But the season wasn’t a total waste of time, just as no year before it ever is. Since Christmas we learned so much about this cast of characters—one of the league’s most eclectic collection of cultural backgrounds and differing personalities. When the season began, first year coach Kevin McHale was given a roster that featured a pouting, highly paid one dimensional player who’d eventually find himself in a mini-power struggle with the All-Star caliber point guard, and a wild pack of young, underachieving athletes trying to make Houston their place of self-resuscitation. Over half the roster had either been left for dead by a past employer or had yet to find their niche in the league. To make matters worse, all of them were too young to know the first thing about  correcting a problem they didn’t know how to identify. It wasn’t a good situation, but as the year wore on they played less like a group of individuals trying to change a personal reputation, and more like a cohesive team that trusted one another, played unselfishly on every possession, and ended up being pretty good at winning basketball games.

For whatever reason, the wheels unhinged from the wagon three quarters of its way over the season’s rickety bridge, and everybody fell off the side. The playoffs just weren’t meant to be. Here are my individual awards for a memorable season. 

Most Valuable Player: Kyle Lowry. On a team that lacks any undisputed crunch time scorer or overall “best” player, it’s very difficult to pin down who most contributed to a team’s rise and then eventual fall from grace. Before he went down with a bacterial infection in his stomach, Kyle Lowry was the closest resemblance. Continuing his unexpected ascendance from last year with a 20 point, 12 assist, seven rebound performance in this season’s opening game, Lowry looked and played the part of elite point guard for much of the season’s first few months. He was everywhere on both ends of the court, knocking down threes from 28-plus feet on a regular basis, getting into the shorts of opposing point guards, conducting an efficient offense, and taking big shot after big shot for a team that desperately needed someone to step up and assume that specific role.

I realize he didn’t play the entire season, and that the team miraculously continued to win games after he went down, and that when he returned from his injury with a few weeks left in the year, that the team’s chemistry began to come undone, but sometimes it’s too easy to remember the latest and greatest. Here’s my ode to a player who put the Rockets in a position to succeed even after he went down with the only thing that was capable of stopping his brilliant play: a freak injury.

Least Valuable Player: Kevin Martin. Given the team’s flexibility and willingness to make splashy moves—their trade chips include two first round draft picks that are probably already on the market—I’d be shocked if Kevin Martin played another game for the Houston Rockets. In order to entice a possible buyer to take Martin’s contract off his hands (think Chicago or Minnesota), Daryl Morey will most likely package the shooting guard with one of those first round picks. For reasons that are either coincidental, evident, or unfair, Martin’s entire career has coincided with losing teams. His inability to play above average defense on and off the ball combined with an offensive skill set that doesn’t involve any teammates has made him a pariah, at least in my eyes. When he went down with a shoulder injury, the Rockets didn’t appear to be in any hurry to get him back on the court. Judging from how they performed with him out, this shouldn’t be news.

Most Pleasant Surprise: Chandler Parsons. I wrote about Parsons in several articles throughout the season, so my thoughts are well known; there really isn’t much more to say. His play was shockingly steady, improving with each game he played. It’s going to be incredibly fun watching Parsons’ career develop.

The “Thank God I’m An Unrestricted Free Agent” Award: Goran Dragic. When Lowry went down, the season looked to be over. His contribution appeared to be an irreplaceable one. Then Dragic came in and, well, you saw what happened. In 27 games as a starter, the 25-year-old Slovenian averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He also was ridiculously efficient, shooting 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from deep. There’s no telling whether Dragic could keep that type of insane production up with the high expectations of a full-time starter for an entire season, but if he did he’d be an All-Star. And somebody out there is probably going to pay him like one this offseason.

The “Rodney Dangerfield Award That Lacks Respect” Award: Luis Scola. From Kevin Love stepping on his face to the fact that at 6‘9”, he was forced to thanklessly play center for 17% of the team’s total minutes this season (according to 82games.com), all anyone could say about Luis Scola’s season was that his numbers hadn’t improved from last year. Yes, they took a slight dip, but the toughness a player like Scola exudes is unquantifiable when it matriculates throughout the culture of an entire organization. Ignore his contract for just a second: Luis Scola is a man’s man.

The Would-Be Savior Who Had Too Much Asked Of Him Award: Marcus Camby. When the Rockets sent Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet—two players who arguably possess less value than a grapefruit flavored car freshener—to Portland for Marcus Camby, my initial reaction was “WHAT a brilliant move.” All season long the team’s defensive metric figures would plummet whenever Sam Dalembert headed to the bench, and with Dalembert playing less than 25 minutes per game, another rim protector was needed if this team had any chance at making noise in the postseason. Camby played well enough to not only fill the void Dalembert left whenever he wasn’t playing, he took his starting spot. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Camby is 38-years-old. The pressures extolled on him by both opposing players and his own team were simply too much for the old guy to handle. He can still be productive, just make sure it’s in a lessened role.

