I can't stand looking at threads and seeing fans degrading our wins. Someone says Alston should be benched, and others say no because we are winning with him on the floor. the inevitable comeback is that we are winning because we are playing poor teams. The same reply is true when saying that T-mac is playing like his old self again, or that we are doing a good job winning while Yao is out, or just about any other thread in which our wins are brought up. Winning against inferior teams is what we should be doing, and when things are going bad, it often doesn't get done. When we are at our worst we lose to teams we should beat. It is the NBA and no game should be taken for granted. It doesn't matter who we play. On any given night any team in the NBA is capable of beating any other team. At the end of the year there no special footnotes about certain victories that say these aren't worth a full 'W' in the record book, because they were against a sub .500 team. Our team is winning, and I think we should be happy and pleased. The fact that we are only winning against teams that should be beaten doesn't take away from that. I don't only get excited when we beat the Spurs, or the Mavs. I may get more excited, and cherish that victory in a more prominent place in my own inner-mind Rockets hall of fame, but every single win is important, and will help us reach the playoffs. It doesn't matter who its against. It just feels wrong to see Rockets victories so often belittled on these boards.
People are all entitled to their own opinion. I guess the best way to respond to negative threads is to ignore it, don't respond to it, or simply write a reply NOT addressing directly his message. Simply write short positive notes like Go Jeff, or Alahu Akbar.. or Go Rockets. ..
I don't mind different opinions at all. I just don't understand the need to run down Rocket victories to back up an opinion.
You said it yourself, you get more excited by a win over the spurs or mavs than over a bottomfeeder. Wins are not created equally. Some wins are bad. If we played the crippled hornets tomorrow and had to come back from a 20 point deficit with a healthy Tmac/Yao combo playing, we'd all be a little worried. Just ask JVG how he felt after the GSW win. That we had 21 turnovers alone ruined his night. He was upset with Hayes. I wouldn't want to be the one to tell him "Wins are wins. Cheer up."
The difference is that the threads aren't about if are wins are good or not. Then I guess running down victories would be expected. People can say raefer should start, or shouldn't start all day long, and have different opinions without acting like our victories don't matter. 1. We can't play a top 5 NBA team every night. The schedule doesn't work like that. 2. The goal of all the games is to get a 'W'. That is true of games against sub .500 teams or championship contenders. To blow off some victories like they don't count, is taking victories for granted. I think anyone who has been a Rockets fan since even last year can understand that no victories should be taken for granted.
I get more excited, but I don't pretend like other wins don't count. Also JVG's job is different than a fan's job. I've seen Rockets teams lose to too many "bad" teams to not be excited by all of our victories. I don't mind looking at areas for improvement as well. I think that is a good thing to do. I just don't think a reason for improvement should be because we won against a "bad" team. The reason for improvement should be because we see too many turnovers(as you mentioned), poor defense, poor shot selection etc.
Great thread. Just win baby!!! I cherish all these wins equally, we need that 6th playoff seed and we then will have a great shot at the second round at minimum... Besides, these are all NBA teams, and it takes a good team effort to beat any team in the league. 20-12...keep 'em coming.
You're missing the point. Sure a win over Dallas or San Antonio says more about the team. But its not like winning over Memphis means you suck. To say we're only winning because these are bad teams isn't fair. Look at last year...when we were plagued by injuries we couldn't even beat these "bad teams." The important thing is that they are learning to play without Yao. And hey, I'd rather make the playoff with a whole bunch of bad wins then miss the playoffs but have a bunch of quality wins.
Two thoughts: 1. IIRC, the year we missed the playoffs with a 45-win record, we got swepted in the regular season by the Bobcats (or some other equally bad team). We lost to some really crappy teams at that alone kept us from the playoffs. 2. IMO, winning games when you are not playing well is the mark of a good team. All teams have ups and downs. The good ones still find ways to win when you are down.
I think it's significant that we have a very poor record against above-500 teams. And we're only 9-10 in conference. If we can't beat good teams, then we're going to struggle having any success in the playoffs. Of course, with Yao out for at least a couple months right now just getting to the playoffs should be our primary goal.
I am pretty sure the year you were talking about was the '02-'03 season in which we won 43 games and missed the playoffs by 1 game. The Bobcats were not born until two years later. They did indeed sweep us in that year but we made the playoffs regardless. Anyway, I definitely concur with you that we SHOULD beat those teams we are supposed to beat and we have been doing pretty darn good job in this regard thus far. The thrust of my response is on the significance of 45-win. This number, which I think is like a magic number, virtually guarantees a spot in the playoff. I would "challenge" anyone on this board to find me ONE example where a 45-regular-season-win team missed the playoff in NBA history. Anybody up to the task?
IMO, protect home court, beat the teams you are supposed to beat and have a winning record on the road. simple but maybe not....
the best team to never make the playoffs... any fan from the early part of this decade remembers that year
Exactly, we are beating the teams we need to beat. With Yao out, all these victories are very important to keep us afloat. If we were losing, the same people would be crying that we are not beating the inferior teams. Its like a double edged sword. FranchiseBlade, I understand you. GO Rockets.
When was it determined that Yao was out for "at least a couple of months?" He'll be back by the end of February. If not sooner.
if anyone that is belittling these wins are fans who were tortured through the steve francis era then how soon have they forgot. I remember when we used to lose the games we were supposed to win and were torched by the lottery teams. Every win warrants a pump of your fist, if you want something to give a win more credability then atleast think of it as a win in the western conference, which a lot of teams are having trouble doing, and this most recent win is our 4th in a row! I don't care what team it was but I love the fact that we are on a streak! Go rockets
6 weeks is an absolute minimum, from my understanding. I'd be surprised if he comes back and plays regular minutes before March.
How accurate are the Sagarin ratings on USA Today? http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/nba0607.htm vs top 10 Lakers 8-5 Dallas 7-5 Jazz 7-3 San Antonio 6-5 Houston 6-7 Phoenix 3-7 We have better record than Phoenix against top 10 teams but just below San Antonio? vs top 16 Dallas 11-6 Jazz 11-6 Lakers 10-6 Phoenix 9-7 Houston 9-8 San Antonio 9-9 We have a better record than San Antonio against top 16 teams? Will our win record be better when we have both Yao Ming and T-Mac on the floor?
