After a quick 6-1 start, the Houston Rockets have fallen flat on their collective faces, losing six straight games before beating Denver at home last night. Inasmuch as the fawning local mainstream media fails to provide any meaningful analysis of what ails the Rockets, the blogosphere steps into the vacuum as this Dave Berri post analyzes the problem precisely — Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming and Chuck Hayes are playing reasonably well, but the rest of the Rockets’ production is among the worst in the NBA. As Berri points out, why on earth did the Rockets acquire two washed-up guards — Mike James and Steve Francis — who absorb minutes at the two-guard position that forces McGrady to play small forward, which forces Shane Battier to play power forward where he is far less effective than at the small forward position. Yes, peer effects in basketball make a big difference.
By the way, just how long are the Rockets going to wait before either acquiring or developing at least an NBA-average point guard? For the record, it’s been over a decade since the Rockets have won a playoff series.