As thoughtful as your post, it exposes the biggest problem the Rockets have now. They practically have no viable choices to get themselve out of that funk quickly. Rox is stuck for the near future. That's THE reason I am so lost. Let's look at a 3-year window during which the Rockets are expected to become a contender. You can't trade Steve to get there because the odds are Rox will be the sucker in trading-Steve scenarios. Many posts have pointed it out. I believe from the beginning that Yao will never be as dominant as Shaq or Hakeem or Kareem. He needs to pair with a dominant backcourt player to compliment each other. As Danny Ainge said of Shaq and Kobe, Yao and Steve should kiss each other every night, IF they want bling-bling. So we can't trade Steve, period. We can't fire Rudy also. If a Phil Jackson or a Jon Gruden is available, Les should promote Rudy upstairs with a statue at the side of the new stadium. But who are you going to steal? Outside of Phil Jackson, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas, any other coach invites more uncertainty and questions than immediate answers. The Rockets are a group of young wild stalions. There are not many coaches who can mold them into a contender in three years. When we are stuck with Yao and Steve, all other trades are about role players that fit the grand scheme. We can forget about KGs, TDs, Millers for good. Smartest trades to shuffle role players won't improve much without a sound basketball SYSTEM in place. I don't believe in bringing assistant coaches. Les doesn't look like a tight wad. I have not seen any impresive assistents in 8 years. So my conclusion is Rudy wants no such super-duper assistants like Del Harris. I don't believe in self-maturity. It just takes too long and odds are too low. We mature amasingly fast when we have examples or guidance. The only hope is Rudy changes himself. And that's about it. We are stuck in the near future. And that is why I am so unhappy with this team even though Rockets just won a lottery jackpot. Take more Tums and cross my fingers.
I don't know why you don't believe in maturing. Look at Indiana, they have the same coach and same players as last season when Isiah was widely criticized and they barely made the playoffs.
I pretty much agree with all your assesment Jeff, but there are plenty of guys who run the pg now who didn't play it in college. At G-Tech, Marbury shared the responsibility with Barry, Cassell did the same with Ward,Bibby did the same with Miles and Arenas did the same with Gardener. I agree, but don't think that Cat would accept a bench role on this team. For yrs now Rudy has been talking about him being one of the top players in this league, which is an ego stroke. He's a good player, but not as good as he thinks he is nor his coach.Thats part of the problem. I agree also with the youth issue somewhat, but watching some of the teams that are ahead of us in the west, other than the Lakers, none of those teams have been together any longer than this rockets team. All of the teams have tweaked and traded to get the right foundation just like the rockets have, so that excuse is pretty much out the window. What I see in this team is really a underacheiving crew of individuals who say one thing and do another. How many team can have 2-20pt scorer threats, add a skilled 7'6 big man and still struggle offensively almost every night? I remember when Rudy took the job, he had no intentions on coaching a long period of time. Maybe after this yr, he will step down and get a coach that can maximize this teams potential and not be scared of hurting someones ego. Of course players win games, but I think either Rudy needs to make an example out of how he wants the players to share the ball, or someone after the season who can do it. This is not the Supreme Court Justice, a term for life. If Rudy can't handle this team or adds to his staff to hep this team get an identity, then someone needs to be put in place who can. Of course, a person who has brought so much to the organization, you don't just throw them to the side, you create a position or assign him somewhere in the organization. I'm just as lost as anyone else. This team has as much if not more talent than Utah,Phoe,Minny and to a certain degree Sa, but yet we are riding the boarder. Maybe, its just me, but this team should be better than this.
Rudy's had the opportunity to coach Steve and Cuttino for 3 1/2 years now. Theres been plenty of time to teach Steve and Cuttino the importance of playing team basketball. But nothing has changed with those guys...we see that same self serving brand of basketball being played. But dont fret there is hope... The whole town seems to be psyched about the Rockets. The team is loaded with talent. A little in-house tinkering or a few Bold in-house moves can help. whether its Mobley coming off the bench...Posey as the starting shooting guard...running the offense through Yao... more playing time for a teamer like Nachbar....one "or" all... "Rudy" you can do it!.... step on toes...take a risk...be gutsy...find the right magic potion and.....presto! Houston Rockets: Godspeed!
