Posted by simrud:

I mean, cmon, you really think he was like, "Aight, I got my big contract, from this day on, I shall not dunk, rebound, pass or play defense”?

I absolutely think that. I think he got afraid of driving into traffic and just stuck to hitting jumpshots which is fine. In 99, I remember him running around with Reggie playing really good defense on him. Didnt see him do much of that later on even though he wasnt injured. But overall he wasnt a gifted player in anyway. All he had was a sweet jumpshot. The teams demise is not his fault. Even though he drove to the hoop every once in a while upto 1999, he stopped doing that after that year. I am not blaming him for being a bad player but I do think he hasnt even played to his best after he signed the contract.

It’s not Houston's fault for being garbage, it’s our GM's fault for giving that garbage a franchise player deal.

Thats exactly what I have been saying from day one. You cannot make a jumpshooter your best player. It his not his fault for taking the money. Its not his fault for being a bad player. Its not his fault for being one-dimensional either because everyone knew exactly what he was.

i agree with silver and simrud to a point. You guys need to realize Houston is not a sprewell-type that plays however he likes and gives whatever effort he feels like. Houston is a true pro and a non-complainer. You won't see him going around talking about how much time he spent in the gym yesterday. He just does his job. I believe he has given max effort in every single game he has played. Perception is everything. Perhaps if he had a wild 'fro and yelled at everyone while going crazy it would appear to more fans as if he was trying "more" somehow?