Why our offseason still grades out as a success?
by Nitroberg on Jul 16, 2010 1:24 AM CDT
Email
PrintOk gang, I've been wanting to post something for awhile, but I've been a bit sidetracked the past few weeks with work and all. Anyways, this offseason has basically treated the Rockets like a group of guys who are forced to stand outside of a night club waiting for all the hot chicks (Chicago, Miami, New York, Atlanta) got the top free agents, and some of the gorgeous cuties had massive breakups (Toronto, Cleveland, Phoenix). We had to fight to keep Kyle Lowry from heading to the Cavs (4years/24mil is pretty fair, except in the eyes of Aaron Brooks, whose definitely going to cash in next July). We also had tons of speculation about Scola, but I have no problem with the 5year/47mil he's getting to remain Yao Ming's sidekick down low.
And yet, through all of it...I still think we had a successful offseason. Why is that? Let me break it down in 3 points.
1.) Teams with gobs of cap space did not steal Scola or Lowry. That's right. Once the "Fab 5" free agents all decided on their location, teams like New Jersey, Chicago and New York were left looking for guys who were good enough to overpay. Scola and Lowry fit that billing because they're both talented, blue-collar guys who on the right team would be the "enforcers" next to stars (oooo put Lowry next to a dynamic scorer like Amare Stoudemire, or Luis next to Brook Lopez). We kept two of our 4 "lunchpail guys" (With Shane Battier, and Chuck Hayes the other guys in that conversation). You need stars to win titles, but you also need role players who can fit in with your stars to win titles too.
2.) Patrick Patterson looks like a great pick, and the young guys look really good. I loved this move from the minute we made it. Carl Landry II was the initial dubbing, yet PP is looking like a guy who could play some SF out there as well as inside at the 4 spot. We got another versatile lunchpail guy who I look forward to seeing develop into a quality NBA player. He may never be a star, but he will definitely be someone who's going to be a player in this league. As for Hill, Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger, I'm impressed with their play from last year, and I can't wait to see what they do this fall. Jordan Hill may not be putting up huge offensive stats, but when you can get offense from Yao, Kevin Martin, Brooks, Scola, Ariza, Budinger and Lowry, I don't think that Hill's struggles with scoring in the Summer League are a tell-tale sign we ditch him.
3.) We didn't make the knee-jerk trade for some overpriced big man. I will openly admit that I wanted Al Jefferson like the next guy. I'll admit that I've had fantasies of stealing David West from New Orleans. Yet, we did not make a move to get any big guy. Tyson Chandler would have been nice, but he makes starters money and will stunt the growth of Jordan Hill and Patterson. Brad Miller would be a nice addition as long as the money (and years) are right. Yao, AB and Shane are all free agents in 2011, so making sure you're not in salary cap hell would be great.
So while this isn't an A++ of an offseason, I'd give us a solid B for staying the course, keeping the core together, and actually, well you know, developing our young talented assets. Other teams have done better and more to improve, but self-improvement is always the thing that shocks people the most. Houston is in great position to get back to the 2009 success we had.
No cursing in title. No pirated material, such as links to online game streams. Do not cut/paste entire sections of content from other websites. Thanks.
41 comments
|
3 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
dude
you need to post more. i have been waiting to see what you post next. dont let work sidetrack you. the rockets are more important lol
GO ROCKETS, GO TEXANS, GO ASTROS (EVEN THOUGH THEY SUCK)!!!
Thanks man
There was some other stuff in the way (namely getting ready for graduate school and some relationship drama) but I think things are evening out now.
Long live the Rockets!
B^2
In Daryl Morey, Rick Smith and Ed Wade we (usually) trust.
I can feel ya
on the grad school and relationship problems. Thinking when I move to DC I’m single but it’s been a pain in the ass being nice about it.
Nice assessment, I agreed with every point there (Except I’m on record as adamantly saying “F*ck all the big men proposals, we need Scola, that’s it.”). Nice write up.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
yeah...nice job
I never got comfortable with Al Jeff…bad knees and all but I think we are going to end up trading for a young big man from Sac or another team’s big center’s…maybe we get Whiteshide after all or something along those lines.
We still have tons of time until the trade deadline to make a big splash in the trade market. Lets see what happens.
Great post...
but doesn’t it appear we are stagnating? I think a lot of people are putting TONS of stock on Yao saving this franchise. When match-ups are key and you don’t add anyone new to the mix, how do we expect to hang with the likes of the bigs in LAL and Nuggies?
