HOU-MIN: That’s kind of bad, he’s been traded twice already since his rookie year, young fella who just won the dunk contest. None of that matters though. All it takes is the team you lay with. One successful year and you’re in. Stephen Jackson was cut 11 times before he won that ring with San Antonio. Chauncey Billups was on like seven teams before he landed with the Pistons. All it takes is one team that plays your style of basketball and the coach believes in you and you’re there ready to show your talents. I’ve seen the kid Green play before. He can shoot, he can jump, he has moves – so he has all the tools to become good, I don’t know his work ethic though.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
An open letter to T-Mac
Dear Mr. McGrady,
Alright, I know I've said some things in the past about your heart. I'm not sorry. But for now, we need to put all of that behind us.
The Rockets need you.
They need you to go to the hole, create havoc, and take over. They need you to be a leader. They need you to realize the insane amount of talent which you spent your youth gathering and your adulthood squandering.
You need them, too.
You need to bring this team together becasue this may be your last chance. You're not getting any younger, and with your injury history, no one knows if you'll get a chance again. Do you want to be the one who can't win in the playoffs forever.
Can this be done? Absolutely. If you can get your front court developing, there is a lot of latent talent and heart in Scola and Landry, and if you can become the center of attention again, they won't have to do too much.
So, that's it. Time to step up. As Milhouse Van Houten said, "Men don't get their moo-moo from a ba-ba, they get their moo-moo from a big boy cup."
Signed,
No Blow Too Low
Wait, I guess that's good enough
Alright, that'll do. From now on, that will be labelled standings box for easy searchability. I'm also going to put tiebreakers up there.
What the what?
That picture to the left is an overall Rockets standings image, but I can't get blogger to make it big enough to read, so I'm going to post each team box individually, and update them once a week and whenever the teams play. So enjoy that, and search by labels when you want one.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Who is Gerald Green?
The Houston Rockets traded for Gerald Green this week, and as a lifelong fan of the Rockets I was ecstatic. Gerald Green is the kind of player we haven't had since Eddie Griffin's rookie season: a mystery.
Right now every Rockets fan has taken Gerald Greens talent and merged it with the players around him, like Nick Nolte in the Hulk movie. If Green can get his head together, learn ball movement from Adelman, pick up some D from Battier, Some garbage skills and hustle from Landry, learn how to create for others within the system like TMac...why, he'll be the greatest player of all time by the playoffs!
Unfortunately, this is not the case. He's exciting because of his mysterious potential-we don't know who he's going to be yet. That aspect - the undefined on court potential is always so exciting. That's why the draft is great, that's why imported players seem so exotic, etc. We need to keep in mind, this kid should focus on one thing at a time. Trying to be TMac has been his downfall so far. Let's get him into a structured system, and let him develop one or two skills within that system, and next year he can be a very successful role player.
That isn't to say he can't be great. He's 22 (or 21) and a lot of high school kids take time to develop in the pros. He's never been on a good team, and being on a good team is how players develop the best. For some kids, freedom is what they need (LeBron and his ilk) but for most guys, the road to competency runs through developing within a system, figuring out how to do a couple of things well, and letting the rest of the game be lagniappe. That is how TMac developed in Toronto; it took him a few years. That's how Yao developed; it took him a few years to stay in the court without getting into foul trouble.
So, Houston: don't suffocate this kid, he needs to grow on his own. Resign him for three years, and keep an option on the fourth. Let him grow from within the system, and look what you can get: he might never become the force that Peja was for Adelman, but wouldn't you settle for Doug Christie or Bonzi?
Right now every Rockets fan has taken Gerald Greens talent and merged it with the players around him, like Nick Nolte in the Hulk movie. If Green can get his head together, learn ball movement from Adelman, pick up some D from Battier, Some garbage skills and hustle from Landry, learn how to create for others within the system like TMac...why, he'll be the greatest player of all time by the playoffs!
Unfortunately, this is not the case. He's exciting because of his mysterious potential-we don't know who he's going to be yet. That aspect - the undefined on court potential is always so exciting. That's why the draft is great, that's why imported players seem so exotic, etc. We need to keep in mind, this kid should focus on one thing at a time. Trying to be TMac has been his downfall so far. Let's get him into a structured system, and let him develop one or two skills within that system, and next year he can be a very successful role player.
That isn't to say he can't be great. He's 22 (or 21) and a lot of high school kids take time to develop in the pros. He's never been on a good team, and being on a good team is how players develop the best. For some kids, freedom is what they need (LeBron and his ilk) but for most guys, the road to competency runs through developing within a system, figuring out how to do a couple of things well, and letting the rest of the game be lagniappe. That is how TMac developed in Toronto; it took him a few years. That's how Yao developed; it took him a few years to stay in the court without getting into foul trouble.
So, Houston: don't suffocate this kid, he needs to grow on his own. Resign him for three years, and keep an option on the fourth. Let him grow from within the system, and look what you can get: he might never become the force that Peja was for Adelman, but wouldn't you settle for Doug Christie or Bonzi?
I'm Back
It's been forever since my last post, and the number of viewers is why. 0.
This time it's going to be better. Why? Ummm...Anyway, it just is.
This time it's going to be better. Why? Ummm...Anyway, it just is.
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