Having played about 44 games, and the Rockets are barely in the fight for the last Western playoff spot, doesn't Rudy Tomjanovich want to try using Tito Maddox or Boki Nachbar a little more? Eddie Griffin hasn't been himself since the fall during the LA Lakers game, and Maurice Taylor has scored 20 points in any game he's played. Isn't it time to make some changes? Make a little experiment? What's the use of taking Collier off the injured list if he won't play anyway. Play Maddox instead. Just letting off some steam...or thinking out loud.... It is frustrating to watch the Rockets play at times... although I'm a fan, it is sometimes better to watch Utah or Sacramento play basketball. The Rockets seem to have more individually skilled players but the Jazz and Kings have better teams.
It's time for the Rockets to move Air Bull into the Pocket Rocket's place beside Bill Worrell and move Calvin Murphy into the role of assistant coach. Murph is more than genial but won't take any guff -- he has that warrior's soul. In addition, his Rocket roots are as deep as Rudy's. He has the credibility of performance -- his number hangs from the rafters alongside Rudy's. There is a trust and bond between Rudy and Calvin -- heck, they were roommates way back when -- so Rudy wouldn't mind sharing the glory again. I've advocated a Sixth Man Extraordinaire role for the Cat for months now. However, I think some of us are forgetting that Mobley's performance has been hindered by foot injuries that would keep most players on the disabled list. He plays with such heart that I would be dismayed by seeing him in a truly diminished role -- many fans don't understand the true importance of sixth man firepower dating back to the days of John Havlicek. With SF and YM as the principal scorers, I think Posey (SG), T-Mo (SF) and Griffin (PF) would round out a solid first string. The Cat, Mo-T and Boki would step in as designated shooters and the Hawk would be ready to swoop in with his defensive skills. Cato obviously is needed as Ming's backup with Collier backing up both PF and center positions. It's time to trade Moochie -- much as I love his style and his passion for the game -- and bring on Tito Maddox. Maddox has the passing skills and defense Moochie lacks and is taller and stronger. He should be ready to use the PG instruction he has been receiving. If he doesn't show promise, then the Rockets can look for another solution. Shaking up the Rockets appears to be needed, just so they are gently shaken -- not stirred -- to prevent bruising. Afterall, I do love this team.
Calvin Murphy? Was he known for defensive prowess? I have trouble believing that, but maybe I'm stereotyping small guards who loved to shoot. From what I know of Murphy, he never met a shot he didn't like. Could you imagine that? Good post, Jeff. I agree with just about everything you said. There is one problem, though. I think you have to make either the coaching change or the trade, soon. Because while you could do both at the same time, that doesn't really isolate the problem. I think that someone in the front office needs to decide very soon whether the problem is coaching... or that the players are rejecting coaching. Whichever view you take determines whether you fire Rudy (or reduce his role) or trade Cuttino. Like you, I couldn't imagine trading Francis. Some here might be happy with Andre Miller or the like... but not me. It'd have to be someone like Kobe or Dirk... and that ain't gonna happen.
I honestly would trade SF before Mobley. #1 SF, right now--but maybe not after a failed conversion to the 2 guard-- is probably one of the 10 most sought after players in the entire league. We may not get equal value--but you could still land a nice piece like Brand+, SAR+, or maybe Gasol. Dallas didn't do too bad trading Kidd (got Finley +), Phily got Ratliff than Mutumbo for Stackhouse, Det got Hamilton for Stack, Atl ended up with Gasol for SAR. Sometimes the trades work good for both teams. Francis could do wonders in terms of wins and fans for a bad team (Clips, Hawks, Memphis)--I just wonder if he has the approach to make a good team great. #2 In Mobley's case getting near equal value is probably not going to happen. #3 There is no assurance SF makes a better all-round 2 guard than Mobley. What you get in offense you might lose in defense. #4--Just my opinion, but Mobley seems like he has a higher potential to play within a system where he isn't the key guy than Francis. I say if big changes are obviously needed after this season I say on with the Yao era and build a team around him. Giving up Steve and Griff for like Brand and Miller would be a nice start.
And that is the point. The Rockets need someone like Calvin to show them where to go on offense, and their scoring at critical junctures proves that. Defensively, Rudy and Larry Smith are getting it done (most games, anyway).
Sorry despite our much criticism, Steve Francis is highly rated enough in this league and is a franchise level player. No way we give up him unless we get a top PG (i.e. Jason Kidd or Steve Nash) or a top perimeter player (i.e. Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGardy or Paul Pierce) in return which is equal to never gonna happen.
