There is a dynamic working in the Rocket's team that is worth talking about. The team has an overabundance of "laid back" personality types. Yao, Head, Hayes, Battier, and TMac are probably the most obvious. More on the "moderately fiery" side are Scola, Brooks, Landry, and Bonzi. Nobody on the team appears to have "Sura-like" intensity (except Francis and James, but they are non-factors). Throw Adelman into the mix and you have a virtual convention of Phlegmatic temperaments. Now, one can obviously be overly stereotypical in describing the "laid-back" personality type, but here goes: 1. They tend to have low energy. If there is a choice between activity, movement, and action and remaining stationary, they prefer stationary. 2. Once they have "worked" for something and achieved it, they are ready for a break, rest, or even retirement. 3. Intensity makes them nervous and disconcerted. They don't like pressure. 4. They prefer "finesse" over physical. 5. They don't like to juggle multiple variables, they prefer simplicity. 6. They are easily discouraged, get down on themselves, and retreat. 7. They like a slow, predictable pace; speed makes them nervous. I could go on, but you get the drift? The Rockets have assembled an abundance of these personality types. If they were all extremely talented, this might work. They aren't and it doesn't.
Being laid back doesn't necessarily mean one lacks "killer instinct." Because I'm in San Antonio I see Manu Ginobili a lot. He is very laid back until he gets on the court. Even then it's not an anger issue but he is competitive as they come. I wish our players had hearts like his. Thank goodness we now have Luis Scola -- courtesy of the Spurs.
Which is why hiring Mario Elie as an assistant was so vital. Even the coaching staff is laid back. When need that guy who can challenge McGrady when he settles for jumpers, raise his voice, has a reputation of hard work, came from nowhere, knows first hand about being the underdog and winning, about being behind and coming back strong, oh... AND HAS A RING. Cassell who is striving to become a coach would add a similar boost but doesn't fit on the current roster. I am not trying to get nostalgic here. I genuinely feel either of those two guys would provide some much needed intensity and attitude. Regardless of their history with Houston.
Perhaps, you know him personally, but my impression of Manu is that he is pretty intense, on or off the court. Duncan in more of the "laid-back" type, but he is more competitive than typical, and has outstanding talent. Parker looks "laid-back" but is a bit more on the fiery side, like Scola.
I do not consider Yao, Head, Hayes, or Battier to be laid back. They have all arguably achieved much more than you would expect given their level of talent and athleticism. Well, maybe Yao is as talented as he is a hard worker, but the rest of the guys are hard workers more than anything.
It is obvious now, that JVG was the "fire" that pushed this team to higher levels of achievement. I didn't like JVG's personality, but he squeezed every drop of success out of this group. Adelman does not appear to be able to do the same. And he actually has more to work with.
You may not, but they are. The laid back types can be very methodical about their work-outs. The temperament comes out more prominently under pressure.
Not only that but posters here and probably Adelman himself expect management to go out and get his style players rather than push what we have to the maximum level. Thats a joke. No wonder Adelman has a history of failure. He owes his entire career to the fiery leader Terry Porter.
They took care of business, didn't lost to cellar dwellers on a regular basis. Even with significant injuries to Yao, no offensive weapons, all the while getting eyebrow raising performances from Juwan Howard and Dikembe Mutombo. They weren't a group of losers. They were a group of overachievers. Mike James or a 100% healthy Yao alone would have propelled us past the Jazz. Now we can't even closeout lotto teams with Scola, James, Wells, Brooks, Francis, as added arsenal.
they actually made the playoffs and had a pretty damn good record. we were hoping to build on that with a new offense and a vastly improved bench, but we have taken 3 steps back instead
If you think Hayes, Battier, and Yao are "laid back", and Bonzi is "fiery", pass me some of whatever you are on. Hayes, Battier, and Yao bring it every night, push themselves to their limit, and are constantly trying to better themselves. Bonzi coasts for 40% of the game on his best nights (that math comes from the point that he plays all-out defense on 1 possession out of five), and most of the game more often than a professional should.
Bingo. You know what everyone in this thread is missing? The coach has changed. The losers are on the team haven't. The team is still playing like they have no heart. Feigen/Blinebury have an excellent point. Screaming at your team to get them up for a game might win some games in the regular season. It is not going to get you very far in the playoffs where by definition you're facing elite competition. The team as currently constituted doesn't really have a heart. The Rockets need to either make some trades or let the rookies get some more playing time.
on the note of the spurs, they have a coach "pops" who rips into each and everyone one of them even on soft ez game nights imagine where tony P would be now w/o the spurs coach yelling at him every game to play at the level he really needed to be at aka a c.billips type finals pguard
Steve Francis is that guy. Maybe he can come back mid season and revive the team like Sura did for us back in the day. They both have that same attitude of not backing down and playing all out. Both stick up for their teammates regardless of who is on the opposing side. To sum it up, they play with enormous testicles which this team lacks. #3 = Sura & Francis. 20-19, same record as 04-05 season. My prediction, Steve Francis will be our "Bob Sura" and get us over the hump.
By "laid back" I don't mean comatose. Of course Yao and the others "bring it," or play hard, but when the pressure rises, their true natures emerge. By nature, they are not intense, combative, or physical. They do what they have to do, not always what they would like to do. Under stress, basic temperaments are exposed. I think this is why Yao, for example, often gets bullied, frustrated, and flustered. As to Bonzi, he is a party animal, which, I think, explain is uneven performances. Incidently, suggesting that I am under the influence is a way of insulting my opinion. I have as much right to my view as you have to yours. Why is it necessary to insult other posters? It isn't. You can just disagree.
Battier and Hayes are the two most physical players on the Rockets, period. Battier and Yao are the two players who have played hurt more than any other player, and didn't let it affect their game. Bonzi has played hard and played well on offense in stretches against some good teams, like the Spurs, that happen not to have big guards. That doesn't mean he's "fiery". That just means that he likes to play when the attention is on and he can exploit a weakness. I was wrong for insulting your opinion, and I apologize. I think you, as many fans, get excited when you see players who normally coast get fired up and play hard. That's fine. I happen to prefer players who get fired up and play hard night in and night out no matter the competition.
