Its going to take an empty home court for Les to panic and make a trade, STAY AWAY

Tell that to Mark Cuban...

 

Pure Bunk!! You are NOT calling it like it is. Our players are not incompetent, our team has a winning record, the entertainment value of going to a professional basketball game is WORTH the money, and this latest round of non-attendance is a problem that has plagued the Rockets for many stretches.

BTW, not every ticket costs $65.

Let's see what type of changes Les has enacted since he's been owner:

1. Clyde Drexler
2. Charles Barkley
3. Kevin Willis
4. Scottie Pippen
5. Steve Francis
6. Yao Ming
7. Kelvin Cato
8. Maurice Taylor
9. James Posey

OK, some of the decisions didn't work out. You find me one team that has made on-target free agent signings and trades, all the time. Just doesn't happen. They're not soothsayers here- most of the decisions Les has made have been on the money. The guy tries.

You naysayers can criticize all you want- it's your right. But Tim, don't think that this garbage is the way most fans feel. This individual, who rarely has a good thing to say about anyone, speaks for the minority.

I'll be at the games cheering on a very good team. You naysayers, the ones with unrealistic expectations and illogical thought processes, can just turn off the TV, or go root for someone else. I bet you'll have a lot more fun than me (sic).

You also labeled this thread as "one of this silliest thread I've ever seen". You could not have been more wrong. You should have labeled this thread as one of the saddest threads you've ever seen. Sad because it has actually come to this. Sad because you actually have die-hard Rocket fans, who have not missed watching a game in years, finding themselves so sickened by the site of this team and their play that they are turn off their televisions; some not even turning them on. Sad because people are turning away free tickets. And sad because the thought and idea of boycotting this team is even being discussed. All of this just slightly more than one year removed from the travesty that was, "One of the greatest teams ever assembled". Who are/were you guys trying to fool?

The message I will give to you, is to take note of this, as it is a fastly growing sentiment.

As for Les, tell him..... that the fans want changes!! There is no excitement. More and more people are finding it harder and harder to find the time or the money to watch these losers; as they are "square pegs trying to be crammed into round holes". We and the Houston media can see that it is not working. We are not over-reacting, as we have suffered for four straight years of the antics brought on by Steve and his max contract. We are simply calling it like we see it. Enough is enough!!

 

The bottom line is the team isn't exciting or dominant. People who love the Rockets will still follow it on TV but they're not going to spend their money on a mediocre product.

Think about it this way.

Would you:

A. Spend $15 on 2 Lord of the Rings tickets or.....

B. Spend $100 on 2 Rockets tickets and watch them shoot 35% from the field and barely score 70 points.

Which is more entertaining? Which is more convenient? Which is less expensive?

You can argue that live entertainment is more expensive but when you cant put the ball in the hole, it's not entertaining, live or not.

Die hard fans will always support their team one way or another. However, people will only spend their hard earned money on a good fun product.

 

When I read this, the first thing that I thought was "you could not be more wrong in your assumptions". But under further examination, I have noticed that it is, for the most part, TRUE! I will speak praise of what needs to be praised. And there is little, if any, outside of Yao Ming on this team, that deserves to be heralded. As far a the criticism goes, I have been highly critical of Steve Francis; and deservedly so. Not that the other players are undeserving of criticism, but that they are less of a focus due to their status in the NBA. Either they are young players or just simply role players in the system.

The problems the Rockets have are not limited to the "point"; they go beyond one single position. But many of the problems we have, that do not allow us to run the system effectively, stem from "the point". Character issues, finacial issues, issues of leadership, as well, plague our backcourt.

And maybe I am in "the minority", but take a look at this board and make no mistake my friend, there is a steadily growing sentiment to rid ourselves of our problems; specificly in the backcourt.


Charvo,
I'm glad you mentioned the Hubie Brown interview on Rome today. What a great interview. You knew how much trouble the Rockets and JVG will have with players like Steve on the team, from the things mentioned in the interview. Of the things he was talking about, the immediate thought that came to mind was: the problems the Rockets are going to have.

 

The Rox play ugly basketball and ugly basketball is not entertaining to watch. It doesn't matter if we win 75-70 or lose 75-70 it's still unwatchable.

This day in age there are too-many alternatives to be taken advantage of then to watch a fundamentally r****ded team limp the thru the season making the same stupid mistakes game after game with no hint of improvement.


