The better team won, but........

Here are a few observations I took from the NBA Finals.
Which mercifully ended with a 40 point killing in Game 6.

Anyway, as follows:

Good God, Simmons is going to be unbearable for the next 5 years.

At least Rajon Rondo didn't break Robert Horry's record for steals in an NBA Finals game. Horry had 7 against Orlando in 1995. Rondo came up just short with 6, though not for the lack of help from the Laker reserves.

When the hell did Kobe turn into T-Mac? Seriously... I know the "bailing out the defense with a bunch of needless 3-point shots" offense when I see it! That's T-Mac's trademark almost!

(Lee's comment to that? "There is no such thing as a T-Mac impression in the NBA Finals." So true...)

We just saw Phil Jackson get pwn3d by Doc freakin' Rivers. Red Auerbach must be laughing his ass off in the afterworld right now. Do they allow cigars up there?

JVG was about to have an aneurysm doing the commentary for the game. The Lakers were playing an excellent version of the matador defense. Giving up in the 2nd quarter in the NBA Finals? Shameful.

Hey, Kobe... even Joe Johnson was able to create his own shot against the Celtics. AND he took them to 7 games. I don't know what it means other than "I will never compare you to MJ ever again." Nor should anyone else. And I am a huge Kobe fan!

The NBA season is over. That sucks. But ever since the Rockets got dismissed from the post-season I haven't had much motivation to write. Guess I get to focus on the draft now!

(Please, Mr. Morey - don't draft the French guy! Please!!!)

Ding, Dong!

... the Wicked Witch is dead!

Enjoy yet another ringless year, Utah.


(oh, and thank you, Kobe... I can rest easy again knowing that the Jazz will once again not win anything. I am "okay" with the Lakers, Pistons or Hornets as Champs... maybe even Boston or San Antonio. Just please not Cleveland.)

Hey, Utah, maybe next year... try not having your (second) best player foul out with 4 minutes left in an elimination game. Just a thought.



What am I thinking... Utah not fouling?
That's unpossible.

We have no hope of a TMac trade

If you were so inclined that is. I've been over the NBA Trade Machine over at ESPN.com and it doesn't look pretty. Good thing I don't want to actually trade him (unless LA is really this stupid).

Honestly, the best we can do past Kobe is a bag of corn chips, and some crappy players. Well, at least on trades teams would do. I mean, if Chicago wanted to do this, I would immediately change my mind about trading him:

And this is from a guy that thought Hinrich was going to be a huge bust in the NBA. I still can't believe that he has succeeded at the level he has, but I'm pleasantly suprised. He killed my Horns while at Kansas, I really should have believe in it more. But come on, cut me a break. He's a white boy from Iowa for goodness sake! To be fair, that trade is ridiculous though, I can't see the Bulls doing it, the Rockets would be dumb not to consider it though.

If the Rockets could do a sign and trade, or a maybe could get Gilbert to agree to sign an extension, I'd love me some Agent Zero action. And I believe him, I think Yao can get his shots too.

Honestly, here's the only trade I can see that works for both teams.

I really like Ron Ron, and his craziness. His D is what most people think Shane Battier's is. And he has a really good offensive game. Bibby's contract is huge, and I'm betting the Kings want out from under it, but he's exactly what the Rockets "need".

Alright, I've convinced myself, trading TMac is just dumb and instead, I'm just going to request he remove

this:

from this:

It's like I don't even know you anymore!

Rocket lose to Orlando... 97-92. In a game where the score is misleading for how much of a blowout it was/should have been.

(Yao fouled... no call. At least some things never change.)

1st half shooting
Rockets: 28.3%

overall shooting
Rockets: 34.1%

Surprisingly, T-Mac wasn't there to blame the bad shooting on the fans this time around. He didn't play the 2nd half because he's banged up. Again.

So, Coach Adelman did the only logical and rational thing he could do. He turned to Clyde Drexler for help.

"Can you shoot?" Adelman asked.

