Losing to the Lakers was not our finest moment, obviously. But, that was the game that Howard was scratched from the lineup minutes before the game. Minutes. Not even McHale had any clue what happened. It's tough to adjust when things change so fast and unexpectedly. It was still a game we should have won easily though, but shouldn't be held against us.
These guys always seem so close to saying something like, "These Rockets got lucky in 14 out of the 18 games they've played this year. This is the worst team in the league once again." It's a shocker to read something that doesn't reek of negative opinion.
I do not believe that the Rockets do not get their fair share of publicity. However I will agree that they do not have a serious sports media personality championing them. LA, NY, San Fransisco, Boston all have high profile people pushing their cause. It is unfortunate, but it is what it is.
Just throwing it out there, in the latest Lowe Post podcast, Zach talked with the Grizzlies and Warriors beat writers and in both conversations the Rockets were brought up. http://cdn16.castfire.com/audio/303...tp://grantland.com/podcasts/grantland-sports/ Zach asked both writers what team would give their team trouble and who they would want their team to play or who would make a good series. The podcast came out before we beat Memphis. The Memphis guy said he would fear SA, but said it would be really fun to play Houston. Gasol vs Dwight, Harden offense vs Allen defense... GS writer said last season he really feared the Rockets, but wasn't sure if he fears them as much this season. I believe then both he and Zach went on to say they just don't know what to make of Houston yet with the injuries and schedule. But I believe both he and Zach said something like no matter the circumstances they keep winning and they aren't being talked about quite enough. I could have some of the conversations switched I'm just going off memory from a couple days ago... Bottom line the smart guy at Grantland is showing some love and the beat writers from the top 2 teams don't see us as any kind of pushover.
You can't pretend you're LA or NY or even Dallas. You win and people take notice. But when you win and 7 other teams in the conference are right there with you, there is nothing to separate you from the pack. Ultimately the regular season means a big bucket of diddly. If you want to win as a small market, management, coaching and personnel must be all top quality. See San Antonio.
I think there is a misunderstanding here... maybe its on my side. I may have misinterpreted his post. This is what I was referring to in that first post. OKC at 5-14 (or whatever the record was) without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is understandable. It is reasonable to expect them to struggle without their 2 best players and playmakers. You can't really compare that with the Rockets when we still have our best player on the floor. We haven't had Howard, Jones and Beverley. That is huge and the team and Harden have done an incredible job to attain the record they have. The media doesn't love us and uses injuries as the excuse for OKC's record but ignores that the Rockets are also injury plagued and still kicking some A. I was just trying to say that OKC's injuries are more damaging to their team's success than our team's injuries are because we still have Harden, our best player and facilitator, still playing. If we lost Harden along with Dwight, our record would probably suck right now. I thought he was being sarcastic because it was an obvious point. How am I being dumb, a troll or begging for validation from the media??? The media sucks and don't like us ... big effing deal. Our record is all that matters. Chill out and go for a walk or a jog if you can manage you cranky old fart
Man. You should read that D-Mo X Factor thread. His response to me "Your ego is rampant (?) here". I have learned that if you treat people like Rockets2K with respect (and other members of the CF community with grace), he will return the favor. Not a bad guy at all.
I'm not an old **** lol but I was going to say something exactly along these lines. Who cares what random sports writer thinks...they are sports writers. I've always found it strange how people care so much about power rankings and how much the national media talks about the Rockets.
Pretty darn much. If you need your fandom validated by national media then what sort of fan are you? I do find power rankings interesting for the 10 minutes a week I spend thinking about them. And unless it is Lowe talking, I do not pay much attention to what the media is saying about the NBA.
Well, you are much more mature than I was when I was a young'un. I remember fuming back when SI dissed the Rockets following their 94 championship. Over time I've stopped caring, but there was definitely a time when I was pissed the national media just ignored us.
It's annoying because there is a great story unfolding in Houston and it is meriting absolutely no attention. It's not about validation, insecurity, or whatever you want to call it. Obviously, we all think this team is good and that it deserves at least some of the attention being thrown Dallas' way or the Clippers' way. Moreover, the reason the Rockets are not mentioned often, i.e. that they are allegedly disliked around media circles and the league, frustrates fans, myself included. So any mention of the Rockets, lukewarm as it is, brings some satisfaction to me. It's always great to be recognized. The Rockets might have to do a little bit more to get that recognition, but it will feel great when it's finally given.
This team will never get respect. Never has. Never will. I don't know why but that's the way it is. During the back-to-back Championships the team got absolutely know respect. The media portrayed the success as a combination of luck and MJ being retired. Who cares. Nobody can take away a Championship no matter how many asterisks they try to put next to it.