A little perspective: Since Patterson left, we are 5-4 with 3 home games(2-1) and 6 road games(3-3). If we play that way the rest of the season(12H,6A), we'll finish 45-37, and Utah will have to go 13-6 and beat us to knock us out.
That's the thing....we're not even slumping! We haven't looked completely right obviously, but we were 29-26 before the trade and 34-30 right now. The regression has been vastly overstated.
Patrick Patterson was not the answer at Power Forward, that much is a fact. We all saw him disappear for multiple games at a time as was demonstrated during our 7 game losing streak where Pat was just awful. After two and a half years this leopard is not going to change his spots. I don't know if DMo or TRob or TJones or Royce will eventually be the answer at Power Forward but it was crystal clear that Pat absolutely was not. Daryl Morey is going to keep tilling the soil until he finds the answer. If DMo, TRob, TJones or Royce are not the answer then I think its obvious that they will eventually be gone to.
We have had some bad losses but we have also had some very good wins. The win against OKC is the best of the year and coincidentally PPat was not a member of the team. We beat Brooklyn on the road as well as GS so all is not as bad as it seems.
Fluke wins. OKC = unusually hot shooting. Brooklyn = Nets ain't that good. Also, we didn't have to make up for the Tank Engine during these two games and teams didn't quite figure out how to expose the full-time small ball. GS: Curry missed some shots, David Lee got injured, Warriors slumping even worse than Rockets. Orlando: Barely beating sucky team. Dallas: Fluke 12-13 night from Parsons Other than these, the Rockets have lost 4 straight to underwhelming opponents (WAS, MIL, DAL and PHX). If not for these fluke performances, the Rockets would have been on a 9-game losing streak. Another measure of the Rockets slump: Their Hollinger Power Ranking has sunk from 4th overall all the way down to 7th. We are still in the playoff picture because UTA and GSW have sucked worse and Lakers were in a deep hole (which they are close to digging themselves out of).
So is that how we are categorizing every win that shoots down your theory? Fluke? How about the 7 game losing streak that the Rockets had earlier in the year? Just fluke loses? Seriously Carl that's just pathetic. Every win with out the mighty PPat is just a fluke. That's just weak.
Patterson was in a shooting slump during the 7-game losing streak. He was just coming back from an injury and came off the bench during late December to mid-January. Other than the period around his injury, Patterson has been quite good. It's not surprising that the Rockets struggled when Patterson was struggling (they were actually pretty decent when Patterson sat out partly because Morris was shooting really well-- but we got rid of Marcus for a precious 2nd around pick, too).
i agree with Carl here.. we got worse with DMo and as our starting 4 we need Josh Smith and Dwight, get er done Morey
Merely recognizing the reality-- this team is not playing well. Worse yet, the fact that Morey traded away Pat and Morris without getting anything viable in return (only future assets) have given the Lakers confidence. Once the trade was made, Kobe guaranteed that the Lakers will make the playoffs. See the date on this report?http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...angeles-lakers-make-playoffs-according-report February 22, 2013. After that, the Lakers have only lost to OKC and Denver (in Denver, 2nd night of back-to-back), other than these two exceptions, they are on a 6 game winning streak. Coincidence? I think not. The reality is that what Morey traded for Robinson is not just Patterson, but also our playoff spot and Dwight Howard.
So much patience that he gave up on his own lotto pick after 71 NBA games and dumped him for a 2nd round pick?
I like getting Robinson that's a trade you have to make just because of his potential and how young his NBA career is. What we shouldn't have done is trade Morris for a 2nd round pick we could have done that in the offseason if we really needed to save 1 mil. We're now relying on dmo who's just not ready and not that good at anything but post play and a guy in Trob who's a rookie that's still learning the game. Ppl forget that players like Trob go to very bad teams and let them Play 30 min a night through there ups and downs. On this team trying to make the playoffs we don't have time for Trob to learn from his mistakes.
It's part of the strategy. Guys like PatPat are replaceable and have little upside. He was going to become a free agent, and Morey wasn't going pay him. TRob will be under our control on a cheap rookie contract for a few more years. Yes, it might make us worse short term, but it's Morey's job to balance long vs short-term.
Carl, I have been with you about doubting this trade. But that's a stretch. I doubt that Kobe even knew who Patterson was. I do agree with you on two things: 1. Morey has not yet been successful in gambling on other people's high lottery busts. 2. This Rockets management has the tendency of trading away young players before they have time to develop. I would think Marcus Morris could give us more than a second round pick. Maybe 2nd rounders are more valuable to Morey than 1st rounders. So far he has had a lot more success in picking in the second round than in the first round. I was half joking that Morey should trade all his first round picks for second round picks and we would be contender.
Knowing Morey, TRob might be traded before his rookie contract is up unless he quickly becomes star material. So what we have is a revolving door young talents who don't turn into stars.
Of course Kobe knows who Patrick Patterson is. Patrick was dating Kobe's wife during their separation. Honestly, though, I was kidding about the Kobe part. Thought it was ridiculous enough to be an apparent joke. Also kidding about the 9 game losing streak in slow motion but, the facts are that the new PFs have struggled (especially after teams have had a chance to scout the Rockers with them) and the team's rhythm have looked off the last few games. I know their schedule is favorable and all, but the slightest disadvantage can make the difference in a tight playoff chase (Lakers are hot and DAL and POR are not dead yet). Just don't like giving up useful players for speculative "assets" at this point. Hope the team finishes strong, but objectively speaking, worried.
