Most disappointing season ever to date vis-à-vis preseason expectations?

Playoffs?

Spoiler

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Can't we all label Mike James and Steve Francis the co-scapegoats for the team's disappointing season thus far? Rookie Aaron Brooks just needs time to iron out his rough edges before carving into Rafer's minutes significantly.

I think that it is important for everyone to know that Steve Francis has played for one team that made the playoffs in his previous eight years in the league.

 

There's been worse, memory just fades with time. How about 97/98? We had two championships, a lull year that led to getting Charles, a near-Finals team, and then a 97-98 stinker that featured Dream tumbling out of the elite with injuries, Charles and Clyde at their throats to the point that Clyde announced he was finished, a 0.500 finish and a first round bounce after Barkley tore his triceps.

That season marked the end of the Rockets as contenders. This season sucks, but that season ended our brief golden era.

Evan

 

We may still have a chance, but with every lose, we are getting further and further behind the last spot in the west for a playoff birth. If unfortunately it becomes apparent that we won't even make the playoffs, then maybe we will finally start to hear the "fire Adelman" chants.

Rick Adelman alone is the single worst thing for this team so far this year. He can still turn it around, but his decision making isn't showing any promise of this!

 

Houston sports is under such a dark cloud of disappointments that this kind of bleeds into the pain. The Yao-TMac era is essentially over, and I wish I had never bought into the hype. There was never really a chance that this would work. The current organization was and is incapable of creating an effective supporting cast. I am losing interest fast. This team is not playoff bound, isn't fun to watch, and can't draft effectively to save their lives. I am starting to wonder why I am following this team. Besides the Sura/Barry team that took the Mavs to seven, the years since the championships have been disappointment upon disappointment. Yes, this tops the list.

 

The premise here is kind of a joke. Consistent first round and outs is not a tough act to follow. Unless T-slac is out for an extended period, this team will make the playoffs. Once that happens, worst case is they retain the status quo.

What's good about this season is it reveals to everyone that no team led by McLady is ever going anywhere. I'm sure many people knew that already after he went 10 years w/o winning a series, but now it's plain as day. I remember when people were praising Van Gundy for "exposing" Steve Francis, which basically meant forcing him to play away from his strengths, resulting in his worst statistical season. The same thing might be happening here, although Adelman is trying to make it easier for McLady, while JVG was forcing a square peg into a round hole w/Francis.

Come on, '87 was awful. Taking the '86 Celtics to 6 games in the finals, then losing two rotation guys to drugs, and bowing out in the 2nd round? Or how about '01-'02, after they'd just won 45 games and still missed the playoffs, then major injuries struck and they ended up winning only 28 games? '98-'99 was terrible. Getting Pippen to go with Hakeem/Charles, and losing in the first round? Did that meet anyone's expectations? You want to compare that to this? Oh my.

The funny thing is we're only 30 games in to this season. They were 15-15 a couple of years ago and ended up winning 51. I think they had about the same record in Rudy's first full year before going on to win 55 and the division. With McLady here though I wouldn't count on anything like that.

 

This season is close to be being a major disappointment, but with that said there is still a lot of season left, so I will reserve judgment. 1997-1998 was bad, but 2005-2006 was even worse. With 2005-2006 there was a ton of expectations. The 2004-2005 team had captured the city again and everyone was on the Rockets.

The problem with the 05-06 squad was that it never had a chance. McGrady hurt himself before the season even started. Yao had the unexpected toe injury. Stromile Swift went on the IR for pink eye. (hehe) The amount of injuries to that team was unreal. At the end of the season, the Rockets roster had Richie Framm, Rick Brunson, and Keith Bogans.

 

The most disappointing season had to be Lewis Loyld and Mitchell Wiggens being banned from the NBA for drug use, effecting ending our championship aspirations for years to come.

Sweet Lou for two....WHY? WHY??????

Throw in there the 97 season when we got knocked out by Utah despite trading away Horry and Cassell to get Barkley to get past Seattle and then....the Scottie Pippen fiasco. How disappointing was that?

This season hasn't even resulted in disappointment. Maybe because my expectations weren't sky high to begin with, maybe because it's till too early to write these guys off.

 

i agree with mora.... just hope we can win a game....

 

LMAO. Some clips never get old.

This clip.
Dennis Green's
AI on practice

all gold.

 

How many people on this board can go back 30 years, and remember how the 1977-78 season went for that team, which was the year after they took the Philadelphia 76ers to six games in the ECF? The one real aspect to remember is that 1977-78 team suffered a 21-game dropoff in regular season wins from its 1976-77 team.

 

He just adds to the other guys on the team with a weak career playoff resume.

Besides Dikembe Mutombo, only 3 appearances past the first round by anyone on the team. Each by one player
- Bonzi in 2000, Blazers
- Mike James in 2004, Pistons (won the title)
- Rafer in 2004, Heat

Thats it. Scola you can't really count. Mike James' one other year in the playoffs was with the Rockets in 2005.

Probably the case for other teams as well but the Rockets main players have been around a while.

 

I have to chime in with 86-87 being most disappointing. I didnt know it at the time, but never understood why Wiggins and Lloyd werent on the team anymore. I knew they didnt retire so figured they must be hurt. Of course, I was in elementary school at that time as well.

 

I'm not even 30 but since I'm a fan this is one of the most dissapointing years, but still there's time but...IT'S NOT TIME!

 

I agree with those who said 1987 was worse. We were a dynasty waiting to happen at that point. It all fell apart.

But this season is pretty bad. Especially if they fail to make the playoffs at all. I think that falls significantly below expectation. For me, personally, I think it's worse than the Pippen year for me, simply because I didn't think the addition of an older Pippen would be that significant.

 

Naw, when we gave up half the team for Barkley and it didn't bring a championship.

 

We got to the WCF that year, though. I was disappointed we didn't win. But we didn't exactly fall on our faces. I'd take a WCF appearance every day over a team that appears headed for the lottery despite high expectation for improvement.

Remember...everything we did this offseason was supposed to about making us better sooner rather than later. From changing directions with the coach to bringing in lots of new faces.

 

hi dude, what is ur expecation on preseason?

to me, players this year we have, if not western final it is disappointing.

but somehow, i knew rox can't do it, maybe just because i am damn rox fan.

when i knew that ? since we fire JVG , hire RA

i am ok to fire JVG, but why RA, look, i know RA is good , proven coach. but like JVG, if we are not playoff team, i am sure he can come out with suprise, just like some other good coach like clipper's Mike Dunleavy , Denver's Carl... those coach have been NBA long enough to know how to coach, but win the chamption? no, they can't. so if we only want to win a playoff serise, why not JVG, who been here 4years, take injury rox to 52 wins. not to mention, the JVG's rox problems still remain and plus new weaknesses keep coming out.
just don't understand!!!!!!

 

People will use that as an excuse as to why it's "going to take more time... 2-3 years"... but what they don't realize is that a.) the turnover is only going to get WORSE if this bunch doesn't materialize (Bonzi, James, Francis, and possibly T-mac)... and b.) I don't see any "personnel" turnover issues with the Celtics.

 

Well I have to say I sometimes miss parts of games and the Toronto game I blew off entirely (with pretty nice reason ). This is the first season I am not glued to the TV every minute of a Rox game. I enjoyed watching games more even during that stretch when both Yao and Tracy were out.