2 different extremes are being presented as the only options: 1- rush tmac back to make the 8th seed or 2- tank the season intentionally i think both are ill-advised, and there is a middle road that hasn't been mentioned (or emphasized). some quick points: -under no conditions should tmac's recovery be hastened so we improve our chances at making the 8th (or even 7th seed). -anyone who knows jvg knows he will never tank the season, not even if the #1 pick was guaranteed like in football -the best option in my opinion is to give tmac and yao all the time they needs to recuperate, while in the meantime changing the priority from winning at all expense to teaching and bringing the most out of swift, skip, head and the perimeter shooters (be they da, jb, or whoever next year), still while maintaining a desire to win and hopes at making the playoffs. there's no need to pick between the extremes only.
Yeah, I heard he was also a vampire, I saw it on the Internet so it must be true. Blame JVG for all his antics!!! Boo, Jeff Van Draculy!
One could blame Van Gundy for playing McGrady too many minutes, which he did. The idiot. Don't mind me, I'm damned depressed. I won't count the Rockets out unless they make it mathematically impossible. I'm still depressed, and Van Gundy played him too many minutes. The idiot. (I called Van Gundy an idiot twice?? What was I thinking?)
ugh. This has not been a good year so far. I'm trying to think of positives, but back spasms are terrible thing to basketball players. that said, i'm still believing.
I still believe, baby someday you and me will...Errr...wrong kind of belief. Tanking is never an acceptable solution (or a honorable one at that). I still believe in the team's ability to turn it around before all is said and done!
Fans don't buy tickets to see players going through the motions, playing with no energy, looking like they have given up, waiting for the draft. Given the Rocket's history in the draft, I don't expect much there anyway. Realistically, things don't look good, and I don't blame anyone for giving up. It is a form of entertainment designed to be an "upper." Certainly most of us have enough problems without adding our sports team to the list of depressing events in our lives. You can call people any names you want and splash around in bravado from daylight to dark, BUT losing teams don't generate excitement, fun, tickets, or loyalty. As for me, I love the Rockets and have followed them for years. I will hang in there, I will watch them on TV, I will drive in for games when I can. But I am not nearly as excited or positive about their chances as I was during pre season. I doubt many of us are. Could they catch fire and blaze into the playoffs, yes. Is that possible, yes. Likely? Probably not, but I am willing to wait and see.
i would believe if i saw Bowen make a wide open jump shot. If i saw Stromile catch passes consecutively without fumbling. If i saw rafer put 3,4,5 games in a row of good play, instead of sandwiching them around bad ones (like at toronto this past week, 2pts). if this team could score 90+ on a nightly basis. but none of those may never happen.... so ill simply believe once i see number 1 and number 11 on the court again
i don't think anyone wants the Rox to tank the season. but a team can only endure so many injuries. we'll see what happens. The last thing i would want to see is a hobbled TMac overcompensating for his back pain and landing awkwardly.
Well said, droxford. May you never get back spasms. I'll be in the chat on April 19th just in time to hear the announcers say "well, since the Spurs have wrapped up the top seed and the Rockets have clinched #6, expect to see a lot of reserves tonight."
I must have been living under the rock for a few weeks. Where are those "we're through" threads? Those pointless threads probably just die and went away. Seeing TMac fell in pain really feels like somebody just kick me in the nuts. There's always a chance we're gonna make the playoff as long as our situation improves and doesn't get any worse than it already is. We needs to keep believing and hope for the best.
I know you are a believer and truely rockets fan. But NBA is not all about basketball, it's also about business. When it comes to business, we have to think about trade-offs, opportunity costs. If you know you can trade a short term loss for a long term gain, then it's a good decision to make, business-wise, also basketball-wise IMO. With our current rosters, I just don't see how we can beat the Spurs and Pistons. Both are the big walls we have to climb over to hit the champion. a team with two superstars (with Yao still in debate) is definitely a great team, but it doesn't win a championship naturally, role players ought to produce. Spurs have Parker, Ginobili, Finley, Bowen and Horry surrounding TD. Pistons, wow all their starting lineups are great!... If Rox was really built upon a champion, then JVG and CD definitely need to do more, and wisely! I still truely believe in our team, not this season though, but a champion in the near future.
Reading all these replies about giving up and losing hope makes me realize that... "Quitters Really Do Quit"............
We will never give up. We will never surrender. We will be back. Many have doubted us before. You demand our weapons--then come and take them......
I get what you're saying about the doomsday posters, but those guys have been doing it for years. It's nothing new. I'm one of the 'sunshine' posters, but I have to agree with glynch ( ). It's going to be a VERY tough road if TMac is out for more than a couple of weeks. I'm a Rockets fan, born and raised. I have been since the day they moved here from San Diego. I schedule my whole life around watching their games, win or lose. But there's a difference between being a fan and a cheerleader.
Careful, there are people here who actually believe this. Check out the 'TMac out for 2 weeks' thread.
Me too. I shell out the dollars every season to get LP, and I've got DVR now, so I rarely miss a game. This has been such a trying season. Sure, we've had many trying seasons over the years, but this has to rank near the top for pure frustration. There's nothing "doomsday" about being freaked out right now, but there's nothing "sunshine" about being optimistic, still. It's just gotten really difficult. I have to say that watching McGrady, when he's been healthy, play at such a high level is one of the most exciting things I've seen during my years of following the Rockets. He can be simply amazing. That makes this that much more frustrating. We have to hang in there, so all of this will mean something at the end of the season. The team has to keep us close.
