Next 9 of 11 at home against non playoff teams sounds like just what we need to get accustomed to a new system. And yes our last 3 games have been encouraging to say the least. We can be even better if we give less time to Hill and Bud.
This is such a defeatist attitude. Guess what? There IS an advantage to winning games! Players develop better. They gain the confidence to become better players. The trade value of everyone in the rotation increases. The cumulative positive impact on all the players far outweighs the 10th or 11th pick they'd otherwise get if they just "played the young players" and stopped trying to win games. And so what if they're the 8 seed! The playoffs is this team's stated freakin' goal! By your rationale, all but 8-9 teams in the league should just tank, since it's unlikely that those 21-22 teams will make the second round, so why not just get a lottery pick? That's a loser's mentality that could easily turn Houston into a toxic situation like exists in Washington or Sacramento. Guys can't WAIT to get the hell out of there, it's so bad. We all knew the first 10 games would be brutal. I'm fairly devastated about the two most recent losses, since the Rockets were SOOO close to grabbing two games they weren't expected to win. But the schedule gets a lot easier from here. They also have some advantages this year in that they only face Chicago, Miami and Boston once, potentially eliminating another 2-3 losses they'd otherwise have with a full schedule. Win games. Make the playoffs. Improve the culture of this current team. Teach winning to our current young guys. You'll still get a decent pick this year from New York. Losing isn't worth the so-so lottery pick they'd otherwise get. They're not going to get a top-5 pick. Stop deluding yourselves into thinking that. It's not going to happen. Get over it and cheer for your damn team.
People who want to lose and tank aren't real fans. I'm sorry. Just because we get a lotto pick doesn't guarantee a franchise player. Win, make the playoffs, improve our guys that we have in doing so and maybe, just maybe, a superstar player or go-to guy sees what we're doing and is like, "I think I can put them over the top."
It seems that more and more people are hopping on the lottery bandwagon. Good. How about this, instead of 11-10, how about 3-18. How about Andre Drummond (ignore his "promise" not to go pro). How about we get the next "future star". How about we do it right and start from the ground up. How about instead of targeting the first round in 2012, we target the Finals in 2015, and 2016, and 2017, and 2018, and beyond.
Here's February 2/1 @ San Antonio L 2/3 Phoenix W 2/4 @ Minnesota L 2/6 @ Denver L 2/8 @ Portland L 2/9 @ Phoenix L 2/12 @Golden State W 2/14 @Memphis L 2/15 OKC L 2/17 Minnesota W 2/19 Utah W 2/20 Memphis L 2/22 Philadelphia W 2/28 Toronto W 2/29 @ Utah L So, let's assume we get to 11-10 and then take the most optimistic possible W/L scenario outlined above. This is probably the best we could possibly do and we will actually do worse than what I have outlined above. If they get to 11-10 in January and they are able to perform up to the above W/L predicted above, they will be 17-20 at the end of February my friend. This is a lottery team. We were a lottery team a year ago. We lost a key piece to that team that was fighting for the playoffs(Chuck Hayes), a player that was an integral part of our team on both ends of the floor. He facilitated the passing game and he was our best defender by far. We have gained.....a lottery pick that is in the dleague.....a rookie that is trying to steal minutes from CBud and effectively replace Battier, whom I did not discuss above but was also a part of our lottery team until we gave up on the playoffs and traded him away for peanuts. We have also gained Dalembert. He is not nearly as good as Hayes. So, essentially this is last year's bunch minus Hayes and Battier plus Dally and Parsons. After the trade of Battier last season, we went 6-5 down the stretch against playoff teams and 9-3 against lottery teams to close out the season on a 15-8 run that made a bunch of us giddy that if we added a solid big, that we could be a top 4 team in the West. But that gawdy record is a mirage because that 9-3 against lottery teams came against teams that knew they were going to the lottery and weren't playing real ball. If you reracked those teams to the beginning of the season, that 9-3 most likely turns into about 7-5 and that 6-5 against playoff contenders turns into 4-7 because the playoff contenders are playing harder to get a leg up in the standings. We, on the other hand, were playing hard from the first game all the way to the finish line, trying to squeeze into the playoffs. And...we couldn't make it. Well, some of that optimism was correct. If we could have added a guy like Nene to this bunch without giving up anyone, we would have been a top 3-6 team in the West. But alas, that didn't happen. And we lost Hayes. The cancelled trade was a big deal, guys. A huge deal! If the trade goes down, we keep Hayes as our backup big. That is HUGE! Pau, Nene, Hayes, Patterson, Hill as the bigs alongside Lowry, Martin, Parsons, Dragic, Lee, etc. is a playoff team. But alas, the trade was cancelled and out the door ran Chuck Hayes. And along with Hayes out went all our chances to make the playoffs with this bunch. We were sitting on the fence between becoming a very good to great team and becoming a losing team. We fell off on to the losing side when the trade was cancelled and Hayes went to Sac. That is reality. We have to accept it. This is what a lottery team looks like. Unless there is a major trade at the trade deadline that brings in a top notch big that can defend the rim and give us some offense, we are lottery bound. You need to accept it and look to the future and how we can maximize our assets to capitalize on the future. It's not about today anymore. Unless there is a major trade at the deadline, and then again, that will be mostly about next year anyways.
