After a huge win, all I see is moaning and groaning on the boards. I can't imagine the nuclear meltdown that would have ensued had we lost. Maybe all the players and management are tuning out the fans at this point, but come on people, take some responsibility. If the most HARDCORE group of fans for the Rockets can't rally support around the team, then who can? It's Us Vs Them. Let's get in that ring and do our players a solid. List on this thread all the positives you took out of this game. For the remainder of the series and for this entire incarnation of the Rockets franchise in years to come. For me: Short Term: 1. 2009 Dwight is back. People were wondering if he had an extra gear; well, here you go. 2. Back in January, how many people would have pegged Asik and Lin as the ones who would bust their ASS for this team, who would give it their all and then some to save us from the brink of disaster? I don't care what you offer me this offseason, I'm keeping Asik on this team. 3. Even now, even in the most difficult of times, we are watching young players grow before our eyes. Jones and Daniels performed admirably tonight and have so much room for further improvement. I was much impressed by Daniels' defense in particular. He could really become more than just a shooter. 4. Somebody get Patrick Beverley that goop from the movie Wanted. The dude is seriously gonna give an arm up for this team. There's no one easier to root for. Long Term: 1. 2009 Dwight is back. Can he stay for long? Give him more time with these teammates, to gel and get comfortable again in the post the way he has been this series. I think he will only go up next year. And the free throws! Maybe a mental block has passed? And some of us were criticizing him for being tutored by Hakeem, dissing him and saying he would never have the agility to learn anything from the legend. I think looking back, no matter what happens these playoffs, Dwight will be happy he chose Houston if for no other reason than the Dream himself. What a presence in the locker room to have. 2. As much as you wanna criticize Harden, and fairly so, how many superstars were able to put a team on their backs to the championship at age 24? MJ wasn't ready. Kobe wasn't ready. Lebron still had much adversity to experience. Durant STILL isn't ready. We go into this offseason knowing full well what things Harden needs to work on, and frankly there's no reason why he can't improve on all of them. That's what superstars do. They break things down in the summer, and then they add another piece to their game. Year by year they get more and more skilled. With Harden we know: he needs to get better at going right; he needs to get better at the mid-range game which is more like Kobe's post-up game than the current step-back-T-Mac business that he is currently giving us. Frankly, even more than Howard, Harden has a ton to benefit by having Hakeem around. He could be backing Wesley Matthews' ass into the paint off the low block as we speak. Finally, if he didn't know yet, now he knows: he needs to get into better BASKETBALL shape. He might have been plenty fast for the regular season, but he clearly cannot beat his man off the dribble in the playoffs. Sure, blame the holding, blame the fouls, whatever. If he didn't know before, now he knows. This is how superstars learn. 3. Last time I checked, this team needed a new defensive coordinator (if not more) in its coaching staff. Well we have a lot of great candidates. This year marks the first year I can remember where not just one or two, but ALL the old guard from the championship years are coming back, forming relationships with the team again. We really ought to mine that tradition and regain some of the grit, the perseverance that we have been lacking for frankly the past 17 years. After all, it's not the HOF-er coaches that draw the most out of their players. It's the fringe NBA talent guys who had to work for everything they got, who made it through all the rejections and all the failures of life to end up on top all the same. I would love to have a guy like Mario Elie join this coaching staff, but he doesn't have to be the only candidate. Let's bring back Clutch City in the most palpable way: by having them teach our young team how to win. This year marks year #1 in the current incarnation for our franchise. No recent team has ever won in year #1 of an incarnation save the Boston Celtics in 2009, because all those dudes were hella old. Even Portland has had much more time to gel than we have. We will only get better from here. But the improvement all starts on Friday. Let's be positive and send any members of the Rockets, should they be watching, some good vibes to take with them to the b****y confines of Portland where a bunch of b****y fans await to cheer on their b****y team with its b****y coach.
"Harden's attitude makes me not enjoy this win" "DAE think Lin > Harden" "Milk Hair or McFail?" "Locker room drama" All I've seen today. Just enjoy the damn win fellas
It's the LOF's tearing down Harden and "McFail." Is this a surprise? "Jeremy should have been the focus all season. But McFail wants to lose just to subsidize Harden's strippers. Blah etc."
