Nooooo!!!!!! (the Yao post)

We’ll return to our Hawkmanology shortly.  Got to address the big sports story in Houston first. 

Typical for our snake-bitten franchise.  Yao Ming – the best center in the game and the heart of this team, has gone on the shelf for the year.  Stress fracture in his foot.  Damn….

Picking up win #13 in a row was bittersweet.  I did like how everyone stepped up, particularly Dikembe Mutumbo.  Of course, ever the stoic man on the court, I couldn’t tell, but I think that he disagreed with that Technical Foul early in the game.

Basketball is the secondary issue here.  I truly hope that Yao takes all of the time he needs to fully recover from this injury.  If that means missing the playoffs, missing the Olympics or even missing training camp, then so be it.  The man has always done what has been asked of him and more, but he’s got to take better care of himself.  After the initial shock, addition of gray hairs and loss of years on my life upon hearing the news, I quickly put this one into perspective: a healthy Yao for the long-term is more important to Houston than selfishly yearning for him to press this injury in the short term.

Get better, Big Man – we’ll be patiently awaiting your return.

Rockets – step it up!  Win one for the Wall!!!

Rockets Make another trade…

This one I like. 

 The Rockets give up Kirk Snyder and a 2nd round pick for hometown kid, Gerald Green.  The guy has a bit of a surly reputation around the league, but I am of the opinion that he will find his place in this system.  That, coupled with coming home, will hopefully be a recipe for success.

I like Snyder, but he wasn’t a rotation guy, and he had no chance of becoming one.  I can at least see Green offering more to this team at this time.  Hopefully he can acclimate well and quickly so that he will be ready for the playoffs along with our other newcomer, Bobby Jackson.

I’m still not terribly happy about giving up Bonzi; and I just recently found out that we gave up the rights for that banger, Badiane, who we were developing at Center, so I’m just hoping that our two acquisitions will pay off.

Rockets Make a Trade…not sure how I feel about it, yet

OK, I get the financial/business reasons for the Rockets trade today which sent Bonzi Wells and Mike James to New Orleans for Bobby Jackson, Matt Haluska and a 2nd round pick (with Memphis somehow involved).  The Rockets get under the luxury tax threshold; they don’t risk Bonzi walking for nothing; and they pick up a solid backup Point Guard to help address last year’s problem of having to rely too heavily on Rafer in the post-season.

But beyond all of that, I can’t help but feel that the Rockets may have just made a mistake.  Yes, Bonzi has been inconsistant, but there have been many games where he was the only player on the floor to show any heart.  He seemed to be perfectly happy here in this system in the role asked of him; but of course we don’t know what was going on behind the scenes.  Maybe things in the Locker Room were not as happy as I was thinking.

Mike James just didn’t work out for us, so getting rid of that salary obligation was a good move.  I can’t help but think that James did not pan out because he felt somewhat slighted by not being given a larger role (possibly even the starting PG job) right off the bat and was instead asked to compete for it.  I know that at the beginning of the season, and all over the past summer, a lot of Rockets fans had Rafer Alston as the #3 PG on the roster behind James and Steve Francis; but Rafer outplayed them both, showed more heart and determination, and made the biggest effort to learn the system.  It became obvious early on, at least to me, that Rafer was by far and away the man for the PG job, and that the Francis and James signings were not going to pan out.  The emergence of the rookie, Aaron Brooks, sealed James’ trip out of town.

So why pick up another Point Guard?  Rafer is playing very well, and Brooks (our Point Guard of the future) is doing well for a rookie.  Bobby Jackson is a quality veteran presence who knows Adelman’s system; but I hope that people aren’t really thinking that he’s being brought in to start ahead of Alston.  A big problem I’ve seen with NBA fans is that they all too often rate players by their own preconceived notions rather than what they are currently doing: hence many fans thinking that Rafer is not a good PG; or that the Rockets are desperate for help at the Power Forward slot.  It is obvious to most Rockets fans that neither of those things are the case now, tho they seemed to be over the summer.  Jackson will not be brought in as a replacement for Alston, but rather to take some of the load off of him so that he is not worn down and relied upon too heavily in the playoffs.

My real concern in the above situation is that Brooks will see diminished playing time; but he is young and he’ll get his chances in the future.  Judging from what we’ve seen of him so far he’ll take this time to continue to improve his game and stand ready to contribute whenever he is needed.

