After watching the last 1.9 seconds of the Rockets-Blazers game, I can now die happy. As a Rockets fan, I am crushed, but as an even bigger basketball fan, I have seen that there is light in this world.
[edit] Now, with video! [courtesy of Upside and Motor]
Showing posts with label houston rockets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label houston rockets. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Basketborgasm
Monday, November 3, 2008
Rapper vs. Baller: Lil Wayne and Tracy McGrady
Rapper vs. Baller will be a new regular installment discussing a usually prominent rapper or rap group and picking an NBA Player whose career, style, or personality most resembles that rapper. Hopefully it will be fun and longer lasting than my other attempts at regular installments.
Lil Wayne, if nothing else, is probably the most discussed rapper of 2008. His gremlin voice has topped charts right and left and to some he is the second coming. To others, he is just more of the same: an example of rap heading in the wrong direction, away from the Golden Age of ATCQ, Wu-Tang Clan, and, well, The Roots. The about Lil Wayne is that you either love him or you hate him. Either you fall in love with his intricate rhyme scheme and wordplay or you are turned off by his simplistic flow, bubblegum beats, or gimmicky attitude. Moreover, you are always wary that he is just one OD away from ending his career and life, for better or worse. One thing that is undeniable is that he is prolific. He has released literally hundreds of albums and mixtapes in his career, so much that one might wonder whether he should employ some quality control. Also, it should be noted that his career truly took off once he joined the DJ Khaled stable (seen above), as he often can't carry an entire song with his gremlin voice, but rather can act as the headliner and showstopper of a hit with a solid supporting cast.
Similarly there are mixed opinions about Tracy McGrady. At this point in his career, you might only expect 60 games played per season, and with stats that won't jump off a page. Even so, you never know when he's going to blow up and have a 40-point night. He's still one of the most dangerous players in the NBA for that reason, but you also wonder when that gimpy back of his will finally give out. In his prime, was he one of the best players in the NBA? Some would say so, but others would point to teh fact that he has never been out of the first round as evidence that he was not. Earlier in his career, he was the NBA points leader, but it is this season when he could achieve real success, alongside a revamped Houston Rockets supporting cast. It is obvious that he will take on a lesser role this season, but he is still the star and go-to guy in the clutch for this team.
Sidebar:
Akon = Yao Ming, a staple for any song/game he's in, but undeniably soft.
T.I. = Ron Artest, capable of tearing it up and being the unsung hero, as well as being arrested for possession of assault weapons.
Rick Ross and Fat Joe = Carl Landry and Luis Scola, the less heralded big men who patrol the middle.
Birdman = Rafer Alston, throws up the assist for Weezy Mac to throw it down at the end.
DJ Khaled = Shane Battier, a seemingly limited role, but actually behind the scenes the glue that holds everything together.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Getting Test-y
I read someone (the author will remain unnamed) say that they don't think Artest is worth a first round pick, and I am astonished.
First of all, we aren't even talking about Minnesota, Memphis, Seattle, or Charlotte's first found pick, which might be worth something. This is Houston's first-round pick we are talking about, which realistically I don't expect to be higher than 25th.
For the sake of argument, let's take a look into the 25-30 picks in the first round of the last 3 drafts plus some selected stats from last year (2008 draft excluded because we haven't seen the players play yet).
2005:
2006:
2007:
Exactly who out of that group would you rather have than Ron Artest? David Lee, Jordan Farmar, Linas Kleiza and Jason Maxiell are semi-solid rotation players. Sergio Rodriguez, Petteri Kopponen and Tiago Splitter seemed poised to be great. But other than that, there isn't really anyone who at this point in their career is much better than an 8th man. So you'd rather have a 50-50 shot of picking your team's third or fourth option, with the other 50 being split between end of the rotation guys and fringe NBA players/D-League stars than Ron Artest. Also remember that the Rockets are saving money with this deal by sending away Bobby Jackson's ridiculous 6.1 million dollar contract. Thanks for your input.
Richard Justice hates dogs
By now, you've surely heard about Ron-Ron being traded to the Rockets, but I saw this piece last night up on Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle's blog that I knew I had to go at FJM-style. For the duration of this post, feel free to call me Chen Tremendous. Or Lor-en Tremendous. Or just Loren.
