New Yorker just wants some attention. Of course we are a contender when Yao and Mac are both healthy and on top of their games.
I admit our role players are lacking, 1 and 4 is our achilles. I love Chuck Hayes but doesn't match up well with the glut of talented 4's in the west, specifically Dirk, Amare and Tim D who will be the ones we are going to run into the playoffs. VSpan is just a sparkplug at this point nothing else. I woudn't trust him with major minutes at PG . I would like JVG insert him at certain points of the games where his hustle would be effective and his lack of outside shooting is not exposed. I'd like to see us play against the top tier teams at full strength before claiming that we are not at their level, it seems we can at least have a competitive close games with just TMac there.
I agree with you. But we still have to do something at PG (and PF is possible). If we don't get another PG to supplant Rafer or eat into his minutes, it will be very tough in the playoffs when other teams focus on our festering sore of a weakness.
I agree with New Yorker. I don't feel like we have the squad to win it all. Here are some of my thoughts 1) Our mental toughness and intelligence of play comes into question, especially at the 1 and also our backup 2s. 2) We needed a shot blocking/defensive 4 at the beginning of the year, and despite Juwan's inspirational play, we still need one. 3) If we don't revive Bonzi, our bench will continue to be razor thin in terms of fire power when compared to the Suns or the Mavs. 4) Tracy's health is always in question 5) Although he has shown signs, Yao still has a little way to go in terms of being able to completely impose his will in a game, and until he does that, I honestly don't think we will win a championship. Having said that, I think we need another year to complete our squad. This year's draft might provide a solution to our problems with an abundance of quality big men. A change of coach might also be refreshing, and I am not saying that to discredit JVG and his abilities.
Virtually all teams have festering sores. JVG's job is to exploit our stregnths and limit our weaknesses. If he can do that (and Yao/TMac play how they are capable of playing), we can win a championship w/ Rafer. All that said, if we can make a trade to get a better shooter, go for it. But I'm not so pessimistic even we don't trade him.
How can you say that we're not in the elite category even with our two top players playing? We haven't seen them play together this season and we're number 6. C'mon.
the same steve francis that basically ruined his career by not developing a consistent outside shot? the same guy who, over a full season, shot better from beyond the arc than what rafer shoots this year (36.1 %) once in his career? i was a big fan of stevie but he never was a consistent shooter. i always thought that if he would have worked on his shot early in his career, everybody right now would say that gilbert arenas or dwyane wade is the new steve francis. sadly it didn't happen.
We will see how good we are when Yao comes back. Tmac sporadically missing games due to chronic injury might be our biggest problem in the end. Once Yao comes back we will have some time to learn how to play together again. Dallas and the Suns are rolling. Hopefully we can still get to that level come playoff time.
At the beginning of the season I would have agreed with you, but my opinion now is that the festering sore will be fatal if not treated. We don't need a better shooter at PG, just a smarter player who is mentally strong and smart enough to shoot a decent percentage from the field and not choke during tight situations. Rafer is sufficient as a spot up shooter; the problem is his shot selection. In the playoffs, teams will gameplan us and bait him into taking shots he won't make. We need a player we can substitute for Rafer when he is on his "D" or "F" game. Leaving the fate of the team in his hands at PG would be foolhardy. Something will get done.
"We" do not play NBA basketball. "We" can do nothing to affect the Rockets chances. The Rockets organization can hire a head coach with a ring (as a player or as a coach).
I still believe they have a long way to go before they can truly contend. 1. They have to address the PG issue. Having Rafer freaking Alston play 40 minutes in the playoffs definitely won't cut it. Disaster will happen if opponents attack Alston and he becomes panic. 2. Healthy issue. How can you discount injure problems? It is part of the life in NBA. So Rox can contend if Yao is healthy, and T-Mac is healthy and they are both on top of their games? Then why Nuggets can't contend if AI and Melo can manage to score 60+ (their current average) every game, and they can consistently play solid defense like they played against Rox the other day? Every playoffs team can claim they can contend if everything is perfect for them. The truth is it won't happen very often. In Rox's case, how many games Yao and T-Mac both played during the 2.5 years they worked together? How many games we saw Rox miss either or both of them? And even in the games they both played, how many games they were both on? My answer is not many. 3. Experience. Yao and T-Mac never win single playoffs series before; the last time JVG won a series was 5-6 years ago; Head, JL3, Chunk Hayes, Kirk Snyder are playoffs rookies; Shane Battier haven't even won a playoffs game. VSpan and Novak? Don't bother because they doesn't play regular season enough. Now how many years does it take Mavs to make the Finals after they become an elite team? How many Finals appearance Suns have since they acquired Nash and broke through? I am not a stat guru but how many teams haven't won a playoffs series in years can make the Finals and win championship in one year? Very unlikely. Take it easy Rox fans. If Yao and T-mac manage to keep healthy most of the time (LOL) and they continue to improve their roster, give them 1 - 2 more years and they might be able to contend.