Just my 0.02

 

if u all really love basketball and love this team, who cares if we never make the playoffs, as long as we have our own team. some cities wish they had their own city team, im happy to have ours whether they are boring or fun to watch. i always watch them. oooooooooooooo 4 years no playoffs how about 10 or 12 years, man some teams haven't even won a title but i bet their TRUE fans support them 100%, a rebuilding process isn't supposed to take less then like 5 years. this team might not be fun to watch, but i bet a lot of us would miss them if they were gone and we were left w/o a team. i love this team and will watch them whether they win big or lose big.

 

Heh.

Look, if you think that it's not worth the money to come to games, that's your decision. That's not the silly part of the thread. It's up to Jeff and CD and the players to put a product on the floor that you like, and it's up to people in customer service and marketing and sales and the rest of the organization to make everything else about the experience great. If you don't see the value there, that's your right as a fan to say so. It's our job to make it a great value.

Nothing breakthrough here. Just common sense.

The silly part is thinking that, for some reason, the organization doesn't want to win or create a great experience, and that not showing up will make everyone want to excel.

The silly part is arguing after a 4-game win streak that we should be #2 in the ESPN Power Rankings and then a week later, after losing twice to the defending world champs and a very good Minnesota team, that the team is a horrible, pathetic bunch of losers that should be traded en masse for Brent Barry and Fred Hoiberg. It's not something that only happens on this board -- the Lakers board was going nuts with the same kind of talk ("I told you Malone and Payton were too old!" and "Kobe is a selfish baby who must be traded!") after they just lost two straight. It's some weird group dynamic over-reaction thing that happens regularly on the internet.

Doesn't mean it's not silly.

The reality? 14-10, in the West, with 14 of the first 24 games on the road. Not numbers that say we're going to win 65 games and sweep the playoffs. But not numbers that remotely indicate any kind of disaster, either. If you think that deserves a boycott -- heck, there's 19 other teams with the same record or worse. Guess we ought to contract the league and dial it down to the 9 teams with a better record. Or just ban basketball from the free world altogether and make celebrity poker the fourth major sport. That'd be just as reasonable.

Tim

 

Tim,

You may be one of the Rockets staff member cause you said "It's OUR job to make it a great value". But clearly, you don't have a clue on how to make that happen. Here is your customer, he complains badly about your products, and you called this "the most silly thread" ever ?!!

Rockets' management staff suck ass. Yes, your team is still winning, 14:10. So what? You need to remember, fans want you to have a team basketball and perform good against your rivals, in Houston's case, they are Spurs and Mavs. You need to beat them, or at least give a good fight. Last season, it was 0:4 against mavs by great magin. and this year, it's already 2 loss to spur, by great margin. I have neighbours who are spurs fans, and we can't talk about basketball anymore. You know why, right? I have turned off my tV several times this season during the game. and i am not going to buy tickets to watch the rockets, as well.

Rockets need some changes. most of people can see that.

 

Tim is VP of marketing...as he explained before, the people that make the on-court decisions care about putting a good product on the floor, his job is to market it to the masses..you cant rag on him for the quality of the team...he has no control over that...

This part is mine..

If you cant be patient and let them try to accomplish the job...feel free to watch another team. With fans like you and the thread starter...who needs enemies?

Changes in the basic way of playing doesnt happen overnight. It requires time...and dont start with that 4 years crap...most team take much longer when having to switch from one regime and a new, different one.

btw...dont even presume to speak for "most people".....there are still plenty of people that know how to be patient to achieve what they want and they realize that sometimes changes take time.....and will stick with the team for however long that takes.

Oh geee....we didnt win against the World Champs? and a very good Minn team?? oh HORRORS!!!!! guess what? we aint in their league yet..we may not be till next year.

get it...they are good upper tier teams...we are not. Accept it and be patient...or move on...I could give a rats ass which one you do....but quit presuming that you speak for the REAL fans.

 

I could care less if we get back more that we give up at this point, just hoping for a legitimate Point Guard to run the offense.

 

When I go to the doctor, I expect him to listen to how I feel and respect my wishes. However, I'm not going to tell him how to do his job if I value my life. Chances are he knows a little bit more about what might be wrong with me and how to fix it than I do. If I don't feel like he is doing a good job, I'll take my business somewhere else.

In this case, you have every right to complain, but if you honestly believe that a board full of fans have a greater clue about personnel decisions for a professional basketball team than guys who have been paid to do the job for the majority of their adult lives, you are either dillusional or just not that bright.

