This time last year, record wise, the Rockets were 3-9. Losses were... Lakers, Golden State, Denver, New Orleans, San Antonio, Washington, Chicago, OKC and Toronto. Wins were... Minnesota, Indiana and NY What does this tell us? In my opinion it is reason for opt-ism, for even this season. Although we have gotten off to a slow start again this year, it has been no where near we were last year. We have been competitive in almost every game (barring Memphis and the LA, OKC games without Lowry) and with wins over three playoff teams (out of the 6). We cant forget how well we did last year after the all star break, and with Martin coming around and Lowry at the helm, im excited for the rest of this season.
3-9 only adds up to 12 games?? I can't remember the last time the Rockets got off to a fast start? According to ESPN, before today's game we still had the hardest strength of schedule: http://espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS Probably not anymore, but still up there Given the strength of schedule, their RPI index ranked the Rockets 8th (again, before today's games). EDIT: Interestingly, you can look up prior year's strength of schedule. It's no wonder we always start slow, etc. LAst year we were tied for 10th hardest strength of schedule. Two years ago we had the hardest strength of schedule. In 08-09, tied for 12th. In 07-08, tied for 6th. In 06-07, tied for fifth. I guess a lot of it just comes from playing in the West... but still.
In a sense, yep... At least we aren't digging a hole, and our offensive scheme for the starters has improved in the last couple of games... However, the downside is our pick and roll and perimeter defenses are no where to be found.... Also, our backup hasn't been effective at all...
My sorry, rookie mistake! :grin: (3-10 this time last year) And my point is that the Rockets seem to always start slow, but this year (so far) could have been much worse. And the fact is that we are one game under .500, not 7. And with wins over 3 playoff teams this year and a monster home record, the future is only bright it seems. And I know its early, but hopefully McHale will get our guys to step on D.
Honestly not too impressed with the team. This is the first year I' haven't been a huge fan. It doesn't excite me when I know they have a game on. I think they will be a few games below .500. Miss the playoffs by 4-5 games & get the 12-14th pick.
Im not overly-impressed myself. But in wins over SA and ATL this year, we have looked dominate. And if it turns out we do miss the playoffs by 4-5 games, in this conference, we will still most likely be above .500. However, I see us at least with the seventh seed.
Best reasons for optimism are Kyle Lowry and Chandler Parsons. Few thought they would play this well.
i'm actually more impressed with this squad than less. And I'm really more impressed with McHale than I thought I would be. He was EXTREMELY quick (especially given the offseason circumstances) to adjust his rotation and shorten his bench. And, as I noted, the team's strength of schedule has been relatively brutal. They're beating everybody they should, and then squeezing in a win here or there against teams that they're not favored against. Finally, factor in the injuries (Lee, Lowry missing two games).. well, you can do this every year, but they're a SA overtime loss and potential home win against the Thunder if Lowry was healthy away from being a very good team given their competition... ... that said, you can do that every year. They (and every team) will have injuries, they will lose games you think they had wrapped up, etc. In their next 8 games they play Detroit, New Orleans, Minnesota twice, Milwaukee, Washington again and New York. The only solid team they play is the Spurs, who they then play again on February 1st. Is it like a rule that they have to play the Spurs every couple of weeks?
I have us at 15-8 after the next 10. That's 9-1 and would equal out to 13 out of the last 15. Yes I said it.
It would be great to make the playoffs this year, but even greater to get a potential Superstar through the draft.
