If only it was true. :(

I've been daydreaming a lot the past week. I hate to feel depressed, so I try to think of things that make me extremely happy. The Rockets...well, the Rockets aren't exactly making me feel too good recently.

Now - I never would consider tanking; that kind of franchise is not the kind of franchise I would love with a passion like the Rockets. Here's the scenerio: we don't make the playoffs. In my mind, I am kind of flash-forwarding to next season, where we are the NBA's poster-team and we show heart, hustle, and we compete every night.

Okay:

Stevie Franchise is our Leader.
I may be taking this whole "leader" thing way too seriously, but I always imagine Steve in the 2002 offseason making sure the problems that happened this season don't happen again. I love to play conversations in my head like, "Hey, Glen, wanna go to Westside and shoot 1000?" or "Mooch, how bout you come with me and we practice shooting and moving the ball."

The biggest thing that Steve does in these dreams of mine is he gets Cato, Taylor, Thomas, and Griffin to agree to go to a big man's camp, preferably the most well-known one in Hawaii. They are there for about a month, conditioning, learning post moves, offensive and defensive rebounding, and blocking shots. One of Steve's friends is one of the coaches in the camp and calls to Houston frequently to report big things (Cato had 22 rebounds, Mo had 18, Griffin had 12 blocks, things like that). Steve thanks him and continues trying to put a winning team together.

Meanwhile, the guards and small forwards pay for their own personal trainer to help them with exercises that decrease the risk of injury (i.e. yoga, stretches, avid weight-lifting, ect.). Steve and Glen work on their feet, Cuttino does his ankle, and they all do wind sprints on their own time. Steve also takes to Moochie to get his ass hypnotized (you will pass the ball....you will pass the ball....you will pass...).

He organizes players-only meetings and practices, where they openly talk about any problems they have or anything bothering them, and also scrimmage together, getting a feel of their teammates' instincts and games, all the while improving their own. These practices go on for about a month, and the Rockets also get to know their teammates better by hanging out with them a lot.

Stevie, now a couple weeks before training camp, goes to Les and talks to him about marketing (man this guy just does it all ) He suggests a commercial with him and Cuttino that will get fans excited about the upcoming season. Here is the commercial, which I can visualize in my head so well:

Highlights from the old Rockets teams play on what seems to be huge-screen TVs. You can hear Gene Peterson's call in the background, and then the camera flashes to Steve's face, which is glowing with the glare from the videos. He is watching intently, seeming to study the tape. Then It shows Steve and Cuttino in a dramatic shadowy light, and Steve says, "WE wanna reach the mountaintop," with Cuttino echoing those same words right after him. More vids, and again the same shadows while Cuttino says, "We need our fans to help get us there," with Steve echoing him. Finally, tape of Dream and Elie and all the big shots and game call during the championships play, like "How sweet it is!" Steve, staring at the TV, nods solemnly, and again, they cut to the dramatic light and they again echo each other, and say, slowly and surely, firmly and confidently,

"It's our time.".

It'll be almost as dramatic as those "You can be a hero!" commercials.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

We go 62-20 and defeat the Philadelphia Sixers for our third NBA Championship.

Hey, who said a man couldn't dream?