Now, back to Bonzi – I can’t help but look at the trade like this: we just traded a pissed-off, slighted Bonzi Wells to a team whom we may very well be facing in the first round of these upcoming playoffs.  This one is going to bite us in the ass before the season is over.

Long run – this makes sense, but I’m not completely sold on it yet.  I truly hope that Bonzi and Mike James do very well with their new teams, as I am a fan of both players and will continue to be so.  I just hope, like I said, that we are not hurt too badly by this one in the near future.

 Well…time to see if we can win our 10th in a row with the chemistry shaken up.

Next Year…a.k.a. – the Houston Rockets Motto

Is there a more disappointing team in the NBA this season than my beloved Houston Rockets?

We came in with a team which won 52 games and went 7 games in a tough first-round playoff matchup.  By the end of that our guys were tired and couldn’t keep up…so in the offseason they added depth to what was considered to be a very good, but shallow team.

What happened?

Steve Francis, Mike James, Luthor Head…none have particulary stepped up this season.  Bonzi has been inconsistant.  McGrady has been hurt.  Battier is having an off year.  Yao can’t do it alone.

We’ve had our bright spots: specifically the fantastic play of rookies, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola.  Brooks spent time in the NBDL this season and wasn’t expected to get much time.  He has proven that he deserves more minutes in his play.  Scola has shown that he acclimated to the NBA game much quicker than anyone expected. but he is still prone to silly fouls.  That will be remedied by seasoning and experience.  In his few appearances, Carl Landry has shown why he is the coaching staff darling.  The kid needs to see more time.

Of our veterans, the oft-maligned Rafer Alston has picked up the Adelman system better than any other guard, but once again we’re asking too many minutes of him.  Chuck Hayes continues to be one of the most underrated players in the game, but at this point we have to start thinking about giving more time to Luis Scola.  This is not a knock on Hayes, but rather recognition that Scola is our future at that spot.

Yao, of course, is Yao.

 So, where does the team go from here?  There are rumors that McGrady wants out of town, but count me amongst the possible gullible types who aren’t buying that.  He will never find a city where he’ll be treated with such kid gloves by media and fans as he finds here.  Some may be frustrated with him, but they will always accept him.  If he does want to go; however, then I won’t be too upset or feel betrayed in any way.  We’ve given this Yao-McGrady combo several years, and if he wants a change then I think that the Rockets should accomodate him, but only if we get back something of value.  I know that it is difficult for a team to get true value for a superstar (if he’s still considered that), but I see no reason to believe that we’ll get lowballed for McGrady.

Personally, I’d like to see him stay here so that he and Yao can finish what they started; but, if they decide to make a change then I’d only rank McGrady as #5 on the list of Rockets that I would consider “untradable.” 

This is how I see the Rockets in terms of being “untradable:”

1. Yao Ming – you do not trade a big man of his talent who brings so much to the team and city, on and off the court.
2. Luis Scola – this guy is the real deal.  He’s a taller Manu Ginobli with tremendous upside.
3. Aaron Brooks – He is our point guard of the future, and he can actually get the ball in to Yao, which is apparantly difficult at times for other players.
4. Shane Battier – I know that he’s having an off year, but I would not trade Mr. Glue for anything short of an absolute blockbuster.
5. Tracy McGrady  – it is time for him to step up, tho.

 I know that I have taken the best possible trading pieces off of the board, but I am of the belief that this team, despite underperforming now, is still capable of greatness; and that they should not change just for the sake of change.  I don’t want to see us give up anything of value for a half-year rental (and unpredictable headcase) like Ron Artest; and I don’t think that bringing in a point guard is the best idea, seeing as how Alston is playing reasonably well and Brooks is progressing nicely.

That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing Sam-I-Am back to finish his career where he started it.  Hell, adding him could be good just to try to light the fire of competition in McGrady, who seems to lack it at times.  He would also provide enough of an offensive punch to allow guys like Battier to get back on track by concentrating on defense.

