SI.Com-Rox one of five teams that have taken a step backwards this offseason

I' am pretty much with Kelly on this one. I don't know, it's just my gut feeling but I hope that I'am wrong. I just don't see how the current roster is any better than the one we had 2 years ago. We are still lacking shooters, and no, Shane isn't a shooter. He's a pretty good spot up shooter though and will nail some 3's. Novak is only a rookie. We need a couple of Jon Barry's. Our PF situation SCARES me. I love Chuck but he's just too undersized. Howard is a year older. Battier, I don't know if he can hold that spot for 40 min a game. This team got better defensively. Slightly.

 

Thanks for the response... the first one I've ever had from anyone affiliated with SI. They didn't respond when I immediately cancelled the subscription or when I wrote another letter explaining why or when I wrote one asking where the special edition championship issue was when it was widely reported they had the Knick one ready for press.

Seriously, I now feel a little better after complaining to someone who works in the company. Not enough to ever consider spending any money on anything SI, but a little better.

Thanks again.

 

Oh please. It's far too late in the game for a disclaimer like this. You once said that hiring JVG "will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Rockets history." If that kind of ridiculous hyperbole (and Clutch Classic, might I remind you) doesn't scream "personal agenda," I don't know what does.

Ok, now for a 180: I have to give you props for apologizing to KD, only because no one else owns up to their mistakes around here. So, despite my tirade above, you get more respect from me. Even if I have to run all your posts through my handy-dandy "Rudy T filter".

So, back to the subject at hand: I have a question for you, KD. Suppose the Rockets did sign Mike James. Would that have completely changed your opinion at all? Would James have been enough to keep us out of your "Top 5"?

 

Because Battier is too slow to guard 2's.

 

04-05 rox made it to the playoffs and almost beat dallas

05-06 rox sucked big time and had 5 steps back.. dallas made it to the finals and went 10 steps forward..

06-07 rox trade 8th pick/gay for battier - we probably could have gotten more or at least a 3rd option who's either PF or SG - our main need not SF which tmac plays.. then they missed out on james for a trade kicker.. people say james' ego is too big for this team - look at miami heat.. i think rox made 5 steps forward at the most but we're back to where we are at 04/05 at best and way too far behind from dallas and other teams..

 

Not sure about James, who I like in spite of his obvious half a brain. The Rockets were right on the edge of the top 5, mainly because I went in a different direction with them -- upset that they seemed cool with merely being better than last year, which really isn't saying much.

What they need to find is that all-around spark, the new version of Bob Sura, to mix things up. Bob was so instrumental in that post-Christmas turnaround in 2004-05, just filling in all the holes. Maybe VS can be that guy eventually, but I've only seen him play two whole games. I just would have liked to see 8/Stro bring in something a little more creative, JVG misgivings aside.

 

Battier's defense alone negates the entire offensive & defensive skills of Bogans, Wesley & Swift. Swift gets 5 fouls faster than you can sneeze, Wesley is too short, slow and old and Bogans - what can I say...

 

it is not valid at all, reason: Yao is so much better. With added firepower and a heathier Tmac, rockets will truely lift off on Yao's shoulders.

 

Surely any contending team for the NBA Championship will be looking forward to 60 wins?

 

i'll post the link here... on page four of the thread.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/kelly_dwyer/07/24/five.steps.back/index.html

 

Thanks for coming in and explaining. My concerns are not with Battier and TMac but the development of the backcourt. JVG tends to go with the rotation and if someone plays himself out, which VSpan and Snyder are likely to do early, will they get a chance for 'redemption'.

This team might (or might not) become one of those teams no one wants to match up against in the 1st Round yadayadayada but this team also might be Oden-bound, too.

The Good Guys need an upgrade at the 4 (4/5 really) and a sniper at the 2. I'd 'settle' for a Gooden/Jones - JuHo swap (which also would allow Rafe to become a trading chip [for Korver?]) or in the least a 2/3 of substance for the TE or remaining MLE (or how 'bout - for Howard???).

 

Could not agree with you more. Although, I do think if they can get rid of the sponge of mediocrity that is Howard so Battier can start and Hayes can come off the bench, they will be better. Unfortunately, as long as JVG darkens our locker room and continues to have a man-crush on howard, we still have a bit to go.

I too cancelled my SI subscription after the 94 finals.

 

We have so many unknowns it's not funny. It's practically a given that our defense will keep us in most any game, so will the new pieces mean sufficient offense to beat very good teams? Will they...I'll say it...'Gel'? And how long will it take?

With Yao and TMac, we will always have the potential to surprise people. I would not want my job riding on how well I could predict the Rocket's success this season.

 

no, we can't.

with tmac and yao healthy, we are a championship-caliber team.

without one or both of them, we are crap.

