No D in the H

I tried to make that sexually funny somehow but I failed horribly…Anyway, what I meant was, where the hell is the defense in our “supposed to be good this year” teams of Houston Rockets and Texans? There is none of it and both teams are either dead last or close to dead last in defensive efficiency after every single game. I know both teams are doing pretty well on the other side of game, but as we all know the saying is not “Offense Wins Championships”. I believe the correct saying by Paul Bryant was more like “Offense sells tickets, Defense wins Championships”. At least the Texans are following true to that phrase by selling out every game and the poor defense can be somewhat blamed on injuries . But the rockets can’t even sell out a game this year unless it’s the 1st game of the season or our opponent happens to have some form of the current fad of a Big 3. I mean Golden State does this every year. They always have one of the top offensive teams thanks to Nelly and the fans love it and love to go to the games even though they have only been to the dance once in the past gazillion years. On a side note, that one time out of a gazillion in the 1st round against Dallas was one of my favorite playoff series ever to watch, and not because I like the Warriors. This year the Rockets are a high powered offensive team but ain’t selling tickets and ain’t winning. Will they turn it around? Yeah sure maybe, and I hope so. But I do not remember a team that could get to the Ship without at least having “middle efficiency” defense. Just look at the Suns this past decade…a future hall of fame point guard, a beast in the paint and very very solid role players all around who could all shoot lights out every night and average 120 points for the season. Yeah having an ultra high powered offense will give you a great fan base and get you to the playoff every year, but when that non-defense team runs into a team like the Spurs (not flashy or high powered) who play very slow and is at the bottom of the barrel as far as points scored then we see consistently every year that defense almost always wins out. My point is that if the Suns couldn’t do it with the talent they had then how the hell are we supposed to try that with no future hall of famers and only 24 minutes per game of a beast in paint? If you want to call Yao a beast that is… We should have never gotten rid of JVG because he was so defensive minded and eventually it would have worked out; we just weren’t patient enough. And if you’re argument is that Adelman took the rockets to 2nd round for the 1st time in over a decade then my argument back is that Adelman had nothing to do with that. The rockets were still one of the best defensive team in the NBA that year and it was due to JVG pounding a defensive mindset into our player’s heads which stuck for the next couple years. So I still believe that if that team was under JVG and not Rick then we would have either done the same or better.



If we look at the Rockets today, there is absolutely no defensive mind set in our players that was taught from JVG. Yes Battier is older and Yao doesn’t play as much, but still, I would think that Adelman and Morey would recognize that and take action into attaining some defensive stoppers. We did it with Artest and Ariza so why is our main priority trying to go for guys like Kevin Martin and Chris Bosh who only play offense? If no one has noticed, a lot of experts say that Houston has one of the most potent offensive back courts in the league with Brooks and Martin and they complement each other very well. But they are also the main reason why so many teams can get to the hoop so easily. Yao is not quick enough to stop every freight train that drives the lane and The Chuck Wagon can’t stop anyone who can at least semi-jump. With those 2 guys guarding our wings it’s sometimes like a 5 on 3 when we are on defense. If our starting guards can’t stop Kobe then what’s even the point? They say that is why we traded Ariza for Courtney Lee, to have a “Kobe Stopper” but I highly doubt the 3rd year guy who comes off our bench is the answer. We are a better team all around when we focus on defense with our best players and not offense players. Adelman is a good coach but if our team continues to try to win games on just one side of ball then I say we beg JVG back and get him the players he sees to fit a defensive focus and to make the Great Wall greater.



One thing I loved about the Texans drafting the controversial 1st pick of the draft with Mario Williams over Reggie Bush was that we drafted a player specifically to stop and play defense against the best football player in the NFL. Now that is focusing on what matters; stopping the other team, not outscoring them.