The Most Frustrating Arc of Development Award: Patrick Patterson. There are a few players I’d like to put here. Marcus Morris being badly outperformed by his own team’s second round pick and twin brother (who actually had a very productive rookie season in Phoenix), and Chase Budinger—who was demoted at the beginning of the season—were two that partly thwarted this team from achieving what it could have. But the far and away leader in the clubhouse for this award would have to be Patrick Patterson. Heading into this season, he hit the ground running with surgically repaired ankles and a whole bunch of expectations. Not the best combination. As his playing time increased, his offensive efficiency numbers went in the opposite direction. It’s no fun saying this, but for now our expectations for Patrick Patterson are to be tempered until further notice.

Twitter: @ShakyAnkles 

I started a post last night with the intent of dissecting the ‘Scola at the 5’ lineups in comparison to the other frontcourt options the team had.  NBA.com has production breakdowns of every lineup combination for every team’s roster so I was looking into Scola-Patterson.  I got overwhelmed and gave up.  There was just simply too much information available.  Lazy of me, I know, but I didn’t feel like spending an hour dissecting that stuff.  But it’s all out there, and statistically at least, the Rockets know if that lineup decision McHale made so often actually hurt the team.  From a visual observation standpoint, at least, it seemed to me–and I would think the majority of you–that it killed them.

I don’t think the scenario that brings Dwight Howard to Houston is that far-fetched given what we know.  Thus far, everything has fallen into place with it looking like the Magic will have to deal him.  The only real fear is some dark horse suitor–like Portland–emerging at the 11th hour.  At this moment, of the teams that reportedly had had interest in a rental, Houston looks to be able to offer the best package.

After vehemently endorsing a tank job in preseason, I wrote around mid-year that the Rockets, after racing too far ahead of the pack, absolutely had to make the playoffs to avert a potential PR disaster.  They didn’t and, as expected, it’s happening.  Three straight years at 14 sounds really, really bad.  I don’t typically preach ‘making a move for the hell of it’ but the team might just have to do that to assuage the public.

Did you know Dwyane Wade is 30?  I didn’t.  I knew he was at least 28, but 30?  Why are people saying the Heat have a huge window?  They have like, 2 years left, max.  I guess there’s something to playing with your friends, but if Lebron had chosen the Bulls, they might have won 7 straight titles.

I cleared out my 7-9 tonight in anticipation of watching Clippers-Knicks.  I didn’t know Chris Paul wouldn’t be playing.  As I just tweeted, this is like watching Julia Roberts when you thought you were getting Salma Hayek.

I don’t have time these days to watch every playoff game as I did in the past.  So I have to ration accordingly.  But I intend to watch every game of Clippers-Grizzlies, a matchup that will put in my opinion the best player in the NBA in Chris Paul against maybe the most well balanced team with the most feared defender geared up to hound the former.  Apart from that, I’m not sure I even plan to watch much of any of the other series’ unless its right in front of me.  I’m just hoping Chicago faces Miami at some point as well as LA against LA.

So here’s a fake interview I did with David Stern:

Me:  Mr. Stern, regarding these new amnesty and stretch provisions, which respectively allow teams to completely remove bad contracts from their salary cap ledgers and extend such contracts across more than twice their original length for salary cap reduction purposes, aren’t these provisions a direct insult to teams like the Rockets that’ve been fiscally responsible with player signings? Why is the NBA rewarding teams with bad business models that have consistently signed players to unreasonable contracts while effectively punishing well-managed teams? Isn’t this a lot like the Wall Street Bailout of 2008? What if I were to organize an Occupy David Stern? What would you do then? Huh? Well, that’s exactly what I’ll do, starting right now. Can you hand me that piece of cardboard and sharpie behind you? Thanks. We’ll see how you big executive types like this.

David Stern: Well, first of all, let me just say that I’m honored to do this interview with you, Eric. We’re always excited to participate in the expansion of the basketball dialogue on the internet, and as a side note I should say that I very much like that tie you’re wearing.

Me: Thanks.

David Stern: In regards to your question about the new CBA, what we’re trying to do is create an atmosphere in which all teams feel they can compete. We want to foster equality for the teams, the players, and the fans. Don’t you believe in equality, Eric?

Me: I do, but…

David Stern: Of course you do, and that’s why we feel that this new CBA is the best contract we’ve ever negotiated. We, Adam Silver, the owners, and I, believe in fairness, and we believe that fairness not only helps our teams compete but also helps our players feel competitive. It helps ensure they have a reason to wake up in the morning, other than their generous contracts, because money isn’t everything in this world, and we want our players to feel like they have an advantage over the other players and the players of other sports and their fans.

