The most hated setting on the Mac

 Settings -> Trackpad -> Force Click and haptic feedback (this must be turned off to do normal things like rearrange stuff on the Dock, or drag and drop things from it.)

Sorting my thoughts post NBA free agency

Give Rafael Stone credit.  He inherited an over the cap team with a cheapskate owner, a fat, pissed off superstar and no draft capital and he's managed the team into its current position, which is quite promising.

The last time the Rockets contended, Tillman Fertitta let Trevor Ariza walk for $15m/yr.  That looks even worse in hindsight.  The Rockets were inches from the Finals.  Ariza was arguably their fifth or sixth best offensive player and probably their best defender.  Losing him led to a cascade of bad decisions - Carmelo Anthony, pretending Erik Gordon was a forward, trading Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook (using all their draft capital and then Chris Paul went to the Finals) and then trading away Clint Capela for a role player because Westbrook can't shoot.

This theme will recur.  For now, let's look at Rockets roster as currently constructed.

VETERANS

Guards:

Fred Vanfleet

Aaron Holiday

Forwards:

Jae'sean

Jeff Green

Dillon Brooks

Centers:

Steven Adams

Jock Landale

That's a pretty good group.  But the Rockets are probably not thinking any of these guys are part of the long term future.  (Maybe there is a future where Vanfleet takes a lesser deal and stays.). The veterans are here to make the team competitive now, to teach the young guys and to be salaries for trade.

The group represents $107M/year in salaries on "team friendly" deals.  Those salaries could be traded.  They will almost all just go away over the next two summers if the Rockets want room to sign one or more free agents.

So, the Rockets have put themselves in good position to either trade for a couple of max salaries or sign a couple of max salaries or a max and some other quality vets.  And they are doing this while being playoff quality now.

If you add to the mix the Rocket re-stocked draft capital, swinging for stars or quality veterans seems very doable.

There has been a lot of speculation that the Rockets are specifically watching the Phoenix Suns.  If the season starts badly, the Suns could get a lot for Durant.  And they could suffer Bradley Beal until his deal expires.  But then they either need to build around Devin Booker or bring in a haul to move him.  The problem with building around Booker is that the Suns can't tank because the Houston Rockets own all their draft picks. So, the Rockets are the Suns only path to getting their picks back and making them valuable by intentionally tanking.  Intriguing.  And if the Suns don't want to do the deal and stay mediocre and expensive at the same time, the Rockets can either use the picks or trade them to someone else.  That 2027 pick is looking pretty damn good.

YOUNG GUYS

Guards:

Jalen Green

Amen Thompson

Reed Sheppard

AJ Griffin

Forwards:

Jabari Smith

Tari Eason

Cam Whitmore

Center:

Alperen Sengun

This is a group full of promise and all of these guys are on their rookie deals.  The question here is, who gets paid?  The Rockets are on the clock to max out Sengun and Green next summer.  Barring something catastrophic, signing Sengun to his extension seems like a no brainer.  Green will probably have to show that he can consistently perform.

And if it isn't going to be Green, the one or more of Whitmore, Thompson, Smith and (yes, I'm saying it) Eason need to emerge as a great players and one or more of them will need to get paid.  Some of these guys and some of the rest of the young group could be traded or could slip comfortably into role players roles with role player salaries.

The NBA favors re-signing a team's own players, so presumably the Rockets have to either trade or clear cap space by next summer, and have acquired one or more giant salaries so they can then go over the cap to resign Sengun and Green.  Or again, some combination of Sengun and their next best homegrown talents.

And this is where the Fertitta is a cheapskate screed come back into play.  Are the Rockets willing to go over the cap or way over the cap to contend?

Fertitta was sold on the "moneyball" concept.  Are he and Rafael Stone talking about how to get the best team near the cap, or how to do anything to win?

The Warriors did it for years to win and the recent champion Celtics will pay hundreds of millions in luxury taxes over the next few years if they keep this team together.

The Rockets could be following the Celtics playbook for team building.  It might actually be the only format that works now under the CBA. Which is, find a couple of guys in the draft that are true stars.  Fill the team with quality (expensive) veterans *before* their inexpensive deals expire and then pay them the max and go way, way over the cap to create a title window.

Boston might just win, but enough with all the championships

The Bears are a great franchise in football.  Everyone in the football world remembers their incredible run the Super Bowl in 1985.  They're one Super Bowl.  No one goes around saying that it is their eighth championship.  No one makes list showing the Bears with eight championships.

This is because the Super Bowl was the beginning of the modern NFL.  After the merger, it became a nation spanning league.

So, why are we counting all these championships that happened before the NBA merged with the ABA?

