So the Rockets lost again last night, with McGrady exiting the game at the half and Howard outperforming Yao statistically to say the least. That brings us to 12-13 with no real hope on the horizon. When we were 6-7, the hope was that with easier opponents and improved cohesion, we'd recover from that slump and show the NBA what we're really about. 12 games later, nothing of that sort has happened. Sure, we've managed to beat some pretty good teams, but we've also lost to Philly. No one's really performing up to standards and the team is still lost offensively. What's the cause? There's been cries about none of our point guards being able to run the team. I don't agree. Alston has been the best out of the pack this season but he's been mediocre when compared to others in the league. Steve Francis came up huge against Phoenix but the few games he started with Alston out were largely disappointing. Mike James has shown that he's a better two-guard than point guard, and now that his shooting's off, we can't use him for anything. Is the point guard to blame? Some call out Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier. Both are starters and haven't impressed. Is their lack of firepower in the starting lineup hurting us? Will starting Scola and Wells in place of Hayes and Battier do the trick? Lastly, others feel that Rick Adelman's to blame. His laid-back style of coaching has been said to have caused the team's apparent lack of work ethics and winning attitude. His offense hasn't been utilized after over a quarter of a season, and his rotations have been questionable at best. In my opinion, it's a combination of all these faults, with Adelman at the top of the list. He started it off by sitting Francis for the first ten games even when it became clear that Alston and James weren't getting the job done at the point guard spot. Then he plays Francis, who does reasonably well for one game, and sits him for a week. Francis comes up big against Phoenix and plays well against Golden State, but gets injured. Upon his return, he is shackled to a very short leash and plays very tentatively. Luther Head comes in and out of the rotation at a whim, Aaron Brooks is called up from the D-League but sees no time, and Rafer Alston on a bad night still plays the majority of minutes at the one. I can understand that given how Alston has done well over the season and deserves the benefit of the doubt, but Adelman's inconsistent rotations have given the team no cohesion at all. Outside of the starters and Bonzi Wells, no other player knows for sure how many minutes he'll be getting. It affects the players' rhythms and IMO, explains the cold shooting nights that several players have coming off the bench. I'm not saying that Adelman should be fired, but he'd better get his act together in the near future or this season will be a lost cause. Discuss...
I blame one person He did a horrible job this summer. Brooks was a bad draft pick and Francis was a waste of a free agent money for an Adelman coached team. The Rockets are about where I expected them to be.
It takes time for a team to get used to a new coach after years of playing a certain style. The most glaring need is a playmaker though, I only get to watch this team a few times a year but the I always see them force up bad shots basically leaning too hard on Yao and McGrady to be the offense.
What ever happened to the 'free-flowing' offense and sharing the wealth? Its still basically the same plays on offense as it was with Van Gundy. I say start Scola instead of Hayes and keep Battier. Give Hayes around 15-18 mpg off the bench. I also noticed that Scola depends too much on his finesse game. I'd like to see him dunk that ball every now and then.
Early in the year Tracy McGrady was carrying this team on the offensive end and covering up a lot of weaknesses the team was going through. Yao was also playing well by simply doing what he did last year, get post position close to the rim and go to town. I think the rest of team became overly dependent on TMac and since teams adjusted to focus on him more, the rest of the role players have been able to step up and replace his scoring and offensive play making. The Rockets are also in a rut and very inconsistent because Adelman's rotations aren't set yet. He hasn't had enough time to tinker with the lineups, teach the Princeton offense, and create new roles where these guys can succeed at. The Rockets don't have a lot of talent on their roster and it prevents them from being flexible in learning adopting a new system. I know the expectations were high for the Rockets and fans coming into this season. They were grouped with the other elite teams in the West and everyone felt Adelman would be a great fit. However, most people undersold the notion of implementing a lot of changes and how that disrupts what you currently had. I think it's just a matter of time before the Rockets put it together and start turning the season around. They probably won't reach their pre-season expectations, but an entire offseason under Adleman will pay dividends next year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Dec 20 2007, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Early in the year Tracy McGrady was carrying this team on the offensive end and covering up a lot of weaknesses the team was going through. Yao was also playing well by simply doing what he did last year, get post position close to the rim and go to town. I think the rest of team became overly dependent on TMac and since teams adjusted to focus on him more, the rest of the role players have been able to step up and replace his scoring and offensive play making. The Rockets are also in a rut and very inconsistent because Adelman's rotations aren't set yet. He hasn't had enough time to tinker with the lineups, teach the Princeton offense, and create new roles where these guys can succeed at. The Rockets don't have a lot of talent on their roster and it prevents them from being flexible in learning adopting a new system. I know the expectations were high for the Rockets and fans coming into this season. They were grouped with the other elite teams in the West and everyone felt Adelman would be a great fit. However, most people undersold the notion of implementing a lot of changes and how that disrupts what you currently had. I think it's just a matter of time before the Rockets put it together and start turning the season around. They probably won't reach their pre-season expectations, but an entire offseason under Adleman will pay dividends next year.</div> Nothing personal, but "next year" just isn't good enough. I wouldn't be surprised to see Adleman gone after this year if the Rockets don't turn it around soon (before the all star break). The Rockets defense is much worse than last year, and their scoring is down 7 points. They get payed how much again to miss those shots? The Rockets have been extremely dissapointing this season, and this is comming from an avid Rockets fan who still watches their games, even though I know they will lose. A bit off topic, but wtf is up with this forum? It keeps changing every couple of months and that is getting a bit...annoying heh.
