Clearly there is something amiss with the Rockets offense...I think the primary problem is clear...and it won't be solved by bringing in another scorer...and it won't be solved by trading everybody on the team...and I don't think it needs to be solved by firing the coach. It needs one thing: Clarity. There are two ways to run a long-term succesfull offense in the NBA, if history is anything to go by. There is the currently en vogue style of a stable of offensvie players who understand the game, share the ball, and run all day long,as begun by Portland, and currently being run by Sacramento and Dallas. But I think we can stop holding our breath on this one...for one thing all the teams that do this by necessity do so by overrunning the cap and paying the tax, something Les will not do for long, if at all. For another thing the players who are the stars in these offenses are all playmakers or team oriented to begin with...and one of our two is probably not best suited to that style. The other way to go is to define your offense around your stars, and fit in everyone else. Our two stars are, like it or not, Steve and Yao. Yeah we could trade Stve, but generally when you trade stars because they're not fitting, you get baclk less than you give. I say we go another way. We need to figure out what Yao and Steve do best, build the offense around that, and get the right role players to fit in the cracks and do what they don't. With all due apologies to Tina Turner and Mel Gibson, the Rockets don't need another star player. It is conceivable that we need different stars, but in my opinion those who try and solve everything that ails the team with visions of adding another star player aren't getting the point, and I'll risk a political debate by equating that kind of thinking to throwing money at any social ill...it may make people think things are getting better, but it only solves the actual problem by accident, and that rarely happens. As it stand the Rockets have too many players whose primary contribution to the team is scoring. Leaving Yao out of the equation for a moment, it is pretty clear that Francis, Mobley, Rice, Taylor, and Moochie all make the bulk of their paycheck putting the ball through the hoop. Add to that the fact that too many of the players we have who do other things ( Eddie, Posey, T-Mo, and Cato ) don't do them consistently enough, or well enough for us to count on for the long haul. On the other hand, our star players, Yao and Steve don't shoot enough. Yes, that's right, Francis bashers...he doesn't shoot enough. He may go on streaks where he shoots too much, and too many of the shots he does take are poor ones, but in terms of quantity, Steve needs to shoot more. Yao needs to shoot a lot more. Consider: Steve averaged 16.2 fga/game. Yao averaged 9.8...That combines for a nice round number of 26 fga per game...for our two best players combined. Let's compare that with other 2 star teams in the playoffs...: Shaq ( 18.1) and Kobe ( 23.5) combined for 41.6 fga per game. Pierce ( 20.2) and Walker ( 19.9) combined for 40.1. Virtually every other 2 star combo combined for way more shots than Yao and Steve. Which one of Steve and Yao should take the majority of the shots is another discussion, but clearly they need to up the total individually and as a duo. The benefits of this are endless...players learn their roles and develop, players learn to trust one another because everyone knows what his role is, and what they should be doing in any other given situation. Additionally, players who exceed in areas other than scoring tend to come a bit cheaper, both in terms of $ and trade value. We don't need Elton Brand...he would just be another mouth to feed at an already hungry table. We need to clear the board, and let Yao and Steve carve up the majority of the meat...We don't need rashard Lewis, or Latrell Spreewell, or Alonzo Mourning, or Karl Malone... If we're going to bring other players in without losing Yao or Steve,we need to look at guys like Brent Barry, Alvin Williams, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest...Kenyon Martin would be a Godsend...We don't need more primary scorers, we have enough. We need more guys who do the things which help a team win when they're not scoring...guys who help the 2 existing primary scorers do their thing...guys who play defense, rebound, set up teammates, bring up the ball, and can, when the need requires, hit the open shot made available by Yao or Steve making teams have to stop them. Ok...so here's what I feel we need to do to allow us to do this; 1) Mobley has got to go...either to another team, or to the bench as the instant offense people have long been claiming he can be. He simply doesn't do enough other than score, and his value lessens significantly if he's not scoring a lot. He has significant trade value, or he could be that Microwave great teams usually have, but he is not, and can not be a starter alongside Steve and Yao...he eats too much. 2) We need to either go with Eddie at the pf, and commit to developing him, or we need to look to aquire a rebounding/defensive pf...and an off court leader wouldn't hurt. We don't need anyone who takes 15+ fga/game...we could use a Kurt Thomas, Antonio Davis type who can assume a lesser role on offense, but do the other things we need. Mo should be moved, if at all possible. There are teams who could use a good scorer who does not much else at the of spot; we are not among them. Worse case, he's another scorer off the bench. Every game he starts fo us short of injuries is a step backwards for the sake of immediate scoring gain. I personally think that comitting to Eddie is the way to go, but that's another argument. 