Yes, but the thing with human nature is, if we're winning, its hard to not complain after losing a bit. At the start of the season, this team was not pegged to do anything big. It is almost halfway through the season, and that hasn't changed.
I think we are getting carried away by the winning. We are still a developing team of role players with one star player out and one out there waiting for a trade. We can pretty much experiment with anything this year to build a better line up next year. as everyone said, nothing is urgent. plus we are 5 games over .500, whats there to panic about
I. MICRO offense: 1. play ariza at 4, play andersen at 3 2. play landry-lowry pick&roll more 3. play scola 1on1 more, possibly with yao-like 2 or 3 in-and-outs defense: come 3rd quarter: foul, foul and once more foul don't let them get hot II.MACRO get: Butler&Miller/Iggy&Dalembert don't get: Stoudamire/Bosh/K-Mart/Jamison
it's not as easy as saying it's a year for development, so throw the young guys in there. It's still a business and winning brings in more money. You're not likely to win as much with the young guys. So you play to win, but you can't exactly overhaul the team or make moves just to win now either because that can affect your future ability to win more. So they have to basically try to get by with who they have and make the best of it, which is what's being done.
Boom Shaka Laka It is so obvioius Budinger is our 2nd or 3rd best handle and he sees the floor better than anyone on our roster not named McGrady. Why in the blue blazes he isn't starting and getting 30 mpg is beyond me. Another factor.........the first quarter is high octane offense......period. All teams play soft D in the first quarter because they don't want to get into foul trouble. The way the NBA game is played is the D is loose to open the game and then it tightens down towards halftime, loose at the beginning of the 3rd and then all out balls to the wall in the 4th quarter. That is the smart way to play the game. With this in mind, why in the world we aren't using Budinger's shot, his cutting, his handle, and his passing ability is beyond me. He's not a lock down defender and won't be this year. But that is not critical in the 1st quarter. Putting points on the board and outscoring our opponent is the priority in the 1st quarter along with staying out of foul trouble. 3. To add to what you mentioned, Ariza should be getting 10 minutes or so at the 4 in a true speed lineup. You can run Lowry with Brooks or Budinger at the 2, Battier or Budinger at the 3, Landry or Scola in the middle and Ariza at the 4. That would be a big time speed lineup off the bench, not to mention great scrambling defense with Ariza/Lowry and perhaps Battier in that lineup. The D gets tighter and the game gets faster as we run out and have great spacing on the offensive end. What a combination! By the way, if we are going to start Landry, then it has to be with the idea of outscoring our opponent in the 1st quarter. Landry is NOT a good defender.
I agree with this. A bunch of folks seem to want to "win now" but there isn't any way that's going to happen until we get Yao back next season. We need to position ourselves for next season while still doing the best we can this season. Positioning ourselves means giving those who need experience experience (Ariza, Budinger, Andersen) and polishing those who already have it (Brooks, Battier, Scola, Landry). I think we can all agree we should make a move with at least McGrady's contract to improve ourselves for next year and this year.
Nothing. We just have to see how our young players pan out at the end of the season. If DM can get a good deal for Tracy(looking unlikely right now),it will be our good luck. If not,no problem unless we take a number of players that do not fit in the short or long term or bad contracts back.(also not likely) Changes and additions can be made during the off-season,unless a solid opportunity comes up soon.
Wow. Compared to the expectations at the beginning of the season the Rockets are not letting me down in any way, shape, or form. As long as they are leaving it all out on the floor every night i'm proud of my team.
