The rocket's point differential is down to +.2. For comparison the grizzlies is -.2. Given that we had the hardest schedule in the league, it was assumed thiis number would get better. Now on the easy stretch we are not doing well. We had to go to triple overtime to be beat the wolves. It is possible that they were just playing out of their mind earlier and they fall back to where their point differential says they should be. The rockets really need a talent infusion unless they are hopping for luck to be on their side.
We have been scouted, and teams realize we only have 2 good offensive players in our starting lineup in Scola and Brooks, so they guard them and let the others roam free. And in our 2nd unit they have figure out that Lowry can't shoot and Budinger has been inconsistent...and that Landry is our only threat and they are doubling him now. The Rockets now need to adjust to the adjustments. And, uh, better offensive players would help too... :grin: DD
"Good teams don't win close games. They avoid them." -- Daryl Morey I believe, until recently, the Rockets were something like 7-3 in games decided by 5 points or less. That is largely luck. Our win-loss record was to an extent a mirage, when you consider our point differential put us about 8th or 9th in the conference. The good thing was that the schedule would ease up significantly. However, the Rockets have not played nearly as well in the month of December as they did in November. Their performance has been sliding. It could be mental fatigue after playing above their capabilities the start the season. It could be that other teams have figured out how to guard their strengths better (shut down the transition game, deal with Landry using a combination of size and double teams). How do they turn it around? Not sure they are equipped to do so, honestly. This may just be who they are. I expected, before the season, for the Rockets to be a 42 win team with the possibility of McGrady being a contributor. With no McGrady, like most everyone else I thought they'd win less than 40.
Teams figured out that take away fast breaks and back doors,protect the paint on defense, go to the rim as much as possible on offense is the way to beat Rockets. We don't have a great half court game and we don't have a shot blocker. Nobody except sometimes Landry requires a double team.
Might be a little skewed because we have been blown out twice I think, and havent really blown anyone else out.
If a teams gets blown out but doesn't blow out other teams, that's a pretty good indicator they aren't that good. The Rockets have not been good enough on either end of the court to build up large leads against teams and sustain it.
We have no defensive presence whatsoever in the paint. With no interior defense and a subpar half court game, there is no way we are going to win many games.
I think its definitely time to shake things up if we're going to make a playoff run. Its not out of the question for the Rox to pull out a first round upset. I for one would not be completely disappointed to miss the playoffs entirely and get a lottery pick.
If they had a shot at a top 5 pick, but if they are getting the 13th pick I would rather be in the playoffs.
Point differential has proven to be one of the most accurate, if not the most accurate, indicator of how good a team is. Earlier when we were playing good, people started to claim that our talent level was underrated. Back then I and some others said that if you have to play hard and at the full of your potential every night to scrape out wins, you don't have enough talent to last very long in the playoffs (if you can get to the playoffs). You can only sustain hard work and focus for so long before mental fatigue kicks in. Talent is what carries you through during those stretches.
True, and playing a triple overtime game with basically zero 2nd half substitutions did not help at all, with mental or physical fatigue. DD
or they may have faced really gotten teams more often than some of the really bad ones. 19 point loss to Dallas 31 point loss to Dallas
Aside from the T'Wolves game Lowry has shot descent, not great, but still ok this year. You are pretty spot on with this analysis DD. They need to shake up the lineups and rotations. *cough* Budinger to the starting lineup and Ariza to the bench *cough*
i agree in general with that, but at the same time to have only been blown out twice in almost half a season with a team like ours that has had a very tough schedule, thats says something. It may not say we're good, but it says we play hard and dont give up easily. That is the reason we're always in a game and the reason we're overachieving. As a result, our point differential is what it is....so i think it's not all bad. Against some teams building a lead just isn't realistic given our lack of super talent...staying within striking distance and edging them out in the end is usually our best bet in those cases.
Ironically Kobe was a 13th pick. Playoffs would be sweet but I can live with a 9th spot in the WC. This team has already overachieved and we all know we're not winning the championship this year.
Kobe was unique. He wouldn't even workout with most teams. He was also the 1st guard to come out of HS, and plus he wasn't lebron who had an nba body out of HS.
http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/10/1/diffeff/1-1 Hoopsstats tells me the Rockets are 15th in efficiency differential against lottery-bound teams. They are 26th against playoff-bound teams. They are 18th against sub-.500 teams. They are 17th against plus-.500 teams. They are 21st overall.
A trade needs to happen. We are wasting too much time and now other teams are drawing up their own trade proposals...that are beating our own. I was always skeptical of waiting until the trade deadline. Sometimes, that isn't the best option.
