Although last game was not Rockets' best game, they earned a little recognition from Wolves fan. "Learn to Forget These current Rockets are a paradox. Because they share the ball, because they hustle and play committed defense, (not to mention that they easily fit the mold of scrappy, un-famous underdogs) they are beloved by "play the right way" purists. But because they feature a quirky, non-traditional lineup full of oddly shaped, idiosyncratically talented players, whose skills align only tangentially with the traditional but tired box-score statistics (their starting center is 6'6"; possibly their most famous current player has become known as "no-stats all-star"), and because they run the floor and shoot threes with abandon, they are also at the vanguard of everything new and weird and great about the current NBA. The Rockets are somehow both conservative and radical. Actually, in many ways their conservatism is their radicalism. Because they share the ball, they're frequently called "unselfish," a favorite "right-way" buzzword. But, even in the NBA, selfishness is not the monster its made out to be. The problem is trust. Players have learned--because of the cutthroat world of elite youth basketball, because the league's salary system heavily favors dominant scorers, because they are all so phenomenally talented--not to trust their teammates, to trust only their own skills. But for whatever reason, perhaps because none of their current team has ever been an NBA star, Houston's players know that if they all give up a little control, to trust each other to move the ball to the right spot at the right time, they'll all get better chances to score. The upshot of this is that, when they're at the best, they move the ball more creatively and dynamically than almost any team in the league. And this really appeals to aesthetes like me, who care more about the game being beautiful and amazing than just about anything else. So its this reliance on certain classic 'fundmentals'--'unselfishly' moving the ball, for instance--that has made this ragtag bunch unique and entertaining in a totally non-traditional way." Full blog: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/wolves_methodic.php
What a great compliment that opposing teams' coaches and fans are all recognizing teamwork and hardplay as refreshing to watch. Rockets are playing this game the way it is supposed to be played. However, seeing a seeing a star player take over a game and scoring 13 points in 33 seconds is fun too. Ultimately, it is seeing how different styles of play fare against one another that makes this game so interesting.
I was joking.... Glad to see that we're getting recoginition from around the NBA not just bloggers. I wonder what Barkley will have to say when we make the playoffs, worst team in the Western Conference, who???
The one thing missing about the praise is giving credit for Adelman for instilling that kind of play. While this might seem radical to some Adelman's been running that kind of ball for years. Remember the knock on the great Kings' teams was that they didn't have one star who would take over the game but moved the ball around so everyone had a shot.
I agree. Adelman has done a phenomenal job assembling this ragged bunch and install a system that takes each player's strength. Everybody from management to coaching staff and down to players on the floor deserve credit for performing this well.
Great effort from my Wolves last night. Great find dude, Minny fans are some of the more classy fans out there.
Considering how bad the T-Wolves are if you like basketball and live in Minnesota you might as well talk about how good the other teams are.
Very good observations about our team. I think this is the most fun season by far. No disrespect to Yao or Tmac, but scoring with them were a little easier(of course nothing is easy with Van Gundy). With this group, you have to be proud of them putting up more than 100 points one almost every night and playing defense too. I absolutely love coach A's quick run and hit or else some hight/low post stuff.
we normally had a hard time against the wolves. even we got the game, yao's match-up with Al Jefferson was horrible.... so,maybe Yao's better off playing for 20 minutes and let his teammates grab the game when we play the wolves again......IF,yao is ever gonna play any game this season
Compared with all those lazy-ass arrogant NBA "stars", this Rockets team is a rarity and deserve more appreciation.
absolutely. other than the championship years, my favorite seasons were, in no particular order: 1. 1990 - team scrapped to earn a playoff spot...swept out by a great Lakers team, but played with so much heart; 2. 1986 - duh 3. 2005 - white boy power squad - funny group of guys And this team is right up there with those...intriguing team...fun to watch.
I'm just saying you don't cheer for your team, and yes there still are some Wolves fans here in MN, but when your team is terrible it gets depressing just dwelling on how bad your team is. Its obvious your team is bad so you might as well talk about what other teams are doing. A bit of a tangent but I heard some characterize the current state of MN sports as being the Vikings on Sundays and then the Wolves, Wild and Gophers putting up crap the rest of the week.
