In the midst of wild celebrations all of which are absolutely justified, in fact, I feel like a parade right now, there are several haunting realities that will soon resurface: 1. COACHING. Is JVG the coach for this team? Like Clutch, many of us are having doubts. ( I supported his coming) Or, can he change to fit the talent that he has? What about Ewing? I think he should go. What about an "offensive coordinator," an asst. that has charge of the offense as JVG focuses exclusively on the defense. 2. PLAYERS. TMac is the real deal, but Ming is not there, which is partly his issues and partly coaching issues. After that, things are grim. Sura and Barrett are bright spots right now, but they are basically back-ups. Howard and Taylor are simply huge disappointments. The glaring need of a PG and PF is clear, and playoffs are probably out of the question until those two issues are addressed. I love JJ but he is not a long term solution. But what is our trading capital? And the Rockets draft history is, well, let's not go there. 3. INTAGIBLES. All of these relate to Coaching and Players. The Rockets (with the exception of the greatest comeback in NBA history) are BORING to watch. Not good in an entertainment business. JVG's "grim reaper" style is not playing well in Houston. Far too much negative energy. This City likes an upbeat optimistic style of play in all its sports. No doubt some "bonding" occurred last night, but the players during most games just don't look like they are having fun. They appear tense, cautious, and afraid to make a mistake. Chemistry is major, and chemistry is largely MENTAL. JVG's mentality does not appear to be meshing with the key personalities he has. 4. THE OWNER AND GENERAL MANAGER. CD getting an extension was a mystery. His career is littered with bad player decisions and horrible contracts. LA is an aggressive owner, clearly wants to win, willing to roll the dice, has big bucks, but isn't a "basketball guru." He depends on his GM and Coach. But he is a shrewd businessman. He knows he has two special players, he knows they have largely looked lost so far (with obvious exceptions), and, most of all, he knows that empty seats mean lost revenue. That is too many "losts." I still expect major changes soon.
What the hell are you talking about.......lol We just won a tough fought game against the best team in the league and your already complaining? It was JVG's defense that kept us in the freaking game to begin with. If we would have hit half the shots that rimmed out we would have blown them out by 20!!! MAN!!! sometimes your gloom and doomers just slay me!
Complaining? Gloom and Doom? You are correct that defense kept the Rockets in the game and set up the opportunity for TMac. But, the Rockets inept offense kept the Spurs ahead most of the time. Do you really believe that less than a minute of improbable ecstasy solves the fundamental problems of the team? TMac is one of the top five players in the league. Of course, he is going do stuff like this, OCCASIONALLY. The greatest comeback in NBA history doesn't happen everyday. Did you see him drop 48 on Dallas? One day soon he is going for 60, BUT, the fundamental issues I listed remain. TMac's heroics alone will not take this team to the playoffs.
1. Yes JVG should go . I normally don't feela coach has that much impact on a team but he seems to suck the life out of eveyone around him. hmm he does have a vampirish pallor to him 2. Sura and Barrett are playin with heart and so my belief is that the PF position is what should be focused on first. The Rocks need to find a young hungry player willing to bust butt. Maybe an NBDL player? Juwan needs to hang it up and Mo is a bench player at best. 3 JVG please exit the biuilding. 4 Can't say I agree . There have been good moves and there have been bad moves. It does hurt to see the Spurs make so much of their picks and trades though.
Exactly! Where is our Parker (I hope it is Barrett, but that is unlikely)? Where is our Ginoblli? Where is our Bowen? Where is our Brown? And the list goes on. TMac and a struggling Ming (last night was better, but consistency has been elusive) alone are not enough for the long haul.
I'm gonna have to disagree on Howard and Taylor being huge disappointments... . . . . . . . I already thought they were both garbage...
Nice topic. There hasn't been enough b****ing and whining lately here at good ole clutch city. Make sure people don't enjoy one of the most fantastic finishes in NBA history too much. Good work.
Not my intention. I thoroughly enjoyed TMac's performance, and I expect many more. BUT, the response of the board is like, well, the season is over and the Rockets won a championship. No doubt a victory over the best team in the NBA is a noteworthy accomplishment. Remember, however, that the TC was almost empty and the fans were booing (loudly) at the 2 min mark. TMac was incredible, but the Rockets aren't and they will be unable to meet the now increasing expectations, UNLESS, they make some adjustments. And that, my sarcastic little poster, is a REALITY!
