Was this month a turning point? Rookies? Yao? Adelman? Offense? Alston and Head? Well there's a lot that can be said about this month, with many probably wondering whether the surge from our 3 rookies and near-rookie (Novak) will continue. And did our vets break-out of their shooting funk? Will the offensive efficiency continue to improve? Chicken or egg? I thought it was pretty amazing to watch the offense get much much faster last night, against one of the most athletic teams in the league while also being able to leverage (a cold-weakened) Yao's strengths for most of the game. Some of you are saying it was just one game, but imho, it was HUGE. I think most of us have pondered whether that would ever even be possible... to merge up-tempo with a giant in the paint. And to throw Novak in at just the right time to totally warp the defense was brilliant... (thank you RA!) Do you think the growth and success of the offense will continue? Are we seeing the impact of a much different coaching style at work, finally? And in January did this team become, unequivocally, Yao's? I've never really seen much need to recognize a leader, but now I think the answer is apparent. He is starting to truly dominate opponents. And it's a beautiful thing... and he keeps improving. Fwiw, we shot a season high 46% in January; comparable to the top 10 (on the season). We jumped to 97.4 ppg from 94.4 in Dec, while opponents dropped from 94.9 to 92.7 (for comparison, a 4.7 point differential is good enough for 8th best, just ahead of the Spurs). For the season, we are second in opponent FG%. We are still high in SOS w/ the 3rd toughest at this point, but LAL, Utah and Portland have had (essentially) just as difficult schedules, while the Suns (lowest SOS), Hornets (3rd lowest) and Spurs have had it much easier.
10-4 with only one bad loss(the blown 4th quarter to the Sixers), Big wins over SAS, GSW, and POR. A mixed bag in the 4th quarter. Some good, some bad. As opposed to the first half of the season where the 4th was mostly bad. Can't complain too much.
The rooks, including the experienced Luis and the near novice Novak, scare me for May play, if indeed the team is still engaged. TMac, superior talent that he is, remains the 500# gorilla on this team. It is a team without him, much more talented with him. What will give, and how? There needs to be a resolution for coach, team, and TMac to all get on together, or to get on down the road. I am still afeared that I'll have to 'pray' for Lotto-Luck, or settle for pick #15.
I went through the trouble of averaging the winning percentages of teams we've played month by month. This isn't a true SOS. It uses current winning pct.s and nothing more, even for months that we haven't played yet. (Key: Month - Opp. Win Pct // Our Record for the Month) Oct/Nov. - .554 // 9-8 Dec. - .502 // 6-8 Jan. - .482 // 10-4 Feb. - .443 Mar. - .552 Apr. - .449 With the exception of an underwhelming December, we're basically doing our job if we were a lower seed playoff team. February is our time to dominate, as the schedule will never be easier, and March promises to be just as formidable as the first month of the year was. One thing you can say about the schedule makers is that they definitely did not balance it out for us. Although that probably has more to do with the fact that the West is significantly better than the East, as our road trips out to the East seem to be the cure-all for any problems we may have.
In regards to last night, I always thought it was obvious that the team would do better against running teams, like GSW and Pho...if the players' attacked the basket against those teams and if we had slightly above average power forward. It happened last night we jumped out to a big lead, because of Scola (who was amazing in FIBA and has played well this season). If we have PF who can score by attacking basket, shoot from the outside, and even play in the post.....teams cannot double and front Yao like they want to. Also, we can beat those particular teams on the boards, if we play with someone, like Scola and Hayes who can rebound and score. With Hayes (and Battier and Alston), teams didn't have much to fear offensively....they could triple and double team Yao at will, but now if they do often....it would be double-edged sword, since we have guys who can score under the basket or after rebounds.
With five tough games of the month, we won 3 lost 2. For two losses, either Yao or Tmac is absent. I am fine with that. But it is still too early to talk about turn-around, with our inconsistent performance in 4th quarter and T-mac's injury as well as how he integrates himself into the team. The bright spot of January is about the growth of rookies and the improvement of leadership in Yao. For our two weakest links, I think our pg is still weak (at best inconsistent), but our pf position has improved considerably. Now it is all up to T-mac. If he stays healthy and manages to find his position in the new system, we can become an elite team right away.
I like the direction we're headed. But we still need consistency. If we lose ANY of the next 3 against inferior teams (playing down to their level) it'll all be for nothing. Time will tell.
Everyone knows we are in the toughest division. (I) Winning percentage: EAST: Atlantic: 49.54% Central: 49.64% Southeast: 44.3% WEST: Southwest: 58.26% Northwest: 43.72% Pacific: 54.28% (II)Last ten games: EAST: Atlantic: 22-28, 44% Central: 24-26, 48% Southeast: 22-28, 44% WEST: Southwest: 32-18, 64% Northwest: 23-27, 46% Pacific: 30-20, 60% We would steam roll to the conference final if we were in the East.
Yeah, the hope is we go nuts in February. But if that doesn't come true then we are screwed. In a sense, there's a lot of pressure on the Rockets to make this huge run, similar to the Spurs with their "Rodeo Road Trip", and they could be harmful.
Of course, as Hollinger said, the Spurs are different than us in that they've had a cakewalk schedule till now, and February will their month of hurtin.
http://www.nba.com/games/20071128/HOUPHX/recap.html the win over the warriors reminded me of