This was my first opportunity to watch every single game of the season, and it was an enjoyable experience. Overall, I am satisfied with the way the season turned out. They went 45-37, and became the best team to miss the playoffs. They had a franchise record against the east, and swept an entire division. They also treated me to some very enjoyable games in person. Those wins in Seattle and Portland? Beautiful... Still, there are some points I should make. While I am "satisfied" with this season, they still could, and should, have done better. The key phrase for this season, playoff-wise, would have to be: "blown opportunities". Don't get me wrong, the Rockets made some amazing progress this season, but I still feel they did not finish with the record they should have had. The Rockets lost an alarming NINE games against sub-500 teams this year. Three each to the Clippers and Nuggets, and one each to Boston, New Jersey, Golden State. Allowing for three slipups, the Rockets should have had 51 games this year. That would have gotten them the fifth or sixth seed, rather than the 13th draft pick. Unfortunately, the Rockets did not bring the right intensity to those games. Youth is not an excuse. In fact, their youth should have driven them to play up against those poor teams. Perhaps Rudy didn't stress that sort of intensity enough. Whatever the reason, the Rockets, with all that talent, should NOT have lost to those teams. The Nuggets especially baffle me. In fact, I felt the Rockets were going to the lottery after their first loss to the Nuggets. Back in December, the Rockets were 13-9 and it looked like they would lock themselves into the playoffs early on. Just like that, they lost at home to the Nuggets. A home loss to Denver after three straight road wins? Not a good sign. Unfortunately, that set the tone for what would keep the Rockets just a hair out of the postseason; an average home record and a lot of losses to bad teams. On top of these inexcusable losses, they also managed to blow countless fourth quarter leads to most of the western teams. I don't know how many big fourth quarter leads to good teams were blown during the last two months of the season. Two 16 point leads against Phoenix really stick out in my mind. Blown leads were also the story of the 1999-2000 season, so it bothers me that they had the same problem this year. Anyway, they still showed improvement. That string of comebacks, capped by the Indiana and Spur games, were amazing. Then there was the resurgence of Hakeem Olajuwon. Simply amazing. With his spark, the Rockets became an unstoppable force. If not for his injuries, perhaps we would be talking playoffs right now. Anyway, I admire the man more than ever before. I would like to thank the Dream for making this season special, despite the "lottery ticket". With that, here are my ten best wins of the year, and my ten worst losses: [This message has been edited by ZRB (edited April 18, 2001).]
Wins: 1. Rockets: 111 Sonics: 104 I have to pick this one as the sentimental favorite, because it was the first game I attended. Hakeem and Steve dazzled, and the Rockets got a big win over a team which was at an all-time high. Beautiful in every way. 2. Rockets: 109 Blazers: 103 See above. 3. Rockets: 127 Pacers: 118 That could be the best regular season win ever. Easily the game of the year in the NBA. 4. Rockets: 100 Knicks: 86 This could easily be number one. Hakeem- amazing. 5. Rockets: 99 Spurs 95 Come from behind, jinx breaker. 6. Rockets: 112 Sixers: 87 Wow! 7. Rockets: 76 Knicks 75 I wrote this off as a loss at the 4 minute mark. It wasn't. 8. Rockets: 104 Hawks: 98 23 point comeback? PHEW! 9. Rockets: 109 Jazz: 86 Take that you flopping bastards! 10. Rockets: 84 Lakers: 74 Helped ease the pain of election day nightmare. Losses: 1. The 17 point Clipper loss: "discusting!" 2. The 3 point Seattle loss: the tears, they were flowin'. 3. The Phoenix loss- you know the one I mean. Oh man... 4. The first Clipper loss: Not a good sign. 5. That third Phoenix loss: 43 points for Jason "brick" Kidd? Oh god no! 6, 7, and 8. All Nugget losses. 9. Hakeems 27 points wasted in loss to the Mavs. 10. 17 point Miami loss tied with 15 point Boston loss. The lack of effort in both games was astounding. [This message has been edited by ZRB (edited April 18, 2001).]
Finally, here are my grades for the Rockets: Rudy Tomjanovich: B+ Managed to get the teams 45 wins, but those ridiculous lineups were baffling? Bullard, Thomas, Moochie, Steve and Mobley in a must-win fourth quarter situation? Come on now Rudy! I would think that he is partly to blame for some of those inexcusable losses. Steve Francis: A- He is going to be a superstar, but I was disappointed to see that he never got more than 36 points. I would have liked to have seen him take over a few more games, offensively. Defense? Aside from being 9th in the league in steals, he played crap D the entire season. Nearly every point guard owned his ass. Robert Pack had 18-14 against him. I hope this is what he works on all summer. Cuttino: B+ In at least 41 games, he played like "Jack". He looked brainless half the time. The other half, he was incredible. He knows how to do what Steve doesn't: how to take over games, offensively. If he also works on his D, he will be a true star next season. I noticed he really improved his decision making in the second half of the season. Hakeem: A++ What can I say about Hakeem? He proved, yet again, that he is a true superstar. He belongs in the top 5 best players. Those multiple comebacks, and the way he inspired this team? Incredible... Mo: B+ Mo did just what I wanted. Sure, a few more boards would have been nice, but I am still satisfied with his play. I hope the Rockets re-sign him, and let him develop with the team. I like his attitude... Shandon: B Played hard every game, great D. I couldn't do anything for years if I lost my mother, no matter how much money I was making. I think that the past few games have proven that he can be valuable. Re-sign him! Mooch: A- Best backup PG in the league. Sixth man award for Rockets. Spark plug, for sure. Walt: B He did his job, shooting 40 percent from three. Bullard: A That song forced me to give him an A. He is also a valuable asset. Cato: C I would have scored him lower, but I can't do it without seeing him play a full year. Kenny: B Great contributions off the bench. Good hustle, and good board work. I think he could be a pretty solid player in this league. Carlos: A When he actually played, he brought a lot to this team. Could he give some of his heart and desire to Cato, please. Langhi, Colson, and Collier: Incomplete I haven't seen enough of them. Overall team grade: B+ They should have brought more heart and hustle to the games against crap teams this year. Hopefully, this season will serve as a valuable teaching tool for next year. I fully expect them to win 50 plus, unless that nightmare offseason actually turns out to be true. Webber would be a nice addition, but I would actually prefer to see this group develop. They made this season an exciting one. They better get more than one nationally televised game next year. Good effort most of the way. Now they can get down to business next season. PLAYOFFS! But Steve, where were all those spectacular dunks over the big men...? ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan. Protrolls.com!
Pretty good reviews overall. I think you gave some grades that were too high though. B+ should be reserved for a team making the playoffs, ala Minnesota or in the East the Pacers and Magic. The Rockets, just missing the playoffs, deserve a B (this is a grade in comparison with the rest of hte league, not in comparison to what I thought they would do in the beginning of the season). ------------------ Haha.. you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: Never get involved in a land war in Asia. Only slightly less well know is this: Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
I considered giving them a B, but being the best non-playoff team ever counts for something. That record against the east, and the central pretty much secured the B+. Those two wins in Seattle and Portland were just too sweet to allow me to give them a B. ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan. Protrolls.com!
Yeah its kinda hard to believe Steve hasn't scored 40pts yet. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
I have to disagree about Walt Williams. I have always liked Walt. He has some offensive moves and some size, but he just goes away for weeks at a time and doesn't know what to do on the floor half the time. I give him a C-. ------------------ Doink!
