This is not a knee jerk thread, nor a rebel song...What this really is would be better defined as an accumulation of dissatisfaction coupled with observation and finished off with an efort at judgement. On thing about not posting in here much recently is that the forest has become a little more evident, and if it's not Brennan Wood, it's the damned most mobile forest I've seen since TLOTH:TTT. There is a seemingly accute case of bipolar fan reaction in here; Three or four wins in a row has some fans pointing out the relative shortcomings of Magic, Worthy, and Kareem when compared with this current Rockets team, but a few losses in a row has many of the same fans ringing their hands in disbelief that people haven't been fired, traded, or at least shot at dawn. My own somewhat more removed view on this ( by necessity ) has lately allowed me to see some things which are of concern, some which seem to be inspiring the wrath of fans without much merit that I can see, and some which need to be seriously addressed... 1) ACCOUNTABILITY Every coach and/or scouting report in the league is scratching it's collective head at the Rockets use (or non-use) of Yao Ming. Almost as many sources are equally bewildered by the seemingly selfish play of the guards. The problems with letting guys like Cuttino and Stevie dominate your offense are many, and have been dully recorded, but allow me to point out the two most important: A) That kind of individual talent based offense acts like a water anchor; it keeps you from straying too far off course when you're a bad team, but it equally drags you down when you try and move forward. Stevie and Cuttino have, largely in and of themselves, taken fairly poor surrounding talent in the past and, injuries aside, raised them to the level of being mediocre to decent...however, those guys doing the same things with this collection of talent is holding the team back from moving on to bigger and better things, and seemingly everyone outside of Houston recognizes this fact. B) Everything comes off the dribble, so most of the other guys spend their time standing around and watching, and see no point in cutting, fighting for inside position, or any other team-type movement, as that kind of thing goes largely unnoticed by the guys with the ball until they've come off the dribble, and your guess is as good as mine when and where that will take place...How do you prepare for that, as a teammate? So, without getting into the old Is It The Coach Or Steve and Cuttino debate, which is largely unanswerable, there is only one way to address it: Make the players ACCOUNTABLE. Rudy needs to set an offense which uses ALL of our considerable, albeit young talent, and he needs to enforce said talent. You don't feel like running our offense tonight, Steve? Ok, then buddy, have a seat here by me and see what we can come up with. Cuttino, you too, if necessary. If Rudy can't accomplish this, or won't...well, Rudy, it's been an incredible ride, but it's time to turn the reigns over to a bit of a tougher hombre. If Rudy does preach accountability, and the players revolt, build a new team around Yao Ming, Eddie G, and what we can get for the problem children...This is not going to resolve itself. 2) On the other hand, PATIENCE I honestly don't care all that much how many games we win this year, I care more about how we play, who we play, and how we develop a lot more. My concerns don't stem from any particular stretch of losses at all, but from the basic and obvious fact that the Rockets, Steve, Mobley, and Moochie in particular, don't seem to be playing team ball with any regularity more than they ever have...a few games here or there where each or all seem to be looking team first, but that has always been the case. That it is still happening when we have the best big man to come into the league in a long time logging minutes down low, sometimes without any obvious reason is doubly disconcerting. But IF they are losing because they're trying to incorporate Yao into the offense and it's a bumpy ride, or because they're comitting to letting Eddie get his inevitable growing pains out of the way, I say grin and bear it.THAT, friends, is progress...and there has been some of that this year. But if this guard first, last, and sometimes only mentality doesn't change, then we are building a house of cards, not a future dynasty, and it really needs to be addressed now. This is the kind of thing that gets worse the longer it goes on...it becomes more reflexive, it becomes more and more a part of how Steve, Cat, et al see themselves as players, making them and their egos less and less willing to change, it makes those around them grow increasingly dispirited and/or resentful, and r****ds the progress of the team as a whole. I am all in favour of taking a step back if it means taking 2 or 3 forwards, but we have to get our footing right and make sure we are all stepping in the right direction.
MacBeth, You have some good points. But why didn't you chime in with Jeff's thread rather than creating yet another one of the same type?
Great post as always. What's your suggestions to get that right footing in that right direction? How long can you take for yet another quarsi-rebuilding? Here is my biggest concern. I am very happy if Yao Ming's NBA career lasts for ten years. I fully expect Yao to hit his prime after his third year. And I only expect his prime to last about five years. If we are happy to win just one championship during his service, Rox doesn't have to doing anything in three years. But if we want a dynasty, Rox will have to be a contender at the end of his rockie contract. So what and how are you going to do?