Me: …

David Stern: We hope that you share our enthusiasm, but if not, that’s ok, too. Differences of opinion are important in basketball as they are in the world at large. I have to say, it was very nice talking with you today. We appreciate all of your hard work and wish you and your colleagues at Red94 the best of luck.

Me: Thank you, Mr. Stern, but I was still hoping to…

David Stern: I do unfortunately have to run, but if you contact my publicist, I’d be glad not to answer any other questions you may have.

I don’t know about you guys, but, personally, I feel a lot better.

But here is where we have to consider context. Just because we didn’t see their obvious replacements on the court before May doesn’t mean they weren’t necessarily on the roster.  As it has been noted elsewhere, Rick Adelman’s departure was rumored to have been fueled by personnel disputes with Mr. Morey, who one can assume didn’t trade valuable assets for both Terrence Williams and Hasheem Thabeet just to see them look good in their respective suits. So depending on how much faith the geek squad has in these two lottery cast-offs, Morey and Co. could, in theory, be considering more than just centers and small forwards in this draft.

So who will the Rockets choose?

The good news is that the team looks to have options. The general consensus that this is a ‘weak’ draft class and the Rockets’ three picks and team full of trade assets would seem to indicate that Houston is in position to move up. The obvious ideal would be to trade for Minnesota’s number two pick, which rumor-wise appears available, but they would probably only accept Kevin Martin in return. Initially, it seems very questionable to trade a proven asset for a potential one, but I personally can’t say I’ve seen enough tape on Williams to make a judgment call either way. In a perfect world the Wolves execs’ might accept a depth buffet and some picks in lieu of Martin, but even Kahn would most likely not agree to such a cents-on-the-dollar proposal.

The question then is, if the Rockets don’t land the T-Wolves pick, should they still try to break into the top ten? Would there be a player available in the bottom half of the top ten who represents a significant upgrade to the players available at the number 14 slot? Personally, I’m not convinced that there will necessarily be, but, whatever the case, this does seem to be the Rockets’ moment. Hopefully, it’s a memorable one.

(Note:  nbadraft.net has Houston taking Chris Singleton at the 14. If you’re not familiar with their site, they’re usually eerily pretty accurate with the predictions. Singleton, a long, defensive oriented small forward, from what I can glean, looks like he might fit in very well with this heady, upstanding bunch.)

With guys like Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Jeremy Lamb, and Perry and Terrence Jones seemingly scared off by the potential lockout, the lottery looks to be full of players who, like Andrew Johnson’s presidency or the ‘99 Spurs, are simply there by default. The draft talk all year seemed to suggest that this one would be thin, and now it looks to be even thinner (sorry, Cleveland).

Because of this and the Rockets’ need for an infusion of young/any talent, the team might be in a position to trade up.

While I am as generally ambivalent toward the draft for need vs. best available argument as I am about nature vs. nurture, I do think the Rockets’ brass can’t afford to ignore the roster of hard-working, (mostly) young talent they already have.

The team as currently constructed is not in need of back-court help. With Lowry/Dragic and Martin/Lee, the Rockets boast one of the better back-courts in the league. With that in mind, trading up to snag Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight would more than likely also require trading a current player/starter (i.e. Lowry or Martin) to make room for the rookie, minutes wise, which, to me, at best would probably be a lateral move in terms of the team’s overall success/talent and more likely, at least initially, a step backward. Therefore, I think the Rockets should (and probably will) target a big man.

After watching whatever tape I could find lying around the internet and reading the various observations of the various pundits, I personally think the best two candidates to fill the Rockets’ big-man needs are Enes Kanter and Bismack Biyombo.

I won’t bore you with the specifics you can find elsewhere online about either, but, needless to say, they’re both big. And while both seem to be teeming with potential, neither is guaranteed to be a success in the NBA.

This year, Kanter was slated to join Calipari’s/William Wesley’s NBA combine at Kentucky and, coming into the season, was widely considered a potential number one overall pick, but a personal indiscretion left him with a seat next to Coach John as an enormous cheerleader for the entirety of this year’s Wildcat campaign.

While Kanter looks to have real potential, no one has yet to see him face actual high-level competition in a game scenario (outside of the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit, of course, in which he broke Dirk Nowitzki’s record in that particular annual exhibition by scoring a tidy 34 points on 13 of 21 shooting with 13 boards in 24 minutes).

The problem with Kanter is that he’ll probably go #3 or #4 to either Utah or Cleveland respectively, and for the Rockets to trade into either spot, the team will most certainly have to give up significant assets, i.e. Martin/Lowry. But if the Rockets are high enough on the guy or if either team would consider Scola and some change (which I doubt), Kanter most certainly could be worthwhile consideration. (The same argument also applies to trading into the #2 spot for Derrick Williams.)

