The Rockets have three things wrong and none of them include their defense, their stars or the coaching. I'm not saying those couldn't have been better. But, the Rockets need(ed) three things and without them...they were out. 1. Players who can get their own shots. The list of guys on this team who can get their own shots begins and ends with Tracy McGrady. No one else can get his own shot. It is a HUGE weakness. Personally, I think THIS is where a penetrating point guard is needed. We don't need a long-range shooter at the PG spot. We need someone who can get to the basket. 2. Players who can score consistently. This doesn't mean long-range shooters, necessarily. We need guys who can make shots when they are open. Adding this kind of depth to our team would've (will) helped immensely and made a huge difference in our ability to score on a consistent basis against any defense. 3. Toughness Yao and TMac are both soft players. The only guy on this team with real toughness we can count on is Battier and he's not a vocal leader. We need scrappers. We had that with Sura and Berry, but they were past their prime. We need tough guys in their prime who won't back down to opponents. The ideal here is at the forward spot - someone who will have Yao's back and put the hurt on someone who keeps coming down the lane.
Ron Artest. A younger Dale Davis. uh, can Jeff Foster play the 4? Honestly, the only thing on my mind after the game was someone to watch Yao's back and clean up the mess in the paint. Penetrating point would be nice, but who ya gonna call?
V-Span can fill that role and so can Snyder to a degree, but JVG did not play them. No one can score consistently in the playoffs, and it is more important to have players who can recognize when their shot is off and do other things to help out, like attacking the basket. Yes, mental toughness is key, we need some bulldog personalities on this team. I think the team needs more creativity at the Head Coach spot too, someone who recognizes things and makes more timely adjustments. Someone who can take this team to the next level. DD
JVG isn't going to get quality players when we have 2 members taking up more than 50% of the salary cap. He needs to learn to grow what he has instead of making the GM look like an ass.
Jeff, Ideally, I think we need both. Im not willing to dismiss the need to hit open long range shots. As structured, this is what most teams allow us, especially when T-Mac is penetrating. But I do agree that we need a 2nd playmaker.
I still think Travis Diener can be a Sura light for this team. He can distribute and create offense like a real PG. A deadeye 3P shooter. Also for a 2nd year guy collecting DNP's he considered a team leader on the Magic, that's just heart and natural leadership. Plus he'll be cheap.
haha I agree with steddinotayto...Matt Barnes fits your bill. but with Yao and Tmac, the issues you brought up can be fixed. But it's up to the coach to make it happen. 1. Creating shots... Other than Tmac penetrating and dishing, it seemed the Rockets had no other way to create shots. One solution is feed Yao. I know, I know...they've been trying...but the spacing and movement put Yao in a tough position. Half of Yao's TO's are because of the poor spacing and positioning of the other Rockets. 2. Scoring consistently... Consistent scoring usually comes off of consistent game planning. When Dream was here, everyone and their moms knew the first play was Dream's. If he was off, Drexler would take over until Dream found his rythm. On some nights, the first offensive play was Tmac taking a jumpshot. other nights, it's feeding Yao in the post. In the start of the season, it was freaking Rafer jacking up a 3. Bottom line...the coach needs to determine the team's #1 option and make sure the rest of the team knows who it is. If it's Yao, pound it into Yao...if he's off, let Tmac take over and visa-versa. 3. Toughness... Although it's great to have, an enforcer is not neccessary. Sometimes Juwan shows flashes of his Fab5 days by being that enforcer. but the best way to return the favor is by scoring a bucket or getting a stop. Other than that, you want Matt Barnes.
All the things you have pointed out were true at the beginning of the season. Nothing has changed. We were mesmerized because we won 50 games in the regular against some really bad teams or teams who weren't up to speed when we played them (Dallas early, SA before their hot streak, Phoenix late) I think the Rockets made a huge mistake not taking a chance on adding a player like Mike James, not playing V Span, and/or not working it out with Bonzi. GS would not have won without Stephen Jackson's huge series against Dallas. Was Mike James or V Span or Bonzi a bigger head case than Stephen Jackson?? They took the risk because even though he was mercurial and probably borderline psychotic, he was a piece they needed and Don Nelson created the right atmosphere for him to play well and be a tolerable citizen. Van Gundy was delusional (or stubborn) because he thought we could win with Rafer Alston, Juwan Howard, and absolutely no bench depth. We struggled to get past the 1st round. This wasn't a series vs GS or the conference finals vs a playoff savvy Phoenix or SA. No way did this team ever have the horses to compete against those caliber teams. Phoenix's 6th man would be the Rockets' 3rd best player by far. I hope this is a blessing in disguise as it's not a chemistry issue as it is a talent issue. We don't have it. It's amazing that it takes GS shocking the world to discover the word "athleticism". We knew it all along.
Am I the only one who sees the obvious, again? I posted how inept our big three were. The best idea is to trade every one of them. And by that, I mean trade even Gene Petersen, if we can get anything. (Seriously, I talked to HeyP before the monstrosity, and I think a Yao for Dirk trade would do wonders for both teams. As it stands: T Mac sucks Yao Sucks Battier Sucks Alston Sucks Head sucks. As to the Houston Rockets: I give you your 2007 playoff song. To those of you who stay, let it be a hard lesson in life. This team doesn't lose to a team in Utah names after New Orleans. We've got more New Orleans aftermath than you could even fathom.. All 3 are dead to me, but Yao especially. In fact, I think a Yao for Dirk trade is very doable after both of these series I don't care. The sad part is when you long for a series where David Robinson has the heart. T-Mac: "It's on me." Yao: "stop ball no me on!" <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3V3DFmJ_dMI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3V3DFmJ_dMI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> (And I'm pissed at how much fun I could have with AK on this.) Someone needs to be gone. Blow up the team. Start alphabetically backwards...
Bonzi could get his own shot off. VSpan and Snyder can both get to the basket almost at will. VSpan and Snyder would probably both be our best perimeter players if given half a chance. Three talents that JVG could not find a way to fit into his style of play because none of those three shoot very well from the outside. Throw in Mike James that JVG turned down as a mid season trade and I think this team was a victom of JVG's hard headedness.
You sir are a true visionary ! And all JVG did was waste a year of Tmac and Yao's career and not develop V-Span or Synder at all. GREEEAAAAATTT !! Fire JVG. DD
You must be drunk again. TMac - a great talent who settles for too many outside jump shots and has problems in the postseason. Dirk - a great talent who settles for too many outside jump shots and has problems in the postseason. If Dirk was in game 7 and put up 2-13 BS with no inside game, Utah wouldve smoked us.