Second Fiddle: Goodnight Canada

Apparently there is a rumor out there that the Rockets are skipping the wooing of LeBron and Wade and will be first and foremost going for Chris Bosh. I can see why Houston wouldn’t be going for Wade seeing as they just obtained K-Mart #2, and I’m assuming the reasoning not to go after LeBron would be the fact that everyone else will be in line 1st and will most likely be a waste of time. It’s a pretty smart strategy for what the Rockets are attempting here. Firstly, Bosh is definitely leaving Toronto. Secondly, we all learned in college, when you go to a bar/club and see a group of girls, you aren’t supposed to go for the hottest T&A chick right? She knows she is wanted by all the guys and she’ll get what she wants in the end. So you might as well go get that Asian chick because you know she’ll be really good at one thing...And she’s probably better looking after you get her away from the shadow of the T&A chick. That’s how it’s like with Bosh. Pull him away from LeBron’s shadow and suddenly Bosh is a lot more eye-catching for your team than you first thought. And the one thing that Bosh is really good at? Scoring. A lot of people are concerned that Bosh can be a defensive liability in the front court and that is a legitimate concern. But Bosh going to the right team will fix itself. In Toronto Bosh was the entire team it seemed like. He scored 22-27 points consistently every night while his teammates often failed to step up as his side-kick. If Bosh goes to Houston , he will not be scoring 22-27 per game. He will have Yao and Kevin Martin there to help with the scoring pressures. Oftentimes the stress and concern that comes with taking the load of scoring will result in lackadaisical defense and I think this is the case with Bosh. It’s not his fault; he his the only one his team that can consistently score so he must focus on that aspect in order to win games. Kevin Garnett is a prime example of this. Yes KG was a good defensive player in Minnesota but it wasn’t until he went to Boston where he didn’t have to score as much, and intern, focus on being the defensive leader of his team, ultimately resulting in his 1st DPOY award. Bosh might not get that award with Houston but he will be better on D and will help his team in other facets of the game with his extra energy. The only issues I see with Bosh not wanting to play with the Rockets is that Houston is a smaller market than what he is after and the well being of the other 2 stars he will be playing with is always iffy. No matter how you slice it, Yao and K-Mart have missed out on so many games the past 3 seasons and that is a major concern for any title-seeking free agent. But you can never count the Rockets out when getting what they want and that is in large part due to this phrase that Houstonians have come to know very well, “In Morey We Trust”.

An awesome friend of mine drew up that portrait at the top. What better way to greet a superstar big man on July 1, 2010 than with these two guys behind Morey at Bosh's door step?

Second Fiddle: Joe Schmo

Most of these players are looking for a max contract offer. I say most because I doubt any team will offer Joe Johnson a max contract after he showed no signs of deserving the max in the playoffs. This could be good or bad for a team interested in Joe. On one hand, any team that is thinking about signing him will probably be able to get him for far less than they previously thought. But on the other hand, does that team trust his abilities once they reach the playoffs? In this instance I think that Joe will only benefit on a team that has another player better than or equal to his talent. This was made clear to me by the massive struggles that the Hawks had with a Bucks team that they should have destroyed on paper. The Hawks couldn't ask for better match-up issues. And then they set a record for the worst point differential in a 4 game series sweep against Orlando. To stop the Hawks, all the opponent had to do was stop Joe. Other than maybe Jamal Crawford, there isn't another player on that team who can carry them when Joe is the main focus on their opponents defense. Crawford can, at times anyway, carry the Hawks but he is too streaky to keep it up. Joe needs to be with another star equal to him so he doesn't get wrapped up. I can't say what team he will go to, but it needs to be the team that decides to sign 2 of these big names. If I had to guess, I'd say Joe goes to a team with Bosh or Amare in NY and makes just a little more than he does now, but not the max, if LeBron doesn't go to NY anyways.

Second Fiddle: The Homebodies

I'm trying something new this time since this is a long topic. "Second Fiddle" is going to be a series of related issues, other wise I would be writing a book.

With all the hype LeBron James is bringing right now due to being eliminated early in the playoffs and now everyone focusing on his inevitable free agency, I sometimes wonder if the other free agents feel neglected. The media cares mostly what LeBron will do which makes sense because he is the best. But these other guys are great players who can turn around a franchise over night with just their signature and could definitely challenge whatever team LeBron goes to. So let's show some love. The other top free agents in no specific order are as follows: Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Dwayne Wade, and Joe Johnson. These guys are my potential "Franchise Face Changers". And when you have so many them in the free agent pool at the same time, it turns into a once in a lifetime opportunity for a potential "League Face Changer". So lets look at the options and perhaps the best suitors for these players who could completely change the face of the NBA.

First off, I didn't include Yao or Dirk in the previous paragraph even though they are free agents and are included in the "Franchise Face Changers" category. But unless anyone wants to disagree, I don't think they are going anywhere. Yao owes it to the Rockets to stay and give his all (health wise). Unless he is forced to retire due to injury or the Rockets give up on him, which is doubtful, he's not going anywhere. He has too much to prove in Houston to show that he can take them to the promise land. Speaking of the promise land, Dirk can smell it every year on the first game of the season. Even though the Mav's have been getting eliminated from the post season earlier than they are "supposed" to, Dirk will stay because he has amazing players all around him that I don't think he will get elsewhere. And if he goes anywhere else, Team X will not be his team like it is with the Mav's. But he doesn't owe it to Dallas like Yao does for Houston. He has given his all and it's just not happening the right way, there is just a certain "je ne sais quoi" that is missing. So as I don't think he will leave, I wouldn't blame him if he did.

