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Just a little reminder - what a difference 2 years make

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by LikeMike, Jun 24, 2014.

  1. LikeMike

    LikeMike Member

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    Just 2 years ago we were a team with aging good but not great players, that always striked out with big name players and no chance at high draft picks. We were in the worst part of nowhereland imaginable. The reason for us to get excited was Asik (a guy that averaged 2 points) and Lin.

    Now, just 2 years later we have a team with 2 legit stars (that both aren't even 29 years old) one perfect team player in Parsons and good, cheap young talent in Beverly and Jones - and we are major players in the discussion to get one of LeBron, Melo, Bosh or Love to form what probably would be considered as the best team in the NBA.

    To me that feels kinda unreal. We basically went from one of the most boring teams to being maybe the most exciting team in the NBA - and from a team with no future to maybe a legit title contender. And that all in just 2 years...
     
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  2. shastarocket

    shastarocket Member

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    Amen, we are incredibly lucky that Morey is as dedicated as he is talented.
     
  3. downbytheriver

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    Morey made the team a cluster **** for 4 years so its really not that surreal .. 6 years and he still has everything to prove. Not gonna join in the back pat parade when love and Gs are talking and this team has had the worst playoff record in the last 18 years.
     
  4. LikeMike

    LikeMike Member

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    Not to be too much of a Morey defender - but he inherited a team with 2 stars, T-Mac and Yao, and both stars broke down. He got players like Battier, Artest, Scola and Lowry to play with them. Yao retired after the 10/11 season, so 3 years ago. When you have a player like Yao, you build around him. Injuries destroyed any chance that team had.

    After Yao, he was told he can't tank but had to stay competitive. Well, without a star it is hard to get into the playoffs in the west. So year one after Yao was the 9th spot - again. Bad, but not much more you can do if you don't have a star and can't tank. Sure he could've signed Nene (as many wanted), but there was nothing he could do that could set us up for the future. So he collected assets - and that payed off.

    Sure, some times were hell. The injury years were hell because of what could've been and the repeating heart ache. The one (!) year after the injury years was hell because the team had no direction and no future. But since then it sure is an exciting ride.
     
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  5. HamJam

    HamJam Member

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    The team was not a "cluster****" . The team never tanked, never was terrible. That's the whole point -- Morey was able to take the team from mediocre with no chance at really improving to a team that is considered a title competitor and has a chance at major free agents.
     
  6. GoRox2013

    GoRox2013 Member

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    Results!!!! We know how bad the team was 2 years ago. But the fact is we went from a team barely outside the playoffs, to a team getting knocked out the 1st round of the playoffs every year. No reminder needed. If this team doesn't improve from this point forward, Morey's job needs to be lseriously looked at
     
  7. LikeMike

    LikeMike Member

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    This wasn't really meant to be a Morey thread - more a fan perspective (we went from a team without excitement and a future to one of the most exciting teams in the league).

    But to get back to Morey. GMs should be looked at for their moves and for what teams they construct with the possibilities they have. Coaches should be judged for results.
     
  8. HamJam

    HamJam Member

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    Take note downbytheriver, this is a valid criticism of Morey. Getting the team from what it was a few years ago to what it is now without tanking or ever being awful was very impressive -- to deny him that credit is ridiculous. However, if the team wastes the talent it has and does not start competing or winning titles, then Morey needs to be reevaluated as being the right GM. Regardless of how good he is at collecting talent, if that talent does not work together or he does not hire the right coach to lead it, then his job will need to be on the line.

    (edit to resond to LikeMike)
    Morey hired the coach though. The fact is he stayed with McHale--if it works out Morey gets the credit for that decision, and if it doesn't he takes the blame. McHale seems to fall in line behind what Morey wants more than Adelman ever did, and I think that is one of the main reasons he is coaching this team. If Morey wants more power and has chosen a less dynamic coach in order to maintain that, then, by all measures, if that coach fails the blame rests with both the coach and the GM who picked him.
     
