Hey, it is funny how people go overboard after one game. All of a sudden the same team everyone was bandwagon jumpin' needs to do this and needs to do that. Fact of the matter is that they are missing their best rebounder, floor leader, and heart and soul of the team. Now it's a damn shame I'm not talking about Yao or McGrady when I mention these attributes, but this is just fact. We are still in the same position we were in when we started the game ...6th. So chill out, stop haten' and enjoy the development of this team. Oh... and everytime someone gets released or bought out, we don't need them. Damn.. there is a reason that they are being released.
Well, to be fair, the Rockets hung in there agaisnt the sonics before being robbed and played a pretty close game against the spurs until Strickland completely crapped out. Tonight was the first night in a long while where the rockets simply looked lifeless from start to finish. No flashes of brilliance AT ALL during any portion of the game. Hopefully, we'll do some damage in Chicago and hopefully we can hang on until Sura comes back.
I thought they were sluggish from the start. I mean I literally felt my heart beat slower and my eyelids drooping merely by watching them. It's the kind of hungover feeling you get New Years day where even fast beat music seems slowed down. That's what watching the rockets felt like today. Horrible. And that sick (in a bad way) fingerroll/layup by Yao that missed and which shoulda been a dunk.....ugggh. ... looked like a damn 7'6" figure skater trying to play basketball. I hope I don't see anything like that again as long as I live.
Well said, ced. I understand fans get fired up, I do too, but people kinda go overboard, even Clutch himself with his "wilted like flowers" recap. Yeah, this loss sucked, but there's nothing anybody can do about it now, besides the Rockets players and coaches regrouping and improving for the road trip on Tuesday. I saw a lot of positive things out there from Mike James today, even Moochie wasn't bad, he hit atleast one shot and passed the ball effectively while he was in there, I don't think he had a turnover. Juwan Howard was rebounding well, too. I think this was one of those games where too often the Rockets were playing as a group of individuals and not as a team with chemistry. It shows just how important Sura was to this team, as he seems to be the glue that holds the thing together Some of this loss also has to fall on the coaching staff as well, as Utah made defensive adjustments and the Rockets didn't seem to respond to those with adjustments of their own, like Bill Worrell pointed out during the broadcast. I don't think there was any "wilting" going on, or lack of effort, but there was definitely a lack of execution, which has been the problem most of the year when there has been a loss. Anyway, suck it up and get ready for the Baby Bulls, they will be ready for us.
You're right, we shouldn't overreact to just one game. But the truth is that we need all the wins we can get. Our schedule the rest of the way is brutal and these these unecessary losses might come back and haunt us come playoff time. And like Kaiser said, its the 3 losses in a row most of us are worried about. Luckily, the Lakers lost today to the Raps.
I have noticed something interesting this season - despite what 82games.com +/- stats say, Yao's importance to this team is usually under estimated and doesn't show in some stat sheets. You are right we were clicking until Yao picked up that 2nd foul and everything went downhill from there. It happened again in that game against Memphis on the road after Stromile dunked on him. It just seems like everything something "bad" happens to Yao on the floor, our team nose dives. Hmmmmm.....interesting. PS. what a dunk by Francis as I type.......wow? The crowed in Orlando is still buzzing but they are going to still lose this game. Please forgive my digression.
The thing that bothered me most was the lackluster effort.And when a guard is one of your best rebounders,your in trouble.This game really exposed the soft underbelly of the Rockets interior. Now,I know this was James's first game,so I'm not worried about him,but this is a game where everyone needed to step up,esp. Yao,and it didn't happen.We needed this game,as we have a difficult schedule ahead...and weren't ready.Van Gundy gets some blame for this one...home against the Jazz..without Boozer. The Rockets will be fine,I just thought they could have given a more inspired performance today considering what we're fighting for. ..and while Sura is key to our team,I wouldn't be calling out TMac.
The thing to remember is that Bob Sura is out and its going to take James and the team a little while to get used to one another. I dont think anyone disagrees with the fact that James is a definite upgrade and combined with Sura this is going to be a strong point guard combination. The fact is there were times when he looked lost and its going to take some time getting used to the team just as it took Sura, Wesley, and Barry time to adjust. The thing to remember is this team is a work in progress and even the Rockets front office knew we would still be a player or two away even after all the trades we have made. While not trying to make excuses for these guys it did seem like the refs allowed the Spazz IMO to get away with murder on the offensive boards. We dont have that Bruiser guy to clean things up and when there are going to be no calls like today's game we dont have anyone to fight fire with fire, muscle with muscle. I think this team will still finish anywhere between 6-4th in the playoff race despite this recent string of losses.
That 1 GAME CAN ecide you're standing at the start of the playoffs( assuming we make it) ....WCF Is so Competetive that you need to win this so called GIVEN GAMES.
Who wants t trade him?. however he should be Open to critisisim just like anyone else who UNDERPERFORMS.
I love that term " underperform", but you should of added the word expectation. Now Yao isn't performing as a 7-6 Shaq, therefore he is underperforming. However I'll take a 18 & 8 big man who is improving and is still 4 or 5 years from his peak any day. Besides, name another 7-2 or bigger player who did better in his 3rd year.
After how poorly this team started the season due to learning how to play with an abundance of new players, you would think fans would understand that bringing in two new players into the rotation (ESPECIALLY a completetly new PG to start the offense) was again going to take a little time to gel again. Now, I'm not saying it's going to take 20+ games to shake off that funk, but give it a game or two and I think we'll see a well oiled machine again. I like what James brought to the team today and I can see even more possibilities of how good this team can truely be by the playoffs. After 3 losses we are still 6th in the West so as long as we stay around there in the next week or so, we should be fine and making a good run at 4 or 5.
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that Bob Sura would prove to be the X factor? However, all signs point to just that. The Rockets floundered at the beginning of the season while he was on IR, and once it looked like they were on a roll and climbing in the standings Sura goes back on the IR and the team looks JUST LIKE the one at the beginning of the season.
I said when he Underperforms. i did'nt say in the whole Season did i?. it shows you're jumping to you're on Conclusion to give credience to you're own argument. i meant he underperformed tonight. are you denying he underperformed tonight?.his 7'6 yet gets Outrebounded by soft players like Okur and Humphries. nothing like blind love to blind you're judgment.