How about Rice Cake and the Griffin Memorial to Miami for Brian "Dred Lord" Grant? Sorry. I didn't want to start a whole new trade thread.
Don't quite know if francis would listen to a player of less NBA experience than him.. but hey you never know.. i was thinking the addition of a level-headed veteran to tell the players to pull their collective heads in.. when you look at the team they've only got rice as a true veteran, and hes injured all the time.. i know francis would definately listen to john lucas (from reading those pre-season articles at Westside).. but theres no chance of him coming to the rockets..
I'm all for this idea. The only thing is that Tito cannot pass out of a double team...AT ALL! I remember people doubling him during the summer and preseason, and he would get trapped all the time. For some reason he just can't identify the double coming at him and when it does he get scared and does something silly. Other than that maddox is a much better passer and controls the tempo better than the dribbling shrub.
why wouldn't john lucas want to come to the Rockets as an asst coach? I think this would be good for the team.
I meant I don't believe these players will mature fast enough without examples and guidance. You can't leave them alone and hope they will mature. In Indiana's case, I don't think any player wants to mess with Isiah. He is the example and the discipline. Larry Bird was another example. Like Texas Stroke said, it's been more than 3 years and counting.
Great post Jeff. Well thought out and written, and I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I've been an advocate for changing this team, but that would just add to the maturing process. Getting different assistant coaches and moving Cat to the bench would be a good start, and shouldn't disrupt the chemistry that much. It could be just the right amount of shake up/wake up call needed. I am also very happy to see that Les Alexander isn't having a knee-jerk reaction after the Dallas game: Read article on Les HERE But games like the Dallas fiasco should make this team learn from its mistakes. Now all we have to do is see if they did or didn't...
I agree with you the value of SF is extremely high--he has shown this year he is one of the elite individual basketball players in the league and he has the highest value of any PG in the league considering his youth relative to Kidd's. That is the principal reason if the team is broken up he should be the chief one on the block. Only a handful of players would have more value as far as building a new (young) team than SF--off the top of my head for sure McGrady, Kobe, KG, Duncan, Dirk, & probably Pierce (but not by as much) with a few players probably about even in value--J.Oneal, Gasol, and others in the ballpark but just a shade lower in value than SF--Brand, Marion, Jamison, SAR (well more than a shade lower in SAR's case but he could be a start). Kidd, AI, Webber and S Oneal--they are excluded all together because those guys would never be traded from their teams, let alone be used to to build a new team. Also, with Davis's injury history and SF great individual year this year I don't think anyone would consider him in the same ballpark of overall value as SF--you would have to include more value from the Hornets (PJ?). So why not go for a bookend PF (Brand/Gasol, I don't think J Oneal is on the block because things are going well for Indiana's team despite their PG hole unlike the team progress for the other two players) and seek a role player PG (Arenas?) via FA. Personally, I think Brand/Miller for SF/Griff might add a lot of complimentary pieces to both teams and be wins for both teams. The LAC need a guy good enough clearly be the man (Miller & Brand are not quite dominant individual players like Francis is) and we need more very high quality guys with the right offensive and defensive skills around Yao. If we think the current combinations of players must be broken up to progress this is where I'd like to see us go.
I don't know if this is a correct observation. Mobley seems to jack up more bad shots when he is with the second unit. My recollection is that he usually plays pretty controlled in the 1st quarter with the starters. Then, when the backups come in in the 2nd or later in the game, he starts taking bad shots. He seemed to think that it's his responsibility to be The Man when he's playing with the backups. I believe the experience of the last couple of years was absolutely atrocious to the on-court mentality of the guards. The team needed them to take over because there were no other weapons. Both the media and the coaching staff praised them for their efforts in light of the tremendous burden they needed to bear. Now they can't let go of that role, either because they are unwilling or because the mental habit is just too difficult to change.
Sterling will never trade for a player with a max contract, imo. That's why the Clippers are in such a constant state of flux and confusion. The players who are worthy of good or max contracts KNOW they aren't going to get them and wonder when and where they'll be dealt. That's probably the major reason their record is so bad with such good talent. It's also a reason why they make a good team to deal with. Sterling wants talent he can sell to his fan-base, but he wants them cheap and is perfectly willing to see them go before paying what they're worth when the time comes. Throw some good, contract friendly talent at him, some talent "with potential" he can market still on their rookie contracts, and some picks and we may be able to pry a Brand (and ?) from him. IMHO.
