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Is this season a failure if the Rockets don't win the NBA Finals?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by samtaylor, Mar 29, 2018.

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Is this season a failure if the Rockets don't win the chip?

Poll closed Jun 29, 2018.

  1. Yes

    83 vote(s)
    52.9%

  2. No

    74 vote(s)
    47.1%
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  1. samtaylor

    samtaylor Member

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    Now that the Rockets officially will be the 1 seed in the West, do you think it's championship or bust?

    Obviously a 1st or 2nd round exit would be a failure at this point the way the Rockets have put together 61+ wins.

    Going into the season, I think most people would consider a WCF appearance to be a success, but now that the Rockets will have home court and possibly face a injured GSW team, I think the Rockets have to win it...and then if they reach the Finals and lose to LeBron or the Raptors, or any team really, it would be demoralizing, knowing they dethroned the Warriors, but couldn't finish the job.

    Last season was disappointing the way it ended in Game 6 vs. the Spurs, but at the end of the day, the Spurs were the 2 seed so I don't consider it a failure. Plus it was D'antoni/EG/Ryno's first year with the team.

    If Harden/D'antoni lose in the playoffs again, this time with CP3 and more wing defenders, there's no "ya but" argument to look forward to for 2019. Next's years team could be drastically different. CP3, Capela, and Ariza could all theoretically leave in free agency.

    Even a Game 7 loss to GSW in the WCF would still be a failure to me because it would be in Houston. I know that anything can happen in one game, but having the best record only matters because you get home court advantage.

    I suppose if all of GSW is healthy and plays every game, then you can make the argument that this run could be Harden's last lesson to learn before reaching the mountain top in 2019, but literally everything from October-April has broke Houston's and Harden's way. We are like 35-2 when Harden, CP3, and Capela play together. I can't imagine the Rockets surpassing this regular season performance next year, even if we got LeBron.
     
    #1 samtaylor, Mar 29, 2018
  2. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    Yes and No.

    I'm serious.
     
    #2 DreamShook, Mar 29, 2018
    J Sizzle, ghettocheeze, houston19519 and 4 others like this.
  3. swyyyguy

    swyyyguy Member

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    Yes. We have high standards. We’ve been there before. Championship or bust.
     
    #3 swyyyguy, Mar 29, 2018
  4. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    This is such an over-looked part of that series.. Harden flamed out, but Rockets weren't the favorite.
     
    #4 DreamShook, Mar 29, 2018
    ghettocheeze, BallSoHarden, saleem and 1 other person like this.
  5. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    GSW is damaged goods, both physically and mentally. This is not a team we should lose to.

    I am interested in seeing how TOR turns out. If HOU doesn't win it all, TOR is my 2nd favorite.

    As long as CLE or GSW doesn't win, I am good.
     
    #5 Space Ghost, Mar 29, 2018
  6. underrated015

    underrated015 Member

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    Yes, this is the year to win it. Media hating and most of the good teams look vulnerable.
     
    #6 underrated015, Mar 30, 2018
  7. bloodwings19

    bloodwings19 Member

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    The better win it, or I'm burning my jerseys. And I'm going to color my red Toyota to white (surrender).
     
    #7 bloodwings19, Mar 30, 2018
  8. ghettocheeze

    ghettocheeze Member

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    Started from the bottom now we're here.

    No seriously.

    Started with Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, mid-first round picks, and now we're here.

    Just enjoy the moment and don't let this "failure" foolishness get to your head.
     
    #8 ghettocheeze, Mar 30, 2018
    papoose115, roslolian, rocketsfan611 and 16 others like this.
  9. Marsarinian

    Marsarinian Contributing Member

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    I'd be fine if we lost to a healthy Golden State team in the Conference Finals. I think objectively, we'd still be underdogs in that situation. I'd very highly disappointed if we didn't make it to that point.

    As a side note, I really don't understand why people abbreviate "championship" into "chip"...
     