Bismack Biyombo is a similar case in that, like Kanter, he’s still largely unproven against high-level competition, again with the exception being a spectacular showing at the Nike Hoop Summit, posting its first ever triple double (points/rebounds/blocks). For the past two seasons, he’s played professionally in the ACB (Spanish professional league) where, in limited minutes, he led the league in blocks by a significant margin. Getting most of his points off of offensive rebounds and dunks, Biyombo looks to be very raw offensively, but he’s got the length (7’7″ wingspan), size, and elite athleticism to be a defensive force in the NBA.

Right now, most mock drafts have Biyombo going at the 13 spot, one sooner than the Rockets’ 14^th pick, but he could be taken higher. The hope (mine, in particular) is that if he doesn’t fall to the Rockets at 14, the team might not have to give up all that much to move up a few spots to get him.

Whatever the case, this Houston team needs to improve, and, hopefully, with all the uncertainty surrounding this year’s draft, Morey and the Rockets find a way to use the rest of the league’s hesitation to help themselves.

This week we discuss how the new decade has brought a changing of the NBA guard and what ever happened to Michael Sweetney. Also, a Yao Ming injury update and Thabo Sefolosha vs. Serge Ibaka.

Posted Up: Paradigm Shift Part 1

Posted Up: Paradigm Shift Part 2

Posted Up is a regular conversation between friends and red94 contributors Jacob Mustafa and Eric Todd.

Now I’m not one to criticize success. I may consistently cheer for the underdog, but I don’t equivalently cheer against the favorite. As a rule, I enjoy the game of basketball. I find it to be generally more compelling and honest than most other forms of entertainment.

And the Lakers are pretty much the definition of success when it comes to the NBA. When you’ve appeared in more than half of your sport’s championships and won more than half of your appearances, you’ve earned yourself a little respectful deference.

Also, though, when you’ve been lucky enough to be so talented and thoroughly dominant, you’re usually expected to behave like an adult, to give the respect you demand, even when things don’t go your way.

The thing that I personally appreciate most about the NBA, and sports in general, is the sincere effort that this sort of competition demands. But what has been funny (and kind of amazing) about this particular incarnation of the Lakers is that they’re so talented, they haven’t always had to try.

And, to me, that’s what the real shame of all this has been, that we’ll inevitably have to view this series as a Lakers failure and not a Mavs success. That may have been how many would have seen any scenario in which Dallas won this series, but a win like this, with ‘collapse’ written in all-caps on the Wikipedia description, with the defending champs and resident basketball virtuosos failing to even compete and pouting like spoiled school children in the final minutes, robs the Mavericks of the dignity of their hard-fought win.

As a fan of the NBA, I’m excited about the unexpected storyline of this upset, but also equally disappointed with the fact that the Lakers had so little respect for themselves and for basketball that they decided it wasn’t worth their time to show up.

Then I got to thinking, the above is a fairly myopic viewpoint.  Short-term success is not the objective.  If it takes a year to get down a new system, so be it.  The objective should be to implement a scheme that will help lead to a title.

So my first question is whether you agree with what I just said.  If you don’t, then I assume you believe that you either a) don’t feel any NBA season should be constructively “wasted”, if even for the greater good or b) are tired of losing and want more of that taste of success we got last season.

My second question is whether you can win a title with Adelman’s offense.  Using it, the team had the league’s best offense and a top-10 defense.  So one would believe you can.  But perhaps Morey’s numbers indicate otherwise and that was a reason for the firing.  I don’t know, I’m wondering aloud.

So the overall question is whether you want to see the team just continue running Adelman’s offense and trying to build off of last year or whether you would like to see a clean start with something new.  Discuss.

Posted-Up Playoff Podcast: Round Deux

Posted Up is a regular conversation between friends and red94 contributors Jacob Mustafa and Eric Todd.

Posted Up Podcast: On Rick Adelman

Posted Up is a regular conversation between friends and red94 contributors Jacob Mustafa and Eric Todd.

This line of thinking seems to come from the assumption of the Rockets’ motives as the standard reaction to a disappointing season: that the team’s performance didn’t meet expectations and that this therefore must be the fault of the coach.

While this does seem to be the common rationale for firing coaches, I’m not personally convinced that was the case in this particular circumstance, though it very well could have been. The Rockets began the season in just about the worst way possible, only winning three of its first thirteen games and losing countless close contests in the fourth quarter. The team failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row and only managed one more win this season than the last. With new additions to the roster and continued development of its young players, it’s easy to see how anyone might view the team’s performance as a disappointment and lay the hollow-chested emptiness of that feeling squarely at the feet of Rick Adelman.

