Make plans for the parade! Brent Barry a Rocket!

Just like his dad and his brother........
Brent Barry could not resist playing for the Houston Rockets.

Allow us to be the first to welcome the missing link...

the important "3rd scorer" we've been talking about since May...

the player who can create off the dribble and pressure the defense...!!!

SCHEDULE THE CHAMPIONSHIP PARADE!!

Oh. Wait a second...
[checking biography for Barry, Brent]

Hmmm, the Rockets signed a 36 year old white dude to a 2-year contract.
A dude who plays no real defense.
A dude who is going to profit from ONE good game in the playoffs....

yeah, maybe we should all take a moment.

Relax.

Breathe.

Calm the #(@*& down.

Let's realize that while Brent Barry is going to be a nice addition to the rotation, he's NOT the missing link or the final piece to the championship puzzle. Yes, he can shoot threes (but so can Novak!). Yes, he's very good shooting free throws (but so can Yao! Though I do like this part of Barry's game, too.) Yes, he's got a championship pedigree (but so does Robert Horry... who just happens to also be a free agent!)

Yeah, maybe it's just me but I don't get the fascination the Rockets have with Brent Barry. He is no longer the dunk champion guy he was a decade ago. He's a nice role player - and role players are important to championship teams, but if he was that important, don't you think San Antonio would have made more of a push to keep him?

So, uh, yeah, in conclusion - I sorta like this signing by the Rockets. I don't completely understand it, but it's not going to backfire on us the same way the Corey Maggette signing is going to backfire on the Golden State Warriors. It's a safe play by Mr. Morey.

But we're still going to need that 3rd scorer...
no rush on that.

Free Throws - they are not the enemy

Hey, Houston Rockets...

I hope you were all watching last night's Memphis/Kansas game. Why? So that you will learn how freakin' important free throws are! No matter how talented or athletically superior you are to your opponent - if you can't make free throws, you will not win important games.

Remember, they are "free" for a reason.

You can't shoot 60% and still hope to win. Ask Memphis how that worked out for them.

Chuck Hayes... this does not apply to you.
Your free throw form is basically a lost cause.

For the rest of you, maybe you'll listen to MJ?



Damn I miss Yao and his 90% shooting from the charity stripe.

Now *that* is how you run a balanced offense!

Rockets show the heart of a, um, uhhh, not quite champion, but a team good enough to play together and beat a talented Toronto Raptors squad. It's the kind of balanced offense we have been craving with this roster for some time now!

Yao, Bonzi and Rafer (?!?) led the offensive attack. No one player had to take 20 shots. And, even more impressive, there were five (5!!!) Rockets that had at least 8 rebounds. Yao finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks... a stat line that seems redundant because he does it every single night. He just needs the help. Last night - he got it.

And the Rockets have put together a nice 2-0 run without T-Mac. A win against the Warriors on Monday night would be an excellent way to ring in the New Year.

Granted, it wasn't perfect last night, and at times it was not pretty (39% shooting won't get it done usually). But we made free throws and we made open 3-point shots. It's been the formula for Rocket victories since 1993. Feed the big man and make open shots. Pop the champagne. Simple.

Ahhhh, the good ol' days!

People That Piss Me Off (Week the Fourth)

And we meet again.

Though, for obvious reasons (I would think), this week's list will be light on NBA-related topics. For those that came to read about Rafer, Kobe, the FatAss or T-Mac... be patient. Yes, I recognize this is a Houston Rockets blog. I also recognize that it is my blog and I can write about other sports if the need arises. Moving along, the people and things that piss me off this week:


1. Roger Clemens

I wish I could write you a letter. It would be short, and sweet, and to the point. Okay, maybe it won't be so heavy on the "sweet" part. But it would be short. And the content would be very straightforward, simply:

F-U.

I think you understand why. Ten years of 'roiding up and making me think you were just that good? I mean, we knew Bonds roided, and he was a smug prick about it. You, Roger, were a smug prick that we kinda liked because you were a smug prick. But now you are a liar AND you dragged Andy Pettitte into your world. Seriously, F-U.

2. Critics of Mario Williams.
(Who now are trying to shamelessly back-track)

This goes out to Richard Justice and all the "worst pick since Sam Bowie" journalists. Hey, did you see last night? (I was there, so I definitely did.) 3.5 sacks... 13 on the season. Hell yes. Oh, and how's Reggie Bush doing? Really? That bad? Wow... sorry, New Orleans. Someone is going to the Pro Bowl. It is not the scatback from USC.

Jay Cutler agrees that Houston made the right decision. He just wishes we didn't.

