Out of these guys who has been your favorite Rocket so far this season. Mine has been JJ or Taylor, but if it boiled down to it, I would pick JJ. Lemme know.....
Im mucho pleased with Mo's play this year in terms of improved defense, shooting and rebounding....but I would have to also say JJ. The stabilizing veteran influence...the coolness under presure...the shooting and the defense are things I like to see in a player on my favorite team. I would rank them.. JJ Mo Yao Cat Boki Padge Mjax Cato Pike SF AG hasnt been back long enough to judge him yet.
Francis has been my favorite player on the Rockets squad since Sir Charles and Hakeem left. Although, this season when comparing contributions to the team, I would have to pick JJ. He has a great hustle for the team.
motay... by far. i remember hearing on 610 last week that getting rasheed somehow would be an upgrade over anything that we had the the pf... and i was like... wtf? i've never seen a pf with so many moves seven feet from the basket... and it seems as if he does it all on the fly w/o even thinking of the move he wants to do. he's been pretty aggressive. bash me, but i'd rather have motay at pf than sheed... even w/o his performance tonight (though it didn't hurt).
Francis. For putting up with JVG's "I'm the principal" attitude and childish crap... all the while not requesting a trade. He deserves a coach that will accentuate and USE his skills... not diminish and reign them down.
Wow IROC...you are a brave man...or you have asbestos underwear... OS.. dont feel bad about appreciating MoTay...he is finally healthy and in the best shape of his career...and his playing shows that. If he can continue improving...he just might make all those doubters eat their words.. I just dont think his game has been as much of a surprise as JJ's has been. therefore..I went with JJ.
Yao is my choice! The answer is quite simple,im YOF.but id like to add that im not the type who worship Yao when he wins a big and negate him after his loss.
It was easy to vote for Jim Jackson. The guy is the most valuable Rocket, in my opinion. Signing him was the best move CD has made in a long time and the contract is sweet. Taylor just keeps getting better and better. That was a great move he made in the 3rd period tonight! The only complaint I've got with him right now is that damn blue mouthpiece. Argh! He looks like he lost his dentures or something. And the guy is starting to really go strong after rebounds. Great positional D and he's finally learning to pass a little bit... still a big weakness in his game. I love Yao, and he's going to be great, but you never know which Yao you're going to get from one game to the next. Hell, one quarter to the next. Still making strides, but a long way to go. Cat is another guy who makes his contract look like a bargain. Very underappreciated. Francis... arrgh!! Maybe he'll have a long string of great games. He's SO overdue. (where's Col. Crap when you need him??) Cato is finally earning his keep and playing better at the 4 then we had any right to expect. Still should be the backup C more than anything. I guess that would be my order of "favorites" at the moment. Although Francis has been driving me crazy, he still makes it. I'm probably forgetting somebody, but who cares?
Just speakin' my mind. If anyone flames me for the honesty then they need to realize that in a league of PROS, you don't treat the players like high school KIDS. JVG is a major stick-in-mud, no offensive understanding, spoiler of talent. You think 5 seasons with no playoffs is bad? How about several playoff appearances with NO RINGS. Welcome to JVG basketball. Rudy T should be reinstated. PROS need a PRO coach, not a high school one.
I would never give you hell for speaking your mind...but you know how some are around here.. man, you are preaching to the choir here...while I am pleased with some aspects f the VG experience so far(defensive intensity)...I have been a huge fan of Rudy's for years..and hated like hell to see him go. I still have a weird fantasy that Vg will quit and they will bring RT back to finish out the season...
In JVG's mind, just because you play in a professional league doesn't make you a professional. When his players act like high school kids, he will treat them as such. When they act like middle schoolers, he will treat them as such. I was a huge football fan when I was a kid. BUT, there is no way in hell I'd ever miss a basketball game, even for the Superbowl. Heck, I broke my finger and didn't tell anybody because I wanted to play...I loved to play...if I could only get millions to do it. As far as favorite Rocket this season, how can it not be Jim Jackson. Mo has improved, but he is still nearly one-dimensional in my opinion.
how do you figure that someone that actually is playing defense this year is one dimensional? lets see... Offense -- we know he does this well.. Defense -- How can you ignore the many people around here that have commented about his defense this season? Go back and watch some of the game tapes...and pay particular attention to his defensive positioning and effort. Dont go by past history...it is happening. rebounding -- tonight was not good for him..but go thru the stats for the last 15-20 games...and tell me that you dont see a marked improvement in his numbers. Once again, go back to the game tape and watch how he is boxing out...even if he doesnt snag the board..he helps make it possible for a teammate to get them.. Was he one dimensional in the past...undoubtedly...but someone or something has convinced him to quit playing soft this year...ever since he came back from his injury...we have seen a new and improved Mo. You just have to look for it.
Note I said nearly. I'm not about to pat someone on the back for going from absolutely jack squat to better but still not good. Plus, it is very hard to get past the fact that the guy shoots the ball 99.95% of the time he touches it on the offensive end of the court, without ever passing. Fortunately for him and us, he does have good offensive skills. Still, if you look at just our division, every other starting PF on opposing teams is better (with the possible exception of Denver, though I like Nene's game a lot) - and Taylor still doesn't start for us (though more a reflection of our absolute lack of any bench without Mo).
I cannot say enough about Jim Jackson... I mean if I was a chick... well ok I won't go that far, But I love you Jimmy.
Steve Francis, without a doubt. The most explosive and talented offensive player on the team, and he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Love it. I wish he would drive more to create the offense instead of dumping it down to Yao or Mo. I'm right with you IROC, holla' at ya' boy.
JJ and Mo. Either one works for me. They have both exceeded what I'd expected from them at the beginning of training camp.
in order.. Francis Mobley Jackson Ming Cato Taylor Francis puts everything into winning, he has put his stats aside for the teams sake and has struggled with confidence in his jumper at times but he will start firing soon. Mobley has been a quiet contributor, very hot shooter at times. Jammin Jimmy Jax has been a surprising player to me, I found him no more then a fill in at the 3, but he is more then solid at starting at that spot playing key roles of being our best defender and great outside shooting. Ming has not lived upto the expectations I have had of him. He struggles to beat the double team and hasn't been effective enough passing the ball out. less the 1 block a game is also disappointing for such a big guy in the middle. Although he has played well in some tough games. Cato is really turning into a good player, he is now focused on playing basketball and has matured alot. His rebounding has come along way from his first years here and his defense in the post continues to improve. Taylor has been alittle inconsistant this year but at times looks to diseave the starting nod. Defense needs to improve before this will be considered by JVG.
Exactly. Why can't Yao run decoy for Steve's game? Why does it all have to be about the Yao Ming show? Steve as the scorer produced more points... seems obvious that playing the defense the way the team has for the majority of the year (holding teams under 83 +/- points), and them reverting back to Steve as the number one option on offense would make sense... BUT NO! JVG has to be Drago... "I'll will break you, Steve." SF has put up with mad poo. And he'll be ready for a trade on his own soon... the problem is, it'll be Houston loss, not JVG's gain. SF wanted to stay in one town for his career... He probably should have read it loud and clear in the Dream debacle that Les would arrange for that to never happen.
