Im pretty sure most of us can relate, we wouldnt all be here doing this if we didnt....there is no harm in being a fanatic..the key is to be a realistic fanatic. Cant argue with the last point, am reserving judgment on the first and second till further into the season to determne what he can do with the personnel we are stuck with this year . Face it, the coach isnt going to get fired till the season is over and CD and Less can evaluate his performance...their history points towards that managment style...they dont fire coachs in the middle of seasons...dont see it happening this year.(barring catastophic breakdown)...can't really trade anyone...outside chance at getting rid of Howard, but I wouldnt hold my breath but realistically, look at the mitigating circumstances of the job he is required to do this year..and at least admit that anyone should deserve the chance to succeed or fail. 9 games(real ones) into his first season with the top scoring guard in the league and a ever improving Yao..and a bunch of average to sub average players is hardly time enough to expect them to be where they should be....especially with our weaknesses. You csimply cant look at this from a stats point of view and make a accurate, objective opinion...there are mitigating circumstances that shoudl affect a assessment of how well things are going right now. believe me, we ALL want them to be the best team in the league, but sometimes you have to realize when you just play with the cards you are dealt until the next hand comes around. I have complete faith in CD and Les will make the proper decisions to get us a better hand to play with next round. that is my opinoion of course....I dont fault you for your opinion...I do sometimes wish you were a little less prolific in making sure EVRYONE on the board knows it...over and over and over.... surely you understand why some would take issue with that style of opinion speaking? Peace. Go Rockets!
Rocket2K- Good post. I understand why people have an issue with my style of posting, but that's ok. This is my way of venting my frustration, since my girlfriend doesn't want to hear it. I like reading the opposition and other points of view, that's why I'm on this board. I do agree that Les/CD won't do anything drastic soon. That's not how they handle things, and thats what makes them one of the most respected "upstair" guys. Like I said, I hope JVG proves me wrong and we will see.
I'm affraid he's going to prove you and I right gucci888. The bottom line is that the guy can't coach offense, and his P.R. skills aren't worth a crap.
The GARM has seriously degerated. I see threads of Amare is God-given ! Get Karl Malone ! Root for Jazzhole ! ....... What a load of crap ! For Crying out loud, since when scoring high equals more winnings. People who lust after Amare/Phenix should get a reality check, if they are that desperate, go to the stinky Pheix board. T-Mac will socre 40 pts a game. Yao will get double-doubles night in & night out. Some people don't know how good this Rockets team is this year.
Like father who's daughter married a loser - You don't like the guy, but you love the daughter and you HOPE everything works out.
I must hear this line about 10-15 times per year. I'm starting to think we'll be saying this for as long as Yao is a Rocket. Pugs
As much as a lot of you guys don't like JVG and his coaching style...he is still quite entertaining to have around. If the Rockets play poorly and lose a game, he blasts them for their lack of intelligent play. If they win (convincingly or otherwise), he still finds something wrong with their play. It's really entertaining to see how deep in his big ol' bag of pessimism he reach for the next reason why the sky is falling. Underneath all of it, I truly believe that he and his players know that all of his excuses and complaints are just a jedi mind trick to get the team to play better. I don't doubt for one second that this guy isn't up all night trying to figure out how to score more and keep their opponent scoring less. Hell, the bags under his eyes are just now starting to show up...so you know he's been hard at work. Give it time...enjoy his sound bites (because I know he enjoys every single chance to entertain on camera or tape)...and get ready for some successful basketball. It will happen and as soon as it does...the tone of this bbs will change dramatically. Like all of you, I'm impatient, but I know it's a long season and no championship in the NBA was ever won in November or December.
The reality is even if you assume there are chemistry issues, this team does not have the talent to be a real contender. Our PF’s are poor rebounders and that will not change with chemistry. Our C is a mediocre rebounder and that will not change with chemistry. Our PG’s are below average and that will not change with chemistry. We do not have a good bench and that will not change with chemistry. The bottom line is Carrol Dawon and the Rockets scouts have not added additional pieces to make this team a winner. Signing over-the-hill veterans like Charlie Ward to run the team is symbolic of the Rockets band aid approach. We assume throwing 1 superstar with a 1 all star center = title contender. There is not a single player on the Rockets other than Yao and McGrady who would start on any other team. The problem is there is a huge disparity between the best 2 players on the team and the rest of the motley crew. Im not suggesting we need an all-star at every position. However, we do need viable NBA players. Juwan Howard stinks. Mo Taylor should be a Vinnie Johnson off the bench player to provide offense. Ward is terrible and would not play more than 15 minutes. Lue is a career backup. Jim Jackson was a great backup in Sacramento but a below average starter now. Sura has never been a consistent NBA player. Nachbar is iffy. When you look at teams like Cleveland, who lost Boozer but added a young Drew Gooden, or Utah who drafted or signed young players (Boozer, Okur, Arroyo, Kirilenko – all under 25) who will carry their teams for years – they understand the concept that many good players are often better than a few good players and a bunch of scrubs. We have the cornerstones in place. CD did a great job getting the superstars. However, he’s done a terrible job supporting them with NBA talent.
