Maybe this is completely off base here, but.. The professional sports franchises in this town, in all cities which are more than a 'one-sport-town' in fact, are in direct competition with each other for your discretionary spending dollars. They are not on unfriendly terms, per se, but they know that one of their biggest goals they have is to separate you, the Houston Sports Fan, from the stuff in your wallet, and that you also only have a limited supply of the stuff, and they therefore must take pains to make their products as attractive to you as they can. If the Pro Sports seasons did not overlap at least somewhat, then this would never be a problem, but they do, and it is. Come April, when the Rockets will be (hopefully) pushing some momentum on a drive for the playoffs, the Astros will just be starting up their springtime, with all the attention and hoopla that a new baseball season always brings. Add in the brand spanking shiny new Andy Pettitte to the mix, and you all know as well as I do where the hearts of many many Houston sports fans will be at that time. So what is Les thinking right about now? How does he manage to keep butts in seats for the last 2 months or so of the Rockets' season when all that is going on? I know, I know, if they are winning, in the playoffs, possibly looking like they might be able to actually do something once they get there, then yeah, people will still be paying attention. But if we are just kind of straggling along, 7th or 8th seed maybe, and looking rather hopeless about the prospects of facing the Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, or Kings in a first-round thrashing, then this town will undoubtedly turn its eyes and its heart to the Astros, yet again. I am hoping that Les can see this as well, that this team needs a legitimate backup 2 and a legit starting 4. I am hoping that he can see how much attention the Astros are now getting, and will continue to get for the entire coming year, all because of one big-time free agent signing. I am hoping that Les will look at the Rockets' roster and see Adrian Griffen, of whom none other than Air Bull himself said this morning on the radio, 'I just don't see where his minutes are going to come. It will be evry difficult for him to be able to come in and contribute to the team now.' - Les will see him, and one or two other members of the team, maybe Nachbar (since JVG apparently just doesn't like him), and start to seriously look around the league for a way to make a *SPLASH* of his own, something to get the city's attention back on his team where he believes it should be. I am hoping.. So does anyone else think that maybe, just maybe, the Astros signing of Andy Pettitte today might have a direct influence on whether or not the Rockets finally get off their butts and make a move or two as well?
Just a couple of points, Nero: 1. It's Griffin for both Adrian and Eddie. 2. Mo Taylor is a legitimate PF, both as a scorer and defender. Haven't you noticed his strong rebounding? 3. We have very legitimate backup SGs in both Pike and JJ. In fact, I'd like to see JJ used as the point guard and Steve Francis as the SG. 4. I don't believe JVG holds any grudges against Boki. Boki is not experienced, and JVG likes experience. Nachbar gives the Rockets a lot of hustle, which Jeff does like. 5. People have their sports preferences. I, for one, will follow basketball until the last tick of the finals regardless of any other sport. Of course, I won't watch baseball until 2015 when I am sure that all the strikers of 1994 are gone.
In my opinion, the Rockets number 1 need right now is a solid back up point. A guy who can come in for 20 minutes a night and run the offense efficiently, play solid defense, and knock down the open shot. Isn't Charlie Ward a free agent after the season? I just don't think the Rockets need to make a big splash, the key components are there.
Agree, except for the Charlie Ward part. The Rockets should just go to the European or South American leagues and recruit the best PG around. There is one guy the Spurs are trying to recruit. I can't remember his name, but there was a story recently in the RealGM newswire about how much the Spurs covet the guy. The Rockets need a tall, athletic PG who can read defenses, pass well, bury the occasional J and exhibit court leadership.
Rebounding helps the team's overall Defense, but (like Cato) he's hardly a stopper. How many did Zach Randolph go off for? Cato is effective in a scheme, but Mo T is 80% offense. The team needs frontcourt help. Evan
Charlie Ward is putting up really good numbers this season for the Knicks, shooting 41% from downtown, averaging and averaging 5.4 assists (more than Francis) and 1.43 steals per game in 25 minutes a night. What more do you want in your back point?
Damn the NO EDIT!! I just read back on what I wrote, and I can't believe I put 'backup 2' when I meant to say 'backup 1' .. you are absolutely right, and that is exactly what I *meant* to be saying too... argh.. sucks to feel so dumb.. By the way Thumbs, if you re-read my post, I specifically mentioned Adrian Griffen by name, not just 'griffen'. Apart from that though, how many teams in the NBA would trade, straight-up, their starting pf for MoT? It's not that I dislike MoT, I actually think he's pretty decent as a 6th man type guy. But when we are talking in the vein of the Dirks, the KGs, the Duncans, the Malones, the Brands, people like that, it's that kind of player that kills us in the games because we just can't match up. But the question, really, was not what we think or want, but what we think Les may be thinking now...
As I said, both last names are Griffin (ending with "IN"). But then I just like player's names to spelled correctly. Please forgive my minor peeve. Taylor IMO has the potential to be a Karl Malone or Elton Brand type of PF. He will never be a Dirk or Wallace or Gasol (these are merely big SFs playing PF). However, now that he has a proper teacher, his rebounding is increasing dramatically and his shot already has returned. I do agree on the nned for a TALL backup point guard to make up for Steve's lack of height as a SG.
Totally agree. Charlie Ward is an above average backup point guard and would be a huge improvement over Moochie. Actually, Matt Maloney would also be a huge improvement over Moochie, but just about anybody is.
The current Rockets are not fun to watch. Houston needs a reason to get up and buy tickets. They need a reason to care. Presently, I don't care, and I'm a pretty big basketball fan, and a decent Rocket franchise fan. But with these guys ... gee. Win, lose, big deal. There's just no reason to get excited about dumb people. I can't really embrace that. It's like trying to love a drunk. Hey! The drunk had a good day! Hoorah! Boo, the drunk is in relapse. Oh well, what did I expect, anyway? I think a lot of the town is turned off by our team. I'd love a big shake up. Something to give us hope.
Are you sure the competition is really that serious? I mean I would assume there are lots of people like myself who aren't sports fans at all. I'm a basketball fan. I have absolutely no interest in any other sport what so ever. I don't even know who Andy Pettitte is. I would think there are enough die hard rockets/basketball fans that it doesn't make much a difference. I mean 18 thousand seats per game and there are what? 4 or 5 million people in the greater houston area? It's kind of amazing to me that every single game doesn't sell out. I guess the seats are just too expensive.
I could care less about about Baseball - though I have tried repeatedly to get interested. I am trying to get Football going too, but my attention is so geared toward basketball -the others just bore the hell out of me. I do not want Ward - he is cancer- his comments to the media2 years back were anti semitic IMO... It will be difficult for us to find a legit Point Guard with our money constraints, and chemistry. I do not want a J Will type. I like Marko Jarvic on Golden State- we do not have anyone to trade for him though. Jarvic is tall-6' 6" or 6' 7", young, and can be coached...
