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Reasons for irrational panic after Rockets losses

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by FranchiseBlade, May 7, 2015.

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  1. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    I have been fascinated by the lack of rational thought that goes into some of the doom and gloom associated with the Rockets after losses. I'm looking for possible causes. I understand there will be no official way of getting unbiased scientific research. But I was curious as to what people thought.

    Here is a list of causes of which I can think...

    1. People don't understand the flaws associated with small sample sizes. Looking at one game and judging a team's value based on the play of just one game isn't accurate for applying a more accurate judgment. Looking at one game as opposed to a larger quantity of games isn't an accurate measurement. If you continue the same line of reasoning you could look at one single play and measure a player's value by that one single play. If we look back in history we could look at a picture of Hakeem blocking Jordan and forming the opinion that Michael Jordan sucked because he tried to do too much and force the action against impossible odds. But if you look at a larger sample of what Jordan did over his career and you can see that he did have some value after all.

    2. The highlight culture. Is is possible that with people only watching the highlights of players they are unaware of the weaknesses or unsuccessful plays that every single player in the NBA commits. Again using Michael Jordan as an example, one could look at the highlights and believe that the guy never missed a clutch shot. But the truth is that he did. Both players miss more than half of clutch shots. Michael Jordan has a 43.8% clutch shooting percentage. James Harden has a 45.5% clutch shooting percentage in 2014-1015. Of course the highlights and hype would have you believe that Michael Jordan never failed in the clutch, when in fact he succeeded less than half the time, and less than what James Harden did this year. As a season goes on, the media will latch on to stories and narratives. They play the highlights that will support that narrative. So maybe some fans are overly influenced by the highlights and hype they are exposed to. For the Rockets they see every play of every game including the losses. For the other teams and players they see only the highlights and hear the positive stories.

    3. History of disappointment. Maybe it's that each and every year Houston fans in all sports have gotten their hopes up and end up not seeing a championship or often a deep playoff run. Maybe they are reticent to get their hopes up and believe even the good things that their team has shown them over the year. It's difficult to believe that the team is going to do well and see those expectations shattered.

    4. Other. Is there some other mentality that causes people to act like a single game dooms a team or guarantees a team for success.

    Could it be a combination? I believe that the biggest reason are a combination of reasons 1 and 2.

    I'm not saying that the Rockets will win every game or the championship. I'm not even saying they won't lose every game from here on out. But the one thing I know is that even underdogs win sometime and the games have to actually be played out to find out who is the real winner. So because of that I wouldn't count any team Rockets or their opponents out based on one single game. It makes me curious as to why other people feel passionately about their believe that the Rockets would be swept or that star players have no post season value etc.
     
    #1 FranchiseBlade, May 7, 2015
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  2. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

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    How about, people are just different amd we have a lot of members, therefore we have a lot of different people?
     
    #2 RV6, May 7, 2015
  3. OlajuwonFan81

    OlajuwonFan81 Member

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    Exactly. There are 50k members many of which probably only truly focus in on the Rockets during the playoffs. They come in the 2nd seed and thump Dallas so it is reasonable to assume most fans expect this team to beat the clippers at home without Chris Paul.

    I don't think that is irrational at all.
     
    #3 OlajuwonFan81, May 7, 2015
  4. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    Very true, and I agree with that. I was just asking about the irrationality behind it. For instance, losing one playoff game no matter what fashion it was in, doesn't mean a certain sweep. That conclusion is irrational, and yet was held by posters on these boards.
     
    #4 FranchiseBlade, May 7, 2015
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  5. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    Expecting the team of which you are a fan to get swept based on the play of one game despite an 82 game season in which that same team overcame crushing blow after crushing blow is irrational.
     
    #5 FranchiseBlade, May 7, 2015
  6. OlajuwonFan81

    OlajuwonFan81 Member

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    Many comments are strictly out of frustration. At halftime during game 2 I was ready to throw my remote at the TV and in fact stopped watching for a period of time. The Rockets have played like crap for 6 of the 8 quarters against the Clippers. This team is too talented to be getting thumped at home by the Clips minus Paul.
     