I bet the 5 game losing streak really relaxed the team. They are underdogs in every game now, and no one expects them to win. So they playing almost like they got nothin to lose. Losing is now easier. If they lost last night, no one would care. Is anyone gonna go ape if they lose to the Mavs on Sat? Probably not. Maybe Van Grumpy got what he wanted. Destroy the team, and go on from there.
Do you really think the Rockets have turned the corner, found the right combination, finally arrived, got it together, are on a roll, are now unstoppable, have solved their problems, will crush the Mavs, have all the right players, and are a slam dunk for the playoffs? If you do, you are very naive and about to be sorely disappointed. Last night was a highpoint in Rocket's history, a great, great moment. But the key word is "moment." This team still has issues that will take major personnel moves to address. And they had better be coming, soon. TMac is no surprise, he is fantastic, but, besides the future Ming, the rest of team isn't.
no the last game against Dalls reflect more of a significant improvement. In fact since JVG "let Tracy shoot" more, create more, become the #1 option more we have played better. Also the timing of AB and Sura getting minutes is showing. Also when we rebound better we play better. We have a ways to go, but we are no longer taking big steps backwards.
The only problems I see with this team are at the power forward position and the lack of consistent shooting touch. When we take shots we are wide open so the offense is working to get us open shots the fact is we are just not hitting them. That has nothing to do with the coaching and everything to do with the players. I'm sure they hit those shots all day in practice but on the court when it counts your mind begins to play tricks on you. Most of our missed shots are rim outs and for the pure shooters they will begin to fall eventually they just need to keep shooting. San Antonio didn't have any better looking shots thiers just fell in the basket. Would it really be that bad if we didn't make the playoffs this year? Are people going to jump off sky scrapers? (well some on this board might....lol) The lakers didn't win it all at first when kobe and shaq got together, it took a year or two to gel and get the right guys around them. Why don't people have patience anymore? If there is one thing that JVG is, its a tactician. That guy eats, drinks and sleeps basketball (why do you think he looks so frazeled) he knows his team has holes but I don't think we should just rush right out and grab the first available head case to fill a void. That has the potential to destroy any team chemistry. I for one am not ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
This is laughable. T-MAC and YAO made 74% of total points. Houston Name Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts R. Bowen 22 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 1 0 0 2 4 0 J. Howard 20 2-10 0-0 1-1 1 4 1 0 0 0 1 5 Y. Ming 35 9-15 0-0 9-10 6 10 1 5 0 2 4 27 B. Sura 36 2-7 0-1 0-0 2 8 1 2 0 0 6 4 T. McGrady 44 12-29 5-12 4-4 1 8 2 3 5 0 1 33 R. Gaines 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 D. Mutombo 12 0-1 0-0 4-4 2 8 0 0 1 0 0 4 A. Barrett 30 1-6 0-1 0-0 0 2 4 3 2 0 0 2 M. Taylor 22 2-10 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0 2 0 4 4 S. Padgett 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 This has got to stop. Van Grumpy needs to take Mo and Juwan into a small room and chew them out!!!!!!!!
I think anything less than winning 50 and making the playoffs, would be considered a huge disappointment to most fans. I see improvements, and TMac is always capable of great things, and Ming can come alive for any game, BUT I don't see playoffs right now without personnel changes. The offense is anemic by any NBA standard.
I understand your point with your post but you have to see others point. The last 3 weeks have been littered with people bashing the Rockets and being totally pessimistic about Yao and McGrady. I practically have not been able to come to the BBS because of the negativity. Last night Rockets fans' actually had something to be happy about and celebrate over. It is possibly the greatest comeback in history. Damnit, let people be happy and wait at least until the next game to make this post. Yao had an excellent game last night. It seems when Yao has a good game people make posts saying how he still is not playing so well when he actually does have another bad game, they can bash him further with the "I told ya so." It's disgusting. My goodness, it seems some of these so called "Rockets' fans" won't be happy until they drive him out of Houston. I don't care of any other of you guys' sees Yao's progress but I do even with his inconsistency. Yao is going to be a beast as soon as JVG (or another coach) puts him in an offensive scheme that maximizes his effectiveness with his teammates and he gets the correct teammates to help his game. You want to be negative all the time then that is you. Take it somewhere else, especially after last night......Good God.
Yes, what you said are all true and that, but there has been enough bashing and complaining going on in this place during the last coupld of weeks. We don't need more negativity here. Let's just enjoy this great win for a couple of days! You can do your postmortem if they get crushed by the Mavs on Saturday.
