I'll admit it. I've watched most Rockets games this season -- more than they legitimately deserved to be watched. I even watched the first playoff game -- and up to the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter of the second. But that was it. Just couldn't take anymore than that. I haven't posted all season. (not that anyone would care, for sure) I just couldn't get past the inertia of an overwhelming, schizophrenic mix of apathy/disgust about this team. So forgive me for posting a long, season's worth of summarized thoughts on the team many of us love and hate. The Rockets game 7 of this series comes early -- this Friday night. And if they find a way to win then game 7 will roll around again on Sunday. Realistically, I don't think there is a fan on this board who thinks the Rockets can come back from 3-0 or 3-1 to win this series. The '95 Rockets they ain't! Unless they can win 3 in a row, there are really 4 game 7's ahead of them -- if they can last that long. And when you think of the rest of the series that way, then the careless loss of Game 1 is catastrophic. It was a golden opportunity lost. Because it really shouldn't have been a close game. It was just those darn, pesky turnovers. In other words, short of a completely miraculous turn-around, this team is already toast in this series. Call me pessimistic. But the Rockets are bound by the habits built up over a whole season. And they have a Center who is bound by the habits of a lifetime in another culture. All those careless passes and turnovers in Game 1 were not mainly due to jitters. They are the habits they have developed because of a season-long attitude of "it's a long season, we don't need to worry". And because of that it's too late to worry now. Habits can't be reversed over night. Sure they cut down on turnovers in Game 2 but they had to expend so much of their focus on that, that any "second-nature" flow to the game was MIA. I haven't totally given up on Yao, but I think he will need "seasons" of therapy sessions before he can approach any kind of cure for "I'll change the NBA before it changes me." God bless him, he couldn't pick a better role model than Hakeem but he lacks the speed and agility to play that way. Besides, Hakeem didn't shy away from mixing it up in the middle on a regular basis. As I recall, his "finesse / speed" game developed later not concurrently with his power game. And I think we can give credit to Moses Malone on that one. I don't know if Yao can ever get an NBA Center's mindset. It runs counter to his culture. Yao definitely has reason to feel tired. He has played basketball almost non-stop for 2 years now. Everyone needs to cut him some slack on that point. But that, presumably, was his only route to the NBA. So he has to find a way to live up to that choice. Everyone, including the players, it seems, now realize that Yao's play is instrumental to being a consistent winner. That said, I think I disagree with those who want to trade Francis this summer for a point guard. Until Yao is convinced of this himself, it would be unwise to trade away your best (or second best) potential scorer. To do so presupposes that Mobley is the best 2 guard of the two. Granted he seems to be the better defender. But he almost totally negates that quality by his bonehead passes (and lack of, also), ill-advised shots, and a maddening tendancy to try to split double-teams by throwing the ball ahead of himself "through" the double-team, many times, too far to catch up before an opposing player gets to the ball before he does. They are BOTH gifted "athletes", but not necessarily gifted "basketball" players. Still, there is something to be said for the flashes of "chemistry" that this core of players has worked hard at. I truly believe that Francis has tried his best to play "Van Gundy" ball. But then that goes back to the "habit / nature" argument. Francis can't change his instincts and what he's done most of his life with a basketball over night. If "unathletic" palyers like Jason Kidd and John Stockton can develop habits of good point guards, Francis can, too. But only if he wants to bad enough. That's the part that may keep him from ever achieving it. I would never say don't trade under any circumstances but unless it is a clear "can't pass up" deal, then I favor starting Francis at the 2 with Mobley coming off the bench in the same position. I know, I know... "WHO'S THE STARTING POINT GUARD THEN???!!! It IS a good question. It may almost make more sense if you're going to trade to trade both Francis AND Mobley. But then that chemistry thing has to start all over again. Are there any GOOD 4's with free agency this year? That might be the best position to focus on. There aren't any easy "no-brainers" on these issues. But we still have some game 7's to deal with. Where is the miracle? The one player that can change the complexion of the team most is Yao. What he needs is the will and determination of a Michale Jordan. Unfortunately, nothing has consistently inspired him to play with fire in his gut. So here's what I would do if I was on the team. I'd get all the guys together EXCEPT Yao and say, "Look guys, Yao is still in culture shock. He's tired. He's probably half thinking about winning and half thinking about finally getting to go home and rest. What say we all go to him and say this. 