We are 2-3 solid players away from a championship IMO. You're right a PG= M. Williams from Mil A PF= Varejao from Cleveland A backup center = Varejao Sg=?
I will participate only if I can use the posts featuring the fabled "Can Of I Told Ya So" once DaDakota is vindicated, driving DaDakota from the field in anguish.
Hah ! Good find. Too bad JVG did not agree with my premise in that post about using the Rosters flexibility, it might have saved his job. DD
That's the million dollar question, isn't it. I am hoping it's the latter not the former, but I still have my doubts. Just sucks that we'll have to wait all summer to find out.
Again I ask everyone the honest question. If we had Tony Parker on the Rockets would they have been a contender this year, in your opinion? DD
Fair enough, where do you think that team would have finished, in the regular season and playoffs? DD
If getting a top 10 PG was easy then we wouldn't be far off from competing, but that isn't easy so we are a long ways away. Certainly we would have been alot closer to competing with Parker on our team; Parker is one of the best point guards in the league. The problem with this thread is that we have no realistic option to pick up a Tony Parker level PG. I mean you might as well ask wouldn't the team be better with Kevin Garnett as our power forward? Of course we would, but we can't get him without giving up TMac or Yao so what's your point?
Yeah, the Rockets are close alright. Last time I looked they were only 250 miles away...I'm sorry DaD but wishing does not make it so.
basically you are just saying we are one all-star away....I don't think we are unique in that situation
i thought they were a contender...isnt that what you've said before? but they would have gotten past the first round, i think, and it seems you agree. Which could only mean that you believe it was a talent issue, not a coaching. i knew you would admit it sooner or later but let me pose another question...if rasheed wallace was PF, would the rockets be a contender?
Not only that but to continue to assert that the guys at the end of the bench could have been difference makers were it not for the fact that they weren't "developed" properly by the now departed JVG is equally unrealistic. It's like gravity - you cannot make bad personnel moves year in and year out while getting nothing from your drafts because like gravity it eventually catches up with you. This team's fate was sealed when they brought in Tmac and gave him & Yao those max contracts because it has left them with virtually no means to do what's necessary to break through in the loaded Western Conference that's about to become even more loaded. Add to that an organization couldn't find basketball talent if it fell out of the sky and landed on top of it, and you have what we have now a good team not a great one. But we have a new coach now so everything will be allright...
No. I think you may be greatly misjudging the differences between Parker and Alston. Now maybe you're just trying to make a broader point of replacing Alston with a "good" PG would be the difference, and if so, the following isn't necc, but otherwise: -I may be alone in this opinion, but I have found Parker to be slightly overrated, as players tend to be when they're a starter on a highly successful team. Doesn't mean that they would do so well if transplanted into a different system. Consider any of the main role players on the dynasty Bulls (Grant, Armstrong, Kukoc, Harper, King, etc) - I'm not saying that they weren't good, but most had a reputation that was a little more reaching than what they demonstrated without MJ & Scottie. Would Parker make another team a favorite? Or is the Spurs unit just maximizing his abilities and exposure? -We didn't lose to the Jazz because of Alston, despite what many on the BBS expected/subconsciously wanted. Blame falls on plenty of the team if you want to rag on him. -It would be a heck of a stretch to claim Parker is a better defender than Alston. Alston gets significantly more steals and consider: Deron Williams: Reg Season: 16 and 9 Postseason versus Alston (7 games): 16 and 8 Postseason versus Parker (5 games): 26 and 8 -A/T ratio this year: Alston 2.6, Parker 2.2 career: Alston 2.8, Parker 2.2 Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Alston is a better PG than Parker. I'm not trying to ignore the fact that Alston as a scorer is a horror show and Parker is phenomenal in that regard (at least in the paint - a 1 hitting over half is shots is rare). Still, bear in mind that this is the first year in his career that Tony's hit better than 34% from deep (Alston has done so 5 out of his 8 years, but never quite as good as Parker's 40% this season). How would swapping out the two, in your mind, make the Rockets a contender? Is he a better defender - highly suspect Is he a better sniper - debatable Is he better at taking care of the ball - debatable Is he better at setting others up - maybe Is he better as a third scorer - far and away Alston, IMHO, set up the offense fine. He defended adequately. We never had to whine about his turnovers. As a counter, maybe all we needed was a legitimate 3rd option who could create from himself and allow the coach to turn off Rafer's greenlight? Evan
I do not know why ppl always complain about Tmac and Yao's max contracts. That's not the execuse we cannot get talents around them. Look around the Western Conference: all the top teams have at least 3 guys with 10M salary maybe the only exception is rox.
Finding talent is not necessarily an issue, but getting talent that MESHES well with the current talent is an issue. Agreed that Tmac and Yao have hampered the ability to get quality people, but Battier was a good acquisition, no? Bonzi was a proven player before this year.... I applaud the organization for trying different combinations but not all of them work out. You are correct in that the draft is a crap shoot, you are betting on whether those players drafted are going to contribute in the future, and that goes either way, depending on the player and the situation they are put in as to whether they make it or not. I beleive that EVERY team is flawed, and that the team that is best able to conceal their warts has the best chance of winning. The Rockets are certainly no different, they are flawed, but one starting PG could hide a great deal of those flaws and make them a lot closer to being a contender. Donkey, you asked me if they had Rasheed would they be a contender? I think they would be BETTER, but NOT a contender...... I truly believe you have to have 2 attacking creative players to make it all work, that IMO, is the yellow brick road that the Rockets need to follow. DD
Evan, You cannot discount Alston's "horror show" offense. The guy could quite possibly be one of the LEAST EFFECTIVE scorers in the league, yet he is the 3d leading shottaker on the Rockets. This absolutely destroys our offensive potency. Besides, who is to say that Deron Williams didn't get better as the playoffs continued on? I really doubt that it was Alston that was "shutting him down". Also, I don't think Parker was even guarding D Will, it was Bruce Bowen. Surely you can't be telling me Alston is a better defender than Bowen?
The point is that any team that magically adds an all star in one of their weakest positions without giving up anything is going to be alot closer to being a contender. I mean add Amare Stoudamire to Golden State. Add Yao Ming to the Lakers. Add Tim Duncan to the Nuggets. Add Kobe Bryant to the Bulls. That doesn't mean those teams are close to contending, it means they are an all star away. I certainly think we could compete for a title with a Tony Parker lvl PG added with us losing nothing in return. I just don't see how we are close to aquiring that type of player.