Smartly, Clyde stayed far, far away from the train wreck that is now your '07/'08 Houston Rockets. Yao Ming is doing everything he can. Aside from winning games. Tracy McGrady either doesn't play the 2nd half, or stays 35 feet away from the basket when he does play. Rafer Alston still can't make a post-entry pass. Or a jumpshot. Or a layup.

(okay, Rafer actually played "okay" last night and chipped in 17 points. Funny how his big scoring nights always come in losses though.)

Meanwhile, the Rockets have faded to a 12-13 record. They wouldn't even be in the playoffs if they started today. They wouldn't even be the 1st alternate if one team died in a fiery plane crash (I'm looking at you, Dallas!). This for a team that was 6-1 a month ago. A 6-12 spree of mediocrity has changed the perception of this season quickly.

What do we do? [Enter voice of reason and optimism]

While I am rarely the type of person one seeks out if they need a positive spin on things, there is hope here. No, it's not as simple as "trade Rafer Alston for Jessica Simpson" though. Sadly. For that would mess up two teams at once.

No - instead, I am going to preach patience. Yes, patience. Last year, the Rockets woke up every morning only to see this guy in their face:

And while I am a huge, huge fan of the JVG era and was sad to see him go, I understand... the fiery type coaches have limited windows of opportunity before players tune them out. In his place, we now have the friendly mug of this guy guiding us through the long, difficult stretch of time known as the NBA regular season:

See! I am not the only one who is confused! Adelman is, too.

Now, why am I preaching patience when I know that the NBA, its players and its fans usually possess none of that precious quality? Simple - Adelman runs a rather complicated motion offense. It didn't work immediately in Portland... but they figured it out and got to two NBA Finals (with Clyde!). It didn't immediately work in Sacramento (for many reasons)... but they got Divac and Webber and would have made it to at least one Finals if Kobe Bryant wasn't such a badass. They did make the playoffs though... with regularity. Something previously unknown to Cow Town Sacramento. And I believe it will work for the Rockets.

The hurdle, however, is that T-Mac seems reluctant to buy-in to this offensive scheme. And he's stopped playing defense in the meantime. Yao has been unable to thrive in the high post because Rafer, Mike James, Stevie and T-Mac can't get him the ball at the right time and at the right location. Which makes all the difference.

Obviously, I re-affirm my belief that Rafer must go.

And if the Lakers want to dangle Kobe for T-Mac, hell yeah...

But mostly, I am preaching patience. Just watch. By the All Star break (mid-February), at some point the proverbial light will go on for the Rockets. Maybe by then we will have figured out the point guard situation, how to properly use Quagmire, um, I mean Luis Scola, and also how to properly harness Yao's increasing anger. Then we'll go on a late season run.

Do I expect to win the Championship this year? Not anymore (sorry Mr. Hollinger!), but I do see hope for the very, very near future. Unlike a certain other sports team in Houston.

So, as a show of support for my theory, can you assholes just beat Denver tonight?

The Sports Guy is pissing China off (and me)

Not much mention of Bill Simmons has been made here on this blog. No real need to, for it's not like he needs our help to build an audience. But now he's overstepping his bounds. He claims to be a semi-guru of the NBA game. This year's "Trade Value (Top 50)" column is nothing short of a traveshamockery when it comes to the Rockets.

Though before we begin -- Remember, China - your new target is this man:


For those unfamiliar with his columns, SG/Simmons likes to rank 40-50 NBA players based on their trade value. #49 would never be traded straight up for #50... #1 would never be traded straight up for #2. Unless Billy King or Isiah Thomas is making the decisions.

How does this concern the Houston Rockets? Simple, T-Mac and Yao are on the list and analyzed - but not necessarily in a positive way. (Yao is #9 and still gets trash-talked by a 5'10" white dude from Boston with a bad accent.)

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# 28. Tracy McGrady I had him eight spots higher until the last second, when I remembered he hasn't won a single playoff series and makes $20 million a year.
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For context, here are the three players listed immediately behind T-Mac: 29, David West; 30, Caron Butler; 31, Josh Howard. Are you f'n kidding me?

