Think about something. Last year we were obviously more talented but we seemed to struggle with beating "easy" teams. So far in this year (I know it's still early) we are beating the teams we should beat and at least being competitive against "good" teams. If this trend keeps up, should there be any reason we can't finish with just as a good of a record as last years?
i think this year its going to be tough for anyone to truly blow us out, we'll pretty much be in every game throughout the game, either leading or within striking distance, that's what happens when players give it 100% every game. As long as they do that they'll beat the "easy" teams and have a shot at the more difficult teams.
I think depth will become an issue eventually, the guys are playing lots of minutes. No room for error is another problem becuase since we have not superstar to get us through a cold shooting night then the team must perform at a pretty high level vs certain teams. We will crush the crap teams because they just wont play as hard or as smart as us, we will beat the avg to below avg teams with our gameplan along with overall teamwork and survive vs the good to great teams because they don't always come to play and if you dont give it 100% vs this team then they will be very tough to beat.
I was thinking the same thing. Last year during the first few months of the season the Rockets laid some the biggest eggs in team history. I remember many fans writing about how the team seemed "listless," "heartless," and "unmotivated," how they didn't really "compete" some nights. Well, I haven't seen anything like that this year. So, here we are, the Kings are supposed to lose, let's see how the "new" Rockets respond.
Yeah, they always compete hard. Gotta love this team. The only way we get blown out would be just from not being able to throw it in the ocean from the beach, and the other team shooting the ball into a 50 gallon drum.
Did he say it did? "At least" meaning we are not getting blown out, we are winning or are competitive.
Last year we won the games in Boston, Orlando, Dallas etc, also defeated Cleveland at home, this year we may have a problem for those team, that is why we could miss the playoff.
"we are beating the teams we should beat and at least being competitive against "good" teams. If this trend keeps up, should there be any reason we can't finish with just as a good of a record as last years?" He asked a question, I gave an answer. I love these Rockets as much as the next guy on this board but to think that this team could match last season's win total (53) is asking for a bit much. Hence, my response.
I dont think it matters who we play. It seems like we rely too much on our offense. Combined with the scoring from the bench we can a hard team to beat. But, on our off shooting nights we will experience with blow outs like what happened witht the mavs. When teams figure out about double teaming Brooks, we need to get guys on the court that will be able to create their own shots. Right now our wings are not capable of creating their own shots. When all else fails, we need to pound it in the paint and make our free throws. Its too early to see if we do better against weaker teams right now. I think we give the stronger teams just as much fit as weaker teams but we need to either learn how to close games or find someone who can close games for us. Uptempo basketball is fun to watch but I still believe defense wins championships.
I think we can win a few games against the elite this season as well. The hope is they underestimate us, and we play hard and make baskets. As for the playoffs, I see problems there for sure. As far as the regular season goes, I think we have a decent shot at 50+ wins.
I thought about that the other night, before they would lose to sub-par opponents and then they lost good seeding in the playoffs over 1-2 games. At least this year we can be happy knowing that when they lose, they lose because the other teams better not because of the lack in heart.