[Chron] Rock bottom becomes launching point

vince123 · Feb 9, 2008

Is Hayes the true leader of the rockets?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5527134.html

Feb. 8, 2008, 11:08PM
Rock bottom becomes launching point
Team meeting, 9-1 run follow day of infamy: a date with Philadelphia

By FRAN BLINEBURY

You can look at video and analyze stats. You can search for trends and try to read body language. You can point to this critical basket or that crucial stop.

There are probably a zillion ways to explain how an NBA season has gone from over-the-cliff to over-the-top, how the same team could turn from sinking rocks to soaring Rockets.

Yao Ming has one word: "Philadelphia."

It was Jan. 15, the night the Rockets hit rock bottom. It was the night when the winless-in-2008 Sixers used a 37-point fourth quarter to sprint out of a 16-point second-half hole.

What should have been a comfortable win for the home team turned into an embarrassing 111-107 loss, leaving the Rockets just one game over the .500 mark. And a whack with a sledgehammer couldn't have done more to get everyone's attention.

"It was the bottom," Yao said. "A sweep by Philadelphia? It's unbelievable for me. The only thing I can remember being worse is the first year of the (Charlotte) Bobcats in the league and we were swept by them. It's the same thing."

But the Rockets have responded with a 9-1 record since then and might have saved their season.

"It was no more excuses after that game," Yao said. "On a road trip (Dec. 10), we lost in Philadelphia. From my standpoint, we should never go and find an excuse for ourselves for losing. But obviously, you're a human being. You're going to say, 'OK, it's a road trip. When
they come to our house, we can beat them. We can give them payback.'

"Then they beat us again. It was a horrible feeling. It was really, really hitting us. I don't need to say too much more. But the next 10 games, I think, already told people how we care."

Following the sting of the home loss to the Sixers, the Rockets eschewed most of a regular practice to watch video of the flop and had a team meeting.

"Players, coach, everyone," Yao said. "We were all thinking that the season is getting away if we do not start right now. It was Chuck (Hayes) who said (in the meeting), it's about how we care about our careers. How we care about being professionals.

"Everybody started thinking about that. Chuck is the guy who spoke out. I don't know I should tell you that. But it's a good thing. It was from Chuck, a guy who does not do much talking. It meant something to hear those words from him."

Sustaining focus
Hayes didn't go into the meeting intending to have a "win one for the Gipper" moment. It just poured out of him.

"I can't remember exactly what I said," Hayes said. "I don't know if I was especially emotional. But there were a lot of emotions in that room.

"I just told everybody what was on my mind. I told them that we have to play like every game means something to us. Look, right now we're nine games above .500, and we're still barely in the last playoff spot. The Western Conference is hard. Nobody was going to give anything to us. We have to take it."

During the winning streak, the Rockets have solidified their defense. They're helping each other out more. They've been piling up 23.6 assists per game, pulling down 45.5 rebounds per game. Most important, they've been keeping their focus throughout games.

"That Philly game was the one when we really were in control and the way we lost it," coach Rick Adelman said. "We had nine or 10 turnovers and I think five of them were post-entry passes. That's just the relaxation and casualness about finishing the game off.

"It's a game we should not have lost. People talk about New Orleans. But I don't know if you can talk about that game, because they've beaten a lot of teams down the stretch and they've got the personnel. But we basically let Philadelphia back into the game, and we succumbed to it. I think it was a rude awakening to our guys when we lost that game. I think the team just has a tendency to relax and that game really showed it."

A Philly flash point
What the last 10 games have shown is growth.

"What the terminology is that's working, I guess I would agree with it," Adelman said. "But I don't know why it would take so long. Everybody knew what the West was going to be like. This conference is tough. You might win 46 games and not be in the playoffs. We better realize that. No one is coming back to us. We have to go and catch them."

Before they could do that, the Rockets had to catch themselves in free fall and pull the cord on the emergency chute. Now they're learning to chin themselves over the bar.

"What I like about the team in the last couple of games is that we are playing strong during some minutes and not coming apart," Yao said. "(Thursday) night in the first half, we got a lead and then they came back to one. Then in the third quarter, we came right back out strong and got a 10- or 12-point lead.

"We talked to each other, during timeouts, at any time in the game, when the play stopped. We talked to each other about defense, about making passes, about rebounding. We said we needed to pay attention. The game is not over yet. They will try to fight back. The game will not be easy. Over the last 10 games, they have not been easy, but we have won most."

