Four reasons why last year was BETTER than this year

I think i am going to cry

 

"Be A Part Of Something Big....errr...Disappointing"

 

WE LOST 15 IN A ROW LAST YEAR?!?

 

The only thing better about last year was NO YAO FANS.

 

How do they suck with a record over .500? Here are four reasons why this year is better:

1. They would probably be in the playoffs playing in the East, having finished with a 17-13 record against eastern teams.
2. There are 5 teams in the West with worse records, 13 in the NBA.
3. One year of experience under the belt for Ming, making him that much more valuable next season.
4. Improved last season's record by 14 games.

 

First season Mo Taylor played with Yao, Griffin, Morris, and Rice.

 

They were supposed to be contenders man, didn't you know? Yeah dude, all those analysts that predicted them to finish where they're at now didn't know what they were talking about.

 

Freak, forget about their record, analyst predictions, the general mood of the BBS. Just take them game by game, regardless of whether they won or lost. Are you pleased? Do you see gradually improvement as Dallas saw the year before they finally made it, or as Golden State saw this season? Do you see individual player improvement - specifically and especially from our team leaders? Do you see a talent level on this team that could not only make the playoffs next year, but get home court advantage the year after, and seriously compete for NBA championships year-in and year-out thereafter?

Sadly, being realistic about this team implies one has to be negative.

 

First off, why should I forget about their record? I think that's crazy.

The fact that a rookie center from another country came to the team at the start of the season, without training camp, without most of pre-season, with little to no US basketball experience, and little command of the English language, and by the end of the season was a main cog of the offense and defense, should please everyone. Everyone wants to just take that for granted, like it was a given, and say 'well look how good he did, and we still missed the playoffs', instead of 'wow, look how well we were able to integrate this guy into our team, to the point that he's the rookie of the year, and a focal point of what we do'. That's crap. If the goal of this season was to start the Yao Ming Era, how can you not say mission accomplished? With flying colors, no doubt.

I know Dallas had 10-11 lottery years in a row, and Nash sucked for his first 5-6 years. They didn't get really good until Dirk got really good. It will be the same for us and Ming. I know Golden State is in for their 11th straight lotto year. So I'd say we're more than ahead of schedule compared to those teams.

Individual improvement? Absolutely. Of course we know about Ming's incredible improvement from Game 1 to now. He (and the Rockets) went from a laughing stock to likely ROY. Francis and Mobley also learned to defer their games to a rookie. Francis' assists were up and turnovers down throughout the second half of the season. Mobley took less shots this year, while his defense improved tremendously. Griffin's FG percentage improved, and he took a bunch less threes. As far as playoffs and championships and all that, it all depends on how good Ming gets.

 

lol...I can't tell which side you two are on...

 

This is like arguing over who sucks more.....Eddie Griffin or Jason Collier.

 

Huh?

My friend, your argument holds no water.

1st) Yao Ming was a major cog in the middle simply because he is 7 ft 5 and knows how to position himself to block/alter shots. Trust me he knew how to stand 7 ft 5 and put his arms up in the air before he ever came into the NBA.

2st) It was pretty obvious during the first 3rd of the season that Yao was a lot better then "some" of us predicted. It had nothing to do with the Rocket's integration into the system.

Do you consider integration as:
1st) Isolations 18 ft from the basket while everyone else is standing and looking at paint dry?

2st) Not lobbing the ball into Yao for an easy lay up or dunk while our guards dribble and go for a fade away jump shot or some other ridiculously difficult shot?

3) Or did you mean the SportsCenter clips of our Rocket guards dribbling and dribbling the ball while Yao just sat there wondering if this team knows what passing is.

What exactly do you mean by "integration"?

Yao Ming is Rookie of the year candidate cause the guy is 7 ft 5 and is a mismatch for almost any team besides the Lakers/Spurs and possibly Portland cause of Sabonis. But besides that Yao adjusted well to playing in the NBA and has had the Media on his side (who vote for the dam ROY)

So again, what do you mean by "integration"?

Why are you making this comparison between Dallas's Steve Nash and Dirk?

First, Steve Nash was in Phoenix, playing behind Jason Kidd, for his first two seasons. Didn't get to develop his game till he got to Dallas, which is his third year. Second, Dirk didn't get many minutes his first year and in fact was considered a bust his first year with Dallas. Dirk wasn't a consistent threat until, his third year. So what? What is your point? How are we ahead of schedule compared to these teams? These players took longer to develop. Yao has shown a fast learning curve. So what is your point?

Yao is dominating now cause he is 7 ft 5 and has athletic skills. You actually believe the Rockets have helped him to develop his game better then other teams around the league would have been able to?

Stop comparing things that shouldn't be compared. Yao is obviously a miss match now and has shown signs of domination NOW cause of his own abilities and not the Rockets great abilities to develop it's players.

I'm not even sure where to start here....
Would it not make sense to give the ball to the player who presents the biggest mismatch and who also happens to shoot the highest percentage of any consistent scorer on your team?

If you can answer this question truthfully then you can pretty much erase the quote above.

 

Reasons this year was better.

1. Watching Yao Ming.

2. Rocket's defense improved. More rebounding, more steals.

3. Steve and Cuttino are gradually learning to play with the team.

4. We had more meaningful games this year and saw Steve grow as a clutch player in response.

5. We finally got some of our money's worth out of Cato and Rice, upping their trade value.

6. Better ball movement. The rockets are slowly growing out of the pound the ball game. They had some incredible games that I believe showed their true potential.

7. We played better and better against the crappy teams as the season wore on. Posey is a big factor in this and just having him on the court instead of Rice makes them a running team.

8. Last year's season was pure unadulterated crap. This season was only about 25% crap, 25% losses to good teams, and 50% wins.

 

gutter, you are definitely part of the optimist club. when you say that the ball movement improved on a team that was close to worst in the league in that aspect. That is like saying your ex girlfriend got better looking once she shaved her mustache.

j/k

 

LOL! I almost spit water all over my monitor. Funny stuff!

 

That is the point though. Do you think a team that did zero ball movement is going to learn to look like Sacramento right away?

And yes, guilty as charged. I am, and always have been an optimist.

 

0 ball movement last year, 0 ball monement this year. At this rate we'll be lucky to look like the Princeton offense next year.

 

I am also optimistic. With a couple of missed FTs made, Rox would be in the playoff this year. We are just not that lucky.

Anyway, next year, Rox should be in the playoff as a #7 or #8 seed if Yao can get his fitness level to at least 90% and improve upon his hook shots during the off-season.

 

I think I get it.

Player exceeds expectations = coaching has nothing to do with it.

Player fails to live up to expectations = fault of the coaching.

Sounds logical.