Houston, we have a problem...

Packt

Packt

Starter
#1
#1
It seems there are chemistry problems in Houston right now. After tonights loss to the Raptors, Chronicle blogger goes off on T-Mac, while in another piece Alston hints at something brewing.

The blog is one mans view. However reading some of the stuff going on in Houston recently, there looks to be some truth to his interpretation.

http://blogs.chron.com/franblinebury/2009/01/sittin_on_the_dock_of_the_bay.html

Anybody who was watching at the Air Canada Centre or on TV knows it was the precise moment that Tracy McGrady quit on the Rockets.

Yao Ming knows it. You could read it all over his scowling face as he sat on the bench through the final embarrassing minutes of horrid game.

Rick Adelman knows it. You could read it between the lines of his post-game comments when he said he would not talk about any individual performances.

Ron Artest knows it. You could tell that a week ago when Artest dragged his sore and ballooning right ankle onto the court to gut out an overtime win against the Jazz when McGrady made himself a late scratch during the post parade.

Leslie Alexander knows it and Daryl Morey knows it and every one of McGrady's teammates knows it.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6191744.html

Asked if this team is on the same page, Rafer Alston said: “Not one bit. This is embarrassing. Again. We had this happen the other night in Houston. We had it tonight.


“It’s sad, and it’s unfortunate.”
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OptimusRhyme

OptimusRhyme

Jive Turkey
#2
#2
awwwww tooo bad for houston:rolleyes:

actually i couldnt care less, i hope they lose alot more games and all their chemistry. better draft pick for us.
 
RKid

RKid

Bench
#3
#3
This has been brewing for a while actually. I dont know if Mcgrady has quit on the team or if he just flat out lost it, but the guy is so far away from the level that he was at a few years ago, that its not even funny. Either way it sucks to be the rockets. I bet they find a sucker to get hime off their hands however.

If Adelman gets the sack, do the kings go after Adelman?
 
SacKings7

SacKings7

Starter
#4
#4
OptimusRhyme said:
awwwww tooo bad for houston:rolleyes:

actually i couldnt care less, i hope they lose alot more games and all their chemistry. better draft pick for us.
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That pick has protection on it. Not sure if its lottery protected or top 20 protected. It actually might be a good thing that they use their pick this year since this doesn't appear to be a deep draft.
 
ParniValjak

ParniValjak

All-Star
#5
#5
RKid said:
If Adelman gets the sack, do the kings go after Adelman?
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Adelman will not get the sack in Houston but if he did, I would go after him 100 mph.

However, Maloofs have the ego and will never admit to making a mistake in firing him in the first place. Maloofs would look like absolute fools that they are if they offered Adelman the job again.

Its just not going to happen. I wish it would but it just ain't happening!
 
6th

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#6
#6
Čarolija said:
Adelman will not get the sack in Houston but if he did, I would go after him 100 mph.

However, Maloofs have the ego and will never admit to making a mistake in firing him in the first place. Maloofs would look like absolute fools that they are if they offered Adelman the job again.

Its just not going to happen. I wish it would but it just ain't happening!
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Rick Adelman laughs at the Maloofs all the way to the bank. If he gets the boot in Houston, the Maloofs are too arrogant to admit their mistake in letting him go by going after him. Adelman will not be back even if he was the only experienced coach on the planet. Darnit!!
 
RKid

RKid

Bench
#7
#7
Čarolija said:
Adelman will not get the sack in Houston but if he did, I would go after him 100 mph.

However, Maloofs have the ego and will never admit to making a mistake in firing him in the first place. Maloofs would look like absolute fools that they are if they offered Adelman the job again.

Its just not going to happen. I wish it would but it just ain't happening!
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If the Rockets continue to play like crap, I would think that Adelman would get the boot. He is a good coach but I dont think he has the players in Houston to run his system. He is trying to turn Yao into Vlade and that is not Yao's game.

If he is let go Im sure that there will be suitors, and if Petrie is allowed to run the ship in Sacramento I dont think it would be farfetched for your kings to make a run at him.
 
A

AriesMar27

Guest
#10
#10
if adelman gets the boot the maloofs should go after him... pride be damned.... but i would think that a team would try to get him... maybe the knicks or cavs....
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
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#11
#11
AriesMar27 said:
if adelman gets the boot the maloofs should go after him... pride be damned.... but i would think that a team would try to get him... maybe the knicks or cavs....
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Um, the Knicks just paid big bucks for a coach in the offseason, remember? Some guy from Phoenix, IIRC.... ;)
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#12
#12
SacKings7 said:
That pick has protection on it. Not sure if its lottery protected or top 20 protected. It actually might be a good thing that they use their pick this year since this doesn't appear to be a deep draft.
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It's lottery + 1, so top 15 protection on that pick. Keep on sucking right on into the playoffs Rockets!!! :D
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#13
#13
LOL -- I remember this same inane conversation going on last year when the Rockets started the season at .500. Um, I hate to bring up what should be obvious here, but Houston is 21-14, which is exactly 1.5 games out of 2nd place in the Western Conference. Collapse indeed. Love how everytime even a good team hits a roughish patch its all over and the coach is getting fired. Who are all these good teams supposed to hire when they've all fired their coaches for losing 2 in a row? Eric Musselman? Or just the eternal fans' fantasy rookie tough guy coach who will put the fear of god into all those prima donnas and make them not ever get injured or have a slump?

Even good teams have issues. The Rockets' has always been injuries and how much TMac has left or is willing to give.
 