It's a turnabout that can be traced to one game, one night, one word.

"Philadelphia," Yao said.

The rallying cry for a season.
Click to expand...

durvasa · Feb 9, 2008

Nice story.

YallMean · Feb 9, 2008

next 3 game is the mid term test. All winnable games at home, and we absolutlely need these 3. The opponents will not let up either. We did not win convincingly in most of games in this strectch. I am not ready to call it the season has been turned around. Maybe the Philly game just showed how vunlunable we are, especially in the 4th, when Yao is tired and defense clamps down him. We gave up 37 4th quater points to Utah, 30 some to GS. I am not sure our defense can carry us all the time.

Ziggy · Feb 9, 2008

Love Hayes...
I guess next season our slogan goes from "Its Time" to "Philadelphia"? Mighty have fallen. This is not Sparta.

ico4498 · Feb 9, 2008

speak softly and carry a big stick ...

Charles Barkley & Clutch believe a trade is vital. normally i dismiss Barkley's opinion as a matter of course, but i respect Clutch ... (i revere Barkley's time as a Rocket but face it, he's comedic fluff on TNT).

real leaders aren't concocted by recipe. Hayes stand and opine rings true to me.

so many ways to impact a team positively!

ReD_1 · Feb 9, 2008

Kinda like Juwan Howard last year.

Blue Brick · Feb 9, 2008

[Chron]Yao Ming has one word: "Philadelphia."

A nice piece from the Chronical, it goes some way to explain Rox's recent good form.

t_mac1 · Feb 9, 2008

so chuck is the real leader on this team?

i would hope so. hopefully he can be a guy like deke who can cheer on the team even if he won't play a lot anymore.

Faos · Feb 9, 2008

Too bad those Philly losses didn't come earlier in the season. Maybe they would have played harder and not wasted almost half the season. Lets hope it's not too late.

magnetik · Feb 9, 2008

here's to hoping it's for real this time.

seaweed · Feb 9, 2008

This thing sounds more like a review after a successful season.

professorjay · Feb 9, 2008

Good read. If the Rox let that attitude slip away for just one game it could take the team downhill again.

runamok · Feb 9, 2008

Even though I've always questioned chucks role as a starter rather than a SIGNIFICANT contributor off the bench, I really feel that if the rockets go anywhere this season, we all have to go back and appreciate chuck's expression, to come everyday, be PROFESSINAL, and CARE.

It can really change the team mentality and chemistry for the better. I think we all should be graetfull for that probably something MOMENTOUS came out of that team meeting thay had.

Carl Herrera · Feb 9, 2008

Chuck Hayes is the real coach of this team.

He has played less recently to concentrate on Xs and Os and motivating the players.

Apollo Creed · Feb 9, 2008

Blinebury can write a halfway decent article when he's not spewing his personal bull**** views.

bjshot · Feb 9, 2008

vince123 said:

Is Hayes the true leader of the rockets?
Click to expand...

I like this Rockets because of some players such as Rafer, Shane, Hayes, Yao , Rybo and Novak. They may not be the most athletic talented. Maybe they can't convert a easy layup. Maybe they don't dunk a lot. But they are true professional, they try their best to win and they are nice persons off court.

By the way, though I know RA is a great coach but I am a huge JVG fan because his dedication.

DudeWah · Feb 9, 2008

lets just say....
<br>
most of the teams we've been winning against lately are horrible teams who we should beat anyways....
<br>
but good wins regardless

noize · Feb 9, 2008

If Chuck really does care and express about respect and "proffesionalism" to the game then why doesn't he change his free throw shooting form/motion?

Hayesfan · Feb 9, 2008

noize said:

If Chuck really does care and express about respect and "proffesionalism" to the game then why doesn't he change his free throw shooting form/motion?
Click to expand...

Do you know what that form has gotten so bad over the last year and half? Because he has tried so hard to fix it. Now he's mentally blocked about it and that stupid hitch keeps getting worse and worse.

You can complain about his shot and complain about his inability to dunk like Landry.

But don't EVER question his heart.

saleem · Feb 9, 2008

Apollo Creed said:

Blinebury can write a halfway decent article when he's not spewing his personal bull**** views.
Click to expand...

True.

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