"Everything comes off the dribble, so most of the other guys spend their time standing around and watching, and see no point in cutting, fighting for inside position, or any other team-type movement" This in a nutshell describes my general view on this team. My goal in watching basketball is not to watch reels and reels of tape after the game and try to dissect individual sets. That type of stuff tends to focus you way too much on the trees as opposed to the forest. It is not very difficult to see whether a team plays like a cohesive unit on the whole. Are the shots coming off the dribble or via passes? Are players cutting away from the ball and getting easy baskets? Does the team get easy scores in transition? This type of thing is measurable on the stat sheet by looking at the team's Ast to TO ratio and comparing it with other teams in the league. Historically, championship teams with little exception have been excellent both in the Ast to TO ratio category and FG% against category. This is why I simply dont buy the argument that Ast to TO is not a true measure of the Rockets offense b/c there is too much off the dribble scoring. That simply does not hold water b/c historically that has not been a winning strategy. This is the 4th yr with Francis and Mobley together in the backcourt, and I simply have not seen a consistent move to the type of basketball where there is less scoring off the dribble and more scoring off passes. There are some simple fundamental ideas of winning basketball and this team does not have them. This is why I concluded a while back that they would be very inconsistent and possibly not make the playoffs. Back then, I felt it was a 50% chance the team doesnt make the playoffs, now I feel its about 80%. If the team is still bottom five in Ast to TO ratio in a month, I will be about 100% sure they wont make it to the postseason. As far as patience and age issues that keep being repeated. The problem with this team is not Yao and Eddie, it is Steve, Cuttino and Mooch. If you told me this team would rank #2 in the league in FG% against at this juncture of the season, I would be ecstatic. The young players up front have done their share, they have ensured that this team is good on most nights defensively and on the glass; the guards who are supposedly the vets have not done their share of making sure the ball moves. Btw, I am still looking for a championship team where the guards average the anemic Ast to TO ratios that our backcourt does.
Excellent read. Count me in on every word expressed by MacBeth & MManal. FYI in case you haven't noticed - Yao & Cato collectively: 52.2% from the field 72.1% from the FT line 4.1 ORebs/g 9.6 DRebs/g 1.7 Assists/g 0.75 steals/g 2.86 blocks/g 2.7 TO's/g 5.1 Personal Fouls/g 16.5 ppg Now if they could just get more than 11.8 shots per game!
Macbeth Can you be a bit more specific here - what do you consider a "good" step backwards? What 2 or 3 steps backwards would you welcome for the ultimate betterment of the team?
I think he means to have Francis and Mobley (more experienced players) involve Yao and Griffin (less experienced players) more often even if it means that Yao and Griffin make mistakes or do poorly. It is a "step backwards" now which reaps future rewards.
Easy: Didn't see it, have been very busy lately. jxu, fegwu, : It's more of a priorities thing...as Gater suggested, it has a lot to do with getting Ming and Griffin the touches and time they need to improve, worrying less about what cost that will have in the short run. It means, if we have to, causing a 'rift' in the team chemistry to get everyone one the same page: team play, not individual play. It means taking a chance on having Steve peeved in order to get him to modify his game to better utilize his considerable talents as part of a whole rather than by himself...or, if need be, moving him elsewhere if he won't adapt. Ditto for Cuttino...and it means finding out now if Rudy can be the guy to get it done, or bite the bullet. My main point was that, like making a piece of furniture, when you build a team with a flaw in it, as this one has, and you build around that flaw rather than fix it, you are left with an unstable final piece that won't withstand the heavy going championship contenders face...We need to fix the flaw now... MManal : Great points...and, what is more, that type of play is really made easier with a passer in the post, as we currently have. Gater : Agree re: Cato/Yao, and you were pretty much bang on in interpreting what my ramblings meant... Codell: Thanks buddy.
Check on the Rudy's must-do list. Check again. This one kills me. BTW, I like your analogy. I just bought $1000 worth of woodworking tools last month. Back to your point. Rudy, the carpenter, is required to put those materials together. Rudy is an icon of the town, probably with a hero's status in lot of local minds. For all the pain I am taking, mid-season change is not a favorable approach. So, with regard to the carpenter, there are two choices, (1) do something to prod the carpenter to change himself; (2) find a new carpenter after this season if Rox has to bite. We already know how difficult it is to change a person. I have no clue as what to do about it. I also don't know what coaching prospects would fit nicely. That's what I am looking for right now. Do you have somebody in mind who would be a good successor to Rudy? My choice for the moment is Larry Bird. What do you think of him as a coach?