How many times has Scola been on the receiving end of a beatdown by a 6’11 guy?
I understand your post and I’m certainly happy that we resigned our core group, but after awhile, these guys are going to realize that they can’t get it done with this group unless we add another 2003 version of a T-Xray.
Thoughts?
Don't worry
BD34 is going to you exactly where you wen wrong in everything you just said. C’mon man, the Nuggets? They aren’t even contenders anymore, not even top 4 in the west. Anyway sooner or later BD34 will see this and he is going to get at you.
GO ROCKETS, GO TEXANS, GO ASTROS (EVEN THOUGH THEY SUCK)!!!
Have we seen the NBA recently?
Bigs are great to have and vital to success, but the Rockets have certainly collected bigs. Having said that, Hill is a near 7 footer, the Lakers bigs are all at or near 7 feet. We’ve collected that. But what is missing is the fact that this is truly a guard’s league now. Dwyane Wade’s nearly solo championship anyone? Kobe Bryant dominating the league. The league is run by SFs and SGs.
Also, can we not look over the fact that Scola issued countless beat downs on opposing bigs throughout the season?
Also, lawl @ batman, you know me man.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
LMAO!!!!!
This guy is the type of person you prey on. You can tell he listens more than he watches because if you watch basketball instead of listen to what the stupid ass “experts” say (ESPN) then you won’t respond the way this guy just did.
GO ROCKETS, GO TEXANS, GO ASTROS (EVEN THOUGH THEY SUCK)!!!
Remember man
I apparently don’t watch any of the games, hah.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
It is the same team
It depends on the definition of stagnation but it looks like the same team to me. The only difference that can make a difference is the addition of Yao. Everything depends on a healthy Yao. It seems like most of the guys posting here are expecting some grand development from Hill, Bud, Patterson, etc but at the best those guys are good … and not great. On the other hand, I watched every game and, on average, Scola outplayed his counterpart. Scola is NOT a weakness. He is a strength. Sure, it would be nicer to have Bosh but the Rockets still have one of the better PFs. And the Rockets seem to be okay with backups at the bigs (IMO). But this is still a lottery team without Yao.
I am usually wrong
When it comes to predicting how the NBA season will go but the Rockets just look like the same basic team to me. Right now, we have: Lottery Team + Yao + Pat. Pat won’t make that much difference in his first season so it is really Yao who has to turn a lottery team into major power. I can’t really expect Brooks-Lowry-Scola to be better than last season. I am just hoping they can continue to play at the same level. I hope I am wrong and that the return of Yao makes life easier for all the other guys so they all take it up a notch. But I expect a 7th or 8th seed at best for this season …. unless someone else is added.
Maybe I'm putting too much faith in Yao
But isn’t that what a lot of us are doing these days? I mean, Yao could come back and become Shawn Bradley for all we know. He could also come back and be Yao again. We don’t know what is going to happen. A year off coupled with the kind of surgical procedure, and Yao is like a huge question mark.
That’s why its important to surround him with a team like this one. Yao is the focal point of the club, but this group without Yao can run full steam ahead with the rest of the roster. That’s the benefit of a versatile team.
B^2
"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that."
Stewie Griffin-Family Guy
Where is the improvement?
Man, we have the same team that didn’t make the playoffs PLUS YAO. What went right for the Rockets this summer is that Yao looks good. Other than that, it looks like the same team to me. Patterson is probably going to be good but not great (like you say) and that doesn’t win championships (like you also say). It is good to have kept Lowry and Scola but that really didn’t require any great amount of thinking, did it? Just a willingness to pay. But they are still the same two guys we had last season for less money so once again there is no improvement. At mid-July, does this team look any better than the mid-July teams looked the last few years? Time will tell of course but I don’t see much of an improvement.
A variety of factors missing
I’m hiring Batman for my PR by the way.
1.) It is essentially the same team, with improved chemistry, improved capability, a year under their belt, and more bigs. This argument about staying the same would be fair if it didn’t ignore a big trade at the deadline, injuries in the 2nd half of the year, and the fact that young players generally tend to improve over time. Unfortunately, given the team’s inability to all be on the court together last year and that the roster, as assembled wasn’t around until the midway point of the season (Yao withstanding, of course) we have no choice but to call all criticisms to the composition irrelevant, as well as all over-estimates (I hold my assertions as earnest assessments) of capability to be conjecture. So, where one might over-exaggerate our capabilities, I feel you sell it ridiculously short.
