There are no stats for run starters or streak breakers, but i can tell you and any other person who watches enough basketball can see there are such players. Its not how many you score, its when you score. With so many games decided in the last 4 mins, the ebb and flow of the game set up players for clutch moments. Jordan said scoring 32 ppg is easy, thats 8pt per quarter, but go and look when jordan and others scored those points. As the game gets tighter because the game is on the line or situations dicatate regular guy not getting their regular shots in the offense. The last minutes of the game are almost playoff like. There are no stats, but simple video that will show teams don't run the same offense and don't get the same shots in the last 4 minutes as they do the 1st 4 minutes of the game. That where clutch factor comes in. Defense is tighter and more physical and offenses break down. Thats when you need a player who can get a good look and knock down shots.
I'm glad you edited your post from last night, which I saw, and then shrugged and went to bed, but I have to make a comment. "Man, for someone who has never met me, or spoken with me, or even shared an email or conversation of any sort, you sure make up a lot of BS in your thoughts about how I think." I've read your posts for over 8 years, an enormous number of them. We've had conversations via this BBS for many years. We live in the same neighborhood, in the same city, and I have turned down chances to meet you simply to guard my privacy, and not because I wouldn't enjoy doing that. I've seen every one of your videos, to the best of my knowledge. I think I can say that I know you as well as someone can know another via an anonymous message board. As for your propensity to call players a punk, I didn't pull that out of a hat. In fact, I did a search a few moments ago using DaDakota and punk, coming up with 2 pages of you using the word, in 38 threads, going back to January 4, 2001, when you called Francis a punk. You used the term in 58 posts covering 3 pages of results. That's OK, because a post search involving me using some words I can think of would produce something similar. I'm just pointing out that you've done it, and you've done it a lot. Sometimes as an adjective, sometimes including a "wink," but easily a majority were perjoratives, some aimed at former Rockets players. And sometimes I've agreed with you. Yes, Gary Payton was a punk, surely still is a punk. You mentioned the Dream. As I'm sure you remember, he would fight at the drop of a hat early in his career. I've no doubt that had he played for another team at that time, and the internet and BBS existed, you would have called him a punk, as well. Of course what I post is my opinion, as is what you post. "I dissacossiate myself from all my likes and dislikes when evaluating whether a player makes this team better." The above quote has me as speechless as I can get, given who I am. Hell, I would never say the same thing about myself. If I did, I would be a liar. Clearly, you operate on a plane somewhere above the rest of us!
No, it is how I build teams....take a step back and look at it from a "Does it make the overall team better" I have favorites, no doubt about it.....but I would trade them in a heartbeat if I felt it made the team better. I would happily meet you, but you are making some wild assumptions about where I get my opinions, and most of them are so inaccurate that it is funny. Heck, in NO post were we discussing trading Brooks, yet you assumed my aversion to C. Anthony was all about that, huh? What? Where did you get that idea? At first I was in favor of getting him and my trade was Budinger, Hill, Battier and Jeffries...2 of which Cbud and Battier are favorites of mine.......then I did some research on Melo, and found he was not as good as advertised, and considered how much we would have to pay him, what it would do to a roster with a new CBA and declining salary cap, and thought, hey, we don't even know if Yao is healthy, or how this team as is will work...so, I think we should find out BEFORE making a decision. As Treebeard says..."Don't be hasty" When cheering for the team, I root for whomever is on the floor, when discussing the roster.....I flip a switch and consider what it does for the overall team. It is not a different plane, just a different way of looking at it. And we may have met, who knows.....but if you did meet me, you would not be making the assumptions you have made. And yes, I think more players are "punks" than you do...not sure that proves anything at all....and all a search would do is bring up the pages I posted with the word punk, which this one would qualify...and I post a lot....lol. DD
Guys, this quote isn't quite as funny as it looks. I did some research. dissacossiate v. diss-a-COSS-ee-ate 1. To allow one to be completely and totally dictated by; controlled by; solely possessed and motivated by: Example: When I look for the next Tom Chambers, I dissacossiate entirely on his skin color.
AB needs to go. Landry would be strong candidate for sixth man of the year and MIP had he stayed with us. The value of Landry and AB are similar: undersized players who developed amazingly well but lacked size, defense and more potential. If Morey/Les rather pay much more to trade Landry for Martin, that says something about how would they value AB.
I don't get that. Brooks is an asset to the team. He's one of our best players, even if "alpha dog" doesn't fit a description of him, in my opinion. The team as it stands is very competitive, if healthy throughout the season and the playoffs. I wouldn't change it unless it meant an improvement of what we can put on the floor and win games. For that I'd trade Brooks or anyone else, if it means the Rockets go from competitive to contender. I also don't get the comparison of Brooks and Landry. They are both good scorers and mediocre defenders, but that's the only similarity I see, off the top of my head.
Thanks. It's not the first time I've said it, and it's something I really believe. I'd be happy to field the team we have today and roll the dice. If we can make it better, though, make it a contender and not simply a playoff team that has a shot, but a long shot of a run at the title, you have to make that move, IMO. By the way, sometimes Anthony reminds me of a player who drove me crazy back in the day, Adrian Dantley. And that's meant as a compliment.
Look Deckard, I would like to see what this team can do, there are so many unknowns out there, we don't know what Yao will do, we don't know what Martin will do with a full training camp, will AB play more efficient with Yao, will Patterson fit in, how does Brad Miller effect the team, what about Courtney Lee? What happens if Yao can't come back and we are stuck with a large contract like Melos and Salary cap that goes down, does that hinder us going into the new CBA? So many many unknowns to find out before you pull the trigger on a big decision like this one. The Rockets might be good enough as is, but unless the team finds that out, it would be like making a decision in the dark. I hope they ride this team at least until the Trade Deadline,......no need to be hasty. DD
That's a perfectly reasonable view, one that many here, probably a majority, would agree on, excepting one detail... I think getting a "superstar caliber" player without gutting the team is that one detail. Many view Anthony that way. There aren't many other possibilities out there except for Paul, absent some totally unexpected blockbuster deal. I'd rather have Paul, and I'd be more apt to call him a punk than Anthony, but I think being "a punk" can also be part of that edge that seperates the very good from the great. In Paul's case, you might even agree.
I always hated Paul, going back to the days when he used to make a big deal about Rafer, and talking in his press conferences about Rafer Alston. I remember they got into it a few times while Skip was on our team. Hell, I hated that whole damn hornets team lol. I think Mason got into it with Yao, and Chandler and West were also being "punks". Man, I really hated them with passion . With all that said, I would gladly take Paul on this team, who wouldn't? I just have a hard time envisioning how he would end up here. Not sure that he wants to play here. Honestly, I feel the same about Melo. I would love him on our team, but deep down I get the feeling that we might be 4th or 5th choice for him.
Aure, but I think Anthony is a lot like Tmac, a guy who gets his but doesn't necessarily make the team that much better. So, while getting a big name is good for headlines, and selling tickets, does it really make the Rockets a great team? I know there are only a few guys that would and they are not shaking loose, so, for me, I would pass on Melo. Unless it is just too good a deal to pass up: Like what I have said before: Budinger, Hill, Jeffries, Battier and a pick etc..... You have to take that chance on that type of deal. I would grudgingly root for Melo because he is wearing the red, but overall, be wary....and hope to be proven wrong. DD
So, you have now joined in the "Nothing constructive to say" so I will just personally insult DD brigade? DD
