Are we worse than our record?

[conquistador#11]

hahaha stern helping out the rockets. that's a good one. what's next ? Mobster Bud Selig saying he no longer wants the astros to relocate?

[BEAT LA]

Originally Posted by gregas Dude, you can't be serious with this. But I guess every team has a small collection of individuals who are convinced that Stern is an evil puppet master that has it specifically against them.

I didn't even think his post warranted a response.

[BONIERO1576]

Could it simply be that during the win streak we were shooting close to 40% from 3 point range and slumped to 20% in the last two losses. Occam's Razor my friends look it up. This is professional sports, anyone can beat anyone on a nightly basis.

[The Cat]

Originally Posted by MadMax I'm not suggesting this based on the last 2 games. I've been saying this all year. And I don't think the idea that the Rockets are a perimeter-oriented team and my argument are mutually exclusive either. I don't disagree with your premise that this teams performs better when it shoots better...because I'd say that of every team in the league....just maybe moreso about the Rockets than others simply because they don't have great frontcourt players.

Well, I think it's mutually exclusive if comparing them to the other teams in that No. 6 to No. 10 range in the West. Our '09 Rockets/Lakers discussion was a bit of a different issue, I'll admit. But to the OP's original point, I don't think we're at a distinct disadvantage (when playing "hard") relative to Utah, Phoenix, Denver, etc. I don't think the Rockets' record is any more misleading than those teams.

Yeah, I think we're on the same page given your final statement. Of course your team will perform better when it shoots well, but it's especially the case with this Rockets group, and that's what I was trying to point out. Unlike, say, the Jazz... there's no Al Jefferson for us to dump it down to when everyone is struggling and we desperately need one basket to stop momentum. Thus, things can spiral out of control fairly quickly (third quarter against Phoenix). Of course, the reverse can be true as well. In the end, I just think the Rockets' style leads to a lot more volatility in their performance than the typical team.

[BEAT LA]

Originally Posted by BONIERO1576 Could it simply be that during the win streak we were shooting close to 40% from 3 point range and slumped to 20% in the last two losses. Occam's Razor my friends look it up. This is professional sports, anyone can beat anyone on a nightly basis.

The same thing happened in game 1 and 2 of the 2007 playoffs.The Rockets shot 29 to 31% from the field against the Jazz who shot over 40% and the Rockets won those games because of the defense and energy in the arena. In the regular season players don't always contest every shot, or get back on defense in transition every time. In the playoffs they do.

The Rockets don't have the talent to make difficult, or contested jumpers. They don't have someone who can quickly burn his man and get inside if he wanted to, or the someone who can out muscle anyone they throw at him in the post. This is why they are a likely candidate to get swept in the playoffs. It's why the Rockets lose so many games in crunch time.

[jordnnnn]

well our expected W/L record based on points scored vs points allowed as compared to the rest of the league has us at 31-28. 1 game worse than our actuall record.

Funny thing is I actually feel like this is the best team we have had in the past few years, but the last 2 years we ended the season with a better expected record than actual record.

[Zergling]

Our Pythagorean record is about 30-29 so statistically we're barely worse than what our real W/L record indicates.

I just checked that we're 14-8 in overtime games and all other games decided by 6 points or less. Could be an indicator of luck, but also we're a really good FT shooting team.

[Northside Storm]

Originally Posted by Zergling Our Pythagorean record is about 30-29 so statistically we're barely worse than what our real W/L record indicates. I just checked that we're 14-8 in overtime games and all other games decided by 6 points or less. Could be an indicator of luck, but also we're a really good FT shooting team.

The sign of a good team is that ability to push out of close games.

[HtownRocket1]

Originally Posted by Proven I wonder how could be if Kyle would not been returned in team... I have one more question. I'm from Slovenia and I read this forum since Goran came to Houston... my knowledge of English is poor. Can you tell me, what word "flopping" mean? this word is frequently used with Scola... does it mean falling on the floor? thank you.

Perfect example of flopping:

[dobro1229]

DD illuded earlier to the Rockets living & dieing by the jumpshot, and in a way hes right. However, its a little more complex than just that.

The main thing that I see however, is a team that can run its offensive sets to near perfection, but they still dont have an offensive identity that works consistently.

When Lowry went down, the Rockets really thrived in the Dragic pick and roll. Since Lowry came back they have played Dragic off the ball alot more, and its made this team back into more of a jumpshooting team in their offensive sets.

Rule of thumb is, if you have an undersized jump shooting team, you need to push the ball as much as possible to get shots before a team sets in on defense. Yet, when they go small-ball, they often have a more halfcourt minded approach to getting into their offense. I think alot of that has to do with the Rockets going small in the 4th quarter when the game naturally slows down anyways.

Needless to say, you still have a team without an offensive identity. I believe they need to go with the Dragic P&R as much as possible throughout the remainder of the season. Lowry can run the P&R pretty good off the bench, but the ball needs to be in Dragic's hands the majority of the time.