3. The MLB Players' Association
(and by default, Donald Fehr)

You assholes knew that steroids was ruining the game, its history and the relationship with the fans. You made no effort to stop it. As if the 1994 Strike didn't put you in a bad enough light. Now it is revealed that you went out of your way to tell players (even *former* players) NOT to assist Senator Mitchell in his research and investigation of steroids in baseball.

I may not be a lawyer (oh, wait a second, I *am* a lawyer)... but this sounds an awful lot like a tacit admission of guilt across the board. If you are not guilty of anything - you encourage people to talk. If you know you are guilty and about to be caught, you run (it's like your own version of OJ and the White Bronco).

Now I have to recind my support of Roger Clemens and pretty much every player not named Ken Griffey Jr. or Alex Rodriguez that played baseball from 1998 through the present time. Oh, an exception will be made for Frank Thomas. Much respect for you today, Big Hurt.

4. The 4th Quarter Tracy McGrady.

T-Mac... I really do like you. I do. Promise. But I like you a lot more in the first three quarters of a game than I do in the fourth quarter these days. I know you have the ability to be clutch. I saw your 13 points in 35 seconds spree against San Antonio. I know you can do this almost whenever you want.



And yet we have many games so far in the 2007/08 season where you shy away from being aggressive in the fourth quarter. Are you afraid to shoot free throws? Afraid of physical contact? Afraid of getting injured? A combination of all three?

For me, please, stop being such a wuss at the end of games. Dunk on someone's head when it counts. Or else I may encourage Yao to call you out by name for being soft.

5. Professional basketball players that cannot shoot free throws.

Yes, I am referring partially to the 6-for-22 debacle from Wednesday. Yikes. I don't have the stats in front of me but the average FT% across the NBA is something like 74%. It's a freakin' free throw. The fact that a professional athlete cannot make 80% of his free throw attempts is just sad. The old excuse used to be that the players are too tall and have too large of hands to shoot free throws consistently. Yeah, Yao put that stupid theory to rest. He's 7'5" and shoots nearly 90% every year. No more excuses. Learn to shoot, people.

Until next week..........

Stop mis-interpreting Yao!!

Yao said the Rockets are soft. I'm quite sure his use of the term "soft" was not directed to the team's shooting technique. Especially on free throws. Having a "soft touch" is a good thing when referring to the art of shooting a basketball.

The Rockets, however, did everything they could to prove to Yao (and others like me) that they are by no means "soft" - and if that required the Rockets to brick 16 free throws... so be it. 6 for 22? Are you freakin' kidding me? 1 for 15 to start? It was so bad Bonzi was hoping for an out of bounds play instead of a shooting foul. Rafer resorted to hugging referees and begging for help.


That shooting display would embarrass Chris Dudley. Yes, he of the career 45% FT mark, and the worst shooting technique ever seen on an NBA court. And after last night, he can claim to be twice as good as the Rockets.

T-Mac, ever the leader and never one to make excuses (*sarcasm*):

"It's mental. It's definitely mental," McGrady said. "It's just you and the basket. The fans definitely don't make it easy on you. Every time you miss a free throw, 'aarrghh.' That's the worst thing you can do to a player. He's thinking about it every time he goes up there."

"Bad night at the free-throw line, but we won the game." Yeah, you won... but it better not be providing you false hope.

I'm telling you... McGrady is taking steps to be the next Nick Anderson! Blaming the fans? Hella-weak, dude. Even some of the journalists are (finally) starting to pick up on this. From the Chronicle today:

"That's what makes McGrady so exasperating at times. There are times when he can do that sort of thing almost at will [the end of 1st half dunk]. The trouble is, that will tends to have a second-half expiration date."

I yelled at the TV at least 3-4 times in the fourth quarter last night. McGrady was killing the Pistons in the first quarter by taking the ball strong to the basket. The end of half emphatic dunk was the highlight of the game.

Video Highlights

Then, during crunch time - Tracy became jump shot happy again. Taking 3s instead of driving to the basket and putting pressure on the Pistons' defense. Bailing them out constantly. Next thing you know, a 10 point lead is a 2 point lead.


Hey, guys, hate to break it to ya... but that's exactly what Yao meant when he said you were "soft" - taking the quick shots early in the shot clock that Detroit is hoping you shoot to save them the effort of playing defense. Even Rasheed picked up on this:

"We are going to see those chumps again," Pistons center Rasheed Wallace said. "We are going to bust their (tails) the next time we see them."

Rasheed will get his chance... re-match is Sunday December 23rd - in Detroit.

Toughen up, Rockets - it does not get any easier from here.