3) We need to redefine the roles of guys like Posey, Rice, and Morris. Rice is either a shooter off the bench if Mobley goes, or excess baggage f Mobley stays. A slow no D no rebounding sf who cna, when on, only score is not what we need. Posey is a great fit at SF, IMO, and resigning him should be a priority. He has secondary values...but he needs to understand that, in the new offense, his nights of taking 18-25 shots are going to be rare indeed. If Rice goes, Morris needs to be groomed as our Do Everything Bench man...and I feel that he can do it. If we lose Posey, Morris is my 1st choice to replace him, NOT Rice. 4) Yao and Steve need to increase their shots...by a combined total of at least 10, more likely 13-18. How those shots are to be distributed can be argued, I'll pass for now, but we need to define the roles on this team. I feel that confusion of roles...a lack of comfort/acceptance of who should be doing what on a nightly basis is the number one reason we had such offensive inconsistency. In another thread ( A Few Simple Plays) I outlined tactical changes that I feel need to be made...these are more strategic. Establishing Yao and Steve as our Two Big Guns makes everything easier for everyone...whether they will like it at first or not. The guys who don't fit with it need to go, as clarified above. 5) If there's a God, Moochie needs to be moved or brainwashed into overdribblephobia. There are those who say that this will/can never be done as long as Rudy is coaching...I disagree. With Hakeem, Rudy did something just like what needs to be done now: assess a team's strengths, and redefine roles to make the best use of those strengths and streamline roles. That said, Rudy also bears much responsibility for the current state of absolute confusion which is our offense. Having to add Yao at the last minute surely didn't make things easier, but that excuse is now history. There are those who will still strive for us to be the Kings, but that's square pegs in round holes, IMO. There are those who wanted us to be Showtime, with 3 stars...Eddie could develop into a star who scores and soes other things at a very high level, but Showtime had something we don't; one of the best playmakers in history. It would be hard, and impossible if you're thinking that Mobleyis that 3rd guy. We lower Steve and Yao's contribution, confuse roles, and sacrifice defense, playmaking, cohesion,and rebounding in order to do so if we are starting Cat. So that's my take...no new heroes unless we are re-starting the whole thing. Some guys have to adapt to new roles or new addresses. Steve and Yao need to shoot more, and we need an offense ( I have offered options in other threads...I'm sure many people have ideas) built completely around Steve and Yao taking significantly more shots than anyone else. Other questions ( Steve to the 2 or not, trade Steve for another star, fire Rudy, etc. ) are other questions for other people to address...this is what I feel our best strategy is as things stand. PEACE JAG
LOL. Great post. I agree with everything. Cuttino Mobley and Eddie Griffin and Kelvin Cato for Alvin Wiliams and Antonio Davis and a 2nd or 1st Round Draft Pick. Trade accepted! No more heroes. And definitely....Francis needs to shoot more......and so does Yao. If we brought Alvin Williams and Antonio Davis in.....I think it would be nice. Williams would be our Derek Fisher or Matt Maloney or whoever you want to compare him too. Antonio Davis would be a strong rebounder and tough defender. Can also make the mid-range jumper. I like him. He and Yao would stand very tall. Francis would move to 2. Davis would back up Yao. Taylor....keep him. And then we would get a draft pick as well. Lovely. No more stars! I totally agree!
Why does Toronto want Mobley? Maybe they want to move Carter......but I think they wanted Mobley a while back. Griffin would be a project.....but much more potential than Antonio Davis. And Kelvin Cato would a great center for them. They really need a good center. We are giving up more for less in return regarding players. The draft pick makes it fair! Griffin vs. Davis. Griffin has much more potential and is much cheaper and Raptors are rebuilding anyways... Mobley vs. Williams. Mobley is much better as a player. Cato fits their needs. I wish once again. We don't need heroes! We need role players! And team chemistry! And good execution and new plays...
Very well put. Does anyone remember the days of Mike Woodson, Purvis Short and World Free rotating at the 2? Whoever was hot was in the game, who ever was not was on the bench. Of course we sucked back then, but we didn't have a superstar to go along with Dream back then, and Don Chaney was the coach, and nobody ever won with Don Chaney as the coach. Let me reign this thing back in... I think we can accomplish what Macbeth is asking for if we keep Rice and mix in a couple of other veteren shooters to spead the floor for Steve and Yao to play. Clutch mentioned Steve Smith, who I think would be great in a rotation with Rice and someone like Eric Piatkowski as long as we had a 2/3 like Posey we could put in when we needed a defensive stop. A 4 man rotation like that at the 2 and 3 would allow Yao to work inside and give Steve wider driving lanes. It would also give us some guys who could put up last second shots when Moochie gets tired of dribbling. j
WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND THUNDERDOME... Sorry...couldn't help that one!
