you gotta admit it is a little un-nerving that he is representing himself... he needs an agent! i mean... whos to say he doesn't get pissed and just go 'off on his own' when the rockets don't give him exactly what he wants? i'd love to get artest forthe full MLE, but it could be as detrimental as it could payoff. you gotta roll the dice sometimes... this two star tandem of yao and mcgrady might need a CIX!
For all u chemistry lovers, how long have the celtics played together? They traded jefferson,green and gomes and won a ring. The heat that won the title was together for that season and won. Now I do like teammates to play together, but great players can play well with other great players. DD- u said it right, a bull in the china shop. In the west, that's what u need. BTW, Rider has a ring .
The whole point of this thread is because Artest wants out of Sacramento. Which means, he's a possible option, right now. Somebody we can get going into the season. Getting a 3rd scorer is great, and definitely fills a need and it doesn't necessarily have to be Artest, but look at the FA pool, and nobody is really out there. Nobody as reliable as an Artest. Also, a Mike Miller, for example, won't be traded. And we're not talking about trading away half the team for a KG, we're talking about possibly aquiring Artest (and in a perfect world, keeping Shane) while keeping the Yao and T-Mac, and going from there. I mean, a lot of people here were keen on the idea of trading Shane for an Outlaw/Webster and a Brandon Rush, and while it'll hurt to see Shane go, Artest is a pretty good return if Shane is included. Artest brings defense, and he can create his own shot. The 22 game winning streak was nice, but you also have to keep in mind how inconsistent the Rockets were before that. A team IS built with complementary parts, but with the Rockets, it seems we have TOO MANY. Hayes is defense. Landry is hustle. Bobby Jackson is the supposed 'spark' Dikembe blocks. The Rockets need to add a player that can do his own thing, because, as we know, Yao and T-Mac can't stay healthy. We can't go into this season thinking we're 'due' for a healthy season. We have to go into season with a contingency plan, because, well, we have to expect the worst when it comes to Yao and T-Mac's health. ..until they prove otherwise.
Actually, I watched pretty much every game. He averaged 3.33% turn overs this year. I agree, thats too much. But you have to think of how many times he gets the ball, and of course his 22 ppg. So when you get the ball for alot of the game down low, 3.33% is not horrible. Shaq averages about .50% less than yao, with 7 less points. I know I know, bad comparison, I think shaq sucks too. But the way people are praising him on this thread makes it a decent match up. And our record with Yao ming in is better than our record then yao ming out. And please, denver sucks. They barely made it to the play offs. Camby, AI AND Anothony? They were 52-30 if im not mistaken, correct? With a team like Camby, AI and anothony, you should expect better than that...Oh wait, its because of crappy chemistry. My B.
It is not an accomplishment at all, an accomplishment would be wining the series...it is the cold hard reality...... At the end of the day, nothing matters but winning. However upon reflection, you can acknowledge the truth of why a team won or lost and still take that into consideration, even if it isn't an accomplishment. Kids...sheesh. DD
<br> What point are you trying to make here??? The fact that Yao warrants a double team?? The fact of the matter is, he's been getting fronted with a weakside help defender coming over since his rookie days. If you would have noticed, in the last year, he became very good at recognizing this and for the most part passed off before the he could be suffocated by the double team, like in years past. Obviously, this helps Tracy McGrady out... When Yao is double teamed, T-Mac has a single defender on him. In Rick Adleman's princeton style motion offense (the real version we began to see right before Yao went down) it is nearly impossible to double Yao and then on the pass off switch to guard Tracy other than straight up man to man. That's a part of the reason we reeled off about 12 in a row. Another thing you'll notice, Adleman soon realized that Yao in the high post for anything more than a very limited time could only spell disaster. Therefore, he moved him back to the low post, "ala Van Gundy" where he flourished. Point is, Tracy McGrady and Yao are both exceptional players. They both make one another better. Its just that at some points, they still don't realize who needs to take over at which point. Tracy needs to take over at the end of the game, because sometimes it is difficult for Yao to do so. Yao, conversely dominates the beginning of the game. If we are to point out any serious deficiencies in the core lineup, it is due to our lack of a shooter. The addition of Barry will play nicely in to covering up this gap. Luther Head, when hitting, provided us the lift we needed. However, the problem with im was/is that he is very streaky, and a no show during the playoffs.
which proves what i've been saying all along - the Rox don't have the personnel to compete with the teams out West... we're undermanned, even IF Tracy and Yao are healthy... we have NO LEGIT 3RD SCORER !!!!!!!
i see you've already given up on Brooks and his "super breakout season" where he's going to lead us to the playoffs with his superb sophomore play end result - 1st round loss end result - 1st round loss end result - 1st round loss poop in one hand and wish in the other - tell me which one fills up first as far as talent and personell wise we are a "middle of the pack" team...are you telling me more than half of the league is constructed improperly but can still win playoff series' !?!? ok, you're back to putting your stock into Brooks...i'd rather put all my eggs in Artest basket than Brooks'... 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.... i don't think it took more than 3 or 4 years for the Spurs to become dominant...they have been dominnat because they had a good team to begin with - plus they have won championships...same with Detroit...all they had to do is go oyut and get Rasheed and develop Prince into the defender that would fit in with both Wallaces...lets not forget their incredible back court... the Rockets team and the NBA was COMPLETELY different 10 years ago...back then you could get away with 2 scoring options...
