What is a good record for this 5 game road trip I think 3-2 is what I think they can do 0-5 wil be horendous ( unlikely) 1-4 still not good enough 2-3 hope they learned something 3-2 what i expect 4-1 Great road trip 5-0 OH MY God (unlikely)
I can accept 1-4 so far now. But two months later like this, I think they should be 4-1 or 5-0 Give them some time.
2-3 is the most likely result. They'll probably take 2 of the games against the Clippers, Jazz, and Sonics. That being said, it's not unreasonable to think they could go 3-2. Portland is without Bonzi Wells, and they lost Sabonis and Pippen in the offseason. Plus Piatkowski is scheduled to return during this road trip which should improve their offense.
Thats too harsh. Becaise if we had the same schedule at home 4-1 or 5-0 should be excepted. But when you are a young team learning to win consistently the best you can hope for in the road is close to .500 record
Honestly I am hoping for 3-2. Anything above that would be awesome and show some marketable improvement. 2-3 would be disappointing but not devestating. That would seem to suggest we are still treading water and not improving. Anything below 2-3 would be unacceptable and show this team just is not mentally tough yet.
There are a number of factors that can make this a highly successful trip. Our weaknesses at this point are correctable and the most significant of which is playing smart. Our defense will keep us in all of these games. Our dominant players have to dominate. That would be Steve and Yao. I would extend Moochies minutes to make sure SF does not get too tired. Taylor is also a key. In the last game, his first back, I thought he got a number of open shots and a number of low post opportunities which if he continues to get he will convert. Keep the rotation long for this trip as the last game is a back to back vs Seattle. Will Pike be back during this road trip? Ming Cato JJ Mobes Wink Taylor Braggs Boki Padgett Pike Moochie Three of the teams are being outscored and outshot by their opponents. If we win the first one we could run the table. Anytime now the team's confidence level will make a difference and if it happens on this trip, we could take as many as 4 if not five. Anything less that 3 wins would not be good.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2238760 Rockets determined to forget road history By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES The numbers are kind of wearing on Maurice Taylor. He's starting to tune them out. Taylor doesn't need to hear the statistics of how terrible a road team the Rockets have been the last two years. He was at the games. He remembers. But in case any of Taylor's teammates needed a reminder, coach Jeff Van Gundy dragged out the statistics for Thursday's practice. On the eve of the Rockets' longest trip of the season, Van Gundy pointed out that during the past two seasons the Rockets were 8-20 on extended trips. "I don't even think about last year really," Taylor said. "That's stuff he likes to use to motivate us, but I don't care about what happened last year. It's about what we're doing now and how we're going to play Portland." Taylor wants to focus on the present as the Rockets (8-3) begin their five-game, nine-day West Coast trip tonight against Portland (6-5). They will then face the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah, Sacramento and Seattle before returning to Toyota Center on Dec. 3. Van Gundy doesn't want to ignore the past, though. He didn't join the Rockets until June, but he has become versed on the team's recent history. On trips of at least four games, the Rockets were 4-14 in 2001-02. Last season, they were 4-6. Reversing that trend will not be easy in the next two weeks, though. None of the Rockets' coming opponents have a losing record. Seattle and Sacramento are each only 1 1/2 games back of the Lakers in the Pacific Division; Portland and the Clippers are right behind them. "We know what the challenge is ahead of us," Van Gundy said. "Our first 10 opponents had a winning percentage of 41 percent. And the next 10 have a winning percentage of 57 percent. So the competition level is going up, and we're going to have to play better to win." The Rockets lead the Midwest Division, but they have hardly been overpowering. In the past week, they won three games by an average of five points. Their only loss during that time was in double overtime to Toronto. The team must face five opponents who have given the Rockets trouble in the past and have put together strong starts this season. Last year, the Rockets didn't have a winning record against any of the teams. But the Rockets also didn't have such a winning start to last season. They want to prove that things are different this year, and they know the next five games are critical in proving that. "It's definitely going to be a test of our character to see how far we really came," Steve Francis said. "Even though we are 8-3 right now, we've got these five games in the Western Conference." The Rockets will need to continue their strong defense in order to find success during the trip. The Rockets lead the league in opponent points per game (81.2) and opponent field-goal percentage (.377). But they have not been challenged by the league's best. Sacramento, Seattle and the Clippers are among the league's highest scorers. Each ranks in the league's top five for scoring, with the Kings leading the league by averaging 103.4 points per game. The Rockets look forward to the challenge, especially Taylor, who is ready to give Van Gundy some positive statistics worth sharing with the team. "We're stepping up in class as far as the teams we're playing," Taylor said. "It's going to be a tough road trip. We're going to be on the road for a while, and we really want to perform well, because the first part of our schedule has been to our favor. So now it's going to get a little bit tougher. It's going to be a long road trip and a good test of where we are."
I can see them going 2-3...and then after they return home, it doesn't get any easier. They could potentially lose 9 of their next 12 games if they don't find consistent offense. 11/21 @Portland (L) 11/24 @LA Clippers (W) 11/26 @Utah (W) 11/28 @Sacramento (L) 11/29 @Seattle (L) 12/3 Utah (W) 12/5 @ New Orleans (L) 12/6 Detroit (L) 12/9 Portland (L) 12/11 San Antonio (L) 12/13 @San Antonio (L) 12/16 @ Minnesota (L) Of course this is my worse case scenario and they are not likely to do this, but it's not completely outside the realm of happening. They need to get their heads in the game now and show the league that they are for real.
