[Off-Topic] How does an Astros fan get back into being a Rockets fan?

it’s not easy

 

Sorry, now's not the time.

We'll be in rebuilding phase for a couple years. Get back to the Rockets side in 2023.

 

Lowering expectations is key. Think 2011-13 Astros.

 

I am equally passionate about both sports and teams. I found this year’s Rockets a lot of fun to watch, despite the losing. Lots of ball movement, good camaraderie (among the young guys at least), and some spectacular plays by Wood, KJ Martin Jr and Kevin Porter Jr.

Tate and KMJ are a ton of fun - each hustles and dunks well and Tate is a surprisingly good facilitator. And I don’t agree on KPJ - he is an instinctual and selfless passer, not a stat filler. If anything, he wasn’t aggressive enough in forcing the issue in his first year as a PG. He is very young and obviously immature, but he’s done and said all the right things here and has almost unlimited upside.

His, Wood’s and the team’s biggest problem is abominable defense. Some of it is aptitude and attitude, but a lot of it was due to massive discontinuity day to day - they ran out the 2nd or 3rd most different starting lineups in NBA history.

That’s also what gives me a bit more confidence than most heading into next year. They just couldn’t get healthy and establish roles. With a good offseason and solid health, I think they will compete for the play in next year if the veterans stay around (Gordon, Wall, KO) and be 30-35 wins if not. Still at least 2 years to the real (non play-in) playoffs and more to contention … but things change fast and if they get a really exciting young core and the right vet star(s) becomes interested, it could change quickly. And they will have up to two max slots and likely another high pick next year.

net net, a fun team to watch now and legitimately promising future with plenty of ways to improve quickly … which I thought would have been impossible after the disastrous WB/Wall trades. And no more pressure to defend Harden or just joyously waiting for the second round of the playoffs all season.

OK, that’s my hype speech. To hear from others, here are a good article on Tate (https://theathletic.com/2369400/2021/02/08/jaesean-tate-unplugged-belgian-breakfasts-why-he-nearly-quit-hoops-and-more) and on Porter (https://www.si.com/nba/2021/05/07/kevin-porter-jr-rockets-unlocked-potential ).

 

Things that manage to still pique my interest, even despite the disdain for ownership: is KPJ (like you said), Stone (seems like a competent GM), Silas (I like him and do want him to succeed),, & the 2nd pick should be interesting to watch as well.

I personally think Evan Mobley is the no-brainer pick at #2. He is a great prospect, elite across several advanced stats. If you’re trying to regain interest, watch his film. Unreal size and length, handles, vision and can pass, defends impeccably. He needs to add weight but so does literally every 19 year old prospect. I firmly believe he has the ability to be a generational stud for a long time. Should play well with how the game is aging, too. Jalen Green is an exciting prospect as as well despite my preference, but either will be interesting to watch develop. Or who knows, maybe it all blows up and the Rockets fall flat on their face. There’s some good young players with Tate, Wood, and a slew of upcoming picks, and this is a deep draft, so Stone has a great opportunity. Rockets need to go back to player development (and need some luck with stars) but there’s enough reason right now to have some interest. #2 pick is huge.

 

I was gonna say adjust your expectations .

but not only in terms of success. It’s 82 games compared to 162 . Making the playoffs is much easier . The entire strategy around roster building is different . Nba is just now building a credible minor league system in the G-league .

depends on what you like being a fan of . Just have to follow the team with a different mindset

 

Rockets start winning again would help

 

Not my job to become a Rockets fan. They have to win me back. They can start by:
- not letting prima donna stars with all talent and no character run the team and drive the culture into the dirt
- not pretending to contend on a shoestring budget
- owner shutting his piehole, hiring solid basketball people (perhaps he has those in place?) and letting them do their damn job, including paying for difference makers.
- it's unfair to single the Rox out for this, but the NBA game is boring to me currently. I haven't watched playoff games that didn't involve the Rockets in forever; I used to be glued to the TV throughout.

It's not like I'm with any other team; it's Rox or noone for me. It's been a minute since I cared about the NBA.