No, thanks. Artest can be destructive to our team chemistry, if not a "cancer" like Chris Webber in 04-05 season. I dislike to see he wear red-rockets jersey any day!
Third scorer needed? Not so fast...... I ran across this brilliant post in the Chronicle, and it sums up exactly what I feel about the fallacy of the needed dreaded 3rd scorer... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long post, but please bear with me. A note, if you will, addressing the insistent clamor to deal for a 3rd (and 4th?) scorer: Thing is, IMHO, I believe the Rockets already have it. For comparison's sake, let's check out teams with a similar defensive mindset, who happened to be a few of the top teams in the League last season -- Boston, San Antonio, and Detroit. Celtics: Paul Pierce - 19.6 ppg Kevin Garnett - 18.8 Ray Allen - 17.4 Rajon Rondo - 10.6 total - 66.4 Spurs: Manu Ginobili - 19.5 ppg Tim Duncan - 19.3 Tony Parker - 18.8 Michael Finley - 10.1 total - 67.7 Pistons: Richard Hamilton - 17.3 ppg Chauncey Billups - 17.0 Tayshaun Prince - 13.2 Rasheed Wallace - 12.7 total - 60.2 Now here's the Rockets: Yao Ming - 22.0 Tracy McGrady - 21.6 Rafer Alston - 13.1 Luis Scola - 10.3 total - 67 I strongly believe Luis Scola can transform himself into that 3rd scorer everyone keeps on asking for. He's solid and savvy on the inside, and has a decent mid-range shot. Plus he's shown in several games last season (especially when Yao was out) that he could be an effective scorer in the NBA. And with an extra year of experience in Adelman's system and the League, I think he can do it. Looking at the Rocket's top scorers, I think it's a matter of balance. We have a problem with Alston being the Rocket's 3rd top scorer since he doesn't have a good FG% (though he's improved). Naturally, I'm suggesting we instead give Scola more shots, at the same time, lightening the burden of Yao, McGrady and Alston. Theoretically, say we distribute the numbers a little bit, it could look like this: Yao Ming - 21.0 Tracy McGrady - 21.0 Luis Scola - 14.0 Rafer Alston - 11.0 total - 67 What Houston truly needed was consistent bench scoring. I think the Rockets had that with Landry, and now added another piece in Barry. So here's hoping Landry can be signed soon... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This guy nails it, IMO......we do not need Artest, we just need some small tweaks..... DD
^^^ I agree with the Artest is a potential chemistry killer argument. But I just can't agree with the we don't need a third scorer argument. We do. It's just a fact. In today's NBA, regardless of how many points your top 4 guys score, if you want to win the championship, you need at least 3 guys who you can count on to score consistently and effectively. I"m with you. I really really hope, and to a certain extent think its possible, that Scola can improve to become that scorer. I additionally agree that we needed to improve our bench. But as fun as getting past the 1st round would be, which an improved bench and improved Scola should do, going further and winning the championship would be even better... I also don't think you can just look at stats. What if Boston didn't trade for Ray Allen. And let's say because of that, you up KG's and Pierce's scoring averages to their previous season, and then your 4th scorer is now James Posey at 6.7 a game. So even though you lose Allen's 17.4 a game, you'd still have a top four of 64.7 ppg....BUT, that team is nowhere near as effective as the Celtics were. That team doesn't win the championship. It's not how much you score, but how you score, and how many players you can rely on to do it in today's NBA. Also, I'm surprised you didn't put the Lakers up there...their top 4 was 73+ ppg, their top 3 = 61.3 ppg...and they all shot effective FG%. So I don't care whether we trade for Artest or not. I see the positives, but I also definitely see the negatives. BUT, unless Scola jumps to that 15+ ppg level on a consistent basis (and I think it is possible and hope it will happen...but it is just a hope), then the Rockets definitely and desperately need a 3rd scorer.
The difference would be that when Yao or Tracy is injured or just not producing, those other teams have players (Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Parker) who have regularly stepped up to carry a team throughout their careers. Those guys pick up the slack and score 30 and it's not a huge deal. Any game where Rafer or Luis even breaks 20 it's considered an amazing performance. 30 is/would be the game of their life.
It doesn't just take "Stars" to win a series. See Suns and Mavs. Stars are made either because a player is just way better than everyone else on a team, or the team goes the distance and the world of basketball actually takes notice of a player. But having a few stars doesn't automatically give you a bid for a championship. The Rockets have what it takes, with a few minor adjustments. I believe Scola has the ability to also become a better scorer, but scorers aren't made overnight. If it was me though, I wouldn't make an huge changes to the lineup, but rather increase smaller things, like the bench.
You haven't "nailed" anything. You've thrown a bunch of crap on the wall in the hopes it would stick. You're entire premise is based upon... 1) The documented inconsistency of Rafer Alston. 2) The hope that Luis Scola can step up while he's guarding arguable the toughest position in the WC. The same Scola that while a pleasant surprise still commits Personal Fouls at a steep rate. 3) That a Spurs cast-off provides more upside than Luther Head. 4) That Landry is re-signed and doesn't have further knee issues. And on top of all of that...you HOPE for the health of two stars with a strong injury history. I'm only going to make a short comment because I've all but given up on you ever taking off your rose-colored glasses.