There are people not getting the point here recently. Those longtime fans of the Rockets feel that it's been way too long before they were very successful. The newer fans think that the last iterations of the Rockets teams were successful and were content. And for Les, he inherited a super team from Charlie Thomas and Paterson. As far as Cuban and the Mavs, they knew what they had in Dirk.
Truth. From 1980 to 1995, the Rockets made the NBA Finals 4 times. They haven't made it since. If you grew up in that era, you have a different expectation for what a successful season looks like for the Houston Rockets. Sadly, we are nowhere near being that sort of franchise today...it's been way too long.
From the Atari Age to Playstation 1, the Rockets made the Finals. From Playstation 2, 3, Xbox, Xbox360, Wii, they didn't come close.
Yes, so true. For some of us, it's hard not to expect that excellence every season. A possibility that we might contend. That even if the team doesn't have a great record, there is a great player to watch on the court. The thought that we'd captured lightning in a bottle once more with Yao and the trade for McGrady, a trade that was hailed here at the time, despite the revulsion with which he's seen here today, was exciting. We would have those great players and contend again. Fate had other ideas. The hell of it all is that at least with the blow up of the great '85-'86 team because of drugs and Sampson's injuries, things went south pretty quickly. Sure, we had the great Hakeem Olajuwon to watch, and that made it bearable, but with Yao and McGrady, it was a long, drawn out torture session for the fans. An endless arc of hopes raised and then dashed, again and again. A nightmare, interspersed with glimpses of greatness. To borrow a line from a good song of the past, what a long, strange trip it's been.
So Tmac/Yao are the victims of high expectation Hakeem brought to the city. Never mind Rockets was bad enough to get another 1st round pick before Yao came, never mind Tmac/Yao made Rockets competitive again, never mind Les never opened up his wallet to give Tmac/Yao enough support until it's too late, never mind Rockets immediately missed 2 playoffs in a row after Tmac/Yao both were gone and possibly more in the near future, it's all Tmac/Yao's fault.
Well, you have to admit that we had a shaky foundation considering Yao and McGrady's injury history and that we only made it out of the first round once during that time frame. (Then again, our training staff sucks)
well its kind of shocking but his body obviously does not see it that way.. It was fun while it lasted though, good luck Yao
Where in the world do you get the idea that I'm saying it's all Yao's and Tracy's fault? I'm pretty critical of our owner...I'm not with those who worship at the altar of Morey, either.
We aren't that sort of franchise because we CAN'T be that sort of franchise. Our 1981 finals trip notwithstanding, the Rockets success in the 80s and 90s were purely due to their ability to abuse the coin-flip system. It's due to the Rockets being a-holes back then that the NBA went with a lottery system instead. Morey and CD can't emulate the back-to-back #1 picks of Sampson and Olajuwon because even with the most hardcore tanking, the Rockets have 6% chance of getting consecutive #1 picks.
You don't have to hit the #1 pick to build a franchise, meh. Besides, you're missing the point entirely. We're talking about expectations. We're talking about a brand concept. When I think of the Houston Rockets, I think of a brand that was developed as I was growing up...the product no longer comes close to that brand, no matter the reason.
This is so true. It makes me sad to see some of the younger fans clinging to things like McGrady slamming over Bradley, a 22-game (regular season) winning streak, 13 in 35, or holding up players like Bob Sura or Jon Barry as Rocket folk heroes. The fact is that most of our “signature moments” in the last 14 years have happened 1) in the regular season or 2) in a first round playoff loss. History is made in the playoffs, not the regular season. When I think of the Houston Rockets, I think of Hakeem, Clyde, Mario, Sam, Robert, Rudy, Scottie, Mad Max, OT, guys who actually made history with this organization. Steve Francis? He was a decent player here for a while. How many playoff series did he win? 0. Tracy McGrady? 0. Yao Ming? He won 1. Nobody who has played here in the last 15 years has really left a whole lot of impact on me as a fan. I guess that’s what happens when you only win 1 playoff series in 14 years.
Of course not. But that was the way we did it in the 80s(and extended that to the 90s since Hakeem played forever. We were the posterboy for tanking. So much so the league had to change its rules so it can't be abused. So if you're lamenting how the Rockets no longer does it the old way, I'm saying it's because they can't. Because you can only abuse a system for so long before people stop you. WTF? You honestly believed it was the Rockets who were better? Don't be ridiculous. Your whole "good ole days" was basically built on one player(2 if you count Moses). The Rockets were mediocre before, and they became mediocre afterwards. So please, none of this "Rockets" raised expectations. The Rockets have always been the same. The only difference was whether Hakeem Olajuwon, and to a lesser extent Moses Malone, played on said team. Hence, if you're going to blame management, it's that they can't continuously tank in peace without fearing fans not abandoning them. If you want the good old days, you need to tell all fans to sell out Toyota Center when the team wins 10 games in season, for consecutive years.
I'll say it again: We're talking about expectations. We're talking about a brand concept. When I think of the Houston Rockets, I think of a brand that was developed as I was growing up...the product no longer comes close to that brand, no matter the reason. You may not see it this way, and that's fine. Honestly, I could not care less. This is my impression of things having grown up with the Rockets during that era. Apparently, I'm not alone. I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish...are you trying to tell us we don't feel that way? Look, I get that you think Alexander and Morey are the greatest minds that ever graced our fair city. I hope you're right...I'd just like to see some results sometime. To me, one playoff series victory since 1998 sucks nuts in a league where more teams make the playoffs than don't. You say I'm lamenting that the Rockets don't do it the old way....I'm not. I don't care how they do it. I just would like to see it done every once in a while.
At least when Sampson went kaput we still had Hakeem to fall back on. Yao and McGrady, I didn't see it ending like this for both of them. I honestly thought at least maybe we'd still have one of them playing for us at an all-star level 6-7 years down the road.
And I just told you how to do it. If you want to get back to those "expectations", have Rockets fans pay and watch 20-win teams over and over until they hit the jackpot with the next Hakeem.
As much as I hate to tank, this might be the best option for the Rockets. Without a superstar, Houston will never win another championship. Only the Lakers can reload. Houston needs to rebuild.
I don't think anyone is disputing that's what you felt (and if they do, it would be unreasonable). What I would say is that whatever impression of the "Rockets brand" you grew up with is a reflection of a transitory state of things. Objectively, in the NBA, it is simply very difficult, if not impossible, to be permanent contenders. Believing in having a permanent contender as a "brand concept" is unrealistic. What the Rockets had was special and frankly, mostly the result of being lucky enough to have Olajuwon for a long time. It was special because it was highly difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. Many of us perfectly appreciate how great those teams were and remember these days well. We certainly root for a return to the glory days. We simply choose to enjoy the efforts of the later players from Yao, Battier, to Hayes, Lowry, Scola, who played their hearts out despite not being Hakeem Olajuwon, without walking around talking about how much this "sucks nuts" becasue it doesn't fit with the "brand concept" we grew up with. We simply don't feel like being lectured as if we are inferior fans because we are not constantly comparing the current team to the past or enjoy the efforts of the current team despite difficult circumstances rather than complain about the lack of contender status and attribute all difficulties as "excuses"-- a failur to "gitergone" not matter what. We find such thinking useless because it wasn't gonna make Yao and McGrady healthy, make Dwight Howard join the team or otherwise make the Rockets a contender again.
