Moving up....to the eastside I just saw it too on NBA.com and i love it. I find it funny that people are still complaining after we won 4 straight and are on a roll here. Okay, i get caught up too in the emotion sometimes and want to see Rafer / T-mac go but the truth is: they make the team what it is now. Let's just stick with it because i've looked at the Pacers game and T-mac played very well on both ends. He made steals, three pointers, only 1/2 forced shots but if you remember a guy by the name of Vernon Maxwell we should have nothing to complain about. That guy used to force shots and shoot threes like a madman even though he was icecold and everybody loved him. Now we got the same type of player in T-mac who's the leading scorer next to Yao and can win it for us but also lose it for us. I say let T-mac play, do what he does best and give the man some credit for adjusting because he is. People need to look at the last few games again and tell me he's not trying to adjust and doing a good job at sharing the ball, not forcing like he used to etc. I love this team as it is and even though i think a trade for an Artest, Szczerbiak or Cassell wouldn't hurt i wouldn't mind if the team stays as it is. Let's keep this thing rolling and beat the Cavs on Thursday !! Can't wait for that battle especially since T-mac is on the roll. Nice video by the way, sometimes it's good to have a coach like that.
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Rockets moving on up in an astonishingly ugly fashion I doubt if the players have figured out their role in the team's offensive system. Or should I ask, does the team have a system besides plays based on Tmac and Yao's individual abilities. It doesn't make fans very happy if the Rox cannot thrash junk teams like the T-wolves and the Bucks. Seeing how AB, Alston and Battier screw up wide open 3pointers and how almost everyone bungles from the free-throw line, you have to pile up blame on their lack of JVG-style, somewhat coercive practice. I wish I could have more confidence in this team.
One game at a time. Winning 3 straight road games is not easy no matter what the competition is. Getting the Ws and closing out games in the 4th quarter is something we have failed to do in the past. Winning when Tmac or Yao doesn't have a good game is another thing we have struggled with in the past. This team is making strides and getting contributions from alot of different players. That has to be encouraging no matter how you look at it.
I have a good feeling about rockets chances especially with the current schedule. However, I hope our players don't underestimate any team because we can't afford that. We are now 8 games above 0.5 (28-20). If we add two more wins we will get 10 games above 0.5 (30-20) and if we win 20 of the 32 games left then, we are on course for 51 wins (41 = 0.5 + 10 games). However, I doubt in the current tougher and stronger Western conference season, we will get 4th spot with 51 wins.
I have a good feeling about what's going to happen this year if we make it to the playoffs. I know we played like crap in many games, but at the same time we played great against the elite teams of the league. I hope we can play as good against those teams in the playoffs as we did in regular season, if we do so, we can go all the way this year.
Ya, Portland lost to Denver in OT by 2. Wished that Denver have lost instead of them. Hope that we see lot more games like that, so that we move up in the playoff picture.
In order for Rox to move up someone has to move down. out of the current 8 teams, here is what my take; Suns, dallas, utah (in weaker division), are guarantee a spot Spurs, Lakers, small chance of not making the playoffs. parker out for spurs drop them from guarantee and lakers got gasol placed them in small chance not making it denver, warriors, 50% not making it. with webber on warriors, they stand a better chance than denver which besides camby no other defense. NO - this is a team which I see rox to replace with. They had the hot streak in the beginning and it appears that the hot hands has dying off and other teams are starting to figure them out.
