# Rockets Come Full Circle



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> *Team returns to Los Angeles having finally found its identity*
> 
> It seems counterintuitive to take a stroll down memory lane this late in the NBA’s regular season. If anything, now is the time to be looking forward – to the playoffs, the matchups, the excitement – or, at the very least, to remain focused on the task at hand to ensure one is in the best position possible when the future finally becomes the present. And yet there is a simple sort of symmetry which exists within the Rockets latest visit to Los Angeles to play the mighty Lakers; one which almost demands a bit of reminiscing.
> 
> ...


Full article


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Yet we lost because we were playing out of our game. Ironic. lol


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

For the first time in years the Rockets are actually overrated. Unless we play New Orleans, we probably won't make it out of the first round.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

I really don't know if I want Artest back with the team next season.


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## lingi1206 (Jun 2, 2006)

Cornholio said:


> I really don't know if I want Artest back with the team next season.


I miss the game....Did Artest taunt Kobe again or something?


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

I thought Artest was pretty good in that game. But when things started slipping he tried to put on the cape again. What pissed me off is the lack of touches for Yao. It's not just on Artest, but the rest of the team(esp Brooks).


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

^ Artest is by far the worst, though. A typical possession is Yao posting up with Artest holding the ball, looking right at him, not passing, then Yao realizing the pass is not going to come and stepping out to set a pick. 

Artest is all right in the first quarter, but after that forget it. Both Adelman and he need to go.

The term "loser" is used too often to describle players. Too often they're given to guys having to shoulder too much of the offensive burden on bad teams. Genuine losers -- guys who despite their talent will make their teams worse in one or a number of areas, wherever they go -- are actually very rare. Ron Artest is such a player. He is a loser.

Not only does he directly throw away possessions himself with his selfishness, but he has contaminated other members of the team. If an outspoken, veteran, star player on a team is thoroughly selfish, the young guys are only going to follow suit. Brooks was not like this before. Lowry came in looking truly pass-first. But both guys are now playing the same, selfish way. Wafer, too. It's a lot harder to lambast a guy for looking for his own shot too much when your second-biggest-name player is doing the exact same thing 40 mins a night.

A team can handle one selfish role-player if everyone else plays unselfishly. But no team can win with multiple selfish players. Look at every title team, ever. They all played the right way.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

Hakeem said:


> ^ Artest is by far the worst, though. A typical possession is Yao posting up with Artest holding the ball, looking right at him, not passing, then Yao realizing the pass is not going to come and stepping out to set a pick.
> 
> Artest is all right in the first quarter, but after that forget it. Both Adelman and he need to go.
> 
> ...


+1. It's not just this last game. He's trying to be the hero out there on offense and instead just kills the team, wasting possessions either by taking a bad shot or dribbling the ball for way too long.

I really hate ball hoggers. I never liked Francis and I'm starting to dislike Ron. His defense is not good enough to compensate for his offense.

I wouldn't be mad if we let him walk.


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

> I really don't know if I want Artest back with the team next season.


I totally agree that the offense must go through Yao first and foremost but, with TMac out, I guess Artest feels like he needs to do more. Rick needs to let Ron know Yao is first but, he won't do that because he is not that kind of coach.

I would like Ron back if TMac comes back healthy (not likely) or we could trade TMac in the offseason for another scorer (also not likely). It will be interesting to see what the Rockets think of Ron


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

jdiggidy said:


> Rick needs to let Ron know Yao is first but, he won't do that because he is not that kind of coach.


Adelman should be fired. He has the best offensive center in the world, yet he is incapable of getting him more than 13 shots a game on a team that is thin on scoring talent. He can't even control his own players two weeks before the playoffs. He's a joke.


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## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

I am over Artest but lets be realisitic who else are we going to get with only like $8million to splash out?


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

hroz said:


> I am over Artest but lets be realisitic who else are we going to get with only like $8million to splash out?


That's the problem. We literally have no rotation-worthy backup for him. If we don't re-sign him, who'll start at SG?


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

Hakeem said:


> That's the problem. We literally have no rotation-worthy backup for him. If we don't re-sign him, who'll start at SG?


A healthy T-Mac! Ha!

Seriously, we should see some major trades next season.


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> For the first time in years the Rockets are actually overrated. Unless we play New Orleans, we probably won't make it out of the first round.


You really think that?

I don't think we are overrated at all. Yes Ron is a knucklehead but this Rockets bunch still hasn't put together their best basketball.

