Hmmmm .....yes, I think I would have to agree with that....WITH a caveat, that at least Ariza is ready to play every game and play defense. But on offense, yes, would have to agree with that...... DD
Luckily Morey doen't go by simple stats like pts, assists, etc... What are the things that the Rockets are doing this year to help them perform better than their talent level would suggest? Fast tempo, unselfishness, ball movement, and hustle on defense. In each of those categories Ariza is a much better fit than McGrady. For that matter, all of the wing players in our current rotation are a better fit than McGrady. Sure, McGrady could provide some scoring and some assists but at what cost? For McGrady to be successful he has to dominate the ball which kills our ball movement. Even in his prime, McGrady wasn't an open court player. At his current age and health, he's limited to being a half court player. As for defense, despite his physical gifts, McGrady has never given consistent effort on defense. So, do you risk losing the things that have been working for you in order to get McGrady back into the lineup? I'm guessing that the answer will be no. Adding a low percentage jump shooter as the focus of the offense won't offset all of the things that you would be giving up. We can kid ourselves that McGrady can change his game, but realistically that isn't going to happen. McGrady wants the ball to go through him and allow him to create for everyone else. I don't believe that the Rockets are going to go that route. IMO, the potential negative far outweigh the possible gains. I realize that alot of people think that McGrady is the missing ingredient at the end of games, but you need to look at the actual numbers. McGrady is more than willing to take the last shot, but he also usually ends up shooting a long 3 and is rarely successful. Sure, it's exciting when he has a day like he did against SA, but those are few and far between.
why does anyone still listen to this guy? he constantly talks himself into a corner, then whenever someone tries to explain how his argument is flawed he just says he did it on purpose to prove a point. 60,000+ posts and i bet the majority of those posts are him trying to defend his constantly changing position. i check this forum alot and no other poster annoys me to the same degree as DD, and i'm really not trying to be mean about this. no doubt he will write me off as a hater or someone who just doesn't get it, and for a while i thought maybe it was just me. but i've certainly seen a lot of people lately expressing irritation with DD's posts of late and i figured at some point, if that many people think it walks, talks, and acts like a duck, it might just be a duck. i'd put him on ignore if i could but the dude's posts are so frequent and so pervasive in every square inch of this forum that i'd effectively be blocking about half the content on clutchfans. anybody out there dealing with the same problem as me, and any recommendations on how best not to get annoyed when DD does something illogical?
I am just as annoyed with people who do not seem to have the mental capacity to understand what the organization is doing, why they are doing it, and how it relates to the players on the floor. The complete and utter sickness of player over an organization. This is a ROCKETS fansite, not a TMac fansite...head over to Skillzlab for that garbage. I am sorry if it bugs you dookie, sticks and stones would be my answer to you. If you want to put me on ignore fine........I am just in the GARM trying to fight the good fight and educate the minions on the truth.... Maybe I should just say..."You want the truth? You can't HANDLE the truth" :grin: DD
I didn't just use points, assists, etc. to make my argument. For an counter argument how bout you give some quantifiable negatives? I am not arguing that tmac is a great player, but given how poorly Ariza has played how about we try out tmac some more. If he sucks then we can try something else, but it is unfair to not even give him a chance.
DD I assume you're referring to tmac. i'm actually fine with the organization not playing him, because i do understand what our team is doing and i understand how tmac could adversely impact that. what i am actually talking about is your posting style. i'm not trying to be mean here, because i don't think you do this intentionally. but i'm sure you've noticed lately alot of posters reacting negatively to posts or discussions you've initiated. i think you are writing off this hostility towards your posts as the inane reactions of tmac lovers or TOFs. but the reality is that your posting style itself is evoking these responses. you post in such a haphazard way, with arguments that aren't quite formed and functional, that you tend to leave people confused and irritated because it isn't at all clear what you're arguing. this is unfortunate because i think you do have good intentions and occasionally make good points. i think you could greatly cut down on the backlash you often receive by thinking a little longer about what point you are trying to make and how best to support that point with logic rather than emotion. again, it's not my lack of mental capacity to understand what the organization is doing that frustrates me. it's the lack of clarity and coherence in your points and arguments that is frustrating to me and many others. and this frustration is aggravated when someone reacts negatively and you respond in kind, going back and forth until the points you originally intended to make finally get flushed out and mature to a state where they can be readily understood. i think we would all understand where you're coming from a lot better, and you wouldn't have to spend so much time defending yourself, if you could just try to flesh out your arguments before posting, rather than waiting to get roped into a dispute with another poster to flesh that argument out. i hope you view this as constructive criticism for the good of the board, rather than writing me off as a juvenile basketball fan who only appreciates dunks and highlights.
Isn't that incredible, even with Ariza awful offense and gambling defense, we keep wining, thanks good we have Aaron, Landry and Scola to carry the offense and Hayes, Battier and Lawry to back us up on defense.
I know, I have had enough...and am fighting back.....if someone calls you an idiot a moron or a "Richard" head, at some point you just say...screw it....I can hit back...well....here we are..... BTW - go look at the earned thread for exactly what I am talking about..... I think it is because you are coming into a conversation or argument and you don't have the full clarity of what has been said or spoken or discussed, and then you read things that are meant to hit back and go...hey, that was rude. Trust me, I am sick of all the Tmac garbage, hate it.....it is ruining the GARM....and yes I realize I am a big part of that, because I am arguing with all the Tmac only fans. Sometimes I think you have to get in the mud a little to knock out the dirt. I can't wait until Tmac is gone so we can go back to just being fans of the team, and not the individual player. DD
but with TMAC's super awful offfense and dead man walking defense, Rockets lost to Clippers, Knicks, Grizzlies, Wizzards.... with much better setting than now.. Rockets biggest win in playpffs came when TMAC was not playing. How incredible. coincidence?