If you don't like the direction of the team, you are welcome not to watch or to become a fan of some other team. But, we better all pray to GOD the Rockets don't start taking advice from the fans on player transactions or how the game is suppoed to be played. If every team in every city took the advice of fans on internet bulletin boards and radio call-in shows, sports would be an utter disaster.

You want to play coach or GM? That's what video games are for.

 

I'm glad you said it. Unfortunately, the squeaky wheel tends to get the grease. Louder, however, is not often associated with smarter.

 

Bravo Jeff...well said

 

Yeah, but if he has a booger in his nostril's would you tell him? Or would you let is slide so that all day long he suffers the consequences or that booger when you could have just addressed the issue in confidence and from a trusted source.

 

Theses posters crack me up. They bob like a boat in the ocean. When the team wins they're happy, when they lose they're not. That's the way "the ball bounces".....sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. We should just all relax and enjoy the ride, then when we finally win it all.....everyone will realize it was all worth it.

 

Hubie Brown is a wise man. I can understand why the Grizzlies players have enjoyed playing for him so much. What he says make sense? It's not BS. It's not flowery talk. He is why I think the Grizzlies are better than the Rockets.

 

I think they should trade someone for Eduardo Najera , he is good in defense and offense

 

Lionel,

Please re-read my post. I don't think it's silly when fans have a complaint. And I think when fans don't feel something is right, they're perfectly within their rights to voice it. I've been pretty consistent on that. And I've heard a lot of complaints (and a lot of positives) here. It's all good information.

What's silly is the topic of this thread -- the notion that, somehow, the player personnel staff is sandbagging it, and that if people don't show up at games, that will be the catalyst for them pulling the trigger on all these great deals that are supposedly just out there for the taking.

And what's silly is the hyperbolic nature of the posts here. Part of that is endemic to the nature of sports and of the internet. Part of the charm, part of the agony.

Big losses are painful. I'm a fan of the team, too. I hated watching the games in SA and Minneapolis. But big wins are fantastic. And perspective is good.

Tim

 

Tim,

We're not going to the game to make sure we get our sodas and hotdogs in a quick and orderly fashion. Nor are we going to the game to "BE BIG", as the marketing slogan goes. You are not advertising the halftime "magic show" or the unicycle riding, plate stacking, chinese lady to entertain the masses. Those are just the extras that keep people from twiddling their thumbs while the game is halted. The last time I checked, going to your hometown team's basketball game meant that you are paying to be entertained by the team and their play, and nothing more. As well, there should be nothing breakthrough here either. Just common sense.

Nobody is saying that the organization does not want to win. We have some relative inclination that Les has the desire to win. He would not have asked Rudy to step down if he lacked this desire. He knew that something had to change. But whether he will realize that it was as much of the fault of Rudy as it is the players is what we are questioning. Is he doing all that he can to give the fans a product that will meet the expectations that are set so highly? That will remain to be seen.

Although it is silly to ride the team when they are flying high and then to turn around and kick them when they are low, please do not mistake my sentiments, and others similar with my stance, with these fans with the tendency to over-react. I have always remained true to my convictions and many fans are starting to see the wolves in sheeps clothing as well.

The reality Tim, is that despite a 14-10 record, we are not a good team. We had a winning record last year as well, and what did that get us? Not much. And even had we make the playoffs, would we had stood a chance? The answer is no. I don't need to see them get to the playoffs and have a chance at winning for me to know that they just simply can't. I don't need to see Francis get suffocated by the full-court pressure in the playoffs to no that he can't handle it. He's been folding under that pressure since college. Same goes with the half-court offense. I don't need to see them fold in the playoffs when it is clear to me a quarter of the way through the season (let alone two years ago) that these parts are broken. There is no chemistry, no fluidity, no ball movement, and the bottom line is that there has been zero improvement in 4 years. And because we haven't seen improvement in those 4 years, and we don't see any indication that it's going to change, is a reason to not pay money to watch this team.

Not that it matters, but if we take your example of the "19 teams with the same record or worse", and if the playoffs were happening tomorrow, what would happen? Well, 11 of the 19 teams are in the East, and the one team that is tied with the same 14-10 record is in our division. In a hypothetical world where the playoffs are tomorrow, the seven of the 19 teams that are in the West would be eliminated from the playoffs. The one team that was tied with us, which happens to be Memphis, would take the eighth and final playoff spot, as they have a 1-0 record versus the Rockets this year. Thus the playoff hopes are yet again shattered for Houston and its fans. That's five years running. Would you think, that despite no on the court improvement (solely depending on Yao to develop), if we were to return next year with the same core players, we would have a chance at all?