For Love of the Game

Love your team or love the game? This is one of the biggest sports arguments that I always seem to get into with my friends...Here is an example: I am a huge supporter and fan of my favorite team, just like anyone right? But when I am watching my team in a game, and the other team does something that they shouldn’t have, I voice it even if it benefits the other team . “What are you doing Rondo?! You aren’t good at shooting the 3 ball, take it to the hole, that’s what your good at man!” Everyone I’m watching the game with looks at me and wonders why I’m rooting for the other team. “No that’s what he should have done if he wants to get a better chance at scoring.” “SO WHAT! Why do you want him to score?!” Well I don’t necessarily want Rondo to score. Believe me, I want my team to win, but I do love to be coach sometimes and point out mistakes and what not, whether it’s my team or not. And IF my team is going to lose, I’d rather lose by the other team having a flawless game than losing because both team sucked but the other team was just a tiny bit better. At least I still got to see one team play good ball.

This is what I tell my friends in these instances, which usually sets off a bomb...“I love the game more than my team, if it wasn’t for the game, there would be no team.” That seems logical to me. I love my team because I love the game of basketball. I love playing basketball, watching basketball, and talking basketball. I just happen to root for whatever team in whatever city I grew up in because I love that city. In essence, a team does not define a sport in my mind. A team can help the sport yes, but not define it. Game came first, team came second. Easy-peezy, lemon-squeezy right?

Age Over Beauty

The older I’ve gotten and the more aware I’ve become about the business side of sports, it seems that I’ve become very annoyed at these teams that keep giving aging players huge contracts just because they have a name. Ryan Howard's new contract put me over the edge, but since I don't know baseball as well, now I have to bash the Lakers. L.A. gave Kobe Bryant a new deal a couple months ago that definitely made me ask why. Yeah he’s still The Guy currently for L.A. but he is getting more of an annual income for the next 3 years as he ever has though he’s about to be 32 years old and he’s getting injured more frequently. Kobe is scheduled to make $26 million in 2011-2012, $28.7 million in 2012-2013 and $31.5 million in 2013-2014, his final year of the contract. If there is an argument to combat this type of money for an older player it would be that Michael Jordan made over $30 million in his final 2 years as a Chicago Bull. Once Bryant enters the final year of this contract, he and Jordan will be the only players in NBA history to reach the $30 million mark for one year’s salary. So I pose this question now...Does Kobe Bryant deserve about the same money as Jordan did in their final years? Does Kobe even deserve the same amount as LeBron right now? I guess that’s an opinion in the end. Let’s just say that I would give LeBron $10 million more than whatever Kobe is making 3 years from now, because he will just be that much better than Kobe at that time, right? Yeah I know there are rules for years a player has played and what he makes based on that, but the Lakers are giving Kobe one hell of a raise/bonus per year since the max contract for a player is about $19 million per year. My point is this: Does the Lakers front office really think that he will be worth 30-35% the team’s total salary 2-3 years from now? Were they really that scared that he would join another team if they didn’t offer him “ Jordan like” money? I understand loyalty to a player who has been on that team his whole career but that player should also have the respect to that franchise to take less money since he has accrued so much over the years and let the team use that money else where in order to help the team. I am not saying all this because I hate Kobe Bryant, in fact in the last couple of years I’ve come to respect him more than any current player. To quote Bill Simmons, “He has found the secret.” He is a less selfish player and just wants his team to win regardless of his stats. I guess I would be too if I was getting that new check. I am saying this because as a fan of a certain team who’s certain all-star player got injured and he and his $20 million plus contract sat on the bench for over a year, I just don’t understand giving a future 35 year old who is getting injured more often that amount of cash.

