EFFORT! These guys play HARD and bring it EVERY game. In the past with Yao and Tmac they would always seem to play down "to the level of competition" and blow 5-10 games per year against lesser teams. This season these guys take nothing for granted and don't overlook any opponent! I was super impressed the last 2 wins against the Clippers and especially GS. The past couple of seasons, we lose 1 if not both of those games. If this keeps up Rick Adelman deserves coach of the year! And alos a side note, I just love watching Kyle Lowry play. That guy is like a pit bull on the court! :grin:
It's simply the fact that these Rockets are beginning to learn how to win close games in crunch time. And that's gonna make for an exciting season. Now if we can only learn how to stay close to the Mavs until crunch time.
Watching the games broadcast over the internet, you often get to hear announcers for the other teams talk about the Rockets. Game after game, they get pretty heavily complimented by the other announcers : "this is truly a team...", "this is the team you just don't want to play against...", "they play the right way ..." In some ways, having these guys say such things is such a high compliment to these Rockets. Makes me really proud.
Been a fan forever, and I've watched the last three games, all road wins and these are my takeaways: a bulldog, tenacious mentality...the team other teams hate to play. We almost always play hard and together...not always smart, but that's getting better too. A league leader in offensive rebound %, a reflection of hustle and effort. A true selfless team that doesn't take anything for granted. And we have no ball-stoppers a la Artest and TMac. Need to give Morey/Dork Elvis his due...the guy is a genius! Emerging stars include Brooks (~ a 29th first round pick), and Landry, a second rounder. And CBud (~44th pick) is gonna be good...very good! We literally stole Scola from SA. Take a step back and compare our guard duo of Brooks and Lowry (Grizz castoff) to the Rafer 4 for 13 days of only a year ago....not even close! We're really pretty damn good...a team with heart and no quit. We're going to have some awful games over an 82 game season but it wouldn't surprise me if we're not competing for a playoff spot in April. Absent established superstars, RA is developing a cadre of "go to" end of game guys on the fly. He should be in the coach of the year mix! It's great fun watching this team!! D R
we outscore our opponents.. seriously, the formula is indeed hardwork and nothing to lose attitude on the court. no superstar treatment, no first option - whatever the dfense gives them, the open man is the first option. Everybody knows their strength and weakness, no forced shots (ok minimal). that's why the old tmac has no place in this formula. I want him back only if he's ready to accept his new role. what else, oh yes our players bb iq is super high. and thanks to coach RA and DM. but I still wish we'll get a big body to complete a championship team. was watching the bulls game last night, i think Brad Miller can do the job for us only if we can offer something that won't affect our current rotation players. Noah is a champion center too. hmmm, keep dreaming.
chill dude, beating the clips and warriors in Dec is fine and dandy, but also dont mean jack, since when we play the bigger and better teams, W's wont come as easy. Not to mention, we still have no go to guy in crunch time.
Wait did we having losing seasons in the last 3 years???????? I swore we won 50+ games a season.. If Tmac and Yao were on this team and we had a medicore record in the west, this board would be saying we suck we should be 18-1.
That 'pit bull' word kinda reminds me of what Kenny Smith said last season while we were playing the semi against the eventual champion Lakers, but I vaguely remember what he actually said, hell yea! Kyle Lowry is a pit bull! Well, on my mind Carl "Born Clutch" Landry is a pit bull as well. :grin:
If we had both a healthy Yao and T-Mac, this would be a mediocre record. But we don't, so being 7th in the conference and second in the division is a great accomplishment for a team where before the season all of us expected our scoring to only come from Brooks and Scola. But now, we are getting good production from everyone in the normal rotation on both sides of the court. Right now, we aren't a title contender but we are still in the playoff race in the fiercest conference of the NBA. Same can't be said for Minnesota and the Chris Paul lead Hornets ain't looking that good either.
Actually, Clutchfans in all its glory would still be disappointed with that record. Hell, with Tracy and Yao everyone predicted we would win like three championships. Resulting total? None. Anything less than 82-0 is unacceptable!
as far as I can remember rockets always play hard since the JVG + Yao + Tmac era and this year is no different. alot of ppl just underestimate how good players such as landry, scola, brooks, ariza are. so a 11-8 is a fair record imo not really overachieving. with a healthy yao it wouldve been 13-6 ish
Your conjecture is new and different. If not for you, this conclusion would have eluded me for 82 games. I sincerely thank you for your consideration in sharing your vast knowledge and wish you created more threads of this sort. Sincerely, The Board
It's not the effort, it's that guys like brooks and scola have come into their own. It's the acquisition of Ariza and Lowry. Guys like Battier and Hayes have been playing this way for a long time. There's nothing magical - it's not a surprise. I expected this team to win 50 games - no more no less.
