Not to mention when teams try their hand with the ultra-small but speedy type guards like the AIs, the earl boykins, nate robinsons or the likes, we have our training-camp MVP JLIII to cover them as a specialist. This team's got it all folks.
I disagree with one point, you link yao's youth to kobe's youth in the first year of yao/mcgrady. that may have been true for the regular season, but people forget when it count, yao was easily the second best player in the mavericks series. that gives promise but also gives caution because you did have yao and mcgrady playing at a very high level and they couldn't get past the team that didn't make it out the second round. and back then they had a perfect blend of free agents (although they did give out) but you did have mike james. the only thing you missed back then is the same thing you are missing now, a banger at the four. something battier even his supporters cannot claim he is. the rockets still need a true four, however bonzi will bring some muscle to this team.
Great post. I was/am a big stevie fan and was sad to see him go but T-Mac won me over right away. Although it was initially ugly, once they got the pieces together (Wesley, Barry, Mike James) the team really clicked and SHOULD have beaten Dallas in the first round. Last year was just a disaster that happens, hopefully we will be rewarded this time around for the suffering. Most leagues are copy-cats in that teams try to patent themselves after the latest successful teams, i.e. the Patriots in the NFL (everyone is trying to be like them), in the NBA it was the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, and now it seems more teams are trying to go the recent run and gun Kings, Suns, and Mavs route. I just wanna say it only took Shaq-Wade 2 seasons to win a title (were 2 minutes shy of the FInals in year one-that's with injuries to Shaq, Wade and Damon Jones). This is just one season after they started 0-9 and still made the playoffs. My point is that Rockets can turn this around fast and as T-Mac's ads say "Impossible is nothing". They need not worry about what everyone else is doing, just stay healthy, play tight JVG D and follow Yao and T-Mac's lead.
I disagree. We didn't lose that Mavs series because we were missing a "banger" at the 4. We lost that series because Dallas eventually overmatched us with superior depth, size and athleticism at the swing and guard positions. Adding Bonzi and Shane will help a lot, as would one or two of the question marks in the backcourt (Rafer, Luther, Vspan, Snyder etc.) improving or panning out. I'll go with us needing a 4/5 to add depth and provide insurance at backup C, but I don't really think we need a banger in the traditional sense (i.e. like an Otis Thorpe/Charles Oakley type)
On the contrary, I think Yao, despite his high scoring average, was pretty ineffective during that series. There were a few games where he was a complete non factor due to foul trouble. However, I agree with your main premise that it is telling that even having both of them at a high level wasn't good enough. Simply put, they are not as good as Shaq and Kobe. I don't see any problem with that though because we're talking about a comparison with possibly the best duo ever. Yao and McGrady when on their games should be the best duo in the league today, but they still need help. I agree. Our power forward situation is abysmal - possibly the worst in the league. However, we're not going to find that ideal power forward anytime soon because they just don't make those. What we need to do is stop trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and running Howard out there simply because he is the biggest guy we have. We have to get something out of the position, even if it's not what we ideally need. What I mean is this: Ideally, we need a power forward who is quick and can block shots and play solid defense. We don't have that. We need to play a guy who gives us something even if it's not any of those things. That means playing Hayes for his rebounding ability, or Battier/Novak for their ability to spread the floor. Howard is absolutely killing us. We can atleast make other teams adjust to us by playing our alternatives. A couple of other points: *As much as everyone is raving over Wells, I still think we're underestimating how huge this signing is. I envision Battier filling the role of Posey/Haslem from last year's finals and just getting clutch rebounds and being free for open 3's without the pressure of needing to be a scorer. Battier will benefit the most from Wells' presence. *I see everyone here having concerns over Wells' inability to shoot, but I think that is because you are looking at him as a complement to McGrady/Yao rather than as a star in his own right. I'm viewing him as an All-Star type acquisition in the type of impact he can have. Keep in mind that out of the 3 teams he's been on, he will probably have the most touches here. In Portland, he had to share with Sabonis, Wallace, Stoudamire, and a host of other talented players. Memphis was stacked with depth as well. Sacramento had Bibby, Miller, Peja/Artest, Thomas, and Rahim sharing the ball. In Houston, after Yao/McGrady, he can have all the shots he wants. I can easily see him averaging 16ppg with 8rpg.
nice point about the mavs series. however, i disagree with you about needing a banger at the 4. well actually, i only disagree to an extent. 1. having a 4 who can hit 3's and space the floor has become very important. there will be a lot of room for yao (and even bonzi, now) to work down low. if an opposing 4 is reluctant to travel out to the 3 shane is left open. 2. defensively, there are a lot of big sf's starting at pf now. shane should be able to keep up with their quickness. here is where my disagreement ends. i think that off the bench it would be nice to have a banger for certain situations.