    #8 HamJam, Jun 24, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2014
  9. finsraider

    finsraider Member

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    Our starting lineup before the Harden trade was:

    Lin
    Martin
    Parsons
    Patterson
    Asik

    our POTENTIAL starting lineup 2 weeks from now is:

    Beverley
    Harden
    Parsons
    Lebron
    Howard

    Championships are just the end of the journey. Morey has done everything you can think of and more to make this team into what it could be. If we get Lebron, he's not just manager of the year.....he's manager of the decade.
     
  10. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    After the Lin move, I'm convinced we're nowhere close to giving up on Yao even after his second injury.

    There was no other option but to double down on him
     
  11. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist

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    Best GM in the league, by far. He can't control a first round exit to Portland, I'm just glad he so quickly built a team that is talent wise good enough to go to the WCF. He's also well above average at drafting players and finding bargain FA's.

    If you needed any more proof, just look at the list of FA's considering the Rockets. It's absurd that the media is now willing to consider Houston a potential destination for Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony. Their agents know what's up. They know this organization is running like a well-oiled machine. We are lucky as hell, and thank God Les is not so incredibly idiotic as to judge Morey's performance purely based on the team's playoff record when there are several other factors to consider.
     
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  12. LikeMike

    LikeMike Member

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    Sure and Morey deserves criticism for that if we don't succeed next season. But there are two questions:

    1. How much did Alexander have a say in retaining MCHale?
    2. Is holding on to a bad coach enough reason to fire a GM, if he managed to construct a championship favorite roster 2 years after having a poor roster without a high draft pick?
     
  13. LCAhmed

    LCAhmed Member

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    It seems you're telling us the key to success is keeping Parsons
     
  14. HamJam

    HamJam Member

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    on 1. we really don't know - but, I would certainly hope that Les Alexander would keep that in mind when judging Morey (as well as any potential involvement he had in Morey going with Lin over Dragic...but i digress).

    on 2, I would say it depends on how long much the GM has tied himself to the coach in question. I like Morey a lot, I even think McHale is average as a coach -- and I am confident another first round exit would cause Morey to fire McHale. But, if McHale proves to be incapable of being the head coach of a title team, and Morey sticks with him anyway (the way Presti has stuck with Brooks for instance) then he would have to take the blame on that.

    I am not saying either should be fired right now. In fact, I would not trade Morey for any other GM in the NBA. But, a disappointing playoff result means criticism for everyone -- the coach and the person who hired him. And, if those results don't improve, it would be mean the coach needs to go, as well as any GM who stuck with him longer than was reasonable (which, again, we are not there yet).
     
  15. ZNB

    ZNB Member

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    GoRox2013 cant wait to come in here and bash Morey, it gives him a hard on. I've literally never seen a post from him other than bashing Morey/players. How is that any fun? To be mad all the time and do nothing but bash people day after day. We get. SHUT THE F*** UP ALREADY!!
     
  16. jordnnnn

    jordnnnn Member

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    And he's generally so very wrong. Kinda funny
     
  17. TheresTheDagger

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  18. OlajuwonFan81

    OlajuwonFan81 Member

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    This multiplied by 100 billion.

    Some on here want to blame Morey for the defensive collapse in game 6 or how harden played like complete junk. Enough is enough.
     
  19. MrButtocks

    MrButtocks Member

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    We've added two all-NBA players in back to back offseasons and still have the potential to add a third. And we still have all our draft picks. I'm very happy with how this team is managed. Nothing you can do about the haters. They should be fans of Detroit, Sacramento, or New York for awhile to see what really bad GMs can do to a team.
     
  20. downbytheriver

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    The team was the 9th seed for 4 straight years. It is the absolute worst situation in basketball. But if you want to compare Houston to franchises like charlotte, Milwaukee , new Orleans to feel better about yourself, then sure you can say Morey did a great job with more trial n error transactions than any other gm in the league. Truth is, he took what fell into his lap and that allowed him to get harden here. Everything around that has been dreadfully below par but he's a stats guy.......... So slack is given
     

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