    #9 Marsarinian, Mar 30, 2018
    HakeemOnlyFan and saleem like this.
  10. alethios

    alethios Member

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    Is this the anti-jinx thread?
     
    #10 alethios, Mar 30, 2018
    napalm06 likes this.
  11. ClutchCityReturns

    ClutchCityReturns Contributing Member

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    Disappointment? Absolutely.

    Failure? Depends how far they go.
     
    #11 ClutchCityReturns, Mar 30, 2018
  12. Pandaemonaeon

    Pandaemonaeon Member

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    You make it past the Warriors, you better win the chip.
     
    #12 Pandaemonaeon, Mar 30, 2018
    Nick_713 likes this.
  13. Mr. Space City

    Mr. Space City Member

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    I'll just say this.

    This is the perfect window. Warriors going into the playoffs hurt, plus their bench is suspect. Kawhi out. Thunder look to be imploding. Celtics don't have Hayward. Cavs don't have a championship roster.

    Rockets going into the playoffs with good health. Not missing any key players. Homecourt Advantage.

    If you don't get it this year, you probably never will.
     
    #13 Mr. Space City, Mar 30, 2018
    YOLO, DavidRocket and samtaylor like this.
  14. dkim1984

    dkim1984 Member

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    I think it's safe to say that we've built a team that rivals the dubs in championship caliber. That's more than most people gave us credit for when the season began.

    It will only be a failure if we lose miserably to the dubs in the WCF.

    Having said that though, CP3 isn't getting any younger so it will be disappointing of we don't hoist the hardware.
     
    #14 dkim1984, Mar 30, 2018
  15. HTM

    HTM Member

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    No.

    Dubs still have the core of a 73 win team + Durant and went 16-1 playoffs last year.... they are and should be the favorites... even given the injury problems.

    They still project to have all 4 of their all stars by the 2nd round...

    I would not consider it a failure if we did not beat them.
     
    #15 HTM, Mar 30, 2018
    Vivi likes this.
  16. FTW Rockets FTW

    FTW Rockets FTW Contributing Member

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    Yes

    Esp when you Clinch top of WC with ease and have HCA through out
     
    #16 FTW Rockets FTW, Mar 30, 2018
  17. Batman Jones

    Batman Jones Contributing Member

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    I feel the same way. Compared to how good we had any right to be going into the season this team has set expectations impossibly high and that's created a situation where not winning it all would be a real letdown.

    But, I mean, who saw that coming at the beginning of the season? I think most people back then would have been very happy if we managed to be truly competitive against GS. Very few expected then that we'd be in position to win it all.

    High expectations are now a result of Rockets having been so much better this year than anyone could have predicted. It will be a shame if we lose to GS in 7 and people feel disappointed by that or consider it a failure since it was only a fantasy at the top of the season but for where we're at now, they've created these expectations and nothing but winning it all will feel like a great success at this point.

    I'm not too wrenched up over that sort of paradox though. That's entirely because I expect every game to be very hard but I expect us to win it all this year.
     
    #17 Batman Jones, Mar 30, 2018
    DreamShook, Game7 and WestendMassive like this.
  18. luckyman76

    luckyman76 Member

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    We know all too well, never put off tomorrow what you can do today. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. This team needs to win now. They play with that hunger in every game and they are going to need it in the playoffs.
     
    #18 luckyman76, Mar 30, 2018
  19. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Being a Rockets fan has not been easy for the last 20+ years.

    I like that this season has been the most enjoyable and impressive and that's good. It's definitely something in the air.

    But after all those years, I'm loathe to make definitive statements.

    Still smh over last year's gloating when we took a couple games against the Spurs...
     
    #19 Invisible Fan, Mar 30, 2018
    kjayp likes this.
  20. kjayp

    kjayp Contributing Member

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    As long as we play hard throughout - it's a win.

    Let the chips fall where they may and may the best team win - and hopefully its us.
     
    #20 kjayp, Mar 30, 2018
    Roc Paint likes this.
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