Ron Artest? Seriously? Is Les Alexander playing GM again?
Because Les Alexander would have been able to pull off a deal sending away what amounts to our third-string PG, a shot-happy rookie, and a first round draft pick that's likely going to be in the bottom 4 for a 29-year-old former all-star and DPOY. And shave some salary while doing it to boot (Ron Artest only makes $7.4 million per year, compared to Bobbo's $6 million plus the contracts of Greene and the theoretical 2009 first rounder).
Just win, baby. That's the statement the Rockets sent Tuesday with the apparent acquisition of Ron Artest. Character? Not important. Potential for trouble? We'll take our chances.
"Who cares about winning, let's just make sure to field a team of great people. I'd take a team of Ryan Bowen's over Kobe, Jason Kidd, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce, Josh Howard, and other troublemakers any day."
The Rockets are a better team with Ron Artest. At least they're better in terms of talent, and that's clearly all that matters as the franchise desperately tries to become relevant in a market dominated by the Texans and Astros.
After consulting with my friend from Houston, I'll concede that the 'Stros are pretty big in H-Town, but the Texans? You can't seriously be arguing that the Rockets are fighting to become relevant in a market dominated by the Texans.
Those teams have been ridiculed for emphasizing character. Fans that think it's only about the bottom line now have a team to root for. I hope the Rockets don't tell us Artest's troubles have been blown out of proportion. I hope they don't think we're that dumb.
Domestic violence.
Animal neglect.
Attacking a fan.
An assortment of other tantrums, obscene gestures, etc.
I am a fan that's thinks it's all about the bottom line. I have now have a team to root for. I don't think anyone's going to tell you that his previous off-court troubles have been blown out of proportion. They will just tell you to deal with it as the Rockets try to win a championship.
Besides, if the Rockets win a championship--and they're good enough if Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming stay healthy and Morey makes a move to upgrade point guard--no one will care how they did it. No one will mention that the franchise suddenly seems diminished.
Wait, what just happened? First, you look down on fans that only care about winning, then you say that if the Rockets do win, then no one will care about anything else? Am I missing some hidden sarcasm here?
He's a wonderfully talented basketball player. He's only 29 years old. He did a terrific job with the Kings on the court. But there's a reason this is his fourth team. Not every team has considered Ron Artest worth the trouble.
"But there is a reason this is his sixth team. Not every team has considered Brent Barry worth the trouble."
Rick Adelman coached Artest for 40 games, so he certainly signed off on the deal. I want to trust Rick Adelman in personnel matters. I want to trust Daryl Morey, too. This is a tough one to swallow.
I'd certainly much rather have a shoot-first point guard and a volume-shooting rookie on a team that's already starved for shots to go around than a second lockdown defender (Shane Battier being the first), who also happened to average 20+ points on only 16 shots per game. Who we know will leave everything he has and more on the court, which is more than can be said about most of the Rockets' current roster. I don't know if I can sign off on this deal... Seriously though, I also think everything that Daryl Morey does should be heralded as the ultimate truth.
It could be another example of Les Alexander pretending to be a general manager. His last good idea was wanting Steve Francis back in uniform. That one should have taught him to stick with stocks and bonds and whatever else he does. He doesn't know basketball.
We got Steve Francis, a fan favorite in Houston and potentially great sixth man, for 3 million dollars a year. Just because his season was derailed by an injury doesn't mean that it wasn't a good move at the time. But Justice is right, Les doesn't know basketball. Basketball is being nice and keeping your cool regardless of circumstance or whether you win or lose. Basketball is about staying with one team for you entire career, giving them no reason to question your character or "potential for trouble." It is most certainly not about putting the ball in the hoop and preventing the your opponent from doing the same, which seems to be the only thing that Ron Artest is good at.
We'll eventually know whether Les forced this deal on his basketball team. It may be two or three years down the line, but someone will let it slip. They always do.
ALWAYS.
The Rockets had pursued Artest in the past even after he'd gotten into trouble. In an odd twist, once he was accused of animal cruelty, Artest seemed to disappear from the hearts and minds of the Rockets.