This is a great post, and in all my current disappointment with theam I forget that a future of Steve Francis and Yao Ming is actually very exciting. I don't know if it's that all the role players on the team right now don't know their role, won't play it, or can't play it. Whatever the reason is it's not working. I think Steve is adaptable especially to system that would feature him more. He's shown in the second half of the year that he is willing to focus on cutting down TO's, passing, etc. I think he believed that was what he needed to do(probably because every fan, sportscaster and anyone else around said that as a PG he should). Steve will adapt or at least try to adapt into what the team wants from him. He wasn't always successful in most recent attempt to adapt, but he did try. If by tailoring the system to his and Yao's strength it should make his attempt to adapt much more smoothely I believe Mobely believes that unless he's not using every weapon in his arsenal which includes shooting, speed, beating people off that first step, taking somone one on one, and scoring, then he's not doing his best to help the team. If he wouldn't worry about doing all of those, and concentrate on defense and let all of his talents come about within the flow of the game he would be great. However, I don't think he understands that. Ming is young and with experience and better training he should continue to progress into a great player. He and Steve apparently get along well, and on some occasions even clicked when working together. Whatever roleplayers we do get, I would like them to understand their role, and do their best in that role. The other players on our team this year seemed to be just going through the motions half the time. I'm not sure if it was because they didn't know their role, weren't able to perform their role, or refused to perform their role. But on many nights the only guy I saw going to the floor for loose balls, diving out of bounds trying to save the balls, and playing with the kind of energy needed was Steve Francis. Hawkins had it most of the time he was in, with Posey and Cato bringing it semi-consistently as well. The other guys were alive at times but not giving the extra effort and just zombies the rest of the time. Ming I will exempt from most of this, because this year was all about learning and experience for him.
I agree. Francis as a "point guard" is an another issue; more of a 2-guard, with point guard skills. But the fact that we have TWO 2-guards (Francis and Mobley) show that Mobley doesn't know his role when Francis is doing the same job. Both Francis and Mobley want to be the "star," i.e. Hero, of this team. Francis and Yao should get the most shots/attempts. Mobley will have to deprecate his game (sacrifice his game for the better of the team). Once in a while we'll need him (Mobley) to "step up" and take over a game.
I agree that Francis and Yao should shoot more! No question about it. Moving Francis to the SG spot would help. Getting Yao more involved in the offense (and more comfortable) will get him more shots. They are our 2 best players and need more shots much like the other great tandems in the league. But I do NOT agree that this team does not need one more star player! Unless Francis or Yao develop into one of the games VERY BEST (Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, Shaq) then we need one more star type player. And as for Elton Brand, adding him to the team would probably not take away too many shots from Yao and Francis as a good majority of his points could be on offensive rebounds (#1 in the league in this stat) or at times when either Francis or Yao are not on the court. I see Elton Brand doing the same thing Kenyon Martin would do for this team and Martin is one player you mentioned you would like for this team! Brand is by no means a ball hog, he scores withing the flow of the offense and can score outside of the offense on rebounds. The key is he is unselfish and has a blue collar work ethic. The landscape of the western conference is this Kings: Peja, Webber, Bibby Suns: Marbury, Marion, Stoudemire Mavs: Dirk, Finley, Nash Lakers: Shaq, Kobe (they equal 3 stars) Spurs: Duncan, Parker. (Duncan equals 2 stars, parker is a debatable star) Rockets: Yao and Francis. Again, unless Yao and Francis can develop into a star like Duncan or the Shaq/Kobe tandem then the Rockets need one more star player to compete in tough western conference! It's that simple. Again, I am not saying the Rockets have to load up on star type players like Portland did, but 3 stars and a cast or role players I think is the magic mix. I do agree however with your comments on getting better role players that will augment Steve and Yao's games (Brent Barry etc). We might not be able to acquire a 3rd star player at this time but we should focus in on obtaining better role players for this team.
LOL. Well now I agree with you. If we can get Elton Brand or Kenyon Martin...then that would be great. The more talent...the better. Martin isn't leaving New Jersey. And it would be a miracle to get Elton Brand. Even if we did get him......that still wouldn't solve our problems...shooting. Unless we get Quentin Richardson too...
Good points.... I just wanted to point out an important issue. Have you ever noticed that all the best teams have at least ONE defender (or what used to be called, an "enforcer") on their team? Kings: Peja, Webber, Bibby (Christie). Suns: Marbury, Marion, Stoudemire (Bo Outlaw). Mavs: Dirk, Finley, Nash (Eduardo Najera). Lakers: Shaq, Kobe (Fox). Spurs: Duncan, Parker, Ginobli (Bruce Bowen). Rockets: Francis, Yao, Mobley (Do we have one?).
great post! however, i'm tempted to invent an arguement against both macbeth and duece just to watch keep jaquin jump on my band wagon too.