Its a combination of lack of firepower and letting Thibodeau go. I think you guys will get better as the season goes by. Adelman knows what he's doing.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Dec 21 2007, 09:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Its a combination of lack of firepower and letting Thibodeau go. I think you guys will get better as the season goes by. Adelman knows what he's doing.</div> What was Tom Thibodeau good for? Obviously he did something, but I don't really know what he did but I keep hearing people bring his name up so naturally, I am curious.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xCLAVEx @ Dec 21 2007, 10:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Dec 21 2007, 09:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Its a combination of lack of firepower and letting Thibodeau go. I think you guys will get better as the season goes by. Adelman knows what he's doing.</div> What was Tom Thibodeau good for? Obviously he did something, but I don't really know what he did but I keep hearing people bring his name up so naturally, I am curious. </div> Well he was JVG's defensive coordinator if you will and a lot of people credit him with the Rockets' defensive success in the past few years. That makes sense given how Boston has become the top defensive team in the league once Thibodeau went there.
To be honest, I never got into all the Rocket hype to begin with. In the offseason, I remember there were a ton of Rocket fans, or at least a couple, hyping up this team like crazy. I also remember a thread being started where somebody had the nerve to debate that the Rockets had a better offseason than the Celtics (wtf??). I was never reallly caught up in the hype. I thought the Rockets were going to be a good team this season, but I never thought they were good enough to match up with the big three, Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix. I remember in the offseason everyone was excited about their new players. Aaron Brooks was great in the summer leagues, thus he was supposed to be the steal of the draft, and the next superstar. Mike James was supposed to be a terrific scorer off the bench. Bonzi Wells was expected to contribute like he did in Sacramento. Luis Scola was supposed to be a decent starter. The Steve Francis signing brought up a lot of buzz, which I honestly don't understand since the guy was done to begin with. JVG was ofter criticized by Rocket fans, and Adelman was supposed to be the coach who would finally take this team over the top. Obviously that has not happened yet. Honestly I felt this Rockets team was overrated to begin with. I still think they have time to turn things around, but they have been really dissapointing so far. Even though I didn't have much expectations for this team, I did believe they would finish as a top 5 seed and advance past the first round. But as of now, they aren't playing like a top 5 team
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xCLAVEx @ Dec 21 2007, 08:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Dec 20 2007, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Early in the year Tracy McGrady was carrying this team on the offensive end and covering up a lot of weaknesses the team was going through. Yao was also playing well by simply doing what he did last year, get post position close to the rim and go to town. I think the rest of team became overly dependent on TMac and since teams adjusted to focus on him more, the rest of the role players have been able to step up and replace his scoring and offensive play making. The Rockets are also in a rut and very inconsistent because Adelman's rotations aren't set yet. He hasn't had enough time to tinker with the lineups, teach the Princeton offense, and create new roles where these guys can succeed at. The Rockets don't have a lot of talent on their roster and it prevents them from being flexible in learning adopting a new system. I know the expectations were high for the Rockets and fans coming into this season. They were grouped with the other elite teams in the West and everyone felt Adelman would be a great fit. However, most people undersold the notion of implementing a lot of changes and how that disrupts what you currently had. I think it's just a matter of time before the Rockets put it together and start turning the season around. They probably won't reach their pre-season expectations, but an entire offseason under Adleman will pay dividends next year.</div> Nothing personal, but "next year" just isn't good enough. I wouldn't be surprised to see Adleman gone after this year if the Rockets don't turn it around soon (before the all star break). The Rockets defense is much worse than last year, and their scoring is down 7 points. They get payed how much again to miss those shots? The Rockets have been extremely dissapointing this season, and this is comming from an avid Rockets fan who still watches their games, even though I know they will lose. A bit off topic, but wtf is up with this forum? It keeps changing every couple of months and that is getting a bit...annoying heh. </div> If they fire Adelman after just one season they will have to go through another disappointing season all over again. When you make the decision to change head coaches there's no overnight quick fix. This team has been built around JVG's system and until the Rockets start acquiring players to fit Adelman's system they are going to be inconsistent and disappointing. In last night's game the ball movement was better, but the guards on the Rockets are in love with taking two dribbles and then jacking up a jumpshot. They lack focus and discipline and were baited into playing Nugget style basketball. OT -- Sorry about all the changes we're just trying to make constant improvements for you guys. There won't be anymore radical changes.
