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Rockets in 2000
What do the Rockets have to do to be one of the teams vying for a championship in 2000? Truthfully, no one knows for sure. But, I have some ideas...
1. INJURIES -- Luck is an important part to a championship run, and plays maybe its biggest role in the number of injuries and their seriousness during the course of an 82 game season. Because the stars of our team are aging, injuries are even a bigger concern. The older a player is the more likely he will get injured and the longer it takes to recover.
What do ya' know. Luck wasn't to be our ally this 99-00 season. We first lost Hakeem for approximately 6 weeks due to hernia surgery. Then Charles Barkley playing in his final game in Philadelphia tore a tendon in his thigh, ending his season and career. We are currently 7 - 17 and Hakeem isn't due back for another 4 weeks or so. To a lesser degree Tony Massenburg's groin injury has hurt us, mainly in our depth in the frontcourt.
Well, folks it got even worse. Hakeem finally came back only to be troubled with respiratory problems. He had to sit out the final 3 weeks of the season. Massenburg never did come back from his groin injury. Carlos Rogers only played in 53 games.
2. A POINT GUARD -- Okay, I may be asking too much here. The Rockets have never had a great PG. I may be wrong, but I don't think they've ever even sent a PG to the All-Star game. Since our inexperienced backcourt was one of our biggest problems last season, and we never had a consistent floor leader at the point, the rumors have been flying. One of the more unlikely ones is Gary Payton for Scottie Pippen. This is the only deal for Pip that I am for, so far. Payton, in my opinion, would be a perfect fit for the Rockets. He has the competitiveness, defense, creativity, ball handling, and most importantly DESIRE to win. He's come close, but never got there. He'd have a great shot here in Houston. Otherwise, if we don't move Pippen, Darryl Armstrong has been mentioned in trade rumors involving either Harrington/Mobley or Harrington/Price. I don't like the thought of giving up any of our big men, since the West is now dominated by teams with size (Spurs & Blazers). And, I would never give up BOTH Othella and Cuttino. Although, I like the idea of getting Armstrong, he just isn't worth that much. Harrington/Price is more likely, but I'd prefer a package that doesn't involve Harrington. Another rumor is that we are trying to find a way to get Penny Hardaway. What I don't like about this is that he apparently doesn't like playing the point, and has had injury problems. If we do get him, I hope we don't give up the farm in doing so. Other names mentioned are Terrell Brandon and Eric Snow. Although Snow played fairly well for the 76ers last year, I'm not that high on him. I just don't think he'd be the floor leader we need on our team of veteran all-stars. Brandon to me is just another version of Armstrong. Brandon is only 5'11" versus the 6'1" Armstrong. They are both very good free throw shooters. Brandon is probably a little more experienced, but He is also 2 years younger. The only edge I give Armstrong is that he seems to bring more energy onto the court. Either guy would be a good pick up.
Well, well, well... The Rockets must've listened to me for once. A team dominated by its big men almost since its inception has gotten a hold of a potential all-star POINT GUARD! We gave up a lot to get him in Dickerson, Harrington, Price, and Carr. We also got Tony Massenburg who will lessen the pain of losing Harrington. Orlando was the third team involved and sent us a 1st round draft pick and Don MacLean. Many people think MacLean is merely trade fodder for near-future trades. I on the other hand believe MacLean may be the one to stay while Bullard moves on. Check one off the list of things the Rockets must do to win in 2000!
I was wrong about MacLean, doh. Bullard stayed and has shot well from the 3 point line.
3. DEFENSE AT THE PF SPOT -- Barkley is a great rebounder (finished 2nd in the league) and can still put points on the board, but the man is simply a liability whenever it comes to playing against an opposing PF with ANY offensive skills. Harrington seems to have learned his defensive style from Barkley. Anyone taller than Othella has no problem scoring and even though he hustles, just doesn't seem to be very effective defensively. Bo Outlaw has been rumored to want to follow Hardaway to where ever he goes, so there is one upside to acquiring Penny. Outlaw is an energizer, and a very good defender, but has very little offensively. He can't shoot free throws (50.8% career), so he wouldn't play in the 4th quarter too much, but that's one reason to keep Barkley.
We can forget about Harrington. Outlaw has resigned with Orlando. Who is left? Well, rumors have been swirling about a potential trade involving Pippen in a three way trade in which we would get Rasheed Wallace and maybe another player to make the salaries match. Our draft picks were all power forwards, so maybe one will be able to contribute next season, and hopefully will play some defense.