Obviously, all of this is purely speculative in that none of us know for certain what the Rockets’ management’s actual reasoning was nor do we have secret transcripts of what exactly was said behind closed doors, but I would like to propose an alternative explanation.

Daryl Morey has repeatedly stated that the team’s intention is not simply to compete in the NBA but to compete for an NBA Championship, but the team as it’s currently constructed is simply not able to do that. Management knows this. Adelman knows this. The players know this. Therefore, the position in which the team finds itself is one of rebuilding.

The process of rebuilding a sports franchise often requires trading players who are good now for ones who will potentially be better in the future. It requires taking chances on players who may or may not live up to their perceived potential. It requires trading veterans for draft picks and being patient while the young make the mistakes they will hopefully learn not to repeat. And, most importantly, it often requires losing now in order to win in the future.

Rick Adelman is 64 years old. He has been a successful NBA coach for 17 seasons. Expecting him to wait around for a few years and coddle young players while they grow into their big-boy Nike’s might not only be unfair to him but also to the organization as a whole.

I believe what the Rockets are looking for is a coach who can grow with the team, someone willing to teach and tolerate mistakes and endure failures with the hopes of creating future successes, someone who can build a system to suit the personnel with an eye toward development and an ear buried in Daryl Morey’s analytical file cabinet, someone who’s ready right now to hurry up and wait.

Hopefully, for the sake of the players and the fans who’ve all invested our time and emotion into this strangely captivating dance, the team manages to find such a someone.

Intro+Chicago-Indiana+Miami-Philly

Boston-New York Orlando-Atlanta

MVP Lakers-New Orleans

Oklahoma City-Denver San Antonio-Memphis

Dallas-Portland

Finals Prediction?

So what can we say we’ve learned from this season, this year, this time we’ve spent watching giants run and jump and chase after an inflated leather ball instead of with our girlfriends, our wives, our responsibilities?

The Rockets are exactly where we left them this time last year: without a chair when the music stopped, with the best record of the teams with the worst records, with an actual lottery ticket’s chance of winning the draft lottery and a sour-grapes lament about the city not being located a little further east. The team is largely still seen as a collection of “scrappy overachievers,” who are otherwise mostly harmless and generally uninteresting.

Despite the shadowy déjà-vu of this particular disappointment, one thing’s for certain. Kyle Lowry is possibly the future.

I say ‘possibly’ because we can only reasonably base this assumption on a month’s worth of production, but what a productive month it was. Lowry’s numbers per game for March: 19.8 points, 8.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds on 47.5% shooting from the field and 42.7% shooting from three.

But if he can continue at the pace he’s set for himself as a starter or even (dear god) build on it, then Kyle Lowry (yes, you’re reading this correctly) could easily count himself among the top ten point guards in the league.

That’s a very hopeful ‘if’ but a welcome one to a Houston faithful without a whole lot of hope or faith to carry into the offseason.

And if this ‘if’ becomes a ‘then’, then the Rockets, with Lowry and Martin, could boast one of the more potent back-courts in the entire N. B. of A.

Here’s to wishful thinking actually being accurate analysis for once.

At the same time, we’ve reduced the prices as much as we could across the board and added a few products for the ladies.

To summarize, prices are now as follows:

Standard Tee: $11.99

Woman’s Tee: $11.99

Heavyweight Tee: $16.99

AA Tee: $20.99

Please revisit the site and let us know what you think of the revised  costs: http://ninetyfourstore.spreadshirt.com/

Or just click on the image below:

As always, thanks for bearing with us on this new endeavor.

After reading through your suggestions, I think I have a good idea of how I want to do things.  With a relatively small community, a mass of unnecessary sub-forums will become overwhelming for everyone and we’ll end up losing the intimacy – as things grow, we’ll expand.

The main point is that I will absolutely have to moderate with an iron fist.  Reading through your emails, you all seem to be in agreement on this.  This initial formative stage is critical to this whole experiment, so I’ll need your help in policing.  If we give children even any lenience, the whole thing will die and anyone of any quality will lose all interest.  I’ve seen it happen.

Sure enough, two weeks ago they were.

Now, not so much. The Heat rank 23^rd in the NBA in John Hollinger’s Pace Factor – the number of possessions a team uses per game.

Sure, Miami is trying to play with defensive mindset. But they haven’t forgotten how to score in transition. They can seemingly blow open a lead during the amount of time it takes me to put clothes in the dryer – which I did not know before last night.

Kyle Lowry is fast. But LeBron’s steal in the midcourt area and subsequent breakaway slam was like a virgin on prom night. Quick. He left Lowry to choke on his exhaust fumes at the starting line.

