Compare with Spurs and Lakers Key players and years with Rox team Yao 7 Ron 1 Shane 3 Scola 1.5 (Yao injured) AB 1.5 (same) Landry 1.5 (same) Lowry 1 month Von 1 6 of 8 key players played only 1 year or less together. (Others, Deke 5, Hayes 4, Barry 1) Spurs Duncan 12 Parker 8 Ginobili 7 Mason 1 Finley 4 Bonner 3 Bowen 8 6 of 7 key players played at least 3 years together. (Others, Hill 1, Thomas 1.5, Udoka 2, Oberto 4) LAL Kobe 13 Gasol 1.5 Fisher 8+2 Bynum 4 Odom 5 Ariza 1.2 Farmar 3 Walton 6 Sasha 5 7 of 9 key players played at least 3 years together.(Fisher only 2 years but should count in). (Others, Powell 1) With so many new faces, we stand at 3rd spot without TMac and barely lose to Spurs and Lakers. I am so proud of them! This team has bright future.
That's a really good way of looking at it. I'm unsure whether DM will keep these young players together or not. It's very hard to say in this economic climate as many teams are choosing to lay off players they usually wouldn't get rid of due to financial reasons. Anyway, I say this team has a bright future if we keep majority of the players we have and maybe lose 1 or 2 of them to trade for an allstar calibre player. Either that or one of our young guns develops into an allstar (Brooks, Landry or Wafer?)
Hmmm...isn't this a bad thing?I think this is why we never past the first round in the last 13 years or so,we change about half of the roster every other year.We can not develp any real chemistry between the players.
I think you have to decide on your core and keep them. For me it's Yao, Scola, Landry, and Lowry. We will have to pay to keep Scola and Landry in the long term. I think both will need a full MLE contract but that's ok since between the two, we get all-star production.
Fantastic post. What you pointed out - inexperience - might be exactly what keeps them from reaching the top this year, but we do have a bright future. They already look really solid together. They look a little bit like the Sura/Barry/Wesley Rockets that found magic late in the season, but those guys were old. We have a great, young core... now we need to keep this team together for a few years to give them a chance to grow into the teams you compared them to.
Finally a great post! Thank you!!! I'm sure the Rockets will have one of the NBA's best, most cohesive benches if they manage to stay together for 2/3 more years. Everyone will know their roles, their limitations, qualities. Now THAT would be deep/experienced bench...
Our bench is no doubt awesome, but they're also all on short lowballed contracts. I've been worried how much the prices they cost will get jacked up in a year or two when they all have to be resigned. Hopefully the economy and upcoming new CBA help with that.
It's because we have had very little talent the past few years which is precisely why we have not been able to advance far in the playoffs. In 2006 against the Mavs in the playoffs, we were starting Ryan Bowen, RYAN FRICKING BOWEN, at the PF position. Against the Spurs when Tmac had his 13 in 35, we were playing Andre Barrett at the point. No matter how good your one- two punch is, you need to have at least serviceable NBA talent on your roster. Now, finally, probably for the first time since we traded for Tmac and gutted our roster back in 2005, do we have that.
God those teams were awful! You can thank/blame CD and JVG for that. I am so glad we finally have a competent leader in Morey. Don't get me wrong, CD had a knack for talent and the big trade, but no idea how to manage the team financially.