If you look at the additions and subtractions from last year to this year, Yao & TMac are surrounded by MUCH more talent. But still they have a whole lot to prove, and haven't done anything yet.
This a flawed argument. The banger at the 4 was not going to be more successful in holding down Dirk. If anything, a traditional 4 would have been torched. What lost the series for the Rockets was the backcourt. Sura and Barry stopped hitting shots and they couldn't keep up with Terry and Stackhouse. Bonzi Wells and Kirk Snyder can hang with these guys and make them pay on the defensive end. Bonzi will also help immensely in keeping Josh Howard off the boards. His rebounding from the 2 spot will alleviate the need to have a dominant rebounder from the power forward spot against teams like Dallas. Adding Battier, who can play D as good as Bowen *and* hit an outside shot makes me excited for the upcoming season.
Amen. This is the point to focus on, people. We ran out of talent. We were gutty but stretched too thin. Then last year we lost our stars to injury, and the thinness that cost us a playoff series in '04 cost us a season instead. Now we are deep deep deep. Three of our starters can turn out to be duds or lost to injury, and we can still get through the first round. One starter lost to injury, three bench duds, and we can still get to the finals. No injuries, a couple of bench duds, and we can win it all.
Great analysis as usual, thecabbage, one of the few 'quality' threads in the GARM these days... And pgabriel, I have to disagree with you if you are comparing the Yao of that Dallas series to the Yao of the second half of last season. Yao last season was an absolute monster, almost Shaq-like in his total domination/humiliation of the opposition. Up to that point, we had NEVER seen Yao play like that, not even close. You could argue that we might have seen the best of T-Mac, but certainly not the best of Yao, and as you know, a dominant big man makes all the difference in the world, more so than any other position in basketball. Let me just say that I believe the best is yet to come in the Yao/T-Mac experiment...
in about thirty minutes a game in that series yao averaged 21 points 7 boards on shot 65%. He played out of his mind. don't get me wrong, depth is a lot better this season going in, but that team had incredible chemistry in 04-05.
Yao didn't play "out of his mind" in that series. If the Yao we saw at the end of last season played in the Mavs series, we would have won it. That team had great chemistry but our backcourt just broke down completely because of injuries AND we had no PF at all. The Rockets in the 04 playoffs were not the same team that finished the season on a tear. The wheels fell off because our players were too old. This team can do some serious damage. I doubt the chemistry approaches what happened two years ago but it doesn't need to. By the end of the regular season, we should have a very good record and a reliable rotation of 8-9 players that know each other pretty well. It should be fun watching the work in progress develop.
I understand, but it was up-and-down performance from game to game, and even within each game, his performance varied. The Yao of last season was consistently dominant and aggressive, it was the same way each night, he was showing off his low-post prowess much more so than he ever did in the past, and he had confidence that we never saw from him before. I don't think his 'averages' in the series tell the whole story. Yao is a completely different animal right now. I am trying not to get overexcited here, but barring health issues, Ming Yao will be the best thing to happen to this city since Hakeem Olajuwon, and it starts this season.
Definitely agree in terms of nightmare matchup. Teams that tries to go small, will have to deal w/ Wells, T-Mac posting up smaller guards. Let's not forget that Yao is a mismatch on a nightly basis. The front office did their job this summer, now's its up to the coaching staff and the players. And this isn't the first time a player wanted to, or came to join the Yao/Tmac experiement. A couple of summers ago, Jason Kidd wanted to join the crew. Last season, Stro came in. When and if healthy, their star power is the best recruiting tool. Other than Miami, what other team have to legit superstar on their team?
1. Yao in 05 playoffs was a talented developing younster finding his way on the court. He got good fg% by finishing easy feeds from Tracy. Yao in 06 was a matured post player who got position, took the ball, and scored on his own. He also rebounded at a higher rate. Yao played well in 05 but better in 06 2. Battier as a third scorer is not fantaqsy. He just was not going to do so on isos like Bonzi. Battier finds sneaky ways to score garbage pts (which Bonzi will, too). I think both of them will avg about the same number of pts.
I'm trying to withstand my tendency to get wildly optimistic at the beginning of a season, but the Wells trade, combined with the way Yao played in the second half of last season, makes it difficult. Definitely agree about Yao. Lots of us think the same thing. We saw him grow as a center during that stretch, and we love our big men in Houston. Thank god we have another one. With a healthy McGrady, Battier, Wells, and the young bunch collected this summer, we've reloaded. Getting Wells changed everything. Now, if Tracy misses some games (he won't!), we'll have a pair of solid vets to take up the slack. By the second half, our young guys should be getting the feel for the NBA game. Who knows... maybe one of them will "get it," and surprise us. It happens. We're due, after last year, for some luck.