The more I think about it, the less I'm concerned with this particular point. We got Massenburg in the Francis trade. He's no all-star, but he's a better defender than Othella was. And our only PF draft pick not to get sent to Europe, Kenny Thomas, has promise. So, this may just be one more thing the Rockets have been able to cross off my list.
Cato has been playing center mostly, but he is more of a shot-blocking PF. When Hakeem comes back I hope Rudy moves Cato to starting PF and let's Hamilton and TMass back up the center position.
Injuries prevented use from ever knowing what TMass was capable of. Cato rarely played any PF, because of Olajwon's injuries, and I found out that Kenny Thomas plays about as much defense as Kenny Smith used to, except with fewer steals.
4. A BACKUP FOR PIPPEN -- This isn't as big a concern to me as it is for other people, but there is a need, so.... Resigning Sam Mack is not going to be easy because of his rising value. If we can get him for not too much money, then he should be a priority. I've heard about getting Rodney Rogers, but all I can envision is this 66.3% free throw shooter doing is really irritating me. I don't see that kind of desire or heart in Rogers that we desperately need. He's not a good defensive player, not a good rebounder, not that good a passer. I am not totally against signing him, but I'll be the first to say, "I told you so", if he doesn't pan out. One intriguing rumor I've heard recently is signing Detlef Schrempf. I have never been a fan of Schrempf, but mainly because he played for teams I did not like, not because of his talent. I think he'd be a great pick up for the Rockets. He is getting old, but in limited minutes backing up Pippen, I think he'd be very effective. I think he could play between 25 and 30 minutes a game, and be an asset. The negatives to Detlef are his age, he's slow, he's not a great defender, but he is a good rebounder and a very good shooter. Plus, at 6'10" and 235lbs he can even play a little power forward against the smaller guys in the league.
Forget about a "backup for Pippen". How about a replacement for Pippen? Shandon Anderson has been rumored to have a strong desire to play in Houston. His coming would be contingent on Pippen's leaving, since Anderson is looking for a starting job. Sam Mack should still be a priority, because he is a good backup and can hit the three.
Okay, so Pippen's gone now and Anderson is here. Now the problem is who starts? We have Anderson, Augmon, and Williams. Anderson may be better suited to start at SG, and Williams is an offensive player with little defense. Augmon gets my vote to start. Mainly, because the rest of the starting 4 can all score, and it's not like Augmon averages zero points a game. Williams will be an offensive threat off the bench, while Anderson spends most of his time at SG.
Obviously, my vote doesn't count for much. We released Augmon before the season even started. Anderson has been our starting SG, which left the job to Williams. Well, he hasn't performed. His defense isn't quite as bad as I thought, but it's not much better than I thought either. With Hakeem out Rudy is tinkering with the starting 5. Anderson and Rogers have gotten starts at SF lately.
The SF position was the weak link the entire season. Nothing Rudy tried worked, but he didn't have the talent to put out there...
5. 'CHEMISTRY', 'COHESIVENESS', 'UNITY', 'TOGETHERNESS', 'RAPPORT', 'HARMONY' -- Whatever you want to call it. This is what the Rockets were missing in 1999. It's also what the Rockets were looking for between 1987 - 1992. It's something you can't teach or learn. It just has to happen. It doesn't have to happen at the beginning of the season (look at the Spurs & Knicks), but it definitely has to happen some time or you can kiss a trip to the Finals good-bye. It usually comes over time by developing relationships among team mates, but we don't have a lot of time, and this is the one ingredient I know we need more than any other.
Usually the rule with chemistry is that the longer a team plays together the better their chemistry is. The Rockets have made a multitude of changes, and aren't done yet. But, I think this actually helps their chemistry, which may tell you how bad it was last year. Whether we do better in the playoffs remains to be seen, but I feel we've already improved our chemistry. Is that another thing to cross of the list? This is getting better every day.
Well, it WAS getting better. Hakeem was just starting to round into mid-season form, when he went down with the abdominal injury. This hurt chemistry, but Barkley tried valiantly to keep the team together long enough to get Hakeem back and make a run in the playoffs. Well, then Barkley went down, and just like that the season was over. As is, we simply don't have the experience and talent to do anything in the playoffs.
A funny thing happened towards the end of the season. The young guys started to develop some serious chemistry. They pulled together and beat the Jazz, Blazer, and Sonics all within a week. I sure hope this was just a glimpse of things to come for our revamped Rockets.