See, this is exactly my view on the subject. The teams we lose to are hardly worth mentioning (Adelman himself even said he's not interested in our record in Nov. and Dec.). What matters is the quantifiable evidence that shows the team is struggling. In my opinion, those shooting percentages show something that I have noticed now for a while; we are not getting the shots that our players can make. When Bonzi is forced to shoot a 16 fter, open or not, it's not the shot the Rockets wanted. That is something that can be fixed with a little practice and coaching. In my opinion, 1) and 3) go hand-in-hand. If we are getting the shots we want (near the basket), we should be going to the line more. As far as 2) goes, I think Adelman is still trying to tinker with the rotation. I think the guys who deserve minutes will be getting them as the season goes on. The one thing, as I mentioned earlier, that really troubles me is the fact that the players THEMSELVES aren't demonstrating the patience they need. On the court, it looks like they are breaking their sets too early, and they are resorting back to the slow ride-your-superstar offense that JVG instilled. We have one of the deepest benches in the league ; there is absolutely no reason why they should be giving the ball to T-Mac at the 3 pt line, and then watching him uselessly try to take on 3 defenders. Off the court, I am more than frustrated with the way Yao seems to be letting his struggles roll off onto other players, rather than taking it onto himself. It's easy to sit there and gripe to the Chinese media about how he thinks guys aren't trying, but what has Yao shown on the defensive end? The difference between a superstar and a really good player is the fact that a superstar can change the tone of the game HIMSELF. A really good player just plays within the pace of the game. Yao has the talent to be a superstar, just not the mentality...yet.
this is a perfect example of a team that is pressing. everyone is trying to do more than they should to help the team win. people are playing recklessly and are forgetting the offensive and defensive principles that helped them get to the 6-1 start.
Absolutely. And if the Rockets are pressing too hard, and trying to win a little TOO hard, and not letting the game come to them....what does that imply? It implies that once they let their foot off the pedal a little bit, and just let things come naturally, things will get better. The pressure will come off a little, and they can get back to playing ball. All of that calls for what? That's right....PATIENCE.
Are we patient enough to go 13-20? Detriot L Dallas L Orlando L Denver L Chicago W Detroit L Memphis W Toronto L Golden State L Boston L Orlando L The way we're playing now, I'd say those predictions look pretty reasonable.
TRANSITION TAKES TIME. I understand the frustration from losing games but this is no time to bash our best players and our coach.
Orlando's defense has suffered as they have turned into a run and gun team, and Boston have a coach who doesnt run a tough offensive system and Doc knows how to get the most out of his stars (both Pierce and T-Mac have had their best seasons under Doc). Houston has a bunch of new players with a coach with a philosophy the polar opposite of JVG's...it'll take time. But, they are 11-7 with T-Mac/Yao/Rafer all in lineup, to counteract their bad losses they have victories on the road vs Utah/Phoenix/LAL as well as a home win vs SA, and they have had the toughest schedule in the league...it is pretty amazing they are even at .500.
From what I can see, Boston is riding KG, PP, and Allen. All of which could arguably be in the HOF. Orlando is running and gunning. Their offenses are much simpler than the motion offense Adelman is implementing into the Rockets. Adelman took a couple years in Sacramento and made them a contender.
You understand that at the time, my thread was the first one with this tone? All the ones that came after this one, I can't control. By the way, way to add inciteful comments to the discussion....other people may not agree with what I have to say, but at least they're contributing to the discussion with intelligent posts.
As of now, I have nothing to prove your predictions wrong. Based on the current play of the team, you might very well be right, in which case I would say that things are definitely not looking good. However, during that stretch of games, we'll have more practice time, guys will have the chance to get used to each other a little more, and the team will have spent that much more time just simply playing ball. If we DO figure it out during that stretch, would you agree that you could turn a whole lot of those L's you have into W's? Patience is all I'm asking for. I know I'm not going to get it, and I know that it's every fan's right to vent, regardless of the situation.....I'm just saying that it's been literally 25% into Adelman's first year on the job. He deserves more time before he gets thrown under the bus.
I would *love* to see those Ls turn into Ws. I watched the game in NJ live. While we won, we never put the hammer down on the Nets. But a win is a win. The last two games, however, have really been a bummer. I am soooo glad I didn't buy tickets for the Philly game. I've never seen a Yao - TMac team play so badly and make so many bad decisions against non-stellar competition. They folded like cheap cameras, TMac looked like he wanted to get away, Yao looked like someone stole his lunch, and the whole team was simply pathetic. They didn't even look like an NBA team. Based on those last two games and indeed the last 15 (only 5 wins), I would say we will only get 2 of the next 11. Again, I would *love* to be proven wrong by these Rockets, but I'm fearing the worst.
No, I hate to break this to you, but you were not the first. Not even close to being close. in fact you are not even the first person this week that I have noted starting another "Don't Panic" thread. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=139063&page=2&pp=20 And I guess you missed this 10 page monster - otherwise known as last week's official "Don't Panic" thread http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=138702&highlight=Panic
I am not panic, but I start losing interest in Rockets. Tmac, Mike James, Bonzi Wells, and even SF3 at the same team and with RA as the coach? Those players are totally different from Yao, Battier, and Scola in terms of professionalism. If we want them at the same team, then we need a tough coach, but we didn't have. Don't expect this team can be success unless there is a major shakeup.
From what I have seen the Adleman sucks/Trade T-Mac type threads have greatly outnumbered the Dont Panic threads round here.
Yeah it could tell us that they are in the east and the Celtics have played very few teams over .500. There's something else I'd like to point out, yes 11-11 sucks in my opinion, we're far better than that. HOWEVER, we are only 3 games behind the 4th place team in the West. What does that tell you? The west is tough this year, with NO healthy and playing well the West is real tough this year...but that also works in our favor. I don't doubt that the Rockets will make the playoffs. Teams like the Lakers, New Orleans, and Golden State are over performing so far this year...it'll catch up to them by the end of the year. I'm not ready to panic, by no means am I happy and in all honesty I miss JVG (although I was always a supporter of his), but I'm not ready to write off the season and I'm certainly not ready to declare the Texans the best team in Houston!