The Rockets even tried fouling to stop the transition buckets being poured on top of them. Most of the time the Heat, and especially Wade converted the bucket in spite of the fouls. Aaron Brooks had to essentially take a swing at Wade, hitting him across the face and arms with his forearm, to make him miss a layup. Wade actually started bleeding, and after much protestation by Heat coach Eric Spoelstra, Brooks was given a flagrant foul.

If this Heat team can adapt to different styles of play this quickly in the regular season with one third of a season playing together, the playoffs are going to be very interesting.

Analysis and the daily links can be found after the jump.

As a man who takes more than a minor interest in the Houston Rockets, I am very familiar with all of the excuses (I dole them out on a daily basis, though much less regularly lately). I know, the Rockets tend to accumulate injuries like honey attracts adorable, animated bears. I know that this team has tried to maintain and enact new systems through a couple of coaches without being able to keep the personnel on the court or team long enough to ever implement anything of substance. I know that no team (except maybe the equally cursed Portland Trailblazers) in the league has had to deal with similar setbacks to the roster. I also know that this team, as currently constructed, doesn’t really have an excuse. Yes, the injury bug has returned (who among us didn’t really expect it to?), but that isn’t why the Rockets are 3-8. It’s not why this team couldn’t keep a team of Earl Boykinses (that seems as good a plural form as any) from getting in the paint. It’s not why the team couldn’t move the ball past halfcourt throughout the first half of Wednesday’s contest against the Thunder. The reason for all of this is much less complicated than the litany of justifications Rockets fans have memorized throughout the Yao/McGrady era: badness. Nothing comes easily for this team because it just isn’t that good.

Currently, this team’s best options are an aging, if perfect, role player and an occasionally non-existent star who has never been on a team that was any better than an 8 seed. The team honestly isn’t the train wrecks that Detroit and the Clippers are, but those kinds of collapsed messes are the Rockets’ competition these days. I simply can’t write sentences about this team without mentioning some underlying flaw, some major concern, some other reason this team won’t win again. Last night, even as the Rockets hung in the game prior to halftime, everything seemed wrong for Houston. Though the team was tied at 30 and often found itself right behind the Thunder, most of Houston’s early “success” in the game could be attributed to a brilliant field goal percentage (59% in the first half, which Houston finished down by 11), and even that was mostly thanks to a brilliant half of offense from one Luis Scola, who has sadly been this team’s best player this year. Scola can not be described as anything other than consistently great, but his level of great just isn’t that of a star in the NBA’s. Honestly, no NBA team could survive getting the offensive looks the Rockets did last night; yesterday’s was a team that could easily rival last year’s Nets in an anti-arms-race of futility. No shots were easy (Kyle Lowry has taken an absolute pounding from Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook in consecutive games on both ends of the floor) for the team, which didn’t win a quarter of play last night. As aforementioned, not even bringing the ball up the court seemed possible thanks both to the ridiculous length and athleticism of the Thunder (trying to pass the ball into an interior featuring Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Nenad Kristic basically cannot happen when your best post player gives up about three inches to their small forward) and the Rockets’ complete and utter lack of playmaking. Ish Smith and Brad Miller, two consistent defensive liabilities (I’d also like to add that Smith having to consider shooting may be the team’s biggest liability with him on the court), have had to see serious playing time because no one else can deliver a pass, including point guard Lowry and backup combo guard Courtney Lee (whose head has appeared somewhere other than where the Rockets are playing about half of this season). No one on this team can seem to do anything of the things they are supposed to be able to consistently outside of Scola and Martin, who are the team’s worst defenders and consistently give up everything they earn on one end on the other. Without trying to oversell any point, this team lacks the inherent will and talent to be able to win games with any kind of consistency.

This game showed exactly where the Rockets are in the NBA landscape: as one team dealing with the weight of preseason expectations found itself grouping together and bonding as one cohesive unit, the Rockets watched OKC do so all around them, seemingly taken aback and petrified at once. The Thunder represent what just about every NBA team not named the Heat and Lakers envy: youth on the rise; Houston didn’t look as much in awe of the show around it as much as it did weary about it. And if the Rockets are already feeling tired and frustrated with all of the youth this league has to offer, be prepared for an extremely long season.

Houston Rockets 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 116

Box Score

Daily Thunder

On to the links…

• As Kevin Durant gets to coast to 24-point-games in victories that were decided before the fourth quarter began, his tormentee and object of the world’s pity, Greg Oden, got the kind of miserable, morale-crushing news that has become old hat in Houston (and in Portland): the oft-injured big man will miss yet another season thanks to another necessary microfracture surgery, the second of his ridiculously young career. For a few days of the media cycle, good doses of both snark and told-you-so-based, affected pity will be sprayed from the frothing maws of the mouth-breathers on sports radio (I love you guys, though), but this one won’t be fair. Not in the slightest. I mean, talk all you want about Sam Bowie, but even he got a proper rookie season. Greg Oden really hasn’t been given a chance by his body, the same overgrown body of a man that got him where he was and is now rapidly breaking him. Portland fans, I feel your pain, but I can’t even imagine how this weighs on a kid like Oden. Misery abounds for all involved here.