DocHolliday

DocHolliday

Starter
#14
#14
McGrady is gutless. He's always been gutless, and he'll always be gutless. He has no heart, no fire, no determination. He's one of the biggest cry babies I've ever seen. Was it 3 seasons ago when the, "I don't know how much I have left in the take. How long I can play at this level, I'm getting older" BS started?

The guy is a joke. He's Kobe Bryant without the killer instinct, fire and determination and guts.
 
est.1999

est.1999

Starter
#15
#15
DocHolliday said:
McGrady is gutless. He's always been gutless, and he'll always be gutless. He has no heart, no fire, no determination. He's one of the biggest cry babies I've ever seen. Was it 3 seasons ago when the, "I don't know how much I have left in the take. How long I can play at this level, I'm getting older" BS started?

The guy is a joke. He's Kobe Bryant without the killer instinct, fire and determination and guts.
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wow it's like we have the same brain
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#16
#16
Bricklayer said:
LOL -- I remember this same inane conversation going on last year when the Rockets started the season at .500. Um, I hate to bring up what should be obvious here, but Houston is 21-14, which is exactly 1.5 games out of 2nd place in the Western Conference. Collapse indeed. Love how everytime even a good team hits a roughish patch its all over and the coach is getting fired. Who are all these good teams supposed to hire when they've all fired their coaches for losing 2 in a row? Eric Musselman? Or just the eternal fans' fantasy rookie tough guy coach who will put the fear of god into all those prima donnas and make them not ever get injured or have a slump?

Even good teams have issues. The Rockets' has always been injuries and how much TMac has left or is willing to give.
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I strongly suggest people bookmark this post and refer to it the next time a similar thread is started.

Brickie's comments should be an integral part of Understanding the NBA 101.
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#17
#17
True that they will most likely improve but the injury concerns are not only already apparent but huge factor in the poor play associated with 2 of their top 3 players. TMacs knee is probably shot to a degree and Artest has torn ligaments in his ankle, which is the most likely cause leading to the poorest play he's exhibited in his entire career.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#18
#18
RKid said:
If the Rockets continue to play like crap, I would think that Adelman would get the boot. He is a good coach but I dont think he has the players in Houston to run his system. He is trying to turn Yao into Vlade and that is not Yao's game.

If he is let go Im sure that there will be suitors, and if Petrie is allowed to run the ship in Sacramento I dont think it would be farfetched for your kings to make a run at him.
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As long as the Maloff's are the owners, Adelman will not be the head coach. Not saying its right, it is the way it is.
 
bloom

bloom

Starter
#20
#20
source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6195787.html

“I criticize myself,” McGrady said Monday. “I can take it from anybody, from everybody. I know my ability. And when I do get right, all that … is put to rest. So kick me when I’m down, because I swear to you, I’ll be back up. And when I get back up, I’m going to sit back, and I’m going to laugh, man, because I’m going to have the last laugh.

“Right now, I’m down. I’m physically down.”
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“Without a doubt,” McGrady said. “It’s a matter of trying to come out and trying to compete physically. I look back at some of the tapes of some of my games, and in those games, I feel like I’m trying to go hard, but I look, and I’m not. I don’t have it. In my mind, I think I’m going hard. But physically, I don’t have it.”
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“That’s what he has to do,” Adelman said. “He has to be aggressive no matter what. The other night, we were playing poorly as a team, and he became very unaggressive. He can’t play that way, (or) he’s not going to get through it or out of it, and we aren’t going to be any good.

“We have to find more ways to make sure we have room to operate, but it’s got to be an aggressive approach every time he plays.

“I spoke to him about it because he’s not going to get anywhere unless he keeps pushing himself. It’s in practice, too. It’s a mindset. Sometimes when things don’t go well, that’s when you have to work even harder.

“Like I told him today, ‘There’s going to be times you’re going to succeed and times you’re going to fail, but that shouldn’t have an effect on how hard you play. You have to play through the good times and the bad times.’ ”
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There's more to the article. I just pulled several quotes out.
 
Ryan

Ryan

I like turtles
#22
#22
I'm really disappointed with Houston this year. I'm rooting for them pretty much because of Adelman. He's one of the most underrated coaches in league history and deserves a ring.

If Houston continues to play like this, then their only hope is to get a good match-up in the first round like Denver. We'll see what happens.
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#23
#23
As I understand it, if the Rockets do not make the playoffs this year, then they retain their #1 pick for this year, but next year it's either not protected or not as protected as this year. If that's the case, then I wouldn't mind at all if they don't make the playoffs because this year's draft is not all that great anyway. Next year McGrady will be one year older and Artest will be one year crazier.

As far as Adelman is concerned, it reminds me of those who would like to get Bibby back - ain't going to happen and shouldn't happen. The nostalgia thing is getting old.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#24
#24
Kingster said:
As far as Adelman is concerned, it reminds me of those who would like to get Bibby back - ain't going to happen and shouldn't happen. The nostalgia thing is getting old.
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I know it won't happen, but Nellie went back to the Warriors, so nothing is impossible. ;)
 
uolj

uolj

Starter
#29
#29
Report is probably the one from David Aldridge:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/01/13/daily.dose.011309/

The Rockets are putting a positive spin on this, but Waiting for Tracy is a play that nobody in Houston wants to see anymore -- up to and including the big man, Yao Ming.

"They don't speak," an extremely plugged-in person tells me. "And Yao wants him out."
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It's not personal between Yao and McGrady. They like one another. But Yao's frustration is real. And Yao is not the only person that's grown tired of McGrady's self-diagnosis, his up-to-the-last-minute decisions on whether he'll play or not.
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