After a 1-3 start of the season and losing two "gimme games", how much have we really improved this offseason? Yes we are missing our Star player in Tracy Mcgrady but is there really a good reason why our role players aren't stepping up. Do we need to make a trade? Is it the coaching? Is it Yao? What do we need to do in order for us to start winning even with McGrady not on the court. When Tmac comes back sure things will improve and alot of our faults will not be as conspicuous because like many have said he's just that good. But what do the Rockets need in order to be sucessful even with Tmac down or Tmac resting on the bench for a few minutes. I would hope that when he comes back that he isn't forced to log insane minutes because of how badly we function without him. The Rockets definitely need adjustments. It probably can't be pin pointed to one problem but there is definitely a need for change/improvement. We've made excuses for Derek Anderson, Swift and Alston being new. We've made excuses for Wesley with his surgery. We've made excuses for Wesley that he's coming off surgery. But at the end these excuses aren't going to win us games. Something needs to be done. Whether they need more practice, I don't know. Do they need more time? I don't know either but if so how much more time do they need? When do we get to the point and say the trial period is over. Many of us including myself had high hopes for this team during the offseason. Many of us have even proclaimed the Rockets to be the second best team in the West behind the Spurs and aren't even that far behind them. But with the way we have been playing the last three games we aren't even looking like a playoff team. I don't want to wait for Tmac to return to start winning games. We should be winning now especially against teams like the Magic and Hornets. So what do we need?
I hope this thread isn't going to get a thousand replies with just TMac written. I am asking what do we need to start winning even without TMac.
A few more games for the new and old players in the team to gel and to find their playing roles and identity. Remember that we have a lot of new players on this team and even the returning players haven't been playing together for much more than 1 season. Tmac would have accelerated the process, and he also would have helped us win 1 or 2 of our past 3 games against weak or weakened teams, but the team ultimately needs to develop some chemistry to compete against the better clubs. The players around TMac and Yao will have to find their roles and step up their production if they are to win consistently. Neither TMac nor Yao nor their partnership ensure a successful season. As we've seen, teams with the creme de la creme superstar can suck (TMac in Orlando, Kobe in LA, Garnett in Minnesota), and teams without superstars can play superbly (Detroit). Good chemistry and a good supporting cast are crucial. Developing this will take a bit of time. The next few games will be challenging, but look for somebody other than Yao to step up and give us a shot at winning a couple of games.
i'm so confused. are the rockets the first "good" team to lose to teams they're supposed to beat? i understand that we should have won a couple of these, maybe all of them, and i'm dissapointed we didn't, but get over it. every single team in the league will go through a stretch were they play 1-3 ball. i guarantee it. the spurs will do it, the pistons will do it. it's unfortunate that that's our record to start the season because it gives a chance for all these little whining biatches to come out and proclaim the end of the world. the rockets need to gel and they need their leader back. simple as that. the thing that keeps me confident is that yao has been extremely impressive and when t-mac comes back to relieve him of the scoring load and keep him fresh for the fourth quarter this team is going to go on a tear.
I agree with Big M - well stated. We played fine last nite against Miami-competitve the whole game even when our shots would not fall. We did not give up. I was very proud of the effort. Miami was a better team than us last nite with more talent and arguably a better offensive coach. Hell - even Wesley hit 3 shots. Do not give up on this team - we will be elite in the West and fine.
Well said. As much as the thread starter doesn't want to hear it but when T-mac gets back the floor will open up so much more for our guards and give them much easier shots. I would be much more concerned if we were being blown out of these games. The Roxs have had leads in the 4th quarter in each game and let the games get away. I think it's more mental than anything else. Hopefully T-mac will be back on Sat. nite and well see a big improvement in guard's shooting.
The way DA was playing last night early on, I would put Head instead in the last 3 minutes. DA sucked big in the last 3 games. Wesley was even playing better defensively and a little bit offensively, and again a lot better than DA.
Seems like without Tracy, DA is becoming more assertive on offense and his shot isn't falling. Both DA and Barry will improve a lot when Tracy comes back because they will return to their roles as selective shooters who only take what the defense gives them. Without Tracy, they have to work harder to get their shots and their effectiveness decreases big time. JB gets wide open shots and DA has wide open lanes to drive when Tracy becomes the focal point of the other team's defense.
How can you say this when DA had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal? He had his problems, to be sure (5 TOs, 11 missed shots), but he was the only guy not named Yao who had a big game. DA, 20 pts, 6 rebs, 5 assts, 1 steal in 32 minutes. DW, 6 pts, 2 rebs, 1 asst, 1 steal in 24.5 minutes. Your "analysis" is a bit lacking when you look at the numbers. As far as the original post, the only thing we need to win without TMac is chemistry. As another poster mentioned, we were ahead in the fourth quarter in every single game and just didn't have the juice to finish it out. Yao's stamina will improve as he plays more minutes and he will be more effective in the fourth quarter. His teammates will learn how to play off of him more effectively, and we will develop better chemistry as our new guys integrate into our system. What will make us into an elite team? TMac's return.