TOFs bringing up McGrady. That guy never won a playoff series, they apparently want the Rockets to lose. so much jealousy for McGrady fans, can't they just be happy with the Skeeters?
You brought him up in thus thread, hypocrite. And we are still down 3-2 with the next one in portland. Portland fans will go full r****d to avoid a game 7 in houston, the blazers will attack us and draw first blood from the start, and keep attacking us once they realize they are getting every whistle, they will also hack us on the other side. Expect dwight to get killed and the game will end with a double digit lead by portland. How many times have we seen this story? Rockets go down 3-1 then lose game 6.
Through thick and thin I love my Rockets! Let's win in Portland and bring this series back to Houston!!! I'll be sleeping good tonight.
hypocrite yourself, here's the thread started by TOF http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=253960 T-Mac NEVER looked this disinterested in the playoffs
typing ftl I don't care if they're merged or not. I just want to not have to read so many whiny posts. Come on, people. What are we, Blazers fans? Save your complaining about refs and locker room speculation for another forum.
It is much better for one's mental and emotional health to be positive. Think of it this way- the only fans that are technically supposed to be truly, 100% happy are those whose team wins the championship. If a different team won every year, it would be 30 years in between championships. I even lost it after game 2- and then realized how stupid I was being. You can get angry when your team loses, but gosh, why not just be happy when your team pulls it out? Nothing's ever a given in the NBA- so, you enjoy whatever comes along. Like 2009. Or T-Mac's 13 in 35. Or the 22-game streak. Or heck, just a regular season win- every year, I come down to Houston during Christmas and get to catch one of the games in the Toyota Center- and usually play some shootaround in that park place after the game. You know, it's just one of my favorite days of the year. I don't know, when you hit the 40s like me, you start to appreciate everything a bit more. I am thankful the Rockets won tonight mainly because they have given us a gift of another playoff game. Yes, corny, but it's the truth. Same with the Astros and Texans. Hate the losing, but love the wins whenever we can get them.
I just don't understand the PERSONAL hate. I hate hardens defense, I hate howards dumb fouls and turnovers, I hate lin's inconsistency. All of that is because it affects THE TEAM. I want the TEAM to win. How they do it/who does it is the least of my concern
Let's see, there was last year... and then, well, the last time we lost in game 6 in the playoffs was...1997? Really, you're being a bit shortsighted. Everyone thought we were going to lose in 1994- and especially in 1995- and we pulled it out. Most of us thought we were going to pull it out at home against the Jazz- and they beat us. We were definitely not expected to win in 1986- and we did. Portland hasn't been out of the first round in what, 12 years??? San Antonio was a Leonard free throw away from winning a championship, and look what happened to them- and what about their first round loss to Memphis? I mean, come on, it's likely we'll lose Game 6, but nothing's ever a given when you have two fairly evenly-matched teams.
i happy that dwight is proving his doubters wrong. no one should be hating on the guy. not just rocket fans, but everywhere. basically agree with everything else however, if you mention the defensive coordinator, why not the obvious problems on offense? lack of half court offense is killing us in the playoffs.
This is just one of several positive threads, and I enjoyed reading the OP, OP. ;-)- I posted in the game thread a few minutes ago that I think Harden will come up big in game 6, and that we'll see a game 7 in the Toy Box, and that it's all I hope for. If Portland wins on our home court in a game 7, you just have to tip your hat to them. I just want that chance, and I think James Harden, with a lot of help, is going to get us that game 7. We can do it. I know we can. Howard has been playing like a mad man, Asik's been giving us what we talked about all season as his backup, and is now in the starting 5. Lin blew up tonight when we needed it in the worst way. Jones and Daniels gave us serious production from the bench. We have what we need to win on Friday. Watch us do it!
screw the longterm...i spent much of the game walking through the TC looking for the weakest link to getting in the prime seats for Game 7 I'm ready
so are you says "McFail" is doing a good job coaching the team and Harden is having a good series? that criticism of both individuals are unwarranted?
Not it's not. Unless the "LOFs" have invented a time machine and were able to register accounts way before he was even in the NBA