 

I was a Rockets fan before I was an Astros fan. In fact my enjoyment of the Rockets led me to seek out other sports as a kid, so you could easily say I'm only an Astros fan because of the Rockets. And up until very recently (even after the WS) if you told me to pick one it would have been the Rockets. Basketball if a far more compelling sport to watch game to game than baseball IMO. I would watch the Rockets tipoff to buzzer, virtually every game. As opposed to baseball which usually has split attention, or DVR and watch later. Baseball excels once games get really meaningful, but 80% of the season is complete leisure with cool moments sprinkled in.

Having said all of that, Tilman has crushed me. I can tolerate a rebuild no problem,(in fact it can be as fun as contending at times) but having zero faith in an entire organization just dims my spirit. Even though I've liked most of their moves recently, I fully expect Tilman to f**k it up eventually.

 

I've always been a rockets fan first. I literally drove down from Austin to Houston every few days because my wife bought me half season tickets one year. However, since Ferntits bought the team, I just can't support them anymore. I can support a team owned by an *******(confirmed) who may also be a criminal ( likely). If the rockets do well, I'll be happy for my hometown, but it will never feel the same for me.

The Astros org has been a class organization since Crane has owned them with a great bunch of players like Altuve. It's impossible not to root for them unless you are a Yankees and As fan.

 

Watch the draft and get invested in the watching the young guys develop.. go into the game’s not thinking about wins/ losses but more if the team is finding the right guy/ guys to build a team to compete. Don’t try to watch every game, maybe ones against good team to gauge the level of our young guys. That got me thru some seasons.. tho we haven’t seen a season like the we one we just had.

 

If you can watch the 100 Ls Astros, there is no excuse to be a Rox fan again during their emergency rebuilding.

I lost all interest after the Westbrook trade too and came back right on time for Harden to wear his fat suit. I think I only missed 2 games one of them being KPJ's 50 pt game.

 

I’m there with you, as I expect most here were Rockets fans (or became wrapped up with the team during their golden-era 92-99), and have since seen their Astros fandom wax/wane or grow exponentially (97-2001 teams, 2004-2007 teams, 2011-2014 teams… dark era… 2015-present… golden era).

As most Rockets teams/eras over the recent years, I’ve been following… but no longer living/dying as once was the case. Harden was a unique talent that was mesmerizing at times, but pull your hair out frustrating at times. The polarizing nature of those teams, and the way they were covered in the media, certainly stifled the city in terms of getting universally jazzed up for them (unlike the Hakeem era). The Yao era was also similar in that those teams had a huge following, with probably the most ‘special’ moments since the championships (22 game winning streak, lakers series, etc.), but ultimately not even a WCF to get the city truly galvanized.

Now they’ve hit rock bottom… for the first time in likely anybody here’s lifetime. It is exciting that they can build the team from the ground up with no immediate expectations from this fan base. Just hope they have a unified vision/plan that can be executed… and an owner that has patience to see it through (doubtful on the last point). The payoff will be that much sweeter.

 

It’s hard, I am now just trying to tell myself to embrace the rebuild. Enjoy watching the young players get better each game.
Same thing I did when the Astros were losing 100 games a year.

 

I’ve always been a baseball first guy. First love was the astros when I was a kid, but over time into my pre-teen/ teenage years I embraced everything Houston sports-wise.

The thing I’m looking forward to most, as a Rockets fan- is watching the core of KPJ and the #2 pick grow. I’ve told myself not to get too attached to anyone else- as they could all potentially get traded or be gone.

Watch the youngsters develop. It would be an insane redemption story if KPJ develops into a superstar. He was basically given away from the Cavs for free and given up on at 20 years old because of disciplinary issues. I have a feeling the Rockets will end up with Jalen Green. If those young guys truly commit to being great and putting the necessary work in- the sky is the limit.

It will all take time of course… but as we enter a new era of Rockets basketball, the draft picks and the assets we have should expedite the process of a rebuild.

 

Rockets were absolute garbage and I watched most of their games. Don't expect to enjoy this brand of basketball until the rebuilding is further along. It was a constant frustration to watch them play last year.

 

The Astros had a plan and executed it. Smashingly. The Rockets spent the last two years stumbling around like a bunch of clowns. They look a lot better than they would, because incredibly enough the Texans are even more inept.

 

This was me.