• Going back to a more homegrown sadness, there has been so much hand-wringing about how bad this team is right now that it’s sometimes hard to remember that Yao Ming still hasn’t retuned from his ankle injury to help make this team mediocre instead of simply awful. The big fella did not travel with the team to OKC and won’t be in Toronto Friday, making Monday’s matchup with the Suns Yao’s first opportunity to return to the lineup. Bring him back against the Phoenix Suns; that makes total sense. Ugh. 3-8 records force me into 3rd-grade-type sarcasm. Excuse my petulance.

• Jonathan Feigen knows that the Houston Rockets are not as bad as their 3-8 record implies, but that doesn’t change the fact that the team has already created a five-game-hole to climb out of simply to enter the realm of the pedestrian. Feigen talks a bit about the team’s past lapses proving to be the kinds of failures that teams rarely overcome: “That’s what comes with the losses that could have been — and especially those that should have been — wins. Drop a few too many of those, and then the understandable, road-weary, short-handed loss like Wednesday’s seems to cause far too much damage. The Rockets are not ready to match up with the Thunder. Oklahoma City is young and long and tremendously athletic, blessed with an MVP-caliber talent in Kevin Durant and a running mate, Russell Westbrook, who is not far behind… Nights like that happen, and will happen for them in matchups like these. They are 3-8, however, because of the nights in which they could have or even should have won and didn’t. The latest loss, the first one like it this season, just made it seem even worse.”

• The Miami Heat features some of the best transition players in the NBA, so why does it play at one of the league’s slowest paces (94 possessions per game, good for 20th in the L)? Tom Haberstroh of the Heat Index breaks down why the Heat might not want to look at the SSOL-era Suns as a prototype: “Jones hits on a key point — the Heat aren’t stocked with 3-point shooters. But more importantly, the two ball-dominant scorers, LeBron and Wade, destroy opponents through attacking the basket, not distributing the ball to the perimeter. If LeBron and Wade were to suddenly stop driving to the rim, they’d see their efficiencies plummet from not toeing the free throw line every other trip down the court. Teams would rejoice.”

• Shane Battier said some things about instant replay I don’t think a man as brilliant as he actually thinks.

• Remember when we all mocked David Kahn for his obsession with building a Darko-Love-Supercool Beas frontcourt? Mock away at the next four years of Milicic, but those other two are oh so serious.

• In an ESPN Insider article released yesterday, John Hollinger wrote about a future without Yao that could feature a max free agent and a couple of lottery picks next year. Too bad the Rockets may never be able to truly sever themselves from their Chinese connection: “They can probably do it again. But the problem with life in the middle in the NBA is that it can be a tough place to escape, because it’s virtually impossible to get any better. Houston will never get a high lottery pick this way, and if it keeps this group together it will never have enough dough to make a big splash in free agency. In the grueling Western Conference, furthermore, a win total in the low 40s might still banish Houston to the lottery… It’s too early to say definitely that a change in course is needed. The Rockets will argue for patience with Yao, and for at least a few more months that’s the right way to play their hand. After they’ve seen Yao for half a season and trade-deadline urgency forces other teams to show their cards, the Rockets will have a much better idea of whether it’s best to max out the current roster or opt for dramatic restructuring.”

NBA source says both Detroit & Houston are making a major push to trade w/Minnesota to get Cousins with the 4th pick. “His stock is rising.”

Adrian Wojnarowski later tweeted:

Minnesota offering Jonny Flynn and two first-round picks (16 and 23) to Indiana for a package that includes the 10th pick, sources tell Y!

To gain some insight into Minnesota’s possible motivations, I got together with Zach Harper of ESPN TrueHoop’s official Minnesota Timberwolves blog, A Wolf Among Wolves:

Rahat: Ok, so first we have the report from DraftExpress that both Houston and Detroit will be bidding for Minnesota’s #4 in hopes of nabbing Cousins, and now we just got a report from Adrian Wojnarowski that Kahn is dangling Flynn and picks in hopes of grabbing Indiana’s #10.  Can you provide some insight into Minnesota’s possible motivations?

Zach: My first thought for every move the Wolves are rumored to be considering or proposing to other teams is always trying to figure out how this impacts getting Ricky Rubio to the Twin Cities. With the idea of trading Jonny Flynn for anything, you have to think it’s motivation for clearing depth at a position Rubio plays. To get him over here and in a Wolves uniform, you have to convince him that the job is his and it’s a lucrative and likely-to-succeed situation for him.