Before the merger, the Celtics and the (Minneapolis) Lakers were right there winning titles with the St. Louis Hawks, the Rochester Royals, the Syracuse Nationals, and the Kentucky Colonels.  (Which one was actually in the ABA?  Do you know?  You probably don't because this was before the modern NBA.)

When Boston won its first title in 1957, the league had eight teams in two times zones.  By the end of the amazing run in 1966 the league had expanded to nine teams.

Take a look at the 1966 and 1977 NBA.  Which one looks like today's league?

Boston is a great franchise in basketball.  They have won the Larry O'Brien trophy four times.  And like Chicago, they have a greater history in a very early version of the league.

Larry O'Brien trophy is the name of the trophy given to the NBA champion starting in 1977, after the merger - after the league expanded to 22 teams and was really a *national* basketball association.

Here's a for real list of NBA Larry O'Brien winning champions, presented the same way NFL Super Bowl champions are represented:

Los Angeles Lakers - 11

Chicago Bulls - 6

San Antonio Spurs - 5

Boston Celtics - 4

Golden State Warriors - 4

Detroit Pistons - 3

Miami Heat - 3

Houston Rockets - 2

Cleveland Cavaliers - 1

Dallas Mavericks - 1

Several other teams have one an NBA championship, but I had to include Dallas since they are battling for their second against Boston battling for their fifth.

Only eight teams have more than one Larry O'Brien, so Dallas has the chance to join an elite club.

If Boston wins, no one will say "wow, they've surpassed the Warriors and caught up to the Spurs."  Absolutely no one will.

And, of course, if Boston wins, every sports yak will say that this is Boston's one-billionth trophy.

No one in football would call the Bears next championship their ninth.   They would say it was their second.

The NBA should do the same with the Larry O'Brien.  That is the "Super Bowl" of this great sport.  It should be put into the correct context.

It is fun watching the Rockets again and what about 2026?

It is just a few posts down, but I think I did pretty well with my post about the Rockets from a year ago.  It is amazing how much has changed.

The new additions to the team have been great, and the team is playing winning basketball.  In the brutal Western Conference, if the Rockets get into the playoffs, their style of play will translate well.

No one has missed the ascendance of Alperen Sengun.  He was a late first round pick who's improved every year.  Everyone compares him to Jokic, a center and fellow late pick.  But Giannis and Kawhi were also late picks and took time to blossom.  Sengun is on pace to be faster to 20-and-10 than any of them.  Which is either a great sign that he really is a star or a bad sign that he's reaching his ceiling faster.  We aren't even halfway through the season, but Sengun feels like the worst outcome for him is borderline all-star and the best outcome is consistent all-star.

It is early, but he's probably not a super star like the others mentioned above who can carry a team alone.  But, winning teams need great players.  I hate the term, but the Rockets have a "piece" - Sengun could definitely be the second best player on very good teams in the future.

So, then who is the star to pair with Sengun?

I admired Fred VanFleet from afar during the Raptors title run so I was happy to have him join the team.  Around him are two top draft picks in Jalen Green and Amen Thompson.  The thinking in Houston had to be for Fred to be a win-now guy and also a mentor to the young talent.  So far, Jalen Green doesn't seem to be learning how to pick-and-roll with his excellent center.  Is anyone better at that than VanFleet?  It is too early to judge Amen, but it is good that the Rockets plan includes giving him meaningful minutes.  He's shown flashes.

There are currently rumors about the Rockets trading for Malcom Brogdon.  He's another I have admired from afar.  The Rockets coaching staff wants efficiency.  I have no idea how he fits with the team, but he is exemplar of that and I'd love to see it.

My sleeper pick for another star is the scrappy Tari Eason.  I can't wait for him to get on the court and animate the contest.  His game is a bit rough at times, and I so wish coach would run a few plays for him so he can develop.  In his physical skills and canniness, I see a young Kawhi Leonard.  (Is everything in this post hinged on Kawhi?). But he needs room to develop.  I'd like to see Tari and Jabari on the court together more.

The front court in total is crammed.

Like Fred, I have to believe the Rockets intentionally brought in Dillon Brooks to win but also teach up the front court.

Jabari Smith is looking polished in just his second year.  He's already a solid player and he deserves the minutes he's getting.

Jae'sean Tate is another animating player who's fun to watch.  His enthusiast play saved my spirit during the tanking days.  I hate it that he's kind of redundant with Tari emerging.  One of them will have to be traded or not get paid.  I will hate this whichever way it goes.

And now, Cam Whitmore is getting real minutes and showing flashes.  Maybe the college forward become an NBA two guard?  He's compared himself to Russell Westbrook.  Cam is less skilled (at this point) off the bounce, but he already has a elite shooting stroke.

Oh, and the Rockets own the next 600 picks from the currently moribund Brooklyn Nets.  Which means that "someone else" is a possibility for a Rockets future star.  Either from a lottery or near lottery pick or using all these assets to get a star player.