2.) Patrick Patterson, don’t underestimate the new guy. He can pose a match up problem, allows us to slide Hill to the 5, we’re taking a shot at Brad Miller, and Patterson is another glue guy in the mold of Scola with more athleticism. I look forward to what Patty brings for the simple fact that it WILL be good. The Rockets pegged him for 6th best in the draft and were rabid in pursuing him. He happened to fall to us (Thank God). I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna trust the front office on the draft.
3.) You assert earlier that you need great players to win titles. Last I recall basketball is a 5 on 5 sport. Yao, in and of himself, is a great player. However, if you merely have on great player and mediocrity everywhere else what do you become? A joke. You might make it to the post season as a low seed but that’s about it. The Rockets have a great player in Yao and a great team. Again, the concept of synergy is something the Rockets embody that people downplay. You actually get more value from your individual parts when they’re all together, which is incredible. Consider the Rockets to be the basketball equivalent of cartoon nitroglycerin. One drop = HOLY SHIT!
4.) Also, you ask for improvement, I guess the subtle title of Most Improved Player is lost on this question. Call me naive but Brooks proved he can be the scorer that people say we need (Which is also who we got in Kevin Martin) and he’s less than 2 assists per game away from averaging 20 and 7 at the point position. Yes, a great deal of this season is predicated on Yao but returning him will net us at least 8-10 more wins, which is 50-52 wins. Add Patterson, chemistry, and development (even in all modesty) of a semi-healthy (Hoping) line up and we can easily see that number escalate to 53-56 wins, ESPECIALLY when you consider decreased production/competition from some of our major problems.
Health will be the story of the West this year, but I’m putting my money on Houston and LA to rumble in the WCF.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
by BD34 on Jul 16, 2010 2:18 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree more or less
1) Improved chemistry? Who says? The chemistry was excellent last season so I doubt there will be a signficant improvement this season.
2) I really don’t know about Patterson. But at best he can do more or less what Landry was doing last season when the team ended up in the lottery.
3) It is a 5 on 5 sport (but every team has 5 guys on the court, including the lottery teams). Yao is a great player. A healthy Yao will probably make 15 wins difference in the season. A healthy Yao gives the Rockets a chance in playoff series against just about any team. That is what I have been saying all along - everything depends on Yao returning 100%.
4) I am very happy with Brooks-Lowry at PG. But, if I remember correctly, they were both there last season on a lottery team.
Last season the strengths with the Rockets, IMO, were at PG and PF. Yao fixes the weakness at C. Al the bigs sort of move down a notch and, with Yao, I think the Rockets bigs are top level (without him is another thing). The problem last season, IMO, was really the circus at SF-SG. Martin did help a bunch and I am hoping he has a full, healthy season. That can be a big improvement. I agree with that.
But it is still, without Yao, a team that will have a hard time making the playoffs. Yao has to return full strength. Getting Brad Miller, other than to backup a healthy Yao, is not going to help much.
I wouldn't ignore
the fact that a mid season trade solved a lot of our problems with the 2 and 3 and positional play issues. You’re discounting this team because they wound up in the lottery but not factoring in the fact that we’re two different teams last season and injuries derailed a hope at a playoff run. You can’t look at the end result and judge next year based on it because we finished the season a DRASTICALLY different team than how we started it. You jump the gun and then assume you’re correct in the analysis.
Did we have Kevin Martin when last year began? Did we have Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries when last season began? Did Trevor Ariza play the 3 when last season began (Consistently)? The answer to this little trifecta is NO. As a result, one cannot say “Next year we have the same lottery team.” simply for the fact that our team at the beginning of the year sported a roster of only two players at 6’9" and taller, in current incarnation we have 5, possibly 6 if we land Miller. Ariza proved by year’s end at his 3 with a consistent scoring option next to him, he’s incredibly efficient and deadly. But that won’t register.
Your persistence of the Rockets as a lottery team sure just looks at the finished product of a team that experienced several injuries and a major midseason trade, not to mention the team was the last pick in the NBA Lottery, which only dulls your point even more.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
Last season
BD, I know I probably jump the gun. And, yes, we did not begin last season with Martin, Hill, Jeffries, etc. But we began last season WINNING games. It isn’t like there was a big turnarouond when the team added Martin, Hill and Jeffries.