 

I can agree that there is no real method yet to how Battier and McGrady will coexist. There are some valid arguments against Battier at the four, but I don't think Hayes is one of them: he is 6'6" and has no jumper as of yet, so he should be no more than a rotational player at this stage. Battier was a phenomenal post defender in college (better than Hayes was and Van Gundy says Hayes is the best post-defender on the team right now), he can has the mid-range and perimeter game to create space in the floor for Yao and McGrady, and he would not be expected to play 40 mpg there. If Battier can give us 25 mpg at the four, with Hayes and whomever else we can obtain as a post-defender to spell Yao and give minutes at the four (Wright, Battie, Ely, Jeffries), then can contribute 10-15 mpg to spell McGrady at the three or enable him to play the two for spot minutes, then I think the rotation will work. But first you have to be sold on Battier as a rotational four and I don't think many are yet, which I can understand. I am excited abou the possibility, though.

What really confuses me is the suggestion that San Antonio and Dallas are pulling away here. Both had good seasons, to be sure, but both also have significant issues. San Antonio's aggregate age is about 95, while Duncan's mobility and minor injury problems are forcing him over to the five and they have no real replacement for him at the four. Guys like Horry, Butler, Williams, and Bonner are all efficient, high-effort guys who are great role players, but none is a great rotational player for a championship contender. Barry, Finley, and Bowen have lost so many steps they are at best rotational players now. That team desperately needs a healthy Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker to compete which, hmmm, sounds sort of familiar to the Rockets.

Similarly, Dallas I think is a catastrophe waiting to happen. As I posted on NBA Dish, they have three slow, offense-less 7-footers at center and two pure small forwards with very little versatility in Howard and Stackhouse (which is funny because the article suggests Battier and McGrady do not have the versatility to play multiple positions when I think the latter can play the two far better than either of Dallas' threes, while Battier can play the four better than either as well; heck, I think McGrady showed in the Dallas series a few years ago he matches up just fine at the four defensively). The closest things they have to pure off-guards were dealt and they replaced them with Greg Buckner, but they now have three true point guards none of whom can really defend the two. I think Croshere was a good pickup behind Dirk because he is tougher and can defend a bit more, but anyone who watched the playoffs knows that Nowitzki may be their biggest liability: He almost HAS to put up 25-10 to offset the damage he does on the defensive end of the court.

Again, I don't think the article was stupid or ill-conceived, but I do disagree with some base assumptions there. At the end of the day, we still have two more deals to make with the remaining MLE and the large TE, so what we can get with them must be enough to round out the rotation or possibly free up some other rostered players as trade bait. Then, it's up to Van Gundy to get the pieces working together.

 

We need to surprise people. At this point, thats the only way we can succeed. I mean if other teams don't know what's coming from us, then we have the advantage. I just don't want us to be surprised in any ill-manner way. I don't think we took a step back, but I don't believe we are heading in the right direction to compete for the title anytime soon.

 

Amen. Oh, ay - men !!!

 

As far as shooters are concerned, Battier is much better than anyone else we have put in the frontcourt the last couple of years, Head was good last year and should be much improved (especially if a healthy Yao and a healthy McGrady provide him more open looks), and we are still in the market for decent shooters like Korver and Damon Jones. I will grant that Mike James could have made a huge difference for this team in that regard, but such is our lot.

If we can use that TE wisely, then one of the above guys or a better shooter will give us a backcourt of Alston, (33% on 312 shots from three), Head (36% on 313 shots), Snyder (36% on 129 shots), plus a guy like Jones (38% on 371 shots) or Korver (42% on 438 shots). Compare that with our guys from the 2004-2005 season, when we had Barry (45% on 165 shots), James (39% on 259 shots), Sura (36% on 155 shots), and Wesley (38% on 315 shots), and you can see that while the 04-05 team shot better from the arc, the difference was not so appreciable and much of that has to do with the presence of McGrady and Yao since all of those guards shot above their career averages to that point. If we are smart about a final backcourt acquisition, Head makes a second-year jump, and those shooters all end up above their career percentages because of the open shots doubling on McGrady and Yao will create, we are in every bit as good of shape as the season before last, but we are also bigger and more athletic.

On the PF situation, there is no possible way we can be any worse than rotating Padgett, Weatherspoon, and Bowen two years ago. No one is asking Battier to give us 40 mpg there, especially if Hayes and Howard can fit in the rotation (or whoever we ultimately get to take Howard's spot). If indeed our plan is to run Battier primarily at the four, a rotation of Battier/Hayes/Howard or replacment is a significant upgrade over Padgett, Weatherspoon, and Bowen, and that group was good enough to be the top team in the NBA over the last two months of the season

 

Unless you are Miami and win 52.

 

can you explain august rain in austin. I don't live there nor have I ever resided in Austin in august.

Are you saying it rains a lot in austin so he is wrong, or in never rains in august so he's right?