Denver's schedule is brutal from here on out. I expect us to take them. L Wed, Feb 6 Utah 9:00 PM W Fri, Feb 8 Washington 10:30 PM L Sun, Feb 10 @ Cleveland 7:00 PM W Tue, Feb 12 @ Miami 7:30 PM L Wed, Feb 13 @ Orlando 7:00 PM L Tue, Feb 19 Boston 9:00 PM W Fri, Feb 22 @ Chicago 8:00 PM W Sat, Feb 23 @ Milwaukee 8:30 PM L Mon, Feb 25 Detroit 9:00 PM W Wed, Feb 27 @ Seattle 10:00 PM W Fri, Feb 29 LA Clippers 10:30 PM L Sun, Mar 2 @ Houston 8:00 PM L Wed, Mar 5 Phoenix 9:00 PM L Fri, Mar 7 San Antonio 10:30 PM L Sat, Mar 8 @ Utah 9:00 PM L Mon, Mar 10 @ San Antonio 8:30 PM W Wed, Mar 12 Memphis 9:00 PM L Fri, Mar 14 Toronto 9:00 PM W Sun, Mar 16 Seattle 9:00 PM L Tue, Mar 18 @ Detroit 7:30 PM W Wed, Mar 19 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM W Fri, Mar 21 @ New Jersey 7:30 PM W Sun, Mar 23 @ Toronto 3:30 PM W Mon, Mar 24 @ Memphis 8:00 PM L Thu, Mar 27 Dallas 10:30 PM L Sat, Mar 29 Golden State 9:00 PM L Mon, Mar 31 @ Phoenix 10:00 PM L Tue, Apr 1 Phoenix 9:00 PM W Sat, Apr 5 Sacramento 9:00 PM W Sun, Apr 6 @ Seattle 9:00 PM W Tue, Apr 8 @ LA Clippers 10:30 PM L Thu, Apr 10 @ Golden State 8:00 PM L Sat, Apr 12 @ Utah 9:00 PM L Sun, Apr 13 Houston 9:00 PM W Wed, Apr 16 Memphis 9:00 PM
It's crazy that the Rockets have gone 13-3 in their last 16 games and have actually lost ground to some of the teams they're chasing. Still, their schedule for the remainder of February is a joke. If they take care of business(which IMO means no more than 2-3 losses this month), I have a hard time believing they won't be in at least 7th place going into March. Think about this insane potential statistic. By the end of the season, we could have 11 out of the 15 teams in the West finish above .500.
How about this sports fans, the Rockets are 4 and a half games out of the division lead. Does anyone STILL think the Rockets have NO CHANCE? Next 4 games ALL at home! ALL winnable! Cleveland, Atlanta, Portland and Sacramento. Just wanted to point that out to doubting Thomases like .... Brooks blow that NOTHING is given, that's why they play the DAMN game! Just ask the Pastry-NOTS! 18- huh doesn't mean a thing if you aint got that ring! The Rockets are second half team traditionally and have won now 4 in a row and 13 of their last 16. Yes, they've won a lot of tight games of late but, they've WON! Basically it doesn't matter except statistics wise if you win by one or 30. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. Close game wins develop confidence while driving fans NUTS! Saying we should blow EVERY team out EVERY night is ridiculous! Furthermore remember these teams we play regardless of record ARE PROFESSIONALS! No one wants to punk'd every night. That's why sometimes you have games like Indiana and Seattle and Minnesota where you grind out wins. All the Rockets have to do is just go out and win basically every game this month and we're right back in the thick of the playoff race. Can they do it, YES! Will they do it? We'll have to see but, one thing for certain they have resurrected this season where they at least have a fighting chance! Also, the lions share of games coming up are at home. We must start playing with more intensity at home. Under .600 at home is not going to cut it. Got to get the momentum rolling at home and make our play. Since the Utah debacle ... vs Utah L vs GS W at indy W at Mil W at Minn W We have a mostly cream puff schedule until March so we must take advantage of the schedule and give up NOTHING!
it seems like i watch every rockets game like its a playoff game...all this stress just to get into the playoffs..that suck...last year we were worrying about the homecourt advantage...this year we are fighting for our playoff lives!!! homecourt goes to the better record (not the seed right?)....it would be nice if we finished with the 6th seed and played the 3rd seed (pacific div winner) but had a better record than them...we would have home court right?...
Basically every team is fighting for their playoff lives in the western conference....I think we're only behind the number one seed by like 6 games which means that Dallas could lose 2 or 3 in a row and fall to the number 6 or 7 spot.
I'm calling it here right now. Rockets will pass up the Spurs in the standings!! Lets see how close we are after they get bombarded through their rodeo road trip.
By the way, here is the Spurs Rodeo Road Trip Schedule: Thu 31 @ Phoenix W Tue 05 @ Indiana 6:00pm Wed 06 @ Washington 6:00pm Fri 08 @ New York 6:30pm Sun 10 @ Boston 12:00pm Mon 11 @ Toronto 6:00pm Wed 13 @ Cleveland 6:00pm Tue 19 vs Charlotte 7:30pm Thu 21 @ Minnesota 7:00pm How many of these do you think our nemisis down the road will win out of these? My prediction is that the Spurs go 5-5 through this stretch of road games. They have been playing like crap lately.