'Yao, we know it's been hard to live in such a strange culture that seems crazy about winning and is competitive on all fronts. We were skeptics about your abilities just like a lot of people were. But we trust you now and we love you like a brother. We want to dedicate the rest of the playoff games to your parents and to your friends and countrymen back in China. Let's go out and play for THEM.' (This has to be genuine; something he sees in their eyes as true.) I know that sounds naive and maybe even hokey. But I think there is half a chance that it would help Yao to refocus on the fact that he AND the team care about his country, HIS fans, as well as the fans in Houston. Yao wouldn't have agreed to play the exhausting amount of basketball that he agreed to (and has lived up to it) if he wasn't a patriot of China. Heck, he could have just defected like other players from China. Yao feels he is playing for all of China. And he feels he carries that burden all by himself. This is where the team can come together to help him AND help themselves. They need to convince him they care about that burden and that he isn't carrying it all by himself -- that they want to carry it with him. Maybe it would be just enough to nudge him into the role he has been reluctant to accept -- leading the charge for his team.
Great post, I agree with every single sentiment. The habits do need to change. These are not habits from this season - we have been a turnover prone team for years now. I think it will take some rest to push Yao up a notch, but I definitely see him improving very steadily. But he's always improving. It's important to look at his minutes when looking at his production - 32 minutes is very low compared to other franchise players. Rest is a major obstacle in his development, and while I commend him for wanting to represent his country, there has to be some compromise. I'm excited about Del Harris coaching the Chinese team, I feel he may be a bit more understanding of the exhaustion of an 82-game schedule. He will probably deal with Yao much better. The Rockets need to win 4 of 5 to win this series, and that's highly unlikely. Can they win every single home game, and then take one on the road? We'll see how they hold up. Personally, I think these next 2 games will say a lot about us, regardless of the outcome of the series. If we win these 2, then lose the next 2, I won't be dissapointed. It will be a valuable learning experience for Yao and Steve, and it will show where the heart of this team lies. The playoffs seem to paint certain players in a different color - look at JJ and Francis, they are looking very poised in this series, I can tell they are keepers. But when you look at Mobley, he's trying his best, but he's in the unfortunate situation of having to replicate Francis and JJ's skills. It's not working out.
Awesome post. *wipes tears from eye* I'm just hoping we can even the series here at home. After that, it's a best of 3 series. Anything can happen.
I think Sane said it best. If we win the next 2 at home and then lose the next 2 but in a good, appreciable effort(especially on the defensive end) then the Rockets season should be viewed as "getting back on track" as compared to "a disappointment." I think that they're bench scoring (Rush, Walton, Fisher, and Fox) pitching in while Shaq is in foul trouble and our inability to stop them has really hurt our chances as well. Everytime we seem to get a stop on them and build our lead, one of these players step up and knock down a key three and that's a momentum killer for the Rockets right there. JVG is definitely right in saying that the Rockets need to step up their D. Giving up 98 points again to the Lakers or in the triple digits means that we're pretty much done for the series even if we split. Lakers win game 3 and history is a 100 percent behind them. Lakers win game 4 gives them moumentum going up 3-1 back to L.A.
his defensive scheme is weak against the perimeter .. . specifically 3 ptrs. . . . It always has been Rocket river
I posted in another thread the keys to winning any of these games: 1. A constant barrage of attacks on Shaq by Yao. 2. Double Kobe whenever possible, cut off the baseline (literally have one foot out of bounds), faster help defense. 3. More ball movement, the Lakers aren't the best defensive team, and some movement (with or w/o) the ball, will help. We need to make the Lakers work on defense. 4. More production from everyone, Steve can't be the only to step his game up. There is a very low margin of error against the Lakers and we need everyone to step up. 5. Steve needs to drive in more, through out the season and the playoffs, Steve has been able to slice through the D. This opens up the offense a lot more, it keeps the Lakers on their heels.
i wish I were wrong, but i don't think we have the type of players that would dedicate a series, let a lone a single game to anything but themselves, except for maybe francis. Moreover, we don't have players smart enough to make such an intelligent, well conceived intervention.
