Tank? Believe me, we wont have to tank. With Juwan Howard and Wesley as our number one options at this time, we are so bad that we will lose enough to put us as a lotto team without losing on purpose. Every loss is just one step closer to canning JVG and IMHO that is the best thing that could happen this year. We need someone who can utilize fresh athletic talent, JVG is not that person...
One should recognize that the suggestion given by Dakota is one based on his experience and I for one agree with him. We should be thinking how do we get out of this mess and retool our team for the next season, possibly bringing in a decent Offensive Coach [ keep JVG for Defence] Yao Ming also needs someone better than Pat Ewing.First move could be getting a three way trade and Artest to Houston.
We absolutely do have to tank it. Tmac and Yao should never play again this season. There is competition at the bottom. We have to at least get a top 10 pick. Preferably, top 3. Atlanta, Charlotte, Portland, Toronto and Orlando are horrible and will stay that way. There's then 6 more underachieving teams to contend with : New York, Boston, Sacremento, Chicago and Seattle and Washington. There's also the chance that teams cave in the second half. Minnesota or Golden State could get there if KG or Baron go down. We cannot win another game! Every game hereon is a MUST LOSE. Start : Alston, DW, Rybo, Howard and Deke, but play Moochie and Swift and JLIII A LOT. Trade Howard, DW and Alston and Moochie at the deadline, after healthy stat-padding - preferably for picks or injured players, or in a 3for1. Trade Swift too, if possible. Maybe some really really wants out of a contract - like Utah with Boozer. They could have Swift and Moochie. We could wait for him to heal from his "injuries".Ok, maybe rolling the dice on Boozer is too risky for you. Pick someone else. There are some good players out there teams want to get rid of, that didn't fit for whatever reason. Antonio Daniels or Earl Watson could work here - and there are others.
McGrady practiced yesterday, said he felt fine and was held out tonight. The Rockets sure look like they have decided to tank this year.... DD
I don't know about tanking, but you do whatever it takes to get McGrady healthy in the long-term, if that's possible. If that means he sits this entire season out, so much the better. That being said, I don't think anyone knows how to fix TMac's back, and that scares me.
Yeah, TMAC said in an interview that the only thing that will make his back better is to quit playing basketball. The way things are going this season, I do think its a better idea to simply rest him until he is as close to 100% as possible while giving more playing time to potential talent.
Tank? This team has been trying and has like the 3rd worst record in the league. I don't think we need to tank to get a high draft place. There is no way this team is going to make the playoffs. By the time Yao and T-mac are healthy, they will be way to far back to make up 10 games with 40 remaining just to get an 8th seed.
Ok, as things are going now, it is becoming clear that Houston will probably miss the playoffs this season. Whats worrisome about this though is the fact that Houston is not going to continue at the rate of losing that they currently are doing now. Yao is coming back in 2 weeks now and Tmac could be back any game. As soon as we get both of our superstars back, not to mention the rest of our supporting cast, we will start to win games again. Now the sad thing about that is that we will win a lot of games, but most likely it wont be good enough to make the playoffs. So a very likely end result of the season is that we finish a borderline playoff team, maybe missing the 8th seed by several games. This means that we wont have a very good draft pick, we will lose out on possible playoff experience gained, and our role players will be even OLDER and SLOWER than they were this year, hard as that is to believe. I think the smart option at this point would be to tank the season, but honestly that is not realistic and I know neither JVG nor the Rockets are going to do that.
Dont read just the first sentence bro. You gotta read it ALL to piece together the idea. I know its long, and its late so I'll forgive you
As I was saying.......... The team is mailing it in.... Barring a trade we are playing for next year. DD
I think "mailing it in" and "tanking" are too strong to describe what's going on. The primary focus is not taking any chances with Tracy's and Yao's injuries. If that costs the team a run at the playoffs, so be it. The team has clearly decided a run at the playoffs is not worth risking either of the two stars. I think they want a very good look at everyone else to decide who they want back. Tracy, Yao, Luther, Bowen & Deke are definitely back. Wesley, JB, Moochie and (probably) Baxter are gone. The others are auditioning to determine how much the Rox want to keep them or trade them. But the Rox are NOT positioning for a higher lottery pick. That is crazy IMO. This is my definition of "tanking".
Agree somewhat...but Stromile being out 2 weeks with Pink eye? DA still out...JB still out? Lots of people out and NOT hurrying back, if you know what I mean...wink wink. DD
We can only hope they are being wise about next season. It is not tanking to look at the big picture and do the right thing. Let TMac get well. He should get his back healthy and get some more opinions on it. Yao must not rush back with some kind of special shoe. Just stay out and get healthy. That goes for Sura- be sure he is 100% ready. I would rather have a high draft pick and a healthy team to start with next season.
I know what you mean and basically agree. I've bashed Stro enough already and won't comment on the eye thing right now. I believe JB & DA have legit injuries because the roster is just too depleted not to bring them back if it was possible.