I wanted to start this thread because for most of this season people have been complaining about the fact that they dont feel they as fans can connect to this team and they can't see the chemistry... I personally feel the total opposite! Yes I really was a Francis supporter for so long but I attribute that to the fact that he was for so long our only hope of winning any games... So you kind of took the bad (which was so frustrating) with the good.. plus he cared and gave his all... So this is in no way a diss of Steve but it is a tribute to what we now have to represent the Rockets team.. This is by the way only for the players I truely feel deserve it: First of all lets get T-Mac out of the way... Guy is a treat to watch.. He can do EVERYTHING!! He has no fear of going up against any one!! He makes opponents fans scream in horror and disbelief when he takes over.. They see what I see.. A unique player who is just unreal.... I love T-Mac absolutely love him... I knew his talent but I also love the fact he is clutch and that he plays through his pain and injuries.. He is not a me-first kind of player as haters or imbecils will claim.. NO he is a team player who sometimes takes over but not once has that cost the team anything.. On the opposite it has given us wins we should not have had and it has helped the other players rally together.. You can see it on the bench when T-Mac does something unbelievable.. Players are high-fiving and laughing together.. So in short words.. God bless T-Mac Who will be next? It can only be Bobby Sura... The guy is just what the doctor ordered... He hustles like no one else but that is not all.. He can play ball.. He has loads of confidence and does not hesitate to take responsibility when other guys are having off-nights.. That is so so so important to have.. I as a fan really feel it is a treat to root for a guy with that player personality.. I mean he had back surgery and he gets his knees drained from fluids!!! And instead of sulking he goes out and gets a career high against the NETS and almost singlehandledly gives us a win.. Afterwards he can barely walk... In short words.. Sura is something for every other player in the league to look up to... God bless him The next deserving player in line is.... Dikembe Mutombo..... He is just great... He is so old but is still in perfect condition and besides being a top top top defensive center.. (much better than Yao) he has money offense.. That comes from the fact that he plays smart and only takes shots is within his capability.. Dikembe is one tough mofo and he really helps us out there every time he is in... We are so lucky to have him IMO. For exceeding all my expectations and keeping so fit (he is never injured which is amazing in his age) Deke becomes the third player on my appreciation list... God bless his african soul Those three has stood out for me but wait I am not finished... Jon Barry has to be included.. The guy is solid.. I totally feared that he was a has been because of how he played in Atlanta but the guy has been a total energy spark and he hits his shots.. It is so important for us to have many scorers and Jon Barry gives us that but that is not all.. He hustles and gets rebounds and always runs alot without the ball.. He is once again a proof that with the right attitude age is not a factor... God bless Jon Barry There are more players on this team that are starting to grow on me... For example versus the Nets I was praying for them to give it to Howard so he could shoot because I felt that he would be solid... He was clutch and he is starting to turn it around.. Oh my what a difference that will make... He still has weaknesses but lets not forget that this guy is a positive person who never complained about being put in loosing situations or being the scapegoat for so many fans frustrations.. he just tries his best and is real pro in my oppinion.. I have no trouble rooting for such a guy... That is the list so far but other players I feel soon will be ready to be welcomed in my heart are Wesley who is slowly coming around and hustles out there.... Even Mo deserves some kind of appreciation for being reliable in short stints on O.. Even though I would not mind a trade that included him Yes I know some players are missing probably but that does not mean I hate them at all.. It is just that the above guys have stood out in terms of effort and consistency and being a positive for this team and behaving in a matter that really makes me love this team... ( lets not turn this into Yao bashing..in fact lets not mention Yao at all) this is meant to be a positive post Win or lose It feels great being a rockets fan these days
hmm no replies.. guess i have to bash Yao then to get a response.. Ok here it goes: I just hate when Yao....... No way i am not going down that road.. I choose to root for the guy instead.. Oh and BUMP!
Say what you want, buy not "blessing" the whole team, you are blashing the rest of them. What, they don't deserve it? The other players are dirt? None of them are trying? Are they wasting the air they breath? OK, I go over board, but it's too bad you have to not bless the other 10 players on the team. Sure, you don't like them. But they do play on the team and it takes all of them for this team to win. Yep, it will that the stiff 7'6" Center pole we have for a basketball player who seem to have lost his touch for the team to win. And while he had one of the absolute worse games in his life (seems to following him whenever his buddy ref is in the game...) but that's OK. The Rockets won dispite Yao's terrible game. (Hey missing 4 FT - 2 that would have clinched in Regulation) is inexcusible.)
