Rockets won and will win beacuse of JVG. To be honest, Rockets don't have the talents that other Western teams have. I use a score system to meassure team talent. A franchise player equals two, an all star equals one, a good role player equals 0.5, the maximum of depth equal to two. Then Rockets have about 5.5 at most. (yao,T-mac = 2, Battier =0.5, depth=1). if we count R.A. as a good role player, then the depth score has to be dropped. So still no more than5.5. If Bonzi deal works, then he will add 0.5 to both role player and depth. It will bring Rockects to 6.5 and more 60 regular season wins . Let's see Utah. They have four all-star level players (you know who). and two very good role player on Fishier and Harping and a deep bench. Their score is 4+2*0.5+1 = 6. The scores of the super three in West are all at about 7. Nuggets/Warriors also reached 5.0-5.5 or even more depending on how do we define their good role players and depth. Moneywise talking, a super star is a maximum player for sure. A all-star's should be above 8 millions. A great role player's might be around 5-10 millions, and else below 5 m. If we don't consider the his leadership, Juwan is overpaid. So how do Rockects win? they have a good coach, professional players, intangibles and two superstars. So the game is on Coach's strategy design and on T-Mac and Yao because nobody else in this team can step up big and consistently. The other guys need TMac and Yao create for them. On the other hand, Utah has 4 all-stars to be able to play big and hurt you in any given game. My first thread. JVG is right. The game will be decided in the last couple of minutes. Hold on, Rockects.
No offense, but I am tired of hearing how the Rockets don't have talent, they have as much talent as almost anyone when you factor in that they have a massive mismatch at the C and SF spots in every single game. DD
We do have talent......in perimeter shooters. Battier and Head are all greater perimeter shooters from beyond the arc and JHo can cover the 18 footers. But as seen in the Mavs-Warriors series, you need a talented play-maker who can also score in the lane and that's what we're seriously missing. Unfortunately the talent pool isn't that large to begin with...we're talking about mainly Nash and Baron Davis. How many of those are you going to find in the league? And even if they are available, we sure aren't going to land them on our team. The truth is, we have enough talent to get us to the 2nd round. We can beat these the j*zz and have shown that we can exploit their weakness as much as they can exploit ours. But beyond that, I'm not so certain.
i think people do overrate the talent on the rockets. They have some good players but those players are also very specialized. dakota, you may be tired of hearing it but it doesnt mean its tue.
do you know how much better this team would be if we had someone who could consistently hit the outside shot? a lot better.
When you talk about talent, it's all relative. The best teams in the league have quality depth; we don't. That's the bottom line. Suns? They have the best top 6 players of any roster in the league. Pistons? Same as the Suns, they have a quality top 6. Spurs? Three all-stars and a quality cast of role players/bench players. Rockets? Two all-stars and one quality role player (Battier); that's it. So no, you can live in fantasy land all you want and declare -- like JVG does from time to time -- that we have "enough to win with," because that just ain't the case. Unless, of course, you have Hayes, Head, Juwon and Rafer all playing beyond their true capabilities and producing on consistent basis. It's not an excuse and I am not trying to make one, I am merely stating a fact. Management has yet to surround Yao/McGrady with the right supporting cast where we -- as fans -- can say with a straight face, "We can beat any team in the league in a 7-game series."
It is the system, it is not the talent level....it is what the players are being asked to do within the system. JVG has them running his system. The team's troubles are not from a lack of talent. DD
I don't know how you can just say it's the system. Players are getting wide open looks but they aren't making them. How is the system supposed to make them hit open shots?
We are doing bad on offense. Remember the Pacers? When Stephen Jackson went to GS, Nellie let's all the player use their athleticism and play...and they're playing well. We are like the Pacers, only with 2 superstars...we are also like the Spurs before they have Tony Parker and Manu.
It depends on how you define talent: [JVG] I think Rockets have more talent than Suns: Yao, the king of the paint. deflect many shots. TMAC, best one on one defender. Battier, Mr. intangible. Anyone has issue with him, you got an issue. Hayes, all heart, high IQ, great rebounder. Aslton, put 95% effort on defense every night, runs like a chicken, a hustle one. [/JVG]
33% this year, looked really nervous when he had the ball, and was slap-happy on defense. But, of course, that's all Baldy's fault.
The thread OP is exactly right. What Gundy has done the last years defensively with the crappy rosters he's had to work with is down right amazing.
