<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>This is offered not just as a little reminiscence to help Rockets fans get through the interminably long offseason. This is to show what the offseason needs to be.If the evidence of the past two seasons is not clear enough, the playoffs going on without them has demonstrated to the Rockets where the league has gone.The Rockets have three power forwards under contract and just one shooting guard, the undersized Luther Head.Yet, a look at the playoffs has shown the Rockets need a change at power forward as much as additions at guard ? and as much as when they decided a skinny, 24-year-old Horry was the answer."A lot of teams are now going with a big guy and four smalls, four perimeter players," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "That's the way the league is now."Johnson has the unusual option of using Nowitzki, "a 7-foot shooting guard" as Michael Finley called him. The Spurs have countered by benching all four of their centers and lately Horry, too, to surround Duncan with shooters and slashers. And with that mix, the Spurs and Mavericks have been spectacular."There's a lot of good players in the league who are able to take advantage of the way the game is being called these days as far as fouls and what the defense is allowed to do and not allowed to do out on the court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Attacking and driving and being in that mode has been a lot more beneficial than it was in the past, so attacking the bucket with smalls, it's tough for big guys to guard that."Big men must have rangeRules changes that allow zones have required shooters. By preventing hand-checks and holds on the perimeter, quickness rather than strength is rewarded. With Yao Ming in the low post for the Rockets, forwards need to be somewhere else.The draft likely will not produce a Rasheed Wallace, unless LaMarcus Aldridge develops that kind of shooting range. Tim Thomas is about as close as free agency offers.The specialists are always out there. If Keith Van Horn can stay healthy, he might be between specialist and solution.The draft can offer specialists Kevin Pittsnogle and Steve Novak. Rudy Gay or perhaps Rodney Carney might fit the long, quick forward type in the Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Josh Howard mold.Check out almost any team on a level the Rockets seek and it is clear this is the way the league is going ? and as Horry remembered fondly ? where it has been.jonathan.feigen@chron.com</div>I agree with this wish list and exactly what the rockets need this off season.
that's pretty insane. because it's true. it's also what we really need. take the team apart. make us faster! better!