Not that odd if you know anything about Les Alexander. Let me direct you to his Wikipedia page:
"He is also a vegetarian and an ardent animal-rights advocate. The Associated Press has reported that he has found ways to “promote animal rights through the Rockets. Complimentary media meals usually are vegetarian, the team's dance squad sometimes wears ‘Animals Have Rights’ shirts and he outlawed using creature-shaped piñatas during game promotions.” Alexander also places ads for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Rockets programs. In 1998 PETA publicly recognized Alexander and his (now ex-) wife Nanci as its largest individual donors. Nanci co-founded and runs the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, and was instrumental in mobilizing support for the 2002 ballot measure that gave constitutional protection to pregnant pigs in Florida."
Come to think of it, if you can forgive Artest for all the other stuff he has done, you should be able to forgive him for neglecting an animal.
Here is where I stop. I'm not an animal rights activist or anything, but even I think that this is a dumb thing to say. It's one thing to punch out a guy have he dumps his beer on you. It's a perfectly natural and very forgivable, though unfortunate, action in my book. I'll forgive him for taking two days off to make a rap album also, because, honestly, who cares. It's in the past. It's another thing entirely to abandon your dogs for three months without care. Justice passes this off as if it were a parking violation or something, when character-wise, it ranks up there with his domestic violence charge as the most egregious thing he has done.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Pinch Me
David Alridge reports that Daryl Morey has pulled off yet another heist, shipping out Kirk Snyder to the Minnesota Timberwolves for my boy, Gerald Green.
You may have noticed that I often only post when the transaction involves my favorite teams, e.g. the Rockets and Celtics. But oh well.
Now I have a use for my Gerald Green Celtics jersey. Yay for not having to tape Garnett's name over it anymore!
Mike James is on the move again
According to Yahoo! Expert Adrien Wojnarowski, Houston is close to sending Mike James and Bonzi Wells to New Orleans in exchange for Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska.
Why this trade makes sense:
For Houston, Mike James meant a decently sized contract (13 million left) with proportionately low production (as in zero). With the emergence of rookie Aaron Brooks, his boxscore was filled with DNP-CD's. Ridding themselves of that burden was one move that Houston needed to make if they are thinking more about the future than winning this year, which seems like the safe bet to make with how the West is looking.
For New Orleans, the only thing that was keeping them from being a truly elite team was a deep bench. Although Mike James doesnt get the burn that he did in the beginning of the season, there really was no indication of a dropoff in production. Moreover, Bonzi Wells was a very solid sixth man for the Rockets and could be just what the doctor order to back up Peja Stojakovic. With these additions, the Hornets will be easily be able to go 7 or 8 deep and keep up with the second teams of Phoenix, San Antonio, and the like.
Why this trade didn't make sense:
I understand getting rid of Mike James, but why get Bobby Jackson in return, another aging back-up point guard? Despite his previous 6th man glory, Jackson will no doubt be buried in the depth chart behind Aaron Brooks, if not also Luther Head. This Rockets team already has a plethora of point guards/undersized shooting guards (Alston, Head, Brooks, Francis), but puts a premium on guys with Bonzi Wells' make-up. To whom will they turn to back up Tracy McGrady now? KIRK [edit: My bad, I always get them mixed up] Snyder? Do they go small with Aaron Brooks at the point and Bobby Jackson/Luther Head playing the 2? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me (hence the title of this section).
The verdict:
The trade is unquestionably good for the Hornets. It is the move they needed to make to keep up with the rest of the Western Elite.
For the Rockets, I don't think the trade will have much impact on their gameplay at all. It does save them a lot of money though, which I guess is a good thing. The only thing is if T-Mac gets injured, as he is wont to do, the Rockets won't really have any one to turn to.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Define "Key"
During last night's game between the Rockets and the Lakers, TNT ran a graphic that listed the key additions and losses for the Rockets that looked like this (no screen cap, sorry):
Key Additions:
Steve Francis
Luis Scola
Key Losses:
None
This is fine, except that they seemingly forgot about the Mike James/Juwan Howard trade. Let's look at the contributions from these "key" additions versus that of Mike James.
I don't know if I have to explain any further.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
This just in
Reports say that Steve Francis has agreed to a two-year, 6-million dollar contract with the Houston Rockets.
Finally, the Franchise is back in town, baby!
