Yep...to be clear...I was listening to the game on the way back from the Baylor game last night. And I was pumped down the stretch when they were getting back into the game. Had fun watching the end of it. They absolutely bust ass, and I love that.
I mean, at least the Rockets have an excuse for their mediocrity. They're rebuilding. Granted, they should have started the process 5 minutes after Yao limped off the court against the Lakers 2 years ago....but at least now they've finally admitted it.
I can't lump a franchise's history together because there are different people at different junctures?? Really?? Again, I'm just a fan. I'm not casting any blame to ANYONE. I'm SIMPLY SAYING I'M TIRED OF MORAL VICTORIES. That after a decade we're reduced to 'aww shucks, i'm proud they played their hearts out" and we're not talking about a little league squad...we're talking about pros. The franchise's history is it's history. I'm a fan either way. I'm stuck with it, good or bad. I'm not mopeing....but not celebrating losses, either.
I manage people's money for a living. Instead of trading players I trade different assets. When I lose money on a trade I do not get fired. When I lose money for an entire month I do not get fired. This is not because my boss likes to baby me and everyone gets a ribbon. It is because my performance is evaluated based on a portfolio of my decisions/executions since all of them deal with probabilities and educated guesses. As long as my logic sound, and my process works, the results will inevitably come. Irregardless of what happens my immediate next trade. And trust me, in the long run, this is as much of a results-oriented business as it gets. A lot like managing a basketball team. It is nice that you apply your life experiences to basketball, like you apply a truck to a human foot. My only advice to you is that not all things in life can be applied to your own experiences. There is an entire world outside that well. I appreciate a lot of your knowledge in basketball- the game itself. Some things can only be seen by someone who has played it at a higher level. However, my suggestion to you is that when it comes to ideas about MANAGING a team- when probabilities, finances, etc come into play- the guys who are in charge have a much better idea.
A+ on offense and a D- on defense. We will only win consistently by playing D at a high level. Scola get's abused on PnR D with Wade getting to the rim at ease with no Shot Blocker in the middle. We need better D and an +A plus night is not giving up 121 points, please!!!
I really like your outlook on this CXbby. DM is in my mind, the best GM in the league. He's done everything in his power to help this team get better, but there really was nothing he could do about the injuries to Yao and T-Mac. I'm positive there's a championship for the Rockets in the near future as long as Daryl Morey is at the helm. In Morey I trust.
I understand your frustration. But look at it this way. Each year, only 2 out of 30 teams get to the finals. That is 1 in 15 in terms of pure chance. So if you can get to the finals once every 15 years, you are right at the expected level. The last time we got to the finals was, incidentally, about 15 years ago. So, yeah, we are a bit on the low end. But it's not really that bad if you come to think of it. You know what, at the end of the day, this IS more like Fun Fair Kiddie Soccer than real life. It's just a game. If you can't find entertaining value in it, then it's not worth following it. That was one of the reasons I quit following the NFL and the MLB. I still enjoy watching a football game here and there. But I don't really care who win and who lose anymore. I still care about the Rockets and I am still proud of this group of players. Do I want them to lose? You bet I don't. And I still get depressed after a loss. But if they lose, I want to see them lose fighting against a giant, like they did last night.
Haven't we been only into moral victories for the last 15 years? The organization as a whole should not be proud of anything. We have been one of the worst teams for over a decade. Prould? lol
**** moral victory. NBA has 1 champion. 1 fanbase can be proud per year. The 29 others must be depressed and stripped of human dignity.
I'm not going to stay long on this,but let me say a few things. Your quotes says it all to me when you said your boss. I dont have a boss,I'm the boss and I manage employees. In fact, I manage and have to keep an eye on everything from fuel consumption to equipment condition to benefits. Thats me and all in all, I can have an effect on many lives every morning i get up. I'm all about production and results as I stated earlier. I have sympathy when there is some needed,but I will not let any worker take my compassion for granted. I had to fire a top worker because of tardiness and inconsistency. This guys had a wife and kids,but he was getting in my pockets big time. There came a point to me where he was no longer worth the headache. I manage people and their money. If they dont work,they dont eat. I admire your positive attitude in regards to the rockets,but I think there are alot of excuse making in your defense also. I love the rockets as much as anyone and they are my favorite sports franchise and have been since 1978. I personally dont think they do enough to try to win it,yet the p.r. spin machine is always in full force. The comments in this thread about being proud of these guys are similar to the posters talking how great it was to take the lakers to game 7. Again,moral victories. I'm not saying they didnt play hard or compete, but isnt that what they're suppose to do. We can talk about being proud of a rockets team, go look at the 81 and 86 team. The 81 team was under .500, got in the playoffs and started kicking ass. Moses was the true leader and told the media he could get 4 guys off the corner in st petersburgh and beat bird and company. The 86 team were a up and comer in the glory days of the nba. The handled the lakers throught that series. They lost in the finals to one of the greatest teams ever. To me, thats being proud of a loss,not some regular season loss to a team coming off a game the night before. I guess we have different levels of expectations.
I came into the game half-afraid we would get blown out by the Heat. We didn't and we managed to stay with them and get ahead in the first half. When we went up by 9 midway in the third, I started to get my hopes up that we could win this, even with Wade going off like he did. I'm proud of our offense, but our defense is very embarrassing. At least AB tried something to stop Wade, though it netted him a flagrant. Yes, we are a team who doesn't intimidate anyone on defense. We should develop that kind of identity or else teams will just toy with us. This season we still haven't proven we can beat the above .500 teams, except for some bad games by LA and OKC. We have roughly 52 games to prove that we can.
If we had a defensive center who can blocked some of the shots Wade attempted, I would be more proud.
