I debated posting this today, but decided that I needed to vent if nothing else. You hear it said that the thing that brings down a team is blame. One teammate blames another teammate for a loss... then one loss becomes two... two losses becomes three etc. The media jumps in and provides people with fuel for that blame. "Player A couldn't match up" or "Player B missed shots he should have made" ... and a person Player C on the bench in said game feels validated that they should have been in the game. So when Player C gets his shot on the floor, he doesn't trust Player B to shoot and so takes ill advised shots... or tries to over compensate defensively for Player A - which just makes everything worse and causes team problems. A fan's reaction to all this - find the scapegoat. Shane's too slow. Chuck's too short. Yao's too injury prone. Jordan's too raw. Chase is not confident. Miller is too old. Taylor can't pass. Kevin isn't clutch. Lowry's too small. Ish is a rook. Aaron dribbles too much. Lee is a choker. Scola's not athletic. Coach can't change. The problem with this scapegoat mentality... is that you can always blame someone rather than blaming everyone. There is no person on this Rockets team that is exempt from shouldering the responsibility for their record. Not one. The difference between a fan and an organization... is that hopefully an organization recognizes the shared responsibility rather than bemoaning one aspect or another. I think that a lot of people on this forum, and sports fans in general, have narrow minded views of what creates a successful team. It's not 12 perfect players that could beat anyone at any time... it's a system, a structure, that utilizes the abilities and hides the weaknesses of the team as a whole. Ask Miami if having great players equals guaranteed success. Anything can happen when they throw up the ball, any team can find a connection that will win a game. That's why they play them. I realize that panic is natural when your team has only won a single game... but picking a scapegoat doesn't do anything but show you are a whiner. Let's be realistic... last night we lost the game for two reasons. Defensive rebounding and horrible shooting... not because the team sucks or solely because John Wall is awesome (though that was part of it.. he had to play great against the Rockets didn't he!!! argh!) it was because we shot 39% and gave up 16 offensive rebounds... oh and gave up like 30 fast break points because we were bricking the ball so badly it rebounded out to the three point line. They did all those things AS A TEAM.... it was not one single scapegoat.
Good post Hayes, but we as fans are not looking for scapegoats, but discussing the weaknesses we see on the floor. That is what fans do. We are not part of the team.....we are it's fans....and it is natural to be upset. This is a place to vent and comiserate with other fans, to get it off our chests, to discuss possible fixes etc. I agree 100% with what you are saying about the team not pointing fingers, and disagree 100% with you expectations that fans should follow along. Fans have never done that, anywhere, if our team is struggling we are going to piss and moan about it. And all of those things that fans complained about, are true...... Doesn't mean the sum of the parts is not greater than the hole...but...... Shane's is too slow. Chuck's is too short. Yao's is too injury prone. Jordan's is too raw. Chase is not confident all the time. Miller is too old. Taylor can't pass. Kevin isn't clutch. Lowry's too small. Ish is a rook. Aaron dribbles too much. Lee is a choker. Scola's not athletic. Coach can't change. --------------------------------- Everything you said there is spot on....lol, and if you agree with me that we fans are just venting, then let's not piss and moan about each other.....let's focus on the team.... And while it may be sunny in Philadelphia it is humid in Houston. :grin: DD
I think we all pretty much agreed that since we were getting killed on the boards, Adelman should have played Hill more. You know who else would have helped in that situation, Patman! Dam, i'm doing it again aren't i? :grin:
I think my problem with it is the complaining... people aren't discussing weaknesses.. they are whining. I'd rather read twenty posts about missed defensive rotations or why someone is better as a PF than a C (i.e. Chuck) than read one post about how so-and-so sucks or so-and-so isn't clutch.
there is no I in scape goat, and there is No I in team. That being said, too much looking at the other players short commings you will forget to look at yourself....Right now, I see the team blaming the problem rather than being active in fixing it. The team needs to have a sit down with everyone and air out their concerns and fustrations. THen they all need some self reflection EVEN the Coach and GM on what each one can do to fix it. These are all excuses but they need to do something about the excuses.... Shane's is too slow but he can play better Chuck's is too short but he can call for help in the post Yao's is too injury prone but he doesnt have to rush back each time Jordan's is too raw but he can play with energy Chase is not confident all the time but he can rebound and dunk and play D Miller is too old but knows the system and should work on his timing Taylor can't pass but he can work on his passing Kevin isn't clutch but he can get to the rim more Lowry's too small but he is quick and should use it more Ish is a rook but he work on his game Aaron dribbles too much but he can work on passing more Lee is a choker and he can play better D at the end of games Scola's not athletic but he can scoop it Coach can't change but he can change his philosphy. I am tired of all this blame game....work on areas to hide your deficiencies or work on the areas that you lack in.... Anyways just my 2 cents.
I totally agree! it is r****ded that the fans here sometimes are really bandwagon fans... and then sometimes we have fans like DD that think they know too much and have to argue with everyone so we can all have his POV....But the point remains. I'd rather have fans like DD than bandwagon knee jerk fans...
Nice post. I think it's too soon to call anyone out specifically. We don't even know what we have. Between Yao's odd schedule, the Rockets annual tradition of spinning the turnstiles at the infirmary, and the infusion of new talent (from rookies to veterans) it's been a jumbled mess on the court. Little consistency in lineups leads to a lack of chemistry...which I believe has led (although it shouldn't) to a lack of focus and effort. Many people have picked out xxx to swap into the lineup, or xxx to trade away. Look at our record and look at the product on the court. One change in personnel is not going to fix this.
Totally agreed. An annual Rockets tradition. Unfortunate but the guys on the court have no choice but to make the best of it.
Well said Hayesfan! I think what you will find if the team comes together and finds a winning formula is that all of the weaknesses will fade to the background, and the strengths will get magnified. Think about the 22-game win streak season. In the Philadelphia game (and the ones before), the team looked terrible, mismatched and uninspired. The they proceeded to look unbeatable through the end of the regular season, and then came back down to earth in the playoffs. This team has the talent, i think they just need to click (sorry to use a cliche). Then all of the sudden, it could just as easily be that: Shane is smart and a defensive linchpin. Chuck is Charlie Hustle. Yao is... (well, this depends on his health) Jordan is a shot-blocking jumping jack. Chase is a hot-shooting lightning bolt. Miller is a high-post maestro. Taylor is Vinnie Johnson-lite. Kevin is a Mr. Automatic. Lowry is a bull in a china shop. Ish is Rafer Alston and Rajon Rondo's love child. Aaron is the offensive sparkplug and clutch shooter. Lee is the fast break machine. Scola is savvy and relentless. ...once coach finds a winning formula. The guys on the team are who they are (they all have critical skills and liabilities), and it depends how they play together whether it is the strengths or weaknesses that are magnified.
While I agree to some extent, this is a PRO team with athletes being paid millions and when effort is what is in ? there has to be a scapegoat. The problem with this team is there is more than one serious issue and as fans we expect a certain level of play. We came into the season with championship hopes and the Wizards made us look like crap. It takes hard individual effort from each player which collectively makes a good TEAM. I point the finger at the Coach and so called stars on this team and if that makes me a whiner that's fine, I'm entitled to complain when I watch crappy bball.
Hayes, no offense intended, but isn't this whining about the whiners? Just saying...lol. And the team is 1-6, and just lost another 4th quarter lead....of course people are a bit upset. DD
Well said. Should've kept Tracy McGrady around here for this reason alone if nothing else.... He was always easier to blame than anybody in a Rockets uniform before or since....