I'm not advocating running for the sake of running, I'm advocating running for the sake of scoring more points and winning more games. Why can't we force the action every once in a while? Why do we have to use the whole shot clock on every single posession? It doesn't seem like we try to force the action on offense...well, ever. We get no easy buckets. No layups. The only time we score is when the jumpshots are falling.
you're applying the "let's make the playoffs" mantra of a team that had the same backcourt for 4 years and couldn't crack the top 8 in its own conference...to... a team that was just assembled. it's not the same thing, RR. the no excuses thing came for a team that underachieved...a team that had the playoffs in its grasp the season before, and lost games down the stretch to really poor opponents. anyone who believed the rockets would come out of the gate after reassembling their entire team was fooling themselves. i said that over and over here. the magic of the 94 Rockets came from the fact they had the most number of games started by the same starting 5. they knew each other, and they knew their roles. this team doesn't know that yet. they will. and they'll be much better. but you have to give it time.
Isn't that what JVG said, himself? . I don't have any problem with it being "too early" to call for his head. I want his head on a silver charger. It's fun to read these sunshine pumping threads too, though. It'll just make the eventual beheading that much sweeter.
You know why they did that, right? 1. They didn't have the money to go out and sign younger players to the kind of contracts they wanted, nevermind the fact that everyone's favorite signing this offseason was Brent Barry who isn't exactly a spring chicken. 2. They didn't have the talent left after the Orlando deal to make any additional trades to bring in younger talent. 3. They have multiple contracts expiring within the next two seasons which will afford them more options for trades and free agency. 4. Like many teams, the Rockets are reticent to make deals with the collective bargaining agreement up at the end of this season. That is why so many 3rd year players still on their rookie contracts have not been extended. Teams don't want to do it until after they get a look at the new CBA. --- I agree with you that this team is lacking in talent. I think we do need to surround our guys with younger players. But, this past offseason was not the time to do it. We made one of the most significant trades in the NBA last offseason and that was about all the team could manage given our cap situation and the players we had on our roster after the deal.
Additional Reality: We made a trade that sent 3 starters for one superstar. Because of this, our depth is among the worst in the NBA. We do not have a true starting-caliber PG (even if you consider Sura). Our starting 4 and 3 are both 6th man caliber. Our bench has almost no firepower to offer. Is this doom and gloom? No, it's reality. This is not a team ready to contend this year. We need no less than an offseason or two before we will have a supporting cast that can compete at a high level. Evan
Another thing about our style of play is that we always seem like we are on the defensive, we are never pushing the ball or trying force our way. TMac/Yao are extraordinary players, they can do a lot of things one on one and even more if they can play a 2 man game. We know JVG teams don't usually run that much, and they try to use as much clock as possible. The problem is that when we get the chance to do so, we don't connect. When we actually need a quick shot at the end of games, it seems we are out of sync. It seems like when we can run, we don't know how to. I'm just seeing way too many of the same problems as last year. But hey, JVG-PLEASE prove me wrong. If you prove me wrong, that just means we are winnig and playing well. Then all of you guys can bash me for being anti-JVG.
Charlie Ward is older than Barry, Bobby Sura is around the same age. Was Barry's contract bigger than the combined amount of those two guys? I don't think it was and I remember Barry signing for two or three years, same as those two guys. After Derrick Fisher none of the good young available PGs got contracts that were that much bigger or unmanageable than the ones that Ward and Sura got. You have to say their PG search was a failure, they'll have to overpay one this next offseason because a smart free agent would know they're desperate for PG help. They wanted to save some money and now it's possible that they end up over spending next offseason because of it. Like what teams? What 3rd year players? All of the good and some not so good 3rd year players were extended this season, just because the Rockets didn't extend Nachbar doesn't mean they're worried about that. They're cheap, and when they spend money they hardly ever spend it wisely, right now they're just getting what they paid for.
GREAT POST. You finally show your true colors. how about a "GO ROCKETS!!" from you? please? Pretty please? Support the team you love? PLEASE? EDIT: This one is much better:
