hehehe.. Not saying that he is a cyborg or anything but after some time away from watching our Rockets, it is clear to me now that our future relies on Yao. With that said, I hope that everything management does from this point on reflects this approach. 1. Coach- Find a experienced coach that knows how to properly utilize a big man. 2. PF- Trade or sign a PF that complements Yao's game. No need for a super star but just a hard nosed/savvy role player. 3. Role players- Get some defensive minded wing players who can hit the open 3 (Bruce Bowen types). A side note: I think we need to get YAO to believe. We need him to realize the TRUTH that the Rox future rests on his shoulders and that he needs to believe that he is one of the best post players in the league. I still dont think Yao knows how good he can become. He should not settle for anything under 20/10 this year.
So what's your opinion? Who would you like as coach? Who is that power forward who can rebound and compliment or complement Yao and how can we get him? Who is that small forward who can make 3's and play defense and hustle and how can we get him? The coach's job will be to make Yao and everyone else believe..... Get ready next year... TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIG!!!
I think we are in a very favorable position. Unlike other "non-playoff teams", we clearly have the building blocks to not only become an immediate playoff team but a championship contender. As mentioned, my opinion is that we just need to make some tweaks from the PRE-YAO days of mediocricy to the POST-YAO days of championship contention. 1. COACH- Personally, I dont think we can go wrong with any of the top 5 coaches. Van Gundy, Brown, Dunleavy, Silas and Fratello are all acclaimed professionals with solid track records. From a personality/coaching style perspective, I favor Van Gundy and Brown. Both seem to BELIEVE in Yao as well. 2. PF- Guys like PJ Brown, Brian Grant, Malik Rose would do wonders for our team. If we get Van Gundy, perhaps a trade for Kurt Thomas will bode well for the team as well. Unfortunately, most of these PFs have HUGE contracts so if we trade for them, we will need to dump one of our bad contracts into the mix too (Mo T??). 3. SF- I am a real big fan of Bruce Bowen. His defense is ferrocious and he led the league in 3 pt shooting %. He seems to play well in a set offense as well but may be a bit too small to play SF. I like Matt Harpring alot and he would compliment Yao tremendously but I am not sure if we can get him. He is not extremely athletic but his b-ball IQ makes up for it and because of it, he is actually a good solid/physical defender.
...for another BIG lottery pick? Yao Ming will improve, and may be a force in this league, but to expect him to carry the organization is unrealistic. Look at what he is facing: (1) this will only be his second year (2) he is coming into a new system (3) he will have spent the entire summer in international competition. Like it or not, if SF doesn't mature, involve his teammates, and take the reigns, 0.500 is the ceiling, not the floor.
Yao will probably do better with the new system than the one Rudy had....like ball movement and motion... Well it will be the coach's job to lead the team to the playoffs and develop everyone. IF WE DO NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.....that would be...
if we get back to the Inside Out offense during the Hakeem years the Rockets will be in the playoffs. There isn't a doubt in my mind
lol.....I will stop using multiple dots and periods now. But I think it was time for Rudy to go. We will just have to wait and see.
We will just have to wait and see.Yao Ming has a long way to go in learning how to play the NBA game. Steve Francis has problems playing the Point Guard[Playmaking, passing defence]If he is going to play the Shooting Guard, [he might not get the ball as often as he likes, he has problems with defence and passing] So the Future might not be quite the way it looks now! I still have hope, infact another poster mentioned, that in the last AllStar Game Francis did an OK job, of point guarding the West All Stars, to a Victory. There is hope that he can do it with the Rox.
thanks for the props folks... but do me ONE favor, please don't link this image to other message boards from my website!! If you feel you must link it... copy it to your hard drive and then host it yourself!! THANKS!!
