In Jan, Rockets is 3 W 5 L with Tmac and 6 W 3 L with out him (lost to Hawk and Laker with the last shot and Pacers with Yao out). YES, kick off Ron Artest and we will win more games.
Get a PG who makes the decisions so that Tmac, Ron and crew don't (can't) make the decisions on the court. This team has a bunch of guys who can't decide if they want to defer, stand behind the 3 point line, hog the ball or just take a stupid shot. The team needs a leader on the court and that guy needs to lead vocally but more importantly with his game. He also needs to be the guy bringing the ball up the court so HE sets up the offense and if someone screws up when gives them the ball he makes sure they don't touch the rock again for a while. Get it done no matter who has to go to get a good PG in Houston.
the only suggestion i really like is the artest for hinrich trade which i think is overpaying but interesting since he is a better shooter, passer, and defender than alston. also this allows alston to be our backup pg since brooks can get abused on d and play inconsistent on offense. as for the others... you want to trade 1 ballstopper for another ballstopper/cancer in regrette you want to trade for an injured player, with miller, that doesn't player d but is a nice offensive player and comes off the books in 2010 if we want to blow up the team you want to trade for andre miller who is a better scorer than rafer but i don't think he is anywhere near artest's value. ....edit...that being said....i think you underrate artest's defensive value on this marginal defensive team that the rockets have now.
You complain about Ron Artest being a ball stopper and you want to go out and get Magette? C'mon DD, you know better than that. Von Wafer spells Magette off the bench. We need Mike Miller... spacing is key. Give me last years team with Aaron Brooks, Mike Miller, Von Wafer, and Carl Landry off the bench.
Magette only works because he attacks the basket, and is a good finisher and FT shooter. We need guys who can take advantage of the attention that Tmac and Yao get. Magette would work, but Hinrich is better because he is at a position we DESPERATLY need an upgrade. I would take either. DD
Artest's defense is highly overated at this point in his career, he can not keep up with quicker players on the perimeter and his team defense is too risky he reaches around the back going for the poke away far too often exposing Yao to fouls or to having to rotate leaving his man open for an easy lob. Artest...does not fit. DD
Glad to see that I have some others on here defending Artest. DD and some others just want to stick all the blame on him for our failures. They failed to realize that he gets us steals, toughness, and intimidates others out there. I would not trade that for a soft a** player. Ron comes out every night and plays with intensity, he fouls nice and hard, and gets us some respect. Yao has even been playing a bit tougher this year. Once we are in the playoffs, which we will be, you doubters will see his benefit. He is going to wear the other team down and by game 5, they will not want anymore of the H-Town Rockets.
When you have Yao trying to get deep position in the post, it's gonna be hard to find lanes to an open basket. Make no mistake, this offense needs to run through Yao to be effective... were not gonna put the ball in Magette's hands and clear everyone out, that's just not how this offense is going to work. I agree with you that Hinrich is a solid option, but why not get the bigger version of him and get Mike Miller instead? Miller is a more proficient shooter. Hinrich's advantage is in transition. Were obviously not a transition team and we've already penned in Brooks to be that guy, so to me, the logical choice would be to go with another big body that can shoot and pass. Mike Miller is a 6'7 guy who can shoot over the top of his defender, handle the ball and pass, basically a full triple threat. If we want to be an efficient offense we need to model Orlando and put a bunch of shooters around Yao and TMac... Mike Miller can be our Hedo Turkoglu.
I remember I was lobbying for Corey in the offseason. Magette gets to the rack, draws fouls at a high clip wich we desperately need. Aside from Von and brooks (And Tracy at times) we have no one who can put pressure on the defense off penetration. Shot selection is also a big issue that needs to be addressed. I'm sick of these 20 something three point shooting nights. This homerun mentality we have with the three ball is ridiculous.
The moment when Ron fought with LeBron in the last second... The moment when Ron standed up in the Jazz game.. The moment when Ron was fouled out in Boston... Just kick him out. We need a true talented player like Tmac, who never gets fouled out as a Rocket.
I'm going to disagree with you big time on this one. I'm watching Maggette right now in a game against the Suns, and he is the most expensive chemistry killer in the league. He doesnt playmake, he just drives and throws up prayers. He doesnt move without the ball, he cant shoot, he doesnt hustle, he plays NO defense at all, he jogs up and down the court. His bball IQ is freaking zero. He's such a waste of money. He reminds me of a less physical, MORE EXPESIVE version of bonzi wells....No thank you.
Battier and Artest make 14+ mill, MIller and Kirk 19+ mill I don't think we can do that plus Kirk long contract scare me. And what we do with Rafer?
Since when is Hinrich such an OBVIOUS answer? Do you mean the same Hinrich that Rafer has demonstrably outperformed the past two seasons and makes $8-10M a year til Obama is done with his first term? That guy?! I know he's a better defender but better fit? All he does is stand around and shoot three pointers too. That's a heavy price, if you ask me.
Ron Artest, Brent Barry, Luther Head for Mike Miller, Rashad McCants HOUSTON PG: Rafer Alston | Aaron Brooks SG: Tracy McGrady | Von Wafer | Rashad McCants SF: Shane Battier | Mike Miller PF: Luis Scola | Carl Landry | Chuck Hayes CN: Yao Ming | Dikembe Mutombo Lots of scoring punch coming off the bench.
If he was a deadly shooter, Maybe i'd conscider it, but he's not..His career shooting percentages are 41% total and 38% from 3. He's been below those numbers his past 2 seasons.
You're right you wouldn't Iso corey, but on the pass out from the post (Yao would have to clear the lane regardless to avoid the 3 sec violation) Maggette would be more likely to drive on the close out than take a three point shot. There are driving lanes, Wafer and Brooks have certainly taken advantage of them. It's all speculation tough Corey has been injury prone and has missed substatial time regurlaly. Honestly I still think we have too small of a sample size with this team together to make a decision to break it up.