Come summer, the Rockets need to figure out what they want to build their offense around going into next year. Most likely they need to work on aquiring or developing better low post players that make life easier for your outside shooters. This brand of basketball can grind out wins, but longterm, its not consistent enough to be championship basketball.

-Their defense on the other hand, has its own issues. If Scola is still going to be a focal point of this team going forward, they need to seriously look at better defensive pieces to surround him with.

[jopatmc]

Originally Posted by The Cat It's nothing that complicated, guys. The Rockets have the same flaw they've always had post-Yao; there's very little in the way of go-to options around the basket. Camby and Dalembert have helped on the defensive end, but offensively, there's no one you can reliably get the ball into to stop opposing runs. Everything comes back to the perimeter, which leads to streaks. Against the Bulls and Lakers, the Rockets were a combined 14-of-30 on 3s - nearly 50%. Against the Jazz and Suns, they shot 8-for-38 - barely over 20%. That's the difference. And I wouldn't say the opposing team having "playoff intensity" defense had much to do with it, because the Rockets had plenty of looks. That Lee three in the last two minutes Friday night was as much as you could hope for. It just didn't go in. I think the narrative some of you are trying to create - that the Rockets are an effort team that doesn't have enough skill to compete in the playoffs - is flawed. There's plenty of talent and speed on this roster, and if they get hot, they can put a scare into one of the top three teams. It just comes down to that disclaimer. And it'll continue to until the Rockets can acquire that low-post anchor.

Boom daddy.

[larsv8]

I think you are over thinking a bad shooting streak.

We were running our sets, getting open shots, we just weren't hitting them. This was magified by us coming off an insane shooting streak just before.

As for the "worse than our record", its just part of the game. The Yao/McGrady era were much better than the numerous first round exits, this is just the opposite.

[ArtV]

Good teams...even decent ones...don't shrink when it counts.

[daywalker02]

Originally Posted by ArtV Good teams...even decent ones...don't shrink when it counts.

This one is on suckage and high altitude...

[Dreamin]

We need to go on a 3-4 game winning streak to guarantee a spot. Utah have a pretty light schedule.

[dobro1229]

Originally Posted by Dreamin We need to go on a 3-4 game winning streak to guarantee a spot. Utah have a pretty light schedule.

Right, and the Hornets games will not be easy wins. They have Gordon back and are playing pretty good as of lately. Nobody knows what to expect from the Miami game, and Dallas just creams the Rockets with their size and length inside. They cannot beat the Mavericks. Terrible matchup. Its going to take a prayer, and some luck for them to make the playoffs now. Good job Rockets.

[Old Man Rock]

Three of the most important games of the season and we get manhandled by our opponents. The Rockets are making this thread irrelevant. Soon our record will be exactly who we are.

I am back on the side of wanting to keep our lottery pick? Yes I would love to make the playoffs but does anyone think we can beat LA, OKC or SA in a 7 game series?

[dobro1229]

Originally Posted by Old Man Rock Three of the most important games of the season and we get manhandled by our opponents. The Rockets are making this thread irrelevant. Soon our record will be exactly who we are. I am back on the side of wanting to keep our lottery pick? Yes I would love to make the playoffs but does anyone think we can beat LA, OKC or SA in a 7 game series?

No, but getting the NJ pick obligation out of the way is important to making future deals involving a 1st round pick we have to move, and the development experience for young players like Parsons could be paramount.

[Rockets Jones]

We are soft, have no inside game besides Scola and rely on our outside shots to fall so we can play some defense. Do or die is not the mo of this team. It's rather choke city and losing out on the playoffs when we were in doesn't deserve my respect. I do respect Adelman even more now with what he did with our team last year, from the outside looking in trying to make the playoffs with the roster he had.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by The Cat Well, I think it's mutually exclusive if comparing them to the other teams in that No. 6 to No. 10 range in the West. Our '09 Rockets/Lakers discussion was a bit of a different issue, I'll admit. But to the OP's original point, I don't think we're at a distinct disadvantage (when playing "hard") relative to Utah, Phoenix, Denver, etc. I don't think the Rockets' record is any more misleading than those teams. Yeah, I think we're on the same page given your final statement. Of course your team will perform better when it shoots well, but it's especially the case with this Rockets group, and that's what I was trying to point out. Unlike, say, the Jazz... there's no Al Jefferson for us to dump it down to when everyone is struggling and we desperately need one basket to stop momentum. Thus, things can spiral out of control fairly quickly (third quarter against Phoenix). Of course, the reverse can be true as well. In the end, I just think the Rockets' style leads to a lot more volatility in their performance than the typical team.

I still don't think it's mutually exclusive...I think both can be and actually are true.

I also think it's somewhat telling that we don't own a tiebreaker against anyone of note.