As I look at the schedule, the only teams that seem like easy should win games are Washington and Detroit. The rest are up for grabs, Portland is a really good team this season and I wouldn't sleep on Minny, Milwaukee and N. Orleans. If the Rockets underestimate any of these teams they could be be digging themselves a hole to deep to crawl out of... I'll say they'll be around 8-13
Yeah that's great. Would make sense for a weak draft class, but this is one of the strongest draft classes since 2004. Of course getting swept in the playoffs is obviously a much, much better result!
I think some people should just quit the board for the season. It's a lose-lose situation for you guys. Situation 1: the Rockets play well and be slightly above .500 and compete, perhaps make the playoffs "NO! The Rockets will forever be mediocre! I can't stand another 14th pick!" Situation 2: the Rockets implode and suck. "NO! Morey sucks! McHale sucks! The entire roster suck! Fire everyone! Trade everyone for nothing because they don't have positive alue! Force Les to sell the team! We are the crappiest of crap in crapland!" I'll save you guys the necessity to watch the season and just lay out your future. Either way, you should jump off the ship while you can.
While I am happy to see them starting to compete, this is just not a very good team...especially defensively. Kyle Lowry is the only all star caliber player on the team. I don't see them going 8-3 at any stretch of the season.
Feel the same, our guys won't develop into stars just because they get playing time. And if you want real development, give more minutes to guys like Pat, T-Will, Morris, Thabeet to see if they'll contribute in the future. We already know what Bud and these guys that get minutes right now bring to the table, theiy already met their respective potentials. A core of K-mart, Scola, Lowry, Bud, Sam, Hill will get this team nowhere and won't attract any decent player in free agency. Giving guys like Hill or bud big minutes isn't generating any trade value, we will never get a star for the current talent we have on our roster. "Improve the culture of the club", "teach winning" is just a void phrase with no meaning. That way we'll be stuck in mediocrity forever.
Repped. I can't abide tankers. I honestly wish Clutch would just start banning anyone who advocates losing games on purpose or complains about the Rockets winning by the bundle.
That's the thing Bima - I don't see players developing. Martin? Scola? Bud? TWill? Thabeet? Morris? Flynn? Are they developing better? Yes Lowry, Patterson, Parsons and even Hill to some degree are developing but why? Because as you say, they are given consistent minutes. Meanwhile the vets are given too much time which doesn't allow ANY PT for the younger players. You can't develop players in walkthrough practices or reviewing game films. Our top pick is scrubbing it up in the D-League because he couldn't get any PT and they didn't want him to rot on the bench. Play the young players. Give them consistent minutes over a bigger stretch. Sure you may have to do an ever other game PT to give player significant minutes but with all the back-to-backs this is almost the perfect time to see what we have. If the young group squeaks in the playoffs, then that's great. I won't complain 1 bit. Otherwise we are just playing the best we can, take our drubbing in the playoffs, cut the players that never played, move our D-Leaguers up to the bench, draft some more D-Leaguers for next year and sign a FA who we are paying more than any other team that doesn't truly stink and selling more tickets. I don't see that as progress. I'd rather see players developing (or trying to) even if it costs us a W. And even though our FO isn't perfect, please don't try comparing them to the Kings or Wizards.
LOL - you do realize that Clutch - the person that runs and funds this entertainment of ours - is not a "win at all costs" thinker. Should he ban himself Herr Orem?
Don't Godwin me, ArtV. CF in general would be a much better place if Clutch took a firmer hand with the trolls. He's much too nice to many here who shall remain nameless.
I don't know what is worse..... a defeatest attitude or unrealistic expectations There is a middle ground here. REALITY and ACCEPTANCE of where we are today and a POSITIVE ATTITUDE about the future The BAD: We are a lottery team as currently constructed THE GOOD: We have the most good, tradeable assets of any team in the league. We have one of the best owners in the league. We have one of the best GMs in the league. I am optimistic that if Morey is left on the job, he will make his mark on the league and this team and will bring championship basketball back to Houston. I am also a realist. This team, as currently constructed, is a lottery team. So, we need, and Morey will, maximize that opportunity.
