While this string of loses has been quite depressing, we did see slivers of promise here and there - we saw glimpses of how great the rox can be. Once the coach figures out the right rotation, and role players get out of their shooting slumps and stop misbehaving, I have every confidence in the fact that the rox will be the best team in the league this season.
CCR, no pun intended, but your facts are so wack- well i guess, there is pun intended The Phoenix Suns has a play maker named Steve Nash that everyone knew itw was only a matter of time before he turns things up. Rafer is a guaranteed loser- prove me wrong if you can. And i will happily pay someone a grand if this team even comes close to winning 61 games, atleast not with Rafer as a starter and two soft stars. Out of all those teams you mentioned, i noticed that none of them were .500 or below after their first 12 games except for the 04-05 Rockets and we all know where the ended their run. I'm also getting sick of people whining about the schedule. They are professionals and they are good enough, atleast on paper to be the best team in this league, so they should be the last team to whine. Also, they played 2 eastern teams, Lakers, Utah, San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix, mostly teams in the western conference that they have a chance of facing in the playoffs. I guess i shouldn't be surprised to also hear about how hard their schedule is during playoffs. The Rockets have played a brutal schedule, facing teams with a combined .722 winning percentage. The Rockets won 80% (24-6) of their games vs. the East last season. I guess that solves the problem them. They should go ahead and lose to the western teams since they have a chance of recovering against the Eastern teams. How soon do yall forget that the Rockets are meant to be elite in the WEST, and that their playoff games are against the West. They only stand a chance of playing an Eastern team once in pro-season. Therefore their record against the weak western conference should not be anything to brag about. They have a new coach. They have a new system. They have new players. They have a lot of the same problems. I guess by same problems, you mean a stubborn coach who is not willing to shake up his rotations and try something new especially when his current rotation is stinking up the place. And he has other guys that should be given a chance. Hopefully, when we have a dip below .500, he might reconsider
Nice post CCR. It'll come together. That 6-1 record to start was mostly b/c Yao and Mac were playing so well. Now that things have come back to earth it's time for Adelman to prove his mettle over the next few months... As long as we avoid the injury bug, I think we'll be ready to run with anyone come April. It would be helpful though, if Rafer played less.
Do you know what a pun is? Because that certainly wasn't one... Well, you've got it all figured out. Steve Nash is better than Rafer Alston, so the Rockets are horrible, right? Well, there's no disputing the fact that Nash > Alston, but Rafer was their starting point guard, playing nearly 40 minutes a night, when they tallied 52 wins. That was on a less talented team. You'll have to point out where I said the Rockets would win 61 games. I can't seem to find it. Except that you're wrong. The Phoenix Suns were exactly 6-6 after twelve games last season. Nobody (at least not me) is whining about the schedule. It's a simple fact that it's been one of, if not the hardest. As mentioned, they've had 2 murderous back-to-back games, 2 of which were played without Tracy. In case you forgot, there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs. The point is not that the Rockets should be happy with a 6-6 record, but that it should not be a surprise when considering their schedule and the fact that they're in a transitional period. And by the way...the playoffs are 5 months away. Nobody's record is going to look good when they play teams with a combined winning percentage of .722. That's like playing a 60 win team every single night. For one, it's hard to get your confidence up when you keep losing close games to top teams. No matter how you get a win, it helps with confidence and team morale. That's why it's important to note that the Rockets have hardly played any games against the East, which they feasted on last year. Let them go on a 5 game East swing, rack up 4 or 5 wins, and then come back and tell me that they don't look and sound more confident. They will, and it will translate to better play. It's 12 games in and Adelman has said that he might need to take another look at the rotation. What more do you want? Should he change the rotation after every loss? You have to be realistic and consider that the Rockets lost by 3 to the Lakers with Tracy only playing half the game, they lost to the Spurs by 6 on the road without Tracy, they lost to the Suns on the second game of a back-to-back with no Tracy, and they lost a 6 (but essentially 4) point game to the Mavs. They're by no means world beaters right now, but I don't see why a few tough (and some short-handed) losses to some elite West teams is reason to blow everything up. Oh that's right, they lost to Memphis. I've got news for everybody. There are probably only 2, maybe 3 teams that would be 8-4 or better after playing the Rockets schedule. So why the hell is 6-6 considered so disastrous?
