http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1250950 Lets hope that all the Rockets read the paper tomorrow. Rockets still have plenty to play for By DALE ROBERTSON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle When the season began, the consensus was the Rockets were no better than the 10th-best team in the NBA West. Now, they exit the All-Star Break only a step off said pace in 11th place, so the eternally optimistic among us might suggest all is not yet lost despite the 33 losses vs. the 16 victories. But a playoff gait this isn't, not by any measure rooted in reality. Of course, who thought the Patriots could win the Super Bowl? The beauty of sport is that miracles happen. And the Rockets gaining a postseason berth would be nothing short of a miracle. So forget the playoffs as a viable goal. The 33 remaining games must be graded on the curve, based on the further leaps-and-bounds growth of individual players such as Kenny Thomas, Eddie Griffin and Oscar Torres, who figure to join the already-established likes of All-Star Steve Francis, should-have-been-All-Star Cuttino Mobley and, knock wood, Maurice Taylor as key components of the Rockets' eventual renaissance. Such is the current troubled state of (Leslie) Alexander's ragtime band that the leading franchise MVP candidate as the second half begins happens to be a neurological physical therapist. If Kathleen Deyo can solve the mystery of Steve Francis' maddening migraines, then make them go away forever, that alone will turn what remains of 2001-02 into a rousing success. Yes, our expectations have fallen appreciably, beginning a free-fall plunge the day we found out Taylor had torn his Achilles' tendon. Taylor's injury we understand, and there's no reason to believe he can't rebound fully at his young age as long he continues to diligently follow his rehab regimen. Francis' mysterious malady, on the other hand, is big-time scary. Unless he shakes it, he'll never fully flower into the Stevie Franchise role we've projected upon him. To resort to a bad pun, the Rockets are nothing short of Deyo-sperate to get Francis completely well, to be certain the problem isn't career-threatening or even career-impairing. In the interim, only a moron would call Francis a wimp for begging off when his head feels like it's being cleaved by a broad ax. Only a moron who has never experienced a migraine. Practically speaking, the Rockets are in a wait-'til-the-season-after-next mode, when a fully mature core of youthfully exuberant talent takes the floor of the new downtown arena both ready and determined to compete on equal footing with the elite. Perhaps the excitement of being in the building, hopefully filled to its 18,000-plus-seat brim, in tandem with a confident, battle-tested roster will create the critical mass necessary to restore the franchise's mid-1990s luster. The plush venue alone won't do it, however. It's not a bricks-and-mortar issue that ails the Rockets. As the arena rises from the ground across the way from the George R. Brown Convention Center, they also need to begin building a measure of excitement in the weeks ahead. They can ill afford to lose many more games to teams they're supposed to beat -- starting with Memphis' toothless Grizzlies tonight -- and the occasional monumental upset won't hurt their standing in the community any, either. Of their next nine home games, taking them through the middle of March, seven are quite winnable, and only Minnesota seems clearly beyond their current reach. Of the 16 they have left at Compaq Center, 13 could easily become W's, meaning a finish somewhere around 36-46 is a reasonable objective. If Francis stays on the court and the injured others return, then stay healthy, even .500 may be reachable, although that would be a stunning achievement in a season that included a Houston-era record 15-game losing streak. Still, the Rockets have succumbed nine times by three or fewer points. Their learning to win would reap immediate benefits. "We've been close," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Now our goal is to say, `Close isn't good enough.' " For teams stuck in Houston's no-man's-land stratum, it's always a dilemma to choose between seeking a potentially valuable slot in the draft lottery and trying to edge toward respectability. But given the circumstances peculiar to the Rockets -- i.e., their team demographics, their lousy attendance and the tepid citywide buzz -- it seems that embracing any success, no matter how meaningless it may be, over strategically planned failure is the vastly preferable option. The task confronting Tomjanovich is to keep the Rockets' interest and intensity in a state of ascendancy, after which the performance level should logically also follow an upward trend through the many dog days that remain. A spate of perfect health would be a boon as well. Tomjanovich has enough high-energy types on the roster for him to succeed, but he must find a way to sell them on the notion they are playing for something besides paychecks. "That's always outside of your power," he contends. "I can't make somebody feel a certain way. Ultimately, it's up to the players. I tell them how I feel, and I think they believe me. I'm trying to be as sincere as possible." Rudy loathes losing. He only hopes these Rockets come to hate it as much as he does.
My Rockets goal: 37-45 Cat and Steve finish ith 20+ppg, Steve with more than 7 assists, Cat ith more than 3, Griffin with 15/7/2, Cato with 11/9/2. Honestly, the Rocks should try different plays, startegies, play with zones, showcase a bit. Lots of behind the back passes, fancy moves. AT LEAST get on SportsCenter and bring SOME fans in. I think all those goals are achievable, and not too much to ask. OH, and Francis doesn't lose any games to migraines.
Leebigeze, that Dropping Like Hot Cakes was an excellent post. Without unreaqlistic expectations it is much easier to enjoy what you can from the season and to see what it happening from a "half-full" point of view, which possibly leads to more objective observations. Go Eddie, Oscar, Cato etc. We already know what Cat and Steve can do when healthy. I agree let Steve and Cat concentrate of the mental aspects. Why go one on one and jack up shots trying to win by themselves? Sure they can pull up an upset or two, but they should know by now they can't win regularly without frontline involvement. Steve seems to understand this with his passes to Cato and also contiual praise of Cato. If we are lucky we will look back on this next half season as the time most of the Rockets grew up basketballwise. Rudy certainly has faith that hard times like these develop the "heart of a champion."
When the season began, the consensus was the Rockets were no better than the 10th-best team in the NBA West. It's easy in our optimistic Rocket-love-haze to forget this too.
IMO the consensus was wrong with that assumption. Last year the Jazz played way above their heads and with the rise of young team like Minnesota, Dallas and the Clippers, other teams like Seattle and Phoenix were very likely to become teams on the bubble. The Rockets were right there toward the end of last season and I see no reason they shouldn't have been viewed as an 8 or even 7 seed at best(obviously before the injuries hit) this season. Anything above that would have been a sweet dream in our "optimistic Rocket-love-haze ".
Here is the key. The 10th in the west ranking is at the start of the season, after the loss of Taylor. After he went down, that was a reasonable expectation. We have been amazingly damaged by injuries since then. We have been pleasantly surprised by the play of Thomas, Griffin, Torres and even Cato. We have had noone except maybe Moochie really underperform vs expectations. We are as bad as we have been solely because of injuries.