For the past month really, the Rockets have been playing like crap. Even with the early season play, we were still fun to watch, moving the ball, spreading the offense around. Even if some (Ariza) were scoring inefficiently, they were still taking their opportunities to the point where opponents had no clue where we would attack next. Now? I don't even care if we win or lose close games, because I know we didn't deserve to win. We play ugly. I feel stupid watching our games. It's like JVG's back in charge, except we got no defense either. And the management isn't sure whether or not to make a change to improve our roster for this year or go full bore into rebuild-mode. And that's the only thing that pisses me off really. If we really mean it, we should cash in our chips that still got some value while we can and make a good concerted push for 2011. But we've still been spinning this year as a "don't count us out!" year. So whatever. I watch my college team, they do pretty well for their own sake, and players on both sides play harder than they do in the NBA even if they make more mistakes. If the Rockets want to restore my interest in this season they need to do this: 1. Trade our assets that have certainly or potentially peaked in value. The ones on my mind are primarily Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Aaron Brooks. Battier because he will have almost no value next year except as an expiring (and believe me I'm the biggest Battier fan, I have both his Duke and Rockets jerseys) whereas this year teams could still definitely see him as a veteran presence on a championship team and give up some real pieces for him. Scola probably will be the best out of the three for this year and next, but I would prefer to give him up over Landry. And Brooks because I frankly don't see him learning court vision in his next couple years, and our offense ain't going to cater to his game anymore than it currently is. When Yao comes back, the paint will return to its clogged state, and we'll need someone on the team to pass the ball into him without turning it over 50% of the time. Lowry fits this mold, and there chances of him developing an outside shot are higher than those of Brooks learning how to play point, so I'm taking the under on that bet. 2. Trade for the future. Get picks. Get young players. For once, get a balance on our team of athleticism and intelligence. It's ok to have a great 6'9 offensive PF like Landry, but not when your center is 6'6. It's great to have a defensive stalwart like Hayes at center but not when your PF is 6'9. And it's not ok to have your tallest player get boxed out on rebounds by 6'3 guards. Morey inherited a team with a foundational flaw in McGrady/Ming, but he's finally got his chance to mold the team to what he envisions as one capable of contending for a championship. I'm tired of being "underrated", "undersized", and "under-" everything. Let's be favorites for once. 3. Stop kidding ourselves about this regime. Being stuck in limbo (see GSW with Don Nelson or the Astros for the past four years) is the worst place to be as a franchise. Let's move on for once. I love having Carl Landry but not in the role he's currently being asked to play (backup PF and C). I love having Ariza but not in the role he's currently being asked to play (starting SG and playmaker). Let's stop trying to make square pegs fit into round holes and just prepare our team for how it's going to look next year when the New Yao returns; you know, the one on whose back we won't ask to bear the weight of an entire franchise. Yao can be a great piece, but I hope it's certain now that he cannot be THE piece. Hopefully before the trade deadline we can do something about that issue, but I would definitely prefer getting picks or young guys over getting aging vets like Butler, Iguodala, or even a 15M/yr Joe Johnson this offseason in free agency.
i just dont understand the logic to say "its a experimental year everything is gravy" thats like saying lets just sit on our hands and do nothing, let Morey just watch games and push ushers,dont make trades,dont reduce payroll, dont collect draft picks. that is kinda dumb because you never know when landrys or brooks trade value will decline. each year they get older, the value goes down,so next year landrys and brooks value will be lower than today. also if they suffer a injury they will further reduce value. if you are planning on a championship someday , then decide NOW who should stay and who should go. Do you think landry can start on a championship squad? What about ariza? what about brooks ? what about battier? if you answered yes to those , then i guess adding yao makes yao/landry/battier/ariza/brooks a championship squad. I however disagree. Ariza needs someone like kobe. battier is getting older and next year when yao comes back batman will be even worse. Brooks makes bonehead decisions to often. Landry is to undersized (but maybe yao can negate that). the bench would be scola,budinger and lowry. Problem with lowry he cant hit the three, so i would replace lowry with someone better. And i dont like hayes at all as a backup center or anderson. If we could trade tmac for a great backup pg and backup center we would be in business next year.