Whatever happens, one thing is certain: it is going to be a long second half of the season in Houston…

Houston, Sports and Me

Well, I just finished watching tonights Houston Rockets-Phoenix Suns game.  This is one of the best games I have seen from this team of Rockets under the Adelman regime.  I felt as if we took a trip back in time watching Steve Francis on a couple plays; but the flashy plays were not what impressed me, instead it was his approach to the game while he was in there.  He was out there just to play – it was not about him, it was about doing what it takes to win the game, and that makes me incredibly happy and hopeful for the future of this team.

We had another good outing by Luis Scola, who along with Bonzi Wells, Dikembe Mutumbo and Steve Francis are making this a team with a bench to be reckoned with.  Shane Battier continues to be Mr. Glue, and Chuck Hayes continues to be the most under-appreciated man manning the PF spot in basketball.  Rafer Alston rose to the occassion as well, and I have to think that Francis’ play helped in some way.  We need solid competition between Alston, Francis and Mike James in order to maximize our potential at that spot.

All that said – we will only go as far as Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady will take us.  It felt good to get that win on the road against Phoenix, but we are still only a couple games removed from that shameful 6-game losing skid and there is a long, long season ahead of us.  Keep feeding the ball to the Big Man and ride that pony to the end!

I guess that you could say that I am a sucker for pain and disappointment, not only being a Rockets fan, but also a die-hard Texans and Astros fan.  Yes, they all break my heart, but they’re my teams, dammit!  I am one of the rare Houstonians who liked the Mario Williams selection, and still think that it was the best way to go.  Leading up to the draft I was all about Bush, but once Mario was ours that was it for me.  I cannot stand the Youngsters around town, who still haven’t gotten over the fact that the franchise passed on that guy who played a good Rose Bowl at UT.  GET OVER IT!!!  I like the direction this team is heading in, but there are so many weaknesses that still need to be addressed, mostly dealing with depth and the RB position.  Don’t get me wrong – I love the Dayne Train, but we have got to look ahead past next season.  I am hoping against hope that a player like Mike Hall or Felix Jones will be available to us in this draft.

As for my beloved Astros…I just don’t know what to think right now.  It was weird enough to watch them without Jeff Bagwell; but to watch them now without Craig Biggio as well is just going to be too strange.  Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Dah, life goes on…and so do sports.  I always knew that they wouldn’t be here forever…but it doesn’t make it any less strange.

So, what to do?  Personally, I was not terribly down on Brad Lidge, but I really like the potential of Michael Bourn, and I am a sucker for the hometown kid making it big with the hometown team.  Add in J.R. Towels and Hunter Pence and we have a strong cast of young’uns; along with guys like Adam Everett (who’s still a liability at offense, no matter how great his defense is); Carlo$ Lee; Ty Wigginton; and of course the man, the myth…the legend – the BIG PUMA, Lance Berkman, and we may have a competitive team, if not a division contender.  Losing out on Luis Castillo hurt my hopes for the upcoming season, but for once I am walking into the Spring not expecting much, so they can do nothing other than impress me at this point.

Of course, I have to give some love to our newest team in the Houston family – the back-to-back MLS Champion Houston Dynamo!  Name issues and unintentional insults aside, it is so easy to get behind this team, and not just because of the fact that they are the only Champs that we have going.  Guys like Brian Ching and De Rosario have made the Dynamo and the MLS so accessible to the Houston market.  They have seemed proud to be here, and that has made me proud to support them.  As much as I enjoy playing Soccer, I haven’t been a staunch follower of it in the professional level, but that has changed with this Dynamo franchise.  I am looking forward to checking out some of their matches at the new Stadium once it is built.  I just hope that the Dynamo fanatics aren’t seriously thinking that they’re getting a retractable roof!

A lot of people look at sports as a waste of time and money.  They see it as kids games and think that those who follow them are somehow inferior to them.  Those people just do not understand what these sports, and these teams mean to communities and individuals.  They don’t see how they can be such a uniting force between people.  We are at our best when we try to be our best, and sports exemplify that better than just about anything.  You could throw me in a room with a Democrat from Boston; an Evangelical from Mississippi; and a Green from Washington, and chances are the four of us could talk for days about last night’s games, fantasy football, the 1985 World Series or the upcoming NFL Draft for hours on end.  Sports are not perfect, but neither is Humanity.  At the very least sports are something that can unite even the most different people, and that in itself is worth the price of admission.

P.S. – the Tennessee Titans Suck!