eduardo najera and bo outlaw? do they really get enough minutes to be considered a real factor? if so, i think cato more than suffices. i wish i could recall which game it was i watched that Cato came in and within a few minutes two players on the opposing team had to go out for a few minutes with minor injuries. he can be outright brutal(at least this season). however, i really don't think either of those players do get enough playing time to really count. which would explain why phoenix only had one more win than us. (i can't believe you threw them in the 'best teams' category) and Dallas is considered soft. Why did everyone predict Sacramento to be the favorites all year long over Dallas even though Dallas had a superior record for the bulk of the season? because everybody knows Dallas is soft and if you beat up on Nash you can throw him out of his game. If anybody watched the games Milwaukee beat Dallas, their entire game plan was to just beat on them and throw them out of their rhythm. It worked on everybody but Nowitski who played huge despite being raped by their tough guys. (who ironically is the Maverick most often accused of being soft) I definitely agree that we could use an enforcer type in the starting line up though. I've seen alot of evidence others think that too. It explains all the mentions of "if the rockets only had kenyon martin" or "maybe the rockets can sign malone."
what's love got to do with it!!!!! MacBeth - do we not need BOTH our heroes to play defense???? Tina was also in MadMax
i could understand that we don't need another star player but really our plaers do notknow their roles and neither does the coach. Are we a team that runs through Francis and Mobley (begining of the season everybody was pleading for Steve to shoot more) or a team that runs throgh Yao (second half of the season everybody was pleading for steve to pass). I mean what are they doing! I think if Cuttino stays, he has to come off the bench (he will be our Van Excel offense). Mo Taylor is not our instant bench offense. This does'nt mean Steve goes to the 2. Last, this team only needs a solid 2 (shooter,defender) and a pure point guard and that is it. Yao/cato mo/eddie posey/boki new 2 guard (maybe jon berry)/cuttino francis/new point guard
great post. i agree with everything. sf and yao are here for the long haul, and to win we need to shape the team around them, the way rudy brought in and molded players to fit in the system built around hakeem and co. also, i think it's important to set our priorities straight. i don't mind losing an extra 10 games short term for a gain that might help us regain championship form. let's be honest, we're not going to win the championship next year, so why not tinker around with the team and different strategies? imo... ..trade cat, rice, moochie for jamal crawford, a new prostate for rudy and a bag of chips ..play boki, griff 30 mpg each ..resign posey, have posey develop his game like that of bruce bowen (good d with a reliable 3 ball) ..bring in a pg or pf who can deliver the ball and reliably hit the 3 + ..frame team around sf, yao ________________________ championship in 3 years
I can't believe that anyone would actually start Jon Barry over Cat. Contrary to what most people believe, Cat is actually one of the best perimeter defenders on the team, if not the best. He makes his man really work for his shot and unlike Steve, he actually contests every shot. He just needs to learn to make good decisions consistently on the offensive end. Some days, you think he's finally getting it and then all of a sudden, he's trying to go between two defenders or do some other really stupid thing. But the most important thing, I think, is that he has learned to dump the ball in to Yao to initiate the offense. He's also a very good shooter and one of the best at getting to the basket and finishing. He'll be alright people, just be patient.
My take on the thing is, its easier to find 3 good players as opposed to 2 dominate players. Another thing is if you have 3 very good players, the lulls that the Rockets have won't be so evident. I agree Ming should shoot more simply because he has the biggest mismatch, but also he's going to get higher %fg. Francis has to shoot the number he has because he shoots a lower fg% thushe takes more volume shots. That 3rd scorer should be a very,very effecient scorer who doesn't need alot of shots to get his 17pts. This is where wthe Rockets have their problems. Ming will never need to or will take more than about 15shots per game.what helps Ming is that he's effecient and shoots has a high ft%. If Ming gets 15 fg atts, he'll get you 20pts automatic. Francis and his 16-17 shots will get you 20 pts also. As my third scorer, I would love to have a Brand or SAR. I would love to have that effecient, ego less 14 shot, 18-20pts along with 8-11 rebs and 48-50fg% player. Right there you're looking at 60+ points without players stepping on toes. Now you fill in the rest of the point with the James Posey's,Cato,Morris,Nachbar, and Norris's of the team. Before you look up, your team is already close to 100pts and putting alot of pressure on the other team. I really don't want to hear it couldn't work or it wouldn't work because over time with the Lakers,Celts and Sonics of the 80's, and even recently with the Mavs and Kings of today, very few teams can or will have 2 of the top 10 players on the same team. Phoenix has the making of it and I think we need to get withit also. Its nothing wrong with having 3 quality offensive players sharing the load. Having Francis shoot a bunch of bad shots beacuse he'll playing against taller players and trying to turn Ming into the next shaq or Hakeem won't do it either. It a reason why when either Dirk,Nash or Finley is off they still can win the game, because its very rare when all 3 areoff in the same game.
What three Super Heroes would you like to add? 1. Steve Francis 2. Flash 3. Stretch Man 4. Hulk 5. Yao Ming