Uh, no. It means that if a good trade comes along, we bite. If we can get draft picks or get our hands on assets, we do whatever. We try to trade McGrady, whatever. It does not mean "PANIC PANIC WE'RE IN LIMBO WE'RE DOOMED TANK TANK TANK FOR JOHN WALL." So, logically Lebron had the most value as a rookie. Also, for those arguing trading Battier: I would need a very, very big significant asset in return for Battier. Someone at the beginning of the season observed something that is very crucial to the value of Battier: the 2008-09 Rockets had 4 leaders: Artest, Yao, Deke, Battier. Only one's still around. And every team has to have a locker room leader if they want to get somewhere, and Battier is a damn good leader. If we trade Battier, we need to get back somehow who actually is capable of leading and organizing the Rockets in the locker room and making sure they develop, especially for a team as young as we are. And Battier's a damn good leader.
Spacemoth, all good points clearly articulated. However, I think we have a lot of pieces to a championship team in place: Brooks/Lowry - Both are young players with clearly different styles. While neither is going to lead the league in assists, how many titles did Stockton win? Brooks' shot becomes much more valuable with Yao down low and Lowry is a hell of a sparkplug off the bench taking it to the hole. ?/Buddinger - Chase should be getting consisten minutes this season for sure. I see him as a backup 2 next season. THE question going into next season is who the starting 2 will be... Ariza/Battier - As was earlier said, Battier is probably the guy moving to the bench. Love the tandem of stoppers/spot up shooters but they dont compliment one another on the court at the same time. Scola/Landry/Hayes - What can you say? I love Scola's craftiness and Landry is a beast off the bench. Personally I think Landry is best suited for his current role with Hayes there to play some dirty D when needed. Yao/Andersen/Hayes - EVERYTHING hinges on Yao coming back an elite player next year. Assuming he does Andersen and Hayes should allow Adelman to give Yao the needed rest to keep him fresh and healthy. The only real question I have is TMac. At this point I think we let him expire so we can re-sign our guys and obtain a solid starting 2 via the draft or FA. I'd love to find a 6'6'' athlete with a solid jumper (Morrow or Azubuike?)
I think that there is way more reason for optimism than the fans here would have you believe. Consider the following: 1. None of the guys we have are 1st, or even 2nd options (with the possible exception of Brooks). I know we love to overvalue our players, and think that guys like Landry, Brooks and Scola are potential all-stars. They're outstanding role players who are intelligent and hard-working, and very opportunistic. They will never lead you to a championship, but are perfect complements to star centerpieces (be it Yao or whoever Morey has in mind). The fact that we are even in playoff contention is a testament to the coaching staff and the hard work of all the players. It does NOT mean we should be clamoring for mass changes in what was laid out to be a year for development. 2. We are one of the best teams at asset building. Trevor Ariza has been a very controversial figure (and when you look at it superficially, with good reason.) However, a lot of us are forgetting that this is a year for DEVELOPMENT. There are clearly some things he is incapable of on the offensive end right now. I don't think there's really any harm in allowing him to explore his role on the team though. Next year, with Yao and whoever Morey is targeting to pair with him, I think we'll see Ariza go back to a role he played in LA or a Battier-like role. The only reason he's a playmaker this year is because we don't have those centerpieces in place. So what are the outcomes? He realizes what he can and can't do, and he develops his offense a bit. Next year, he'll be more focused on defense and be a nice 4th-5th option on offense, playing a complementary role. A young superior defender who has had a year to explore his game? I'd say it's worth the MLE. We have one of the best role playing cores in the league. You add Yao and another guy who can make plays on this team, and we're insta-contenders. 3. We're in a great position to get better next year. Here's the thing, a lot of you guys are clamoring for immediate trades to put us in the playoffs this year. That makes no sense. The only way I trade McGrady, if I'm Morey, is if I am getting a certain future star and maintaining cap flexibility in the years to come, or lottery picks. That means no to Iggy and Dalembert and all of the other short-sighting moves on the table. What's the worst that can happen? We trade for a second-tier star with a bad contract and get baited into taking more bad contracts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with letting T-Mac come off the books next year. We may not be able to land a top-tier player in free agency, but will maintain much more flexible in years to come. We have a lot to be grateful for as Rockets fans this year. We have an outstanding GM and a fun, hard-working team to entertain us in what was supposed to be a disaster year. Have patience, be confident in the decision making process, and look forward to much better times to come. The T-Mac era is behind us (thankfully), but Yao and co. will be back next year to put us in contention.