The Big Tease

Portland has Rip City , Houston has Clutch City , I think it’s time that Dallas rightfully gets a new nickname for the repetitious theme they seem to follow. I was going to go with “ Choke City ”, but the Mav’s aren’t quite there just yet. I think a better suitor would have to be “The Big Tease”. I mean think of how Dallas fans have entered the off-season for the past several years...just completely let down after yet another great regular season which routinely follows a disappointing post season. I'm sure the fans realize that they are the first #2 seeded team to be ousted in the first round since the playoff series expanded to 7 games. And I'm sure this didn't remind everyone of their collapse as the first team since the expanded playoffs to be ousted as a #1 seed in the first round a few years ago...oh wait. The Mav’s always have huge potential at the beginning of every year and they are always “supposed” to go deep into the playoffs. And it’s not necessarily the Mav’s fault that they have all this high expectation for success. Other people like so called experts, the fans or even Mark Cuban decides that “this is our year”. I thought so too, especially after the trade deadline when they finally got a big man in Brendan Haywood who can really defend in the paint against the likes of Tim Duncan, or so we thought. And then they got Caron Butler, a guy who can score the ball well and defend guys like Kobe , but I guess the guy who can’t even breathe out of his broken nose proved too much for Mr. Butler. If that’s not enough, how about this for motivation…Dirk can opt out of his contract if he doesn’t want 21.5 mil next year. I wouldn’t blame him if he tested the FA market, and neither can the fans or Cuban. Haywood is now a FA and Kidd will be 38 by next year’s playoffs and Marion will be 32 next month. It seems the only bright spot for the Mav’s future is the semi break out of Rodrigue Beaubois. Dirk will be 32 next year and he will have to decide if he can give it one more go as the franchise player on a more than likely worse team than this year. It seems inevitable that a rebuilding phase will be knocking on Mark Cuban’s door sooner than later. But who knows, because next year will be “The Year” right?

Million Dollar Question

Remember the movie What Women Want? Well here is a new movie for ya, What LeBron Wants. I know this question has been asked a million different times and it's getting old, but here is a different take on it...I think. Apart from winning a title obviously, apparently everyone thinks they know the answer, or so it seems, and only because he hasn’t given an answer is obviously why we speculate. Does he want money? Does he want fame? Does he want to be the best ever? Does he want a ring? How about multiple rings? Everyone is trying to figure out these questions and trying very hard and fast. My guess, again only a guess, is a combination of everything; the best with most while staying modest. Now the bigger question is how does one create the right equation with said variables? July 1st 2010 will be the start of arguably the most important free agent class in NBA history and perhaps in all of sports. None the less, the events that will transpire this summer will be more dramatic than final episode of Jersey Shore. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer and Amare Stoudemire are the biggest commodities this summer and everyone is trying to get a slice in order to make their teams better, with James, of course being at the top of everyone’s wish list. After many hypothetical formulas, I believe the most logical team that LeBron might think about joining and where he can get all he wants, and then some is right down the turnpike. The Chicago Bulls. Anyone agree? No? Well here is my argument…They have enough money since trading away John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas & will have even more if they can move Kurt Hinrich. Rose and Noah are future all-stars and Deng would be a great 6th man to come in for LeBron with his scoring and defense. Rose will be among the top PG’s for years; can you imagine Rose and LeBron running a fast break together? LeBron will need a team with a good defensive big man and Noah is the perfect fit for how LeBron plays. He’s an amazing shot blocker/rebounder and can run the floor. He can also hit the long jumper, horrendous looking yes, but it still goes in, and he can hit his FT’s better than most bigs. Not to mention he is quick enough to get out of LeBron’s way, which is something of an issue for older Shaq. And with Taj Gibson next to Noah, that is a brick wall when it comes to defense and it will only get better. All the Bulls need now is a couple average SG’s who can hit the open 3 and will take a pay cut for a ring…cough..Ray Allen..cough cough. Matt Barnes & Kyle Korver are also deadly from the arc who are on the FA list this summer & won’t demand much cash. All of this can logically happen, and if the NBA and LeBron want to take a stab at re-creating the 72 win Bulls team, then this will be the only formula and perfect timing for that sort of success that we will see in a very long time. I know what you are thinking, “What if LeBron joins Wade or Bosh in NY or Miami ?” Yes one of them with LeBron would be a great tandem on a team, but that’s it, just an exciting tandem. Unless LeBron and player X take less money than the max contract, then whatever team that picks up both players will have to spend all of their money on those 2 guys and will have nothing left over for some solid role players, which the bulls already have. The max contract tandem team will make the playoffs every year and probably go deep but will not be a good enough all around team to win multiple rings; and isn’t that the goal, to become a dynasty? This is the formula for a dynasty: Good Defense, good role players, talented youth with big upside, good leadership, a supporting city/fans and 1 transcendent, with-out-a-doubt future hall of famer. I would say that a dynasty needs a Center on the level of Shaq/Hakeem/Kareem/Russell, but like Jordan , LeBron is great enough to carry his team to a different echelon with his competitive nature and his shear will to do absolutely whatever he wants on a basketball court. And that is even rarer, meaning that your big man isn’t the best player on the dynasty team. Now just add a simple minded coach who has the common sense to mold this together; it’s not hard with this type of team, right Phil Jackson? Just look at history and you will see that all of the great dynasties possess these things and that type of opportunity only comes around once in every 10-20 years. Now that’s some anticipation.