If the Mavericks called up and said "hey, any chance you would trade T-Mac? Josh Howard might be available!", Daryl Morey would do an Austin Powers/Dr. Evil-esque 5 minute laugh until he realized it was a serious question. Same for David West and Caron. Caron Butler was traded for Kwame Brown once, and no one has really classified that as the NBA's version of a Bagwell for Larry Anderson trade. And I like David West, but he's not a franchise player. Nor is he the next Carlos Boozer.

Granted, I realize T-Mac has not won a playoff series. I also realize I've been criticizing him for being a wuss and a 4th quarter liability of sorts. That doesn't mean I am ready to trade him for a one-dimensional role player. And if "playoff victories" is the measure of everything, how is Dwight Howard #2 overall? His team got swept last year. The Freak has yet to even win a playoff GAME. Kobe has not won a series since Jerry Buss sold the FatAss out of town (and you have no idea how much it kills me to use Kobe as an analogy here).

Meanwhile, SG has Baron Davis at #15. Yes, Baron Davis. He of the Beard, the wayward 3 point shot, and the constant injury concerns. T-Mac is a more skilled, evolved and better shooter than Baron Davis. Yeah, Davis won a couple playoff series... so what? He hasn't won a ring - and he's not winning one this year, either.

I think the California air is polluting SG's brain. Too many Jimmy Kimmel jokes might do that to you. But T-Mac doesn't even get the worst of it. Here's Yao:

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9. Yao Ming His untradeableness (probably not a word, but we're going with it) has been heightened by his value because of those aforementioned Chinese marketing ties. (I'm going out on a limb and guessing that it's lucrative to be the preferred NBA team for a country with more than a billion people.) On the flip side, his defense continues to cause problems, and he hasn't had the statistical surge everyone expected from an All-Star center in years five through seven of his career. If anything, he has regressed a little. Right now, he's a rich man's Rik Smits and that's about it.

Here's my question: Looking at the last 10 guys on this list, with the exception of Yao, each of them gives you a legitimate chance to win a title within the next five years as long as they're the best guy on a really good team. Could you say the same about Yao? To this point, no. Even Smits had some huge moments for the Pacers in the mid-'90s and ended up being the most underrated center of his generation. What has Yao done? His value has been completely distorted, as evidenced by the fact Houston never would have offered him straight-up for KG last summer ... even though KG clearly would have made the Rockets a better team. At some point soon, Yao needs to carry a good team or it's never happening. To be continued.
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A poor man's Rik Smits? Ha ha. That joke was funny back in 2003 in Yao's second season. Just because Yao has a super-sweet jump shot and can make a free throw does not make him Rik Smits. Fuck it, let's compare:

Yao:

career averages: 18.8 ppg, 52% FG, 9.0 reb, 1.5 assists, 1.9 blocks

Smits:

career averages: 15.1 ppg, 50% FG, 6.1 reb, 1.4 assists, 1.4 blocks

Smits NEVER averaged more than 18.5 ppg in one season. Yao averages 18.8 for his career, and averaged 25.0 last year (and will probably hit 25 ppg again this season). Smits NEVER averaged more than 7.7 rebounds per game in any one season. Yao averages 9.0 for his career, and will probably hit the 22/10 level or better this year. To compare the two is an insult, and is done only because Yao is a better shooter than Shaq or Dwight Howard and no one has ever seen a player like Yao before. The dude is 7'5", can shoot, can shoot *free throws* and is possibly the strongest person in the NBA right now.

Yao has gotten better EVERY single season he has been in the NBA. He's all of 27 years old. (Hakeem didn't win his rings until he was in his 30s, oh, by the way).

Oh, and let's also point out the players ahead of/behind Yao: Kobe is at #10 (that's a joke in and of itself, but this isn't a Laker blog), Boozer is at #11 and Dirk is at #12. Okay, that's great company to be in. SG somehow dismisses all of this by saying Yao gets rated higher because it's convenient to be the favorite team of a country with 1 billion people watching. Yeah, it has to be that... or maybe the fact that he can do this in his sleep:

We do not appreciate xenophobic, backhanded compliments here. Then again, this is more fuel for the "Yao is Angry, and you will not like him when he's angry" fire. Suck it, Sports Guy! You can go back to fellating Kevin Durant now.