I really have not liked Yao except lately. The guy just doesn't seem to get it(not necessarily Yao's fault). He looks lost out there, but he still contributes. That being said, I really like him in a diminished role. I think we have tested Yao in the early games this year for whether or not he can be our best player. He doesn't have the energy to do it. Yes, we're all dissappointed that he hasn't become Shaq or Hakeem, but I think he can still dominate in his own style. Yao is not an inside player. He can be, but only for short stints. I think the game against Dallas was the best example of how Yao will help this team. He was often a decoy, rebounded hard, played pretty good defense and scored when people forgot about him. That's all we can ask of Yao in my opinion. He can take over when he's hot. He can still be vital to this team, but he is in no way shape or form a Hakeem/Shaq type center that we want. He just doesn't have the energy to go hard for all 31.2 minutes. That's okay. His presence for 30 minutes is enough to win games. I think he should take it easy on the court and do what comes easy for him when it doesn't matter and pick his spots to lay it down for the team and go bang when the team is needs it. This way his energy level can stay up and he'll be at his most effective late in games(like Shaq has learned to do). In Yao conclusion, Yao is a great player with great potential and we have not seen his best game. His style will develop in due time. I am in no way giving up on him, but we seem to want to win now. Yao is too stoppable on offense so we've gone another direction to try to win now. Cheers to whoever was a part of that decision. Especially Yao for being honest with the team(if he was) about being our go to guy. Things are looking up. I hope the adjustments to this team are only minor now. I think this style of play works for us. I like this team. I especially like how we're using Yao(aka forcing him to be something that he is not).
This is a bashing thread in disguise. About Yao, yes, he's been lack energy recently, but do people remember he was averaging 22,11 in Debember before he got the flu? Yao lost 12 pounds in a few days because of that. If I lost 5 lbs in a couple of days because of flu, I'd need at least one month to fully recover. So after one really bad game with Matt Boland officating, everybody else suddenly is better than Yao? One great game by a role player, he's God. One terrible game by Yao, he's Satan. That quickly becomes fashion on this board.
Last year they bashed steve, this year they bashed Yao, next year it's Tamc, this town doesn't deserve any sports greatness, that's why carlos beltran and jeff kent left without any hesitation.
Good job bra.....errr stra. My joy rests on the fact that we truly have a foundation to build on to win a championship is a no distant future. A young and able foundation that many teams in the NBA cannot boast of save for Spurs and .............??? The spurs as the only sure thing out there. All we need now is the other parts of this great puzzle. We can even scar some teams out this playoffs. PS. Why is this thread only two stars? Haters lurking?
I'd like to commend Yao Ming. Field goal percentage is among the best in the league, and his free throw percentage is excellent for a big man (see Duncan, Shaq). His rebounding has gotten better recently, and he is on pace to up his scoring average from last year. I just think the guy's a hard worker. He always keeps active on defense, battles down in the paint as much as you could ask him to, and seems to be very supportive of his teammates. I've always been impressed with Yao. I don't know about everyone else, but I just didn't give him much of a chance initially to be a top-flight success in the NBA- players at his height are fairly one-dimensional (Manute Bol, Shawn Bradley). He has certainly exceeded my expectations. Whether he is going to be one of the all-time greats- well, I never really thought that to begin with, but he just might. I am very glad to have a player of Yao Ming's ability and character on the Rockets.
You've heard of New York and LA, right? Do they have trouble winning? I know they complain like we do. It just means that fans care, not hate.
Wow that people are accusing me of bashing in this thread is just unreal... I did not right anything negative instead I wrote why I liked this team so much but hey people read what they want I guess... For the record.. I want Yao to have a good game every night but their are players on the team right now who makes a bigger impression on me right now than Yao.. It does not mean that I don't like Yao or see that he is very important to this team.. But the reason that T.Mac, Sura, Deke, Barry stand out is because of effort, character, will and how they have exceeded my expectations.. Yao has to me personally been a little bit dissapointing compared to what I expected and he just seems a little bit to fragile at the moment.. But hey I really want him to turn things around believe me!!!!
Excellent thread, it sucks that people hijacked it with negativity. I agree with the ones you listed. I especially like Mutumbo the most (with T-mac being the default). Maybe it's because we had low expectations with him that his play looks very good for what it's worth? Yao is the victim of high expectations. To me, the only thing wrong with Yao is that I expect too much from him.