I only fear the Jazz and the Lakers in the playoffs. Everyone else I believe we have a chance to beat in a best of 7.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

^ We seem to have peaked some weeks ago. Right now we waste too many possessions overdribbling (Artest) and taking bad shots (Artest, Wafer, Brooks, Lowry).

For an average offensive team like the Rockets, a possession is worth about 1.1 points. So when Artest drives into traffic and gets blocked or turns it over or misses an impossible layup, that's 1.1 points effectively down the drain. When Brooks can't get it to Yao the moment he has his man sealed, resulting in a forced shot from the perimeter, that's another 1.1 points thrown away. 

If this happens, say, 12 times in a game -- which is probably pretty conservative given our recent play -- and we somehow manage to make one of these tough threes and two Artest layups in congestion, for a total of 7 points, we're still falling 5 points short of where we could have been had we played smart. Add 5 points per game to our average point differential, and we suddenly go from being a middle-of-the-road playoff battler to sharing the best point differential in the league with the Cavs.

That's a pretty crude analysis, but you get the point. Every time we make a bad play, it costs us. And against the good sides, that's what will keep us from winning.

If you look at the teams that win in the playoffs, like the Spurs and the Jazz, they don't waste possessions. They may miss shots, but they always play within the offense. The Spurs especially. They've been one of the top teams for a decade, just playing within their system perfectly.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

It's always a pleasure to read Hakeem's posts


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> ^ We seem to have peaked some weeks ago. Right now we waste too many possessions overdribbling (Artest) and taking bad shots (Artest, Wafer, Brooks, Lowry).
> 
> For an average offensive team like the Rockets, a possession is worth about 1.1 points. So when Artest drives into traffic and gets blocked or turns it over or misses an impossible layup, that's 1.1 points effectively down the drain. When Brooks can't get it to Yao the moment he has his man sealed, resulting in a forced shot from the perimeter, that's another 1.1 points thrown away.


I agree that points per possession is important... but we aren't doing all that horribly in that department recently.

I give you the Portland game.. Houston scored about 130 points per 100 possessions Link and in the Orlando game where we scored 108 points per 100 possessions link and that was with Ron completely looking like an idiot.

With so many players on our team being ultra efficient we can handle Ron taking too many shots.

This team can overcome a lot of offensive deficiencies with defense.

I really fear no one other than the Lakers and the Jazz.  Though I think I said that already :champagne:


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

i don't want artest on the team after this season. he just isn't reliable at all. you don't know what you're going to get and you can't keep him from just deciding to make ******* plays. i'd like to see josh childress take his place next season. he'd be another guy like battier who i think definitely could be counted on to play smart offense and that should help get the rest of the team playing that way as well.

i'm not worried about wafer being selfish as that basically is his role on the team. he comes off the bench to score the ball, attack in transition, and knock down 3s. lowry/brooks need to get back to the inside game though.

i don't think there is any way the rockets beat the lakers. no chance in that situation artest doesn't try to take on kobe by himself. other than that, the rockets can get past anyone. they just have to play smart basketball.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm all for keeping Artest. If we let him walk we better get something decent. For his price tag he's a bargain esp compared to many other players in the league.

Like it or not, he's part of the reason we have stayed afloat without T-Mac. If things(injuries, trades, etc) had gone the same way but without Artest here we might still be fighting the Suns for an 8th spot(at best). He's been a knucklehead offensively many times but to want him out is crazy. You guys must not have been fans when guys like Luther Head and David Wesley were our only backups to T-Mac.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

HayesFan said:


> I agree that points per possession is important... but we aren't doing all that horribly in that department recently.
> 
> I give you the Portland game.. Houston scored about 130 points per 100 possessions Link and in the Orlando game where we scored 108 points per 100 possessions link and that was with Ron completely looking like an idiot.


But that's the point. 108 points per 100 possessions is exactly average in this league. We are literally the 15th best offensive side in the NBA. If Artest et al were to play smarter basketball, we'd be better, and we'd be good enough to beat teams like the Jazz.



> With so many players on our team being ultra efficient we can handle Ron taking too many shots.


It's not about "handling" Ron taking too many shots. Of course we will win some games. But clearly we are not elite. That's what this is about. And anyway, who on this team apart from Yao is ultra-efficient?


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

Hakeem said:


> It's not about "handling" Ron taking too many shots. Of course we will win some games. But clearly we are not elite. That's what this is about. And anyway, who on this team apart from Yao is ultra-efficient?


yao and landry definitely. i'd think scola and battier deserve to be mentioned as well.


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