I'm a big fan of T.J., however his breakneck pace is just too much for Yao IMO. Ford wants to push the ball on every possesion, and I'm not sure Yao can last more than 28 minutes in that kind of game. As I mentioned in another thread though, maybe we could Trade Francis for Ridnour and Lewis, then turn Ridnour + Mobley into Van Exel + Mikael Pietrus. Yao/Cato MoT/Cato Lewis/JJ JJ/Pike/Pietrus NVE/Wilks NVE is from Houston right? Maybe he lives here or something? I know he has some ties there, he had a house there and sold it to Posey I remember. With Lewis draining those sweet J's and 3's all day, I think Yao can have the space to punish more teams on the inside. NVE can use the space created to penetrate repeatedly, and he;s always been good 3-pt shooter, especially good in the clutch.
If the Rox played like they play on national TV every game, then people would get excited about them. But they are so inconsistent, it isn't even funny.
1) Have Francis turn into a PG 2) Have Yao turn into Shaq-like and break some backboards 3) If we develop a passing game like Sacramento and Dallas... Then I will be happy.
I renounce my trade dream that'll never happen instead for them to just show consistent major improvement. No little tiny steps forwards only to take one giant step back in regression. All out improvement in every single aspect of the game. I'm sick of the same old **** from the usual players on this team.
We don't NEED a trade or to win all our games to get everyone excited. What it would take is this: Consistant play and improvement. Let's face it the Rockets aren't going to content for the title this year. They can't pass San Antonio, Lakers, etc....not yet at least. What we need is to see that the team is moving in the right direction so in the next year or two we can content. What that means is it's OK to get beat at Detroit when they are one the best teams in the league, but it's not OK to get beat by a lowly Celtic team in Houston and show little or no effort as a team. That just turns me and everyone else off. If this team can't or won't show it's ready to improve and move up to a higher level with this personnel then a trade is warranted. Stop playing like scrubs when we play scrubs.
Ray Allen, Ron Artest, Rashard Lewis, Elton Brand, Tyson Chandler, T-Mac. or... Maybe just getting rid of our losers. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like...victory.
I say we get this guy. He's from Houston, and we already know how this city feels about hometown folks...
if okafor got 1/3 the hype melo got, he'd be a guy thatd get this city excited, and at the same time be the perfect compliment to yao ming.
A drop in ticket prices and a nice little rip through the playoffs (a second round exit or something like that) would do wonders.
Yeah, something like upsetting the Spurs in the First Round would send this Houston into a frenzy wouldn't it?
I dont think TJ Ford or Rashard or even Wallace would get people fired up. I mean it takes a player of epic proportions... Carter Garnett T-Mac Shaq Kobe Webber Iverson Lebron or dare I say it...Micheal Jordan. Even if the teamed totally sucked with him on it...the games would sell out and people would fill the arena. These are marquee players...all stars...proven commodities...names your casual fan will recognize. Trades like the Drexler, Barkley, Pippen, and to a lesser extent the Francis deal are things that get people fired up. No trade of this magnitude is likely. But I do agree that winning consistantly and making the playoffs once or twice is all it would take as well. A trade of lesser magnitude might pay off that way in the long run....but the immediate effects probably wouldnt be noticed.