Perhaps I am crazy like a fox. Dookie....more evidence for the reasons of my uptick in harshness of posting. People follow me around like a lost puppy trying to pick a fight... DD
Ariza is an offensive disaster and his defense has been getting progressively worse. I'd rather take my chances with Mcgrady who's looked solid on offense in his limited minutes.
No one is following you around, you are in every thread. And you are the one constantly starting arguments and bashing coaches and players.
that's a good thread and a good point; the problem is that you often veer from the good point you are making to pick a battle that you think helps to illustrate your point, but actually distracts and diminishes. for example, in this thread you took issue with the comparison of tmac last season to ariza this season, and made your own comparison using tmac's minutes this season. to be honest, your comparison just doesn't hold water for various reasons pointed out by others, and even if you intentionally made the argument to prove that the comparison is senseless, it is probably a battle you should have avoided altogether. at best, proving this secondary point only loosely supports your main point; at worst, your main point is lost in an argument that doesn't really affect your primary argument. you finally ceded in this thread that yes, tmac is probably better on offense than ariza. admitting that point doesn't detract from your main argument that playing time should earned; however, instead of ceding that point early, you got in the trenches to fight a battle that drew in other posters, consuming your time and theirs on an issue that you ultimately agree on. how much time and frustration would be saved if you had deemed this particular fight unnecessary, or at least acknowledged early on that maybe tmac, statistically, does fare better than ariza? you don't have to win every battle to win the war. i appreciate you engaging me rather than writing me off, and i hope you understand where i'm coming from here. it's easy to point out flaws in other people and i commend you for responding to my criticisms with composure.
I understand what you are saying and recognize the uptick in my harshness, I just got tired of people following me around and taking shots at me, instead of the arguments. So, in regards to TMac, I decided to hit back. Maybe we should search your posts lately and see how many of them are about the topic, or are about me....hmmmm? DD
Go ahead. I also argued with Sam about Pacquiao, I guess I was following him around too. I also made several Texans posts, Modern Warfare posts, and Hangout posts. Believe it or not, it's not all about you.
It is when you come into a thread and take a shot at me instead of discussing the thread itself. It is what you do....you can see it in this very thread. Then you say insulting things in an attempt at whatever.... Just calling it out Clutch. DD
The quatifiable number that matters is that the Rockets are 18-12 which far exceeds expectations for them. Morey's analysis is based on what combinations work best to contribute to winning, not to accumulating stats. That's exactly why Morey values Battier so much yet so many people think he contributes little. The current combination has been working, so the Rockets are reluctant to change. Adelman has been pretty clear that the team has to play a certain way to win and he's afraid to mess with that. He's openly talked about being afraid to hurt the team chemistry and the fact that this team has "little margin for error". Because a small change can mean the difference between winning and losing, he's going to be hesitant to change a system that is working. In today's chronicle article Adelman's quotes are pretty plain and simple. He believes that if he plays McGrady extended minutes, then the offense would have to go through McGrady rather than sharing the ball as they have been doing. To me it seems as if Adelman doesn't want to do that and the question left for him is if McGrady can play in the Rockets current system without dominating the ball. But Adelman said he is unsure how to increase McGrady’s playing time because any change would reduce someone’s minutes and likely would require the Rockets to run more offense through McGrady than they have in his first six games. “We need him to play like our team is playing now,” Adelman said. “We’re not the same team. How much can he give us and in what time frame?” http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6787617.html Adelman and Morey are both smart guys and they both want to win. If they agree that McGrady gives them a better chance to win then they'll play him otherwise they won't. That's pretty simple. We should know the answer in the near future. My guess is that they see value in Ariza and he'll continue to see heavy minutes instead of losing alot of minutes to McGrady. I don't believe that Adelman has completely given up on McGrady, I just think that he doesn't believe that McGrady in his current condition is an upgrade. Here's what confuses me. If it's such a no-brainer that McGrady is an upgrade over Ariza, then why aren't Morey and Adelman making that move? Are they both too stupid to realize it ? They don't want to win? They don't want to increase McGrady's trade value? If they just wanted to screw him because of his actions last year, then they would have just left him on the inactive list and collected additional insurance money. Maybe they see him in practice and understand how he would effect the team and have determined that it's not an upgrade? Realistically, in his limited minutes what has McGrady shown that makes you think that he's an upgrade? Nobody is happy with Ariza's fg%, but McGrady's has been even worse. McGrady is going to suddenly start giving consistent effort on defense? Running out on fast breaks? Not dominate the ball? On certain teams, McGrady can be a contributor, but I don't believe that the current Rockets are a good fit for him. McGrady's style of play requires that he play at a star level. If he's unable to play at a star level then his style of play goes from being an asset to a liability. Right now McGrady is unable to play at a star level.
First of all...I didn't expect the rockets to do much worse than this. They are the definition of hard work. I knew they would do well after how they played in the Playoffs last year against LA with a worse roster than we have now. Ariza', Brook's, Landry's and the coming out of Chase Budinger offset artest's absence who is not that good offensively to begin with (better passer than ariza ill tell you that). Artest defense was not that great anyways we have a great defensive team and we have the best 1 on 1 Defender in the league. As for McGrady I've seen him attack the basket more aggressively in these few minutes than I have in a long time I'd say this time McGrady is healthy mentally and his body still needs catching up. Aggressive attitude McGrady shows this year is much better than before this guy is HUNGRY, and when a player who once tasted greatness and is HUNGRY again...theres really not much to stop him except for the organization....lol people need to understand the strength of hunger for a pro player.
