Rick sends Von to the locker room (UPDATE: Adelman says issue settled)

Hey, ain't nothing wrong with Joey Dorsey per say. Most people said that he wasn't NBA ready when we got him and really other then playing backup center, which is where we played Scola, Hayes and Mutumbo. Next year, he will hopefully be ready and probably be ready to contribute.


Wafer is a diamond in the rough considering we got him off the street, but he isn't so special that we are lost without him. A lot of playoff teams only have two players that can come off the bench and give them significant minutes, losing Wafer if he tries to go for too much money or is overall just being a pain, is far from a critical concern unless we lose Artest to FA as well.

 

God forbid!

If he really thinks that, we are about to see some kind of mystery injury coming in game 3 along with some lackluster effort.

Series over. Time for baseball!

 

there's a awsome post by Ben Dubose about the Wafer situation.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/05/game_3_preview_rockets_need_mo.php

 

nice find, but I would like to know how in the hell did Lowry and AB had a good game they played the worse of all Rockets in that game.

 

We need to act like a real strong team.
Who may beat us? Not LA, but only ourselves.
Now the victory is everything. And chance is not always easy to get. Now, it's in our hands, never let it go.
Hope we could be more united, more steady and play with more energy after the game 2.
Beat LA tonight!

 

Sometimes that fool Rick Aldeman needs to open his damn eyes and give Von wafer the Rock and more minutes. He played much better than brooks the 2nd game and he will call him to the bench.

 

I hope so. I really like his game. This is his first real oppurtunity and he's still young. I think if he wants to stick around in this league, he needs to learn to control his temper.

 

Don't embarrass yourself. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Nothing. Zip. Nada. If you seriously believe they are alike, then you should be delving into the ESPN message boards, not ClutchFans, with all due respect.

 

Someone needs to tell Wafer the cautionary tale of Thomas "Two Sammiches" Hamilton.

 

We need Von to win this series, period.

Points are hard to come by off our bench... if he gives us 10 efficient points a game, we have a MUCH better chance.

 

Thanks. I'd also like to point out something near the bottom:

It's hard to describe, but I've never gotten a good vibe from Rick about Wafer. The thing is, Rick's typically a very positive coach who generally talks glowingly (to the media) about the attributes his players have, even if they're clearly deficient in some areas. But Wafer's the exception. Even when you ask Adelman to talk positively about him, he always slips in something about Von's lack of defense, or a mental focus issue.

Now, I think part of it is probably him trying to motivate Von. But I think another part is that they don't really seem to click, you know? After Wafer's Game 2 in Portland (21 points in 27 minutes, probably his best game as a Rocket) where the Rockets fell apart offensively down the stretch, I asked Rick if he had considered leaving Wafer to close out a game. You couldn't tell by his printed response, but he basically looked at me like I was crazy, and kept telling me how I have to remember there are two ends of the floor, etc. So, those of you asking for him to get more minutes... I don't think that's going to happen.

With that said, I've never sensed anything out of the ordinary from Von when talking to him about Rick. At least to the media, he's a very cool-headed and nice guy -- one of my favorites to talk to on the team. I wouldn't consider him a hothead, and my guess/hope is that this little fued is over with for the playoffs. However, the Adelman/Wafer relationship will definitely become an issue this summer, for both parties, imo.

 

I would be very surprised to see Wafer back on this team next year. And I thought that before the Adelman conflict. I personally felt Wafer was a liability early on when others were loving him. At some point after the all star break I saw him improve to the point where he was mostly doing good for the team than bad. But even then I always felt his fancy dunks and hot dog play got him more fan praise than he deserved.

And then the signing of James white for 2 years was the writing on the wall for me. That should have been for wafer if he was so popular with the coaches. Not so... Plus I don't Tmac will be back but if he is traded It is very possible it is for another 2/3 like Vinsanity. ANd if that happens even if they liked wafer it would be a luxury to keep him. And if Tmac comes back then Wafer is definitely not needed. So anyway you look at it Wafer is not likely to wear Rocket red again after this season.

 

HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME ANY WAY....SET IT OFF VON...

 

I've heard that his nickname through the organization is "Radio", not a very flattering assessment of his basketball IQ.

 

The Adelman/Wafer relationship is pretty peculiar because you have to consider that Adelman ultimately chose Wafer over DJ Strawberry. So I would think Adelman saw something in Wafer to keep him on the team.

My personal opinion is that Adelman sees Wafer as a mentally lazy player who can be so much more but mentally cannot catch up to his athletic talent. A hot and cold player if you will. Players like that will drive a coach nuts. It's one thing for a physically limited player getting owned on the court but you see him giving effort, it's another to see an athletically talented player keep making the same mistakes because he hasn't learned from his past mistakes.