I mean , I know we have it bad but it must be hilarious for the spurs. They've been hearing the same garbage for over 15 yrs and have maintained one of, if not the highest winning % in all of sports during that time period. The rockets need to use it as a chip on their shoulders as they do have a lot to prove.
When Harden gets a lot of FTs and Howard gets a lot of post ups where he's slow and nothing happens much off the ball, we are very boring to watch. The latter part is not only boring but also very ineffective. With regards to Harden getting to the line, people can cry all they want, when you lean into him, hack him, or stick your hip out, you are going to get the foul called!! I saw Brewer laughing when Harden was going to the line and they clearly showed him reaching him and hitting him across the arms..what do people expect?
The hate is apparent and annoying. On PTI, both Tony and Michael omit Harden as an MVP candidate and the Rockets as a top team. THEN, they justify Golden State as being the best team because they beat Houston (a so-called "non top team") and don't even mention Howard didn't play. THEN, Michael proclaimed DAL as a top team when we beat them without Howard!!! Silliness and biasedness at its finest when people can't be consistent with their arguments. The Rockets aren't boring to watch. The 3-pointer is the most exciting play in basketball besides dunks. We make 3's and get dunks. Harden taking people off the dribble and shooting stepbacks IS EXCITING. Is the Rockets offense innovative? No.... but innovative is different from exciting. Rockets offense is only boring when we jack 3's with no ball movement. We go thru 1 or 2 stretches/game with no ball movement, but that only lasts a couple of minutes. To say Houston's offense is boring is just hating. It's cool though, let them hate... and let our success increase their hate.
My gut still tells me that everything we're seeing could be a streak of hot luck. There's still a long season left, and pretty much everyone in the West has won and lost against each other. We could very easily go on an 8 game losing streak (and so could almost anyone else in the West). And if I feel that way, you know national TV guys (being very risk averse with their opinions) are going to talk-up the "safe" (ie overrated) teams. Like you said... let them talk. No pressure on the team. Just keep winning.
Haha, nice. Much respect to Mr. Lowe. Unlike other presumed NBA analysts, he actually studies tons of games. Other clowns simply watch games on ESPN and TNT, while parroting the same tired narrative... "blah, blah, blah [insert marquee team in marquee TV market like Chicago, SF Bay Area, Dallas, LA, etc.] are elite... blah, blah, greatest offense EVER..." "blah, blah, they deserve your respect and endless adoration!" Meanwhile, the Rockets are just... zzzzzzzzzzzzz.... That said, I'm going to respectfully disagree with Lowe's assertion that feeding DMo in crunch time is an anamoly we won't see again. DMo's post game is a thing of beauty and only getting stronger. I'm loving his aggression. I can definitely see him commanding double teams in crunch time. Maybe not this postseason, but soon enough.
When I read it it sounded like he loved D-Mo in crunch time, and he was spot on that some of these lineups will not be seen again.
He came off as snarkey and slightly facetious by pre-empting his comment with 'I'm loving this...' But yeah, I probably read too much into it.
The real reason we don't get respect and taken seriously around the league is not only because of our style of play but also because our coach gives us no legitimacy as a true championship contender, at least in the eyes of the media. If our coach was a championship winning coach, a Carlisle, pop, spoelstra( well maybe not him), people around the league would take us seriously. Mchale has to be doing something right unless it's complete luck, which it isn't. Hopefully he can prove himself in the playoffs along with the rest of our roster. But until then let's embrace the hate. Remember clutch city and how we were never taken seriously even after we won a chip. Hoping this team can give us a good run this year and put themselves in a place of true contention by winning a couple of rounds in the playoffs.
I read it the same way, first, too. But then reread it. I'm pretty sure he meant "lineups we will never see again" and wasn't including DMo's #1 threat in the "never see again" part. I'm also didn't feel the "loving this" as snarkish. I think Lowe just was enjoying a closely fought game by injury-depleted teams which led to a foul out by the only superstar on the floor. then the weird lineups had to play OT against each other, with DMo being showcased.
The real reason is that Houston does not have a major basketball analysis to carry their water. They get the coverage that is available to the NBA teams with no major media personality beating the drum for them. It has absolutely nothing to do with the coach.
You do have a very good point there. But he is rarely in print where he can be cited by the rest of the media talking heads over and over again.
Rockets are living mainly off their defense which is better than vice versa. I can't see any long losing streaks. We're not even shooting 3's very well, we just shoot by volume at an average rate. We're likely to increase that % vs going backwards. Health is the only way this team crumbles... and turnovers. Haven't checked the numbers, but defensive rebounds don't seem as problematic as last season. Turnovers are currently the main flaw.
I go to school in San Antonio and my Spurs friend was wondering why we have the best fan forum site in the league. I think i figured it out: We get too much hate! We had to find a safe refuge to let our thoughts and analysis come out. If we were only relegated to mainstream media, I'd start hating the Rockets too.