And, yes, I agree that Ariza was more useful once he moved from 2 to 3. But still, weren’t the Rockets winning a lot of games early in the season in spite of Ariza’s horrendous shooting at 2?
When I say “lottery team”, I just say it regarding where they finished. Last season’s team did not make the playoffs. So for this season to be a big improvement, something has to change a lot. The only BIG CHANGE I see is Yao returning. Now, this morning, I also see the addition of Miller. So, what was the weakest position last season is now probably the strongest position (assuming a healthy Yao).
Take away Yao and the Rockets will struggle to make the playoffs.
I'm still not seeing your logic
in persistently saying lottery team. We made the trade but we also had an injury skid due to overuse and a physical style of play for our team. Let’s also not discount that the beginning of the year we can attribute a lot of our wins to bursting out of the gate with teams that didn’t know how to play against us or what to expect. There’s a lot to say for underestimating a team that was supposed to be an instant Win.
I don’t think we can really argue against that idea, can we? I think that makes the big difference. Our team killed themselves to win at the beginning of the year, as a result, injuries picked up and we hit a skid, we began maximizing our players and reducing their minutes towards the end of the year but teams knew how to play against us and it became a problem. On court chemistry and work didn’t have a full chance to come together either considering the healthy roster without Yao was only there for what, three weeks?
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
Gulder
have you ever heard of potential? Our young guys have it, and they are getting better with every second. To say that Yao was the only “BIG CHANGE” is robbing us of our true skill. We are a team that will easily make the playoffs, and contend for a division title. Last year’s team was much less experienced, and lacked Yao. This year we have Yao, and our young guys have gotten more experienced.
Its hard to give him more than a C for THIS offseason.
All the pickups happened last off season and at the trade deadline.
But this summer all he has done is get back Lowry and Scola.
Good stuff but its really only what I expected him to do. To get a B he has to go out and get us a good role player.
To get an A he would have to pick up a big time free agent.
He might still be upgraded to a B-B+.
He did good but nothing exeptional.
Sometimes
the best move is the one you don’t make. A lot of Rockets fans are pissing and moaning because they wanna see their team made a deal. Retaining Scola and Lowry and getting a multiple All Star back to your team isn’t good enough. People downplay the Rockets ambition because they won’t move just to move, and it’s not fair to the organization.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
Im not saying that there is anything wrong with staying still
It may even be the right move but im not going to give him rave reviews for essentially doing nothing.
I just figure
looking over the market and standing pat is smarter than what most GMs did. I mean, let’s face it, we praise stock brokers for maintaining and reaping big profit during a company’s problems, and also moving out of the bad money at the right time. Morey saw a lot of bad investments this summer, sees a lockout coming, and at that point you hold on to your high value stock and don’t cash in if you’re essentially on a one year lease before you can re-evaluate your portfolio.
Also, that analogy was horribly woven in and out, but I think the point is discernable somewhere.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
Your point is well made
But I don’t believe it is right. Morey didn’t hold his cards because he wanted to hold ‘em. Morey did his best to make a deal. Morey’s strategy was that the best way to get one of the big FA’s was via sign-and-trade. That was his strategy. He said so, didn’t he? Now, after the dust settles, it looks like sign-and-trade wasn’t such a great idea. The Rockets had good pieces to offer in a sign-n-trade; the Knicks had all those $$. Miami offered a chance to play with your good friends, win a lot of championships, have a great time.
Staying still is okay
If you are the Lakers or Celtics. Staying still if you are a lottery team is not all that great. I know the Rockets tried to get Bosh (and probably others). Tried and failed. That is hardly a great result. All of us saw the importance of Scola and Lowry so matching the offers on those two seems pretty much a no-brainer when Alexander is willing to pay. The Rockets didn’t lose anything and they gain some experience but mainly they gain YAO. Yao is the key.
Only a C
AIDe2356 wasn’t exactly pissing and moaning. He just said it was hard to give Morey more than a C for this offseason. That seems reasonable. Morey matched the contracts on Lowry and Scola and drafted Patterson. Morey did not do anything to get “a multiple All Star back”. The doctors fixed Yao (hopefully) so you cannot give Morey any points for that. I think everyone is very happy with the return of Yao. No pissing and moaning about that. There is disappointment, however, about not getting a good upgrade FA when so many good ones were available. Lots of teams are disappointed. Nobody wants a move just for a move’s sake but standing pat with a lottery team is a big risk. Putting all the eggs in the Yao basket that has often been broken is also a big risk.