Dillon and Fred might be gone in two or three years.

So, who is the 2026 starting five for the Rockets?  Will that be Phase 3 of the rebuild?

5- Sengun

4 - Jabri or somebody else

3- Eason (mostly emotional pick at this point)

2 - Whitmore or Jalen Green or somebody else

1 - Thompson or somebody else

The End of College Football as we know it

 College football will look a lot more like pro football next year.  Many of the changes are good - at least some players are getting paid, finally.  And I'm sure the 12 team playoff will exciting.  But I will miss the regional nature of the college football I grew up with including the regional designated bowl each team dreamt of reaching.  In the old bowl system, if your team had a good year, you stood a good chance of finishing the year with a win.  With the playoff, all but one good team will finish the year with a loss.

Four things will happen from here for sure (ok, likely.)

1. The conference championships will mean nothing ...

When teams already know they can make the playoff.  Both Georgia and Alabama knew they'd be in the top 10.  Would they have gone all out to win the SEC knowing they have a playoff game coming up?

Florida St. would have survived losing to Louisville.  Both Oregon and Washington would be in.  Both Michigan and Ohio St. would be in out the de facto Big 10 Championship (yes, I know I'm skipping the already meaningless Big 10 Championship.). 

The only argument is to play for seeding.  But a team can also get a week off by just not playing hard in the conference championship, especially if they have no change at a top four spot.

Texas could have afforded a loss to Oklahoma B.  And Oklahoma A got the week off and at #12 would have been in the playoff.

Which leads to another possibility.  Will some teams "tank" and lose their last game on purpose, knowing they are already in the playoff?  Oklahoma A "won" a week off by losing two games. Either Alabama or Georgia could've comfortably lost their last game under the new format.

Both the Big 10 and SEC (arguably the only two majors left) are switching to a "best two" format for the championship instead of having division winners.  This will further encourage top teams to tank in either the final week or conference championship week.

2. The playoff will expand.

As the conference championships lose their luster, there will be cries to expand the playoff.  If six or eight of the top teams are freed from conference championship week, why not expand the playoff to 16 teams ... or more?

Once the playoff is 16 or greater then we will *really* have an NFL-type situation where a lot of teams can coast during the last week of the season.

3. All of these forces will make the traditional bowls mean even less.

Kids are already skipping the bowls (and I don't blame them) so they can transfer or declare, or just avoid injuring themselves in a meaningless game.

Bowl games in the new playoff era will be a lot like the basketball NIT tournament.   Does anyone want to watch two dozen games where the greatest achievement available is being ranked thirteenth?

4. Eventually, more new good things will happen and it'll be fun.

Will all the kids get paid to play in lucrative playoff games?  Let's hope.  Will ridiculous things happen in a 16 or 24 or 32 team playoff?  For sure.  Will one the top four teams decided by a bunch of old men in the meeting room always win the championship?  No, and that will be wonderful.  I look forward to the first eight seed wining it all and the first 16 seed advancing.  There are reasons everyone loves March Madness and one of them is that the top four seeds are never the final four.  The games are decided on the floor.  I look forward to football season being decided on the field.  As a fan, I'll be trading the hope of ending the season with a win in a bowl with the thrill of making the playoffs.

Again?

 Steve Sarkisian must be a hoarder, because he never puts anything away.

Texas outdid themselves, blowing a 20 point lead in the *fourth quarter* yesterday and needing a desperation heave on 3rd and 12 to keep a surging TCU from tying or winning the game.

It is the same formula every week.  The offense starts throwing super shorts screens that go nowhere and obvious runs up the middle that go nowhere and the scoring stops.  The defense goes into the ridiculous soft shell zone.  Watch highlights of TCU's comeback (or any of the comebacks each week) and you'll see Texas players standing around in their zone, the receiver catches the ball and then they converge.  Or if it is a run, the runner easily breaks the line and the standing around zone defenders converge.

This is sad because Texas has a good defense.  This is all scheme and entirely the fault of coaching.

Yuck. Can you win a national championship this way?

Steve Sarkisian loves blowing leads.  Because of the GD shell defense they go into any time they have a lead.  After my post last year, Texas barely held on after leading Kansas State by 21.  Today, Texas blew a 20 point lead today and had to win in a flukey overtime.

2023

Texas had a 10 point lead at Alabama.  Lost it.  Hung on to win.

Texas lead the Maroons 30-27 before going into a shell.  The okras scored so fast against the shell that we almost had time to come back again.

Texas lead Houston by 21 before going into a shell resulting in a tie game.  They held on to win.

Texas lead K-State by 20 at the end of the third quarter and barely hung on to win in OT.  SS and co. went into the GD shell at the end of the first half to make it interesting and only starting playing defense again with the game slipping away.  K-State played bravely.  Props.