    #6 OlajuwonFan81, May 7, 2015
  7. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

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    Emotional and dramatic people, not made to handle sports. If theyre fair weather fans it just makes it worse necause they dont know the history of the sport, so they can't understand the possibilities and their likelihood
     
    #7 RV6, May 7, 2015
  8. shastarocket

    shastarocket Contributing Member

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    Something needs to be said about mob mentality and anonymity on the internet.

    People are already more willing to share their opinions unfiltered and then you allow them to resonate with other chicken little's...irrational posts are inevitable

    By the way, I know this isn't unique to cfans
     
    #8 shastarocket, May 7, 2015
  9. RudyTBag

    RudyTBag Contributing Member
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    Nothing is irrational about being furious at the Rockets effort in game 1.


    I am still sick over it... If we play hard and lose, that is fine.
     
    #9 RudyTBag, May 7, 2015
  10. ibm

    ibm Member

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    +1.

    game 1 was a disgrace. not only for the rockets, but for the game of bball. not only for the game of bball, but for all pro sports. i actually felt ashamed being a rockets fan that night. that's how frustrated and furious i was.

    respect your opponent, play every game w/ energy,,, things like that should not come from the request of coaches. i place the blame mostly on the players.
     
    #10 ibm, May 7, 2015
  11. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

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    I agree, but I don't think you believed they'd get swept after watching that game. They may lose the series, but they will manage 2-3 wins.
     
    #11 RV6, May 7, 2015
  12. ForTheWinYes

    ForTheWinYes Member

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    You nailed it with #1. Sprinkle in the standard recency bias and you have 2 days of worthless posts after every loss.
     
    #12 ForTheWinYes, May 7, 2015
  13. HouStu_Rocket

    HouStu_Rocket Member

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    Exaaactly. People look at norms and follow it if it fits their confirmation bias. Its precisely why we have the term bandwagon fan.

    We lose game 1. People without the ability to form a complete assessment, opinion, feeling, etc about what they watched log onto the Internet (clutchfans, reddit, facebook) and agree with the most common belief. This is prevalent in people who don't actually watch the games (i.e people who say Harden flops for every point and doesn't pay defense). The ones that are Rockets fans will find panic when the main comments are "Rockets suck, never getting past the first round, rockets played awful".

    The 2nd half of game 1 was abysmal. No excuse for that
     
    #13 HouStu_Rocket, May 7, 2015
  14. BMoney

    BMoney Contributing Member

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    If the Rockets had a history of recent playoffs success then fans would not walk out on to the ledge so quickly. It's that simple.
     
    #14 BMoney, May 7, 2015
  15. fallenphoenix

    fallenphoenix Contributing Member

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    Rockets (Houston sports) fans have been through many heartbreaks. It's a defensive mechanism.
     
    #15 fallenphoenix, May 7, 2015
  16. Liberon

    Liberon Rookie

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    What happened in game 1 is definitely something to panic about. It was a completely no effort competition on my fronts and instances. Some of the most elite teams couldn't play like that if they tried. The Rox failed intentionally on so many levels.
     
    #16 Liberon, May 7, 2015
  17. RCPM

    RCPM Member

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    Or they are drama queen trolls.
     
    #17 RCPM, May 7, 2015
  18. Verbal Christ

    Verbal Christ Member

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    Look up the word fanatic.
     
    #18 Verbal Christ, May 7, 2015
  19. benchmoochie

    benchmoochie Contributing Member

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    How about the only consistency the rockets have is being inconsistent. So people go on a yo yo emotional assessment of the game and put it on the board
     
    #19 benchmoochie, May 7, 2015
  20. Downtown Sniper

    Downtown Sniper Contributing Member

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    I'm so sick of the overly optimistic fans who think it's a sin for others to comment on rubbish things we're seeing.

    The rep-begging overly positive threads are just as annoying as the negative comments they're complaining about being annoyed at.

    There are gripes with this team and coaching staff which are 100% warranted and in no way does it mean we've overreacting or irrational.
     
    #20 Downtown Sniper, May 7, 2015
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