Your Lottery Focus
is just a bunch of bullshit dodging the real issue man. Hooray, the Rockets found the draft lottery, barely. When they got the 8th pick were we such a horrible team or were we a team that was right back in the playoffs next year? Houston isn’t a lottery team in full form. Given last year’s major upheavals, they barely qualified for the lottery, that says a lot about this team, and that says about how much you’re neglecting.
I never said Morey did anything to get Yao back, I only mentioned Yao’s return is huge for the team.
Plus, let’s face it, when I said pissing and moaning I mean all the fans complaining “we didn’t get a good upgrade FA.” What would you have done for one? Hm? Morey has to realistically know there was no way the Miami Threetards wouldn’t form. Did you want Boozer? It was guaranteed he’d be in New York or Chicago. Did you want Stoudemire? I’d rather upgrade my team rather than bring in an offensive player who treats defense like herpes and has had microfracture. Did you want Joe Johnson? Not with the contract Atlanta opted to give him. Al Jefferson? Fuck that, he’s not even an upgrade over Scola. I’m beginning to run out of options on which big free agents we could have realistically gotten that would have helped us. Fans fail to recognize that although Morey said sign and trade was the best option, sometimes you need to put out there some bait for your fanbase to swallow. Signing was the big thing and then sign and trades out of those deals because a team would rather get SOMETHING when they know the player would walk straight up. The big players in Free Agency were always the cap room teams.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
I want melo
Stares outside dreaming of the absolute ridiculousness that would be
If just keeping the team together
was our main goal, then why did Morey go after Bosh so hard. Why didnt Morey just focus on a getting backup center, on July 1 instead of meeting with Bosh at 12:01. Getting Bosh was our main priority, and when it fell through, we still had Scola who is a good player. If Bosh wanted to play here the deal would of been made.
by since86rocketsfan on Jul 16, 2010 4:38 PM CDT reply actions
Not Morey's fault
Morey made a good try at Bosh. Bosh just wanted to be with Wade and Lebron. That was what they wanted. Actually, every team in the NBA would have been happy to sign any of those three so if Morey failed than so did every one else in the NBA beside Pat Riley (and Dwayne Wade did more recruiting that Pat Riley). I don’t fault the Rockets for not signing Bosh but it is a disappointment. It is NOT a good offseason when a lottery team stands pat and does nothing.
Does Nothing
Yao Ming Returns, signing a free agent back up center soon, youth developing, trade deadline deal is most likely to happen if it doesn’t pan out, current Rockets roster assembled can’t be blamed for last season’s result because they weren’t even there for the first 41 games.
Just stop talking.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
So apparently DM needs to go to summer school?
In Morey We Trust
The BANHAMMER delivers the real justice
That's just turrible
Morey is a genius,
even the best sluggers cant hit a home run at every at bat. The deal to get Martin was a homerun.
by since86rocketsfan on Jul 16, 2010 5:17 PM CDT reply actions
i like da rockets boyyyy
da rockets did there thang this offseason…while da otha teams were jus focusin on lebron we sat and got better wit time like wine…… made da deals wit scola and lowry bc dey some beast and did our thang in da draft…jus sayin…..i wanna get b miller to hold it down on da backup center…..that would be my only otha thang to do….. otha then that da rockets gonna be champs babay!!!!!!
ps why ereone wanna b puttin hammas on da rockets blog? hamma bros in dis thang
| i am jus tha king of my castle….koopa | |Ima d*ck so i shouldnt be dat hard to swallow
Well thought out. Looks like you will do well in grad school.
by ClutchFanSince94 on Jul 17, 2010 12:37 PM CDT reply actions
Thanks gang
Looks like the offseason just got better with the addition of Brad Miller to the fray. Look at this team here:
PG: Brooks/Lowry
SG: Martin/Budinger/Taylor
SF: Ariza/Battier
PF: Scola/Hill/Patterson
C: Yao/Miller/Andersen/Hayes
B^2
"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that."
Stewie Griffin-Family Guy
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on The Dream Shake
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
- Kevin Love would like the NBA to take the MLB’s approach on All-Star games
- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