Agreed. I have on question though. If we keep Francis, set him up at the 2 as his constant position. How do we get not only a point gaurd, but the power forward we so much need to play alongside and compliment Yao? It's quite a dilema, considering, Francis is the only true trade bait we have to use to get such talent. Yet, Francis is the only player that has shown he belongs in playoff competition, despite his flaws during the regular season. Which I myself have ranted about.
Yao will never be a franchise type player simply because he is not ever going to be on the floor enough for the players around him to truly adopt him as their leader, that being said this was an excellent post and you should post more.
On the point guard issue... if we move Francis to the 2 with Mobely being the 2 off the bench... Hm-m-m? I wonder if we could squeeze another year out of Mark Jackson as a starter?? He was OK the last two games of the season with Francis and Mobley in street clothes. But I don't know if he could endure a whole season as the starter at his age. Although, Stockton played until almost 40 years old, didn't he? Maybe we could pick up a good "backup / trainee" PG to be under Jackson's tutelage for a season. Mike Wilkes may be too small to be considered that "student".
The only problem I see with moving SF3 to the 2 and putting CM5 on the bench is this: in this system, CM5 is a better shooter. SF3's shooting has been terrible this year - and he's never been a great 3 pt shooter either (eventhough he's even worse this year in that dept). In short, would Stevie really be a better 2 than Cat? I think the 2 is his "natural" position only if you're running a system like what they have for AI in philly (one that's centered around the ball hog - who can't shoot - at the 2). In Van Gundy's system (mostly inside-out), you need a 2 who really can shoot (heck, you also need a consistent shot at the 1, 3, and 4 for that matter - Yao gets doubled and tripled a lot!). I know everybody's jumping on the turnover/bad-passing/bad decision-making issue, but I think the biggest problem with SF3 wasn't his turnovers - it was his poor shooting. SF3 always had bad turnover numbers. What was completely unexpected this season was his poor shooting - and, since he's supposed to be one of our main guns, I think that hurt the team far more than his usual 4 TO's per game (although TO's are still a problem). All I know is if Stevie isn't traded (and, I he isn't), he better not have another bad season shooting the ball. Maybe he could work on it in the off-season like Cat did last year. Otherwise, I don't see him being a better 2 than Cat. Most importantly, there's just no way Stevie could handle it defensively there at the 2, and there's just no way Van Gundy's going to compromise his defensive philosophy by putting him there.
in my opinion moving JJackson to the 2 and giving him ball handling duties would take more pressure off SF3 and allow him to be more creative while allowing him to guard the other teams PG. This type of situation makes more sense for all involved.. SF3 is still the PG but JJ takes some time distributing the ball letting SF3 roam around and create his own shot. SF3 is much more effective taking the ball to the rim and moving without the basketball. I think SF3's main problem is mental *he has so much on his mind and tries so hard to get others involved.. JJ makes better decisions than Cat and plays just as tough defense while he also has better size and strength. Our main need is a PF who can consistently hit the open jumper and play tough defense. (Rasheed / EGriffin) would have been a prefect compliment in my opinion.. This would open things up for Yao inside while provide a great 1/2 punch of him and Cato at the 5. (new PF) and MoT coming off the bench is also great.. I like Cato at the 4 but he is becoming too much of an offensive liability.. Come on Cato work on your jumpshot this summer.. so in conclusion if we shore up our PF/ SF positions I think we are in a good situation. J
Another admission -- I don't write for the Houston Chronicle. I'm just a fan who sometimes feels a need to express the feelings that build up over time.