Just get healthy ... then we're contenders. We don't need any major stars. We don't have to have all-stars at every position. I wouldn't mind a couple more players for depth. I'd love to get another PG, and hoped Sura would come back, and by the end of the year, VSpan will probably play a much larger role, as long as he keeps his mouth shut with the Greek press. I doubt we could get a PG with any better potential right now, but I'm sure CD and Morey are working on it. JVG likes Rafer, because he doesn't turn over the ball, and is a good distributor. He can pass it quickly to Yao, and rotates on defense. He does seem to get tired in the fourth quarter, but that's probably because he's in there too long. If his shooting stroke doesn't become more consistent, then I'm sure JVG will tell him to limit his shooting in the playoffs, especially if Bonzi is in. I agree that VSpan should get more playing time, as well as JL3, but when VSpan cuts down the turnovers, JVG will play him. (DD, when you say he's only had 1 turnover per game, that's because he hasn't played most games. That's an unfair dilution of that stat. Show the stat per 48 minutes. UGGGH.) I'd love to have a rebounding machine at the 4. Mutumbo has made it obvious how valuable that is and could be. But who would be an upgrade over who we've got, and how could we get them? I doubt our TE would pull us in more than someone like Melvin Ely, who hasn't averaged even 5 rebounds in the last 5 years. We are strong where everyone else is weak ... at center, and he's a superstar, and MVP material when healthy. I don't see us outplaying all the great PFs in the West, but not sure we have to, if we space out the floor, and have great defense.
I certainly don't agree with New Yorker that we aren't a contender with a healthy Yao and McGrady, but we have serious weaknesses that our top rivals can exploit. The obvious one is at the point. My personal strong feeling is that Rafer is an excellent backup. As he's our starter, with nothing worth writing to Grandma about who's backing him up... someone could make a good case that no one backs him up, except for Tracy, who's light years better than Rafer, but needs to play several roles on our team, health permitting. I'll give an example. If we're playing Dallas in a playoff series, and Dirk is lighting us up, who can defend him? Not Battier, not very well, for reasons I won't get into here, but Tracy can and has, very effectively. He has the length, quickness and hops to do it. As good a defender as Shane is, he's not in Tracy's class in that kind of matchup. So if McGrady is expending energy defending Dirk, and scoring, he's still going to do some distributing, obviously, but if he's the main option there he's going to end up laying on the floor by the bench, trying to hold his back together. And Rafer is a below average man defender, anyway, who is frequently exploited by smaller, quick guards, and the bigger points just shoot over the top. McGrady can't guard everyone, and Head is limited in what he can do. I'll say something else... if the "i word" were to happen to Alston (everyone touch wood!), who's behind him? Head, who would be out of position, JLIII, who's a 2 pretending, and not very well, to be a 1, and is crappy at it (and, with all due respect, a tiny b*stard), and Billy, who hasn't shown himself remotely capable of that role, not yet. And I like the guy. We need another 1. It's our most glaring weakness. CD needs to make a move. We might get by with Deke backing up Yao when he returns, if Deke isn't worn out, but we really need another 4/5 as well, one that can spread the floor, ideally. No nearly the hole at the point, but in an ideal world, we'd address it. But not contending if Tracy and Yao are "healthy?" Bull ****.
We most likely win it all if healthy. That said I wouldn't mind having another PG to bridge the gap to VSpan and a long defensive PF. This team is built for the playoffs....good halfcourt game and tight defense.
"When healthy" has become a mantra, but not a reality, in two seasons, make it three. I remember a chemistry teacher who always used the expression, "under normal conditions." The only problem was, normal conditions never seemed to occur. "When ifs and buts become fruits and nuts, we will all have a Merry Christmas." I love the Rockets, they are entertaining, and fun to watch, but because of their physical "issues," my optimism about playoff victories is guarded.
All these Trade talks... I mean maybe they'll work some magic, but if people think Rafer and our 4's are worthless...well, you don't get "something" for "nothing." How do you plan on convincing some team to give you an "upgrade" if you don't have much to offer. Are you talking about throwing in draft picks? With Tracy's back in it's current condition, you might wanna hold on to those draft picks now. I think this team, right now, once the pieces are back and healthy (for me, mainly Yao and Tracy), *IS* a contender. I just BELIEVE it.
I'd argue that JVG fully approves of Rafer's shot selection ...and even that JVG demands it. If JVG isn't happy w/ Rafer's shot selection, then JVG wouldn't put up with it. As it stands, I haven't seen any evidence that JVG is unhappy with Rafer's play. Now, if you don't think Rafer is 'clutch' enough, that may be true. But what can you do about that?
