The thing that makes this different from last year is that we are doing all the right things except for the turnovers and we are winning convincingly. We are leading from start to finish in most games including the games we won during the preseason. The biggest problem last year was consistency which is much better this year.
We should get a better feel for what kind of team we have after the back to back in Dallas and Phoenix. Huge test there. Both teams will be up for us no doubt. 17 out of the next 25 games are against teams that made the playoffs last year. If by the end of December, we are still at or close to the top in our division, then I will feel better about celebrating. The season is a marathon, its a sprint.
Anyway the seat I have right next to me at the front of the Top 4 wagon is reserved so do not use it. It is for Codell. When it was preseason they(doubters) said it was preseason and now it is the strength of the opposition. To me, if they had taken the clear signals that came from those final four preseason games seriously they would be a lot more accepting of the obvious after two weeks of the regular season. This rocket team is clearly here to stay. We are a top team in this league not tomorrow or in the future, now.
You've got to like the way this team just suffocates opponents defensively and then pulls away in the 4th. It ain't pretty, but they just grind away and before you know it we have a 10 point lead and the other team is fading. We are very reminiscent of the mid-90's Knicks but with more offensive firepower.
We are definitely #1 in whiney fans b****ing about one player not getting enough shots in 20+ point blowouts Of course, the Rockets also started off 2001-2002 at 5-1...
I remember Dearrock spouting off at the mouth after a handful of games last year how we were Top 4. We all know how that turned out. Times never change. If only Rudy hadn't lost his ability to coach right in the middle of the season.
also, not to rain on our parade...but after 5 games in November of last year...here are our stats.. Record: 4-1 Av pts by opponent: 75.2 Av pts by Rox: 88.2 this year so far.. Record: 5-1 Av pts by opponent: 76.8 Av pts by Rox: 90.5 look similar? Tho, I must admit I like how deep we are this year with good players, and really think our D is for real this year...but it IS a little early to be planning parades at this point.
Good post R2K. That is interesting. Although, I do get the sense that we seem a lil more cohesive than we did last year. As many have said, its hard to get too excited till we start playing more playoff contenders. Looking at our schedule, it was not absurd to predict a 5-1 start. We have to keep in mind that with a new head coach, we are doing things differently. Consequently, teams don't know quite what to expect (i.e. the "book" on our team is just now being written) when playing us. Other teams will adapt to try and counteract the things we are doing. Then team will then have to adjust to that. It will be an ongoing dance till the end of the season.
R2K, I don't know what schedule or stats you're looking up, but after five games last year, we were 3-2 and giving up 91.8 ppg
Good points... the really good thing about "the Book" on this year's Rockets is that it will become a pick your poison type of thing.. Double and triple team and/or front and double Yao to stop the high percentage inside game but free up the shooters.. or Stay in man coverage and hope your defense can contain the individual players. which scheme will be the most efficient? Either way we win on most matchups.. Yao is too talented to stop with single coverage for most teams.. and with the improved ball movement and the open looks created by the ball movement, you better have some great defense to stop the rest of the team from killing you. one last thing that is changed from last year that will make a huge difference for us.....VG has the team ready for all opponents...not just the good ones, but the bad ones also. Regardless of my posts where it looks like I am downplaying how good we look....I have a good feeling about this team. We will definitely be the sleeper pick for at least the WC champions if we keep up the way they are playing now... but that is a BIG if.
massive brain fart... I misread the CF stat page... where is the :sheepish: smilie?? if there was ever a reason for edit......argh
I don't know about the qualification of the Rockets have only played scrubs. They've beaten these other teams in the way of a good team beating scrubs. At some point in each of the wins, the Rockets have asserted their domination over the lesser team. That's what you want to see, right?
I'm really happy cuz have u guys forgotten last season when we lost to teams we should've of beaten. That's an improvement don't ya think. We're 5-1 against not so good teams but last season we may of been 3-3 or so........so lets just be happy.
Very good point. Teams now react to the advertisement (inside-out game) displayed by JVG. For real intent or not, it turns out to be our perimeter shooting that kills the other teams as they all concentrate on double or treble teaming Yao. Also with the early controversy between Francis and JVG, Other teams might have thought that is the poison pill (doubling Yao) Francis and Cat will take with their selfish plays. And the reality is .... On the other hand, our distraction (EG and Mobley) and injuries (Pike, AG, etc.) not only have no negative impact on but also turn out to be positive for us. Now that we have people like Boki, Padgett and Braggs. Other teams never thought of facing these guys, who benefit greatly from the Yao and Francis system with open shot and garbish rebounds.
exactly, AB. i don't think some people understand what it means to be a good team in the nba. really, it is a fairly simple equation... beat the bad teams - consistently - and win about half of your games with the elite teams in the league. do that and you are a very good team, yourself. check it out. elite teams: dallas lakers spurs t-wolves jersey detroit kings of those 7 teams, 5 are in the western conference. so we'll play them 20 total times in the regular season. add in the eastern teams, and that's 24 games out of 82 that are against elite teams. if we win 1/2 of those, we're talking about 12 victories. there's 58 more games against non-elite or bad teams. if we win 70% of those games, we're talking about 41 more victories. that makes us right around 53-29, which is a pretty damn good team. what's most important, though, is the way that we are playing - regardless of opponent. we are, for the first time in at least 5 years, playing like a damn TEAM. their is a balance developing between the post and perimeter that hasn't been seen since our glory years. whether or not we lose to phoenix or dallas or memphis, the progress we are making is undeniable. the talent has always been there, but we were playing in a manner noncondusive to developing chemistry. not any more! JVG is the mad scientist!!! go jeff go!!!