John Hollinger already rated the Rockets as having the best off-season so far, and now it just got better with this acquisition.
Starting Line-up:
PG: Mike James
SG: T-Mac
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Luis Scola
C: Yao Ming
Second Unit:
PG: Aaron Brooks/Steve Francis
SG: Luther Head
SF: Bonzi Wells
PF: Chuck Hayes
C: Jackie Butler/Dikembe Mutumbo
This assumes that Rafer Alston is going to be traded, which seems inevitable at this point. If he stays, I could see Mike James and Franchise spending some time at the 2 (though I don't see them on the court at the same time very much, due to lack of shots).
In any case, that's a pretty formidable set. I could see these Rocks contending for the title next year easily.
[edit] I don't mean that they'll contend easily, I mean that I could see them doing it easily. I'm not really sure how that all goes on the spectrum
Monday, July 16, 2007
It's Alive!
Cross-posted at "Pretty Random Ramblings"
Before I delve into this next post, there are a couple things I want to make sure is out there. There are players that I like because I've followed them for many years since they were 14-15 solely because they were Chinese (Sun Yue, Yi Jianlian, Chen Jianghua). I usually ended up also following the teams they were on as a result, too, and growing a liking for them.
The Houston Rockets are not one of those teams.
Whenever I tell people that I like the Houston Rockets, the response I am usually met with is, "Do you like them just because they have Yao Ming?"
I have been a Houston Rockets fan almost my whole sports-caring life. Growing up in NH without a pro team to rot for, I didn't just default to the geographical choice (though the Celtics were still halfway decent at that time). When I was 4 or 5, and everything was screaming MJ, I decided that Hakeem Olajuwon was the best player in the NBA. Everything he did was with a kind of grace that we don't seem to see out of big men anymore (or maybe ever, I'm not a big classics guy). This continued through my elementary school years, and when he was done there, I loved the Rockets under Franchise and Cat. They were bad, but at least they were fun (unlike the Celts). When Yao Ming was picked, I'm not going to lie, I was happy, but it wasn't even my happiest draft moment of the Rockets. That award goes to when they traded Rudy Gay for Shane Battier, who, since his sophomore year at Duke, was my favorite active player.
So yes, I like Yao Ming. He's a stand-up guy, a good teammate, and one of the best, if not the best (TD is really a 4) centers in the league. But to say that he is the sole reason for my liking of the Houston Rockets is a gross discounting of my years and years of fandom.
So after that very length introduction, which I felt like i had to do with the influx of new readers, I will get on with my post.
I have been notably critical of the Rockets off-season thus far (only because I care). I really liked Mike James and had hoped that he would come back to Houston last off-season, but I disagreed with trading Juwan Howard for him as it would leave us with only Chuck Hayes at PF, while having an absolute glut of small guards (Rafer Alston, Mike James, Luther Head, Vassilis Spanoulis, John Lucas III, Bob Sura). Then when we drafted Aaron Brooks with our first pick, I certifiably flipped out because we had just taken another 5'11 PG with pieces like Nick Fazekas, Glen Davis, and Josh McRoberts still on the board.
But now, my worries have been assuaged. Yesterday, the Rockets traded Vassilis Spanoulis (who recently announced he's leaving the NBA because of homesickness), next year's second round pick, and cash to the Spurs for the rights to this year's Spanish League MVP Luis Scola and promising young center, Jackie Butler .
Scola is one of the more promising PF prospects overseas right now, as he took care of the US bigs during Argentina's 2004 Gold Medal run. I definitely see him as someone who could come in and play right away. And even if he does stay overseas, as some are saying he is wont to... I have no qualification for that at this point, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad because we still gave up nothing for something.
So in one fell swoop, the Rockets did everything they needed to in the off-season, get help at the PF spot, and a decent back-up center to eat up minutes so that Deke can save his aging body. And to boot, they gave up nothing. Rather they gave up less than nothing, as V-Span wasn't going to play for us anyway and was just taking up room on the salary.
I'm not sure what the Spurs were thinking with this, but I glad they weren't. My respect for GM Daryl Morey has been reignited (because respect is a fire, of course...). I still don't know if Houston can compete with the bigs (Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio), but they are definitely moving up the ranks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
