You not answering the question. So your saying that if we had a consistent bench, that we would still NEED the 3rd scorer? No, we wouldn't. The 3rd scorer just takes away the need of having a good bench, and vice versa. I would love a 3rd scorer, but saying it is the key to success is a bunch of BS.
You can argue that the latter is marginally better and have a valid case. The point here is to illustrate that the gap isn't sufficient enough to warrant the lack of capable complementary peices. Shaq and Kobe were good enough to get it done on their own. T-Mac and Yao are not.
Lets analyze this statement real quick. Double team on yao means one player open, and if the ugliest man alive (kirilenko) is coming over to help with yao, that means it should be tmac (doubtful) or scola are the people open. Easy bucket right there.
You pump McGrady a lot on this site. Now you say he's only "marginally better" than Deron Williams. Interesting.
You're assuming that I meant what is true of the whole is true of each of the parts. I love McGrady. It's Yao that brings the duo down to par.
I am not sayin who is open or not........thats not my point....if its a double team obviously somebody is open......... I am just sayin thats the strategy they use for Yao and Half the NBA.....and it gives him fits......I dont know why or if hes missin a cutter or what.....but alot front YAO in the NBA........
...That statement just doesnt make any sense. Yao Ming bringing the duo down??? I mean I love T-mac too, but saying that yao makes tracy a worse player is just ridiculous. Yao is more consistent than tracy.
Usually when yao gets double teamed, he kicks it off. He usually only turns it over is when he brings it down low for a dunk or something. Double teams just cause him to pass it, like all other unselfish players. Double teams cause every player in the NBA 'fits'.
I guess if youre looking at Magic-stage-tracy then yes, yao ming would bring him down. But I am looking at rocket-stage-injury-prone-game-missing-tracy...Who hasnt been godly. But since you cant respond, ill take that as a W in my book.
But back to the main point. I am going to get alot of **** for this but I agree with DD. Artest is way to high-risk for our team. Good chemistry is better than all stars. (i.e denver nuggets)
We had Yao last year, and still couldn't seal the deal. If we had Yao again this year, it's no sure thing we would've advanced. Utah's frontcourt is a tough matchup for our frontcourt. Also, remember that 67 point game or whatever in Game 4 or whatever it was in Utah last year? The POINT is, with Yao and T-Mac never a sure thing being healthy, a 3rd scoring option is a must for this ballclub. If T-Mac goes down, who outside of Yao can you rely on for 15PPG? If Yao goes down, outside of T-Mac, who can you rely on for 15PPG? The regular season is one thing, but come playoff time, it's a whole other ballgame. Play gets tighter, and every possession seems that much more important. Having 3 scoring options keeps the defense honest, instead of honing in our two main guys. Cleveland doesn't count for anything, because Lebron is a top 5 player in the game, but he resides in the East. What happened when they went on to face San Antonio? Swept.
So you must think that Boozer is significantly better than Yao. There's no other conclusion one could reach.
SHEESH....rookies boy i tell u....... I see you are a newbie and all and i dont know how many rocks games u watched over the last season or so .............so i will bring u up to speed......... playin behind yao is useless....hes to big and strong and shoots over the top ....or picks your Defense apart....so alot of teams have adapted a defense of fronting him with a help defender comin over on the backside as soon as he catches the ball.........he doesnt even get a chance to find a open man cuz a guy is in his lap as soon as he catches that he usuaully doenst see cuz its weakside....... this is the book on yao....he doesnt get the ball and have time to survey the Defense and find a open man...he would lead the leaguse in assist if they let him catch....he is already doubled on the catch and he is less efective that way....and hasnt really came up with a way to make teams pay for doing it...so until he figures it out....he is gettin a staedy diet of it from most teams cuz they cannot possibly match his size and skill from the a guy guardin behind YAO........and if he gets to catch he will in essence pick a D apart cuz he sees over the whole defense at 7'6"......... thats why we (us bbs'ers) here at the clutchfans were ecstatic to bring in Adelman and his motion/open offense to the rockets as it was a way to move YAO around and make defenses against him less effective......YAO in the high post, movin him from box o box across the lane etc............ when U post yao on one side of the floor its useless(ALA VAN GUNDY)and they front him to death......... school is closed know rook.......jeez
sheesh....rookies.......Boy I tell U Great assessment big guy................the nuggets????.....is that the best u got??????? Clutch has to do somethin about u guys........lol
I'm for getting talent like artest...but you don't think that the nuggets are a good example of how all-stars aren't a substitute for chemistry? They suck and i think AI/Melo started in the all-star game and many wanted to put Camby in.
There are several different arguments getting mixed together. 1. The Rockets need a 3rd scorer - which people are extrapolating out to say this means they need Artest - FALSE - they would certainly be better with a legitimate 3rd scorer, but that doesn't necessarily mean it should be Artest. If they had a PG that could shoot better, or a SF that could slash and move without the ball ala Mike Miller, that would be ideal...IMHO....neither of them is Artest. 2. The Rockets are not good enough as structured to advance out of the first round ----- Incomplete. If you look at the 3 times Yao and Tmac teams have been knocked out of the first round you see some interesting things. a. The Dallas series goes 7 games, when JVG was outcoached after being up 2-0 and coming home to Houston, but what is missing here is that Avery was forced to go small with KV Horn's injury....and the Rockets really did not match up well with a small quick team....losing 4 of the last 5 games.... b. The Utah series, which went 7 games and with an ailing Yao Ming still barely lost in game 7 to a team that went on to the conference finals, this was a toss up series and the better team won......but it was not by much. A healthy Yao and we win this one going away. c. The Utah series part deaux - No Yao Ming and the team still managed to win 2 games because they had improved with Landry and Scola, and even managed to win one in Utah. IMHO, a healthy Yao flips this series into a 6 game Rocket win....22 and 11 is hard to make up. So they have lost 3 straight in the first round, but IMO, when healthy, they are primed to advance......all we need is health, and injuries can affect any team....we are due for a zero injury season. 3. The Rockets 22 game win streak was primarily due to out hustling and outworking the other teams....FALSE.... The Rocket win because they have good chemistry and play well within their roles, other teams work just as hard but their team is constructed improperly...the Rockets have one signifcant weakness left, at PG, and that can be masked with the emergence of Brooks and the signing of Barry, if Rafer is cold as he often is, we now have legitimate other options. 4. Because this team has not been out of the first round we need to make a major change - thus bring on Artest....again...FALSE.... Good teams generally are built over time, with small incremental improvements, rarely do you have a Boston that puts 3 stars together and they win it all....People around here should know that with Pippen, Barkley and Hakeem failing....or Barkley, Drexler and Olajuwon failing..... The Olajuwon/Drexler team only had 2 legitimate scorers and significant role players, and the first championship only had one legitimate scorer.... There are several ways to win, it doesn't take 3 scorers it takes good complimentary pieces..... And I can not believe that Gater included Kirlenko, Odom, or Shaq as a 3rd scoring threat, I mean PUHLEASE !!! Again, I am not against a third scorer, I am against a malignant cancer like Artest if it breaks up our core players, which are growing fast under Adelman. And, to Answer those people discussing my team building comments, I am saying in general building a team (in basketball or in business) takes being able to put together complimentary parts, and I would guess that most of the people here have very little to no experience putting teams together in any capacity, and thus lack an understanding of how important chemistry is to getting things done...give me a person at 80% capacity that is a good team guy over a superstar that ruins team chemistry every day of the week. DD
Umm...uhhh...If you comes to the Rockets...it will be a nightmare for all the other western conference teams. lol!!
