This was our record after 18 games in the 2004-2005 season when Tracy and Yao first got together under Jeff Van Gundy. That year we won 50 games right?
Some people are going to totally miss your point and use this as more ammo for the 're-hire JVG' bandwagon.
51 wins to be exact. And you bring up a good point. New offense kinda puts you back at square 1 with all your teammates. I think it was nice to assume we were going to get 55+ wins, but lets be honest, 50 wins is still good and a mid spot in the playoffs this year. We'll get there and assume the "dark horse candidate" like every year. Our schedule out the gate was completely whack. We'll build up the confidence and continue the "experimentation" on the scrub east teams once they start rolling through texas.
6'5" Bobby Sura came off the injured list and a life-long decent mid-range shooting Juwan Howard suddenly got comfortable in the offense. Then, Carroll Dawson found ways to upgrade the transition offense with the addition of David Wesley replacing the transition offense corner dwelling of Jim Jackson and backed it up by turning Ty Lue and Reece Gaines into Jon Barry and Mike James. You think history wil repeat itself?
Exactly. Fire Adelman. Bring back JVG. He'll bring Jon Barry and David Wesley with him, and trade for Ryan Bowen. Only he can turn this ship around.
Very good point to give to the people who have their PAAAAANTIES in a bunch with our current record. All i wanna tell yall is.......JUST RELAXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!! Cause I AIN'T SCURED!!!! LOL
yeah, after the 6-11 record, this is what happened: 1. Sura comes back from injury 2. David Wesley acquired 3. Jon Barry acquired from Atlanta for Lue (who was absolutely horrible) 4. eventually: Mike James acquired from Bucks for Reece Gaines so yeah, it's not going to magically turn around. I wouldn't be as happy and optimistic as you are..
Certainly much of the problem was JVG, but our PGs were Charlie Ward and Tyronne Lue! They were the main reason for that poor start. Once Sura got healthy and joined the team, we took off. Dumping JJ for Wesley also helped our chemistry. This year, I pin 90% of the 9-9 record on Adelman. I don't think the team is putting out the effort and focus necessary to win and we aren't improving. He also was too slow in making rotation changes. Lastly, the "still experimenting" excuse is running on fumes. But if the team finally gets an identity and we end up winning 50-55 games, fine and well. 18 games does not make a season.
We can talk about 7-11...but how about we look at the talent around yao and mcgrady at that point. they were able to make a few deals and took off after they got those better players. fast forward to this year. this team loaded with talent, 1-12...and has struggled out of the gate with an abundance of excuses. they better figure it out soon, because it's wrong to just assume this team will turn it on at some point. they could just as easily fall apart before they even got to that point, and this could just as easily be a LONG season with a lot of drama. while there's been some good wins, there is absolutely no excuse to lose to teams you're supposed to beat.
It's sad that most of the posters have missed your point. I think there is definitely a chance of winning 50+ or more games. There are still over 60 games left in the season.
I see your point and i´m with you, i still think this team will win 50+ games this season, this thread is quite similar to the "I'm As Frustrated As Anyone, but..." by Jeff. I´m still optimistic.
That time season was the first time tmac and yao played together. They were adjusting, and yao wasn't as dominant as he is now. Now we have more talent then we'd ever had that season and we are 9-9. Of course we do have a new coach, lets see how the team turns out after the all star break.
It's too early, but.... we have a lot more talent now. Before our recent slump most people were saying we had one of the most deep teams in the league.
1. Yao was much worse on both ends of the floor at that time. 2. Tmac and Yao didn't know how to play with each other yet. 3. That team's talent is nowhere near this one. Need more reasons?
I thought this thread was going to be about how cool it would be if Yao and Mike James played well enough together to warrant a collective nickname.
I feel that looking at the roster is biased if you don't also look at the schedules as well. In 2004-2005 season these were our first 18 games: Tue 2 @ Detroit L 79 - 87 0-1 Wed 3 @ Toronto L 88 - 95 0-2 Fri 5 @ Memphis W 89 - 81 1-2 Sat 6 Sacramento W 104 - 101 OT 2-2 Tue 9 Memphis W 90 - 87 3-2 Thu 11 Minnesota L 91 - 96 3-3 Sat 13 L.A. Lakers L 79 - 84 3-4 Mon 15 @ New Jersey W 80 - 69 4-4 Tue 16 @ Atlanta L 84 - 88 4-5 Thu 18 New York L 92 - 93 4-6 Sat 20 @ L.A. Clippers W 91 - 86 OT 5-6 Sun 21 @ Portland W 97 - 93 6-6 Tue 23 @ Sacramento L 96 - 102 6-7 Fri 26 @ Utah L 80 - 90 6-8 Sat 27 Denver L 76 - 82 6-9 Tue 30 Detroit L 72 - 93 6-10 Thu 2 @ Dallas L 106 - 113 OT 6-11 Sat 4 Philadelphia W 77 - 76 This is our first 18 games this year: @ LA Lakers W 95-93 November Opponent Result Thu 01 @ Utah W 106-95 Sat 03 vs Portland W 89-80 Mon 05 @ Dallas L 98-107 Tue 06 vs San Antonio W 89-81 Fri 09 vs Milwaukee W 104-88 Sun 11 @ Charlotte W 85-82 Tue 13 @ Memphis L 99-105 Wed 14 vs LA Lakers L 90-93 Fri 16 @ San Antonio L 84-90 Sat 17 vs Phoenix L 105-115 Wed 21 vs Dallas L 94-100 Fri 23 @ Miami L 91-98 Sat 24 vs Denver W 109-81 Mon 26 @ LA Clippers W 88-71 Wed 28 @ Phoenix W 100-94 Thu 29 @ Golden State L 94-113 December Opponent Result Sat 01 @ Sacramento L 99-107 Which schedule is worse? I know, it's this years schedule! That 04-05 schedule was not bad at all. When you are in the West these days and going through changes, you are going through changes no matter who is on your roster. Guys are talking about what they did after the 18 games and the change of players through trades, who got healthy ect... we have not even got to the conclusion of this season yet, BE PATIENT... whose to say what we do after these 18 games but right now I am talking about where we are at NOW at 18 games, that is the limit 18 games! I am comparing at 18 games where we were at in 04-05 season when JVG first coached T-Mac and Yao and where we are right now with Rick Adelman getting his first chance to coach T-Mac and Yao. 18 games is the limit BE PATIENT... we got a game on wednesday in 2 days. Ecclesiastes 7:8 8Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
It's hard to be patient when all you really expect from the team is consistent offensive and defensive fundamentals. Play smart. Play with intensity. Be fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball. Doing those things has nothing to do with any learning curve, and everything else will take care of itself.
