Two years ago the Rox won 45 with Stevie, Cat, Mo, Cato, Collier, Mooch. This year + Yao they'll struggle to win that many. So, was THEN the abberation? Is NOW still a team too young? How can they win 45 while two years younger then improve the talent base, get older, lose more? I still don't believe I understand.
I suppose some of it has to do with chemistry. We've added a centre who can dominate, a defensive SF/SG (Posey), and Griffin. The only starters from back then are Francis and Mobley, who already seem to have good chemistry. That, and the other teams have improved since then as well.
I think we will be lucky to see 42 wins this year. I'm hoping that things will start to come together like it did that year. Personally I don't think that will happen unless Mo Taylor is inserted into the starting lineup, alongside Francis and Mobley who were also a part of that team which ended up with the best record ever to not make the playoffs.
BUT WHY -- did that team achieve while this one disappoints? Is it the 'talent'? The 'braintrust'? Bad air? Bad heir? Bad hair? Something just ain't sitting right. I just cannot quite put my finger on it.
Where can I start from? 1. Zone defense 2. Hakeem Olajuwon (albeit a shadow of his former glory). 3. A healthy MoT. 4. Solid Role players that understood their roles. 5. Did I mention zone defense? Oh by the way, I still believe we will get to 45 wins this year. I have figured it out already.
1) Although he was on his last NAB legs, Olajuwon's experience at the inside out game was more advanced than Yao's current level. Dream had decent numbers and played in 58 games. 2) Matt Bullard's 40% from the arc surpasses any current Rocket except for Hawkins at 40.9%. Frankly, I love Hawks game but if it's a three you want Bullard's the better bet. 3) Mo Taylor was on a 1 year contract so he was playing for a contract and shooting 48.9% from the field. 4) Steve Francis only turned the ball over 3.3 times per game while dishing 6.5. Compare that to the current level. 5) Shandon Anderson was playing for a contract and shooting 44.6% from the field. That %age today would dam* near lead the team excluding the centers. All of the above factors allowed the Rockets to accomplish the rare feat of sweeping the EC Central Division 16-0. They were very poor against the WC playoff teams.
I don't think that 45-win team is better than this team talent wise. As been pointed out, that team managed to beat the poor East teams but really struggled against the more talented West teams. This team although inconsistent at least has shown that they can be competitive vs the West powerhouses except Dallas. That bodies well for the future.
We cannot compare the 45 win team to this one. This team will be lucky to win 40 games. Glen Rice should not start for any team. He cannot play any defense. He is a seive- anybody can flow through him. He is a liability on the floor with the ability to hit an occaional 3. I was so shocked when he scored 23 pts in a recent game. We may not make the playoffs, but this team is growing and developing. As a fan that is all I can ask. Go Rockets!! go Glen Rice - right out the door........
exactly, most of it has to do with beating sorry teams i think (although zrb will probably mentioned his losing to nine teams under 500 thing if he's here). we swept an entire division while losing to good teams whereas now we occasionally beat the good teams and actually have a losing record to under 500 teams. also, that team had a 16-4 stretch that happened when hakeem found some of the old glory for about a 6 week stretch. excluding that run (which would make them more analogous to the current cast), they were 29-33, so maybe they haven't really regressed at all (except when we play the cleveland's and miami's of the world).
What has already been said, plus the fact that that team took people by surprise. Other teams looked at the schedule and saw an easy victory. It's easy when teams overlook you. This year, everybody is getting up to play this team. They want to humiliate Yao Ming. Other cities are having big promotions when Yao Ming comes to town. Teams are treating these games like we're the Lakers. In short, we take everyone's best shot each night. That is a dilemna that only a couple of teams face in the NBA today, and the Rockets are not mature enough to deal with it yet. It makes a HUGE difference.
The West got better too. Any of the playoff bubble teams in the West would be a lock for the playoffs in the east.
I don't understand this argument. Perhaps some players will have a harder time against a zone, but a whole team? Isn't this something the coach should be able to recognize and makign coaching changes so to utilize their players talent regardless of defense being played?
I think it is a mixture of a lack of good shooting, bad decision making (HOPEFULLY due to youth of the team, although I don't totally buy that arguement), and a lack of chemistry, which will hopefully all be fixed in the next year or two. NBA CHAMPS IN 2003-'04!!!!
JayZ750 - I agree with you that by now a "real" head coach would have figured out a way to get his players open looks. The Spurs had open looks all day long today, while all the Rockets had were open mouths!! Rudy cannot coach. I repeat, the guy has failed repeatedly to recognize opposing teams offensive adustments during games and respond to them before the Rockets are down by more than 20!! Rudy has also failed to get the Rockets prepared for games, and what's worse is that in interviews he continues to talk like he expects the players to prepare themselves and it's become far more than obvious that his players are too (pick your adjective: immature, arrogant, stupid or lazy) to do it themselves. Clearly Rudy needs to buy a vowel (and a coaching manual)!
Good answer GATER. I couldn't have answered that any better. Unfortunately I am beginning to agree that the coaching staff needs to be held accountable for how this team is playing right now.
Although it is not the total answer, do not forget the Rockets are playing in a tough as nails West Conferrence rather than the slip slidey East. Teams in the West have actually gotten stronger since the 45 win season.
Here are just a few reasons why the Zone Defense has significantly affected the Rockets; 1. We do not shoot consistently well from the outside. Teams have recognized this so they send double and tripple teams to Yao and Steve.. 2. It causes lots of unforced error. This is where Ruddy and his players have a disconnect. Like Calvin Murphy always preaches - YOU CANNOT DRIBBLE THROUGH A ZONE DEFENSE. Our guards have a habit of massaging the ball excessively and they have "macho" attitude that they can use their dribbling skills to break any defense - EVEN ZONE DEFENSE. 3. Our inside game can easily be nullified due to lack of good fundamental movement technique and offensive strategies. This renders us into a strictly jump shooting team when our inside game is non existent which leads us back to the number problem mentioned above. On a good night, we can shoot lights out but we know that our good nights is not a lot. Since we know that teams that cannot shoot well + turn the ball over indiscriminately often get down early and rarely comeback from huge deficits. Couple that with the fact that our team is inexperienced and not a collective "smart" bunch, our problem becomes enlarged. Way back 2 years ago, only a handful was able to stop our ISO - Mobley and Francis would signal a "clear out" and drive to the basket at will. Also Hakeem helped inspire confidence that bunch. We won a lot of game beating teams with "athletic basketball" and very little "fundamentally sound" team basketball. Interestingly we faded down the stretch probably because teams figured us out finally or maybe our guards got warn out due to the toll ISO took on them or maybe injuries.