As for dealing their other first round picks and Flynn to move into the Top 10 for a second time, I think the motivation is to make sure they take a defensive-minded center or one of the talented wing players to round out their roster. Kahn loves to load up at certain positions as you saw in the draft last year. This year’s overload could be at the small forward or wing position. With the rumors flying around that Wesley Johnson is the guy at #4, Luke Babbitt or Gordan Hayward could be the other guy in the Top 10 projected picks they want to pick out. This team couldn’t shoot from outside at all last season. Now, they have to chance to pick up multiple shooters to put around Rubio to spread the floor for him and their two talented post players (Love and Jefferson).

Rahat: What is the likelihood of Minnesota trading out of the #4 slot and for what reason?

Zach: Since the Wolves seem content with passing on DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Favors if either are available, trading out of the 4th spot doesn’t seem to be a big deal. I’m not necessarily doubting that Wesley Johnson can be a nice player in the league but to grab equal value from another team in order for them to move up and select Favors or Cousins doesn’t seem to be a crazy idea. Minnesota’s ideal situation would have been grabbing Evan Turner without giving up too much in return. Since they probably can’t make that happen without taking on Elton Brand’s albatross contract, they now have to explore different options to convince a free agent (Rudy Gay?) or their overseas prospects (Rubio and Pekovic) that Minneapolis is the place to play basketball. I think they realize there are nice players in this draft throughout but there aren’t a lot of potential stars. If everyone outside of the Top 4 guys (Wall, Turner, Favors, Cousins) are just role players, then you might as well trade down, acquire assets or future picks or both, and select a cheaper role player out of the first round.

Rahat: If the DraftExpress report regarding Houston and Detroit’s interest in the #4 (ie: that they will each be making a major push), for whom might the Wolves be willing to move it?  Amongst Houston’s assets are Trevor Ariza, Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, the #14, and two very lightly protected future New York Knicks draft picks.  Do you think some combination of those assets might entice the Wolves?  Would they be more interested in a package from Detroit?

Zach: Aaron Brooks intrigues me the most of any of those players but that doesn’t exactly solve the problem of getting Ricky Rubio into a Wolves uniform. Now, Brooks is definitely a better point guard at this point and might give them the freedom to deal Rubio away for an attractive package but it seems unlikely that they’d admit complete and utter defeat with the 2009 draft and go this route.

While preparing for the Kings draft last year, the idea of a Kevin Martin-Ricky Rubio backcourt seemed really intriguing. Their strengths and weaknesses seem to complement each other quite well, which makes the prospect of moving down in the draft, acquiring Martin and drafting for defensive presences in other parts of the draft a very intriguing idea for Minnesota. Martin and #14 or Martin and the better of the Knicks picks might be the best way for the Wolves to go. Definitely, Martin with a Knicks pick AND the 14th pick would be ideal for the Wolves and seem to be an offer they couldn’t refuse. It also seems to be much more than the Pistons can offer. Tayshaun Prince is the best asset Detroit has and I’m not sure the Wolves think he could make a big impact in one season (maximum) in Minnesota. Sure, they wouldn’t have to move down much (Prince and #7 for the 4th pick) but is that really a better package than what Houston could offer? Doesn’t seem like it for a team that needs some long-term solutions in their rebuilding process.

Rahat: Very interesting that you mention interest in Martin.  If the Rockets are going with the freshman Cousins, I think it would signal a push for the future, making them more willing to deal the 27-year-old.  If they feel Cousins can be a cornerstone, I feel Houston would agree to deal Martin and one of the picks (not both), as it would not fully deplete their asset core, unlike some of the other deals being discussed.

There were numerous reports last season of Daryl Morey’s fervent attempts to deal up to nab Rubio.  Any chance Kahn might fold and relinquish his rights?  What might it take for the Rockets to land Rubio, or, given their wealth of assets, a package of both Rubio and the #4?

Zach: I don’t think Kahn is the type of guy to admit defeat with the Rubio pick after one year. As nice as the Rockets’ assets are, it doesn’t seem like the type of star power to pry the Spanish point guard from Kahn’s grip. Kahn is not only playing chicken with Rubio, Rubio’s family and his agent, he’s also playing chicken right now with the rest of the league. He had a contentious first year as a decision-maker for the Wolves. It wasn’t necessarily bad but it WAS extremely confusing. Three point guards in the first 18 picks, followed by acquiring Darko Milicic and trying to make Kevin Love feel like he was nothing more than Reggie Evans didn’t exactly show there should be a lot of trust between fans and the front office. At the same time, he can’t look like a pushover by just giving up on a guy that is supposed to be the future of this franchise. If he rolls over on the Rubio possession and deals him off for someone that isn’t a big name, the Wolves and their front office are officially not to be taken seriously. Ego alone will keep Rubio in Minnesota’s hold for at least one more year.