGrady is one of the few Rockets that can create his own shot. I like Budinger. I think he will be the steal of the draft. Lets see him develop before we anoint him a star.
I for one would very much like to see Budinger as an understudy of McGrady -- if there is any one player on this roster that is actually capable of developing into the type of player McGrady is, it's Budinger. He has all the tools he needs -- great athleticism, good handles, outstanding shooting ability, the ability to finish around the basket the way few players in this league can, ability to score off screens, ability to create off the dribble, ability to drain difficult jump shots, court vision and passing ability ... it's all there already. He just needs a little mentorship and experience and he'll get there. He really looks to me like if he were to develop a mean streak he could one day start to take over games the way McGrady used to.