okay using your logic , that 2009 team had 4 leaders yet didnt get past second round. lebron is different because as a rookie he couldnt get any higher as far as value because he already was regarded as a stud. actually your wrong. why do people that are wrong feel the need to use a the reason you are wrong is because lebron was worth more as a rookie..okay, you know my kid screaming in the crib i have to go. as far as my point about landry and brooks your missing, they are blue chips,because they are young, 3 yrs from now they are no longer young and the value wont be as high . get it? your twisted my words completely around, every player is different, i wasnt talking about lebron so you called me out. wow.
dont like john wall. again twisting my words. lottery picks can be traded. actually its people like you that think yao will be young forever . it is time to panic, the window is closed or best case 1 more year. lebrons rookie contract was alot better for many reasons than him threatening to leave like he is now in certain ways . its a distraction to a team what lebron is doing now. him as a rookie was worth more since his contract was smaller than now winning a few meaningless games is just like 2006 when they missed out on roy. this team is stuck in middle. at this rate they finish 9th , miss playoffs, and get a average pick , as far as leaders...they are all professionals, how in the world can a kid make the nba if he isnt a hard worker or really skilled? making the nba is 1 in a million, if they need leaders like shane then those players arent championship players. but yet you dont want to blow it up ? was horry and maxwell a leader? i think hakeem,and well thats about it. cassell was a rookie, kenny was quiet, thorpe was quiet, hakeem was quiet also. the COACH should be the leader.
....What's your point here? The 2009 team had leaders and a willingness to work together (with the exception of a certain so-called superstar) and so they went farther than any Rocket team in a while and lost to the champions. Nothing completey wrong with that. And you especially need a leader for a young team. Take the Warriors. They have good talent on paper and they're young, yet they suck because they are a completely disorganized mess and their coach is insane. You stated that as players get older, their value decreases. I showed that is idiotic thinking by using Lebron as an example. If you want to talk Rockets, obviously Brooks has more value today than he did 1 year ago as a reserve behind stinking Rafer Alston.
okay, but not for long, part of brooks value is his youth. Its gradual, and If i was a gm id rather have a 2007 brooks than a 2010 brooks based on saving 3 years to build a team with him. I already saw brooks potential in 2007 so nothing now is surprising me. Maybe to you it is and other gms but not me. as far as golden state, good lord. im not argueing with you anymore, 1 thing ive learned on forums is arguing is pointless because no one, ever ,ever, can change minds and admit being wrong. You live in a world where you think the warriors are a battier or leader away from being good, I live in a world that tells me they dont have good talent (morrow role player,randolph overrated,curry undersized) so they are not a leader away, they are about 2 allstars away from being good. as far as lebron, he was the 1st pick in draft, he was a allstar as a rookie, everyone knew he would be great so his value was enormous as a rookie, .No one knew who the F brooks was a rookie so your right about that, brooks is worth more now than as a rookie, but how much longer can brooks "upside" and "youth" be maximized in a trade? Gm's look at stats,salary,age. Once you wait a year, then another year, then another, to finally decide to trade a player they have lost that "age" benefit. For instance, tmac was worth more in 2004 than in 2006, and worth more in 2006 than 2008. As he ages , teams get reluctant to build around someone. Teams can build around a Brooks/landry combo now. Once they hit 30, forget it you are stuck with 2 near max contracts on landry and brooks and you better hope they can bring a championship. I dont think they will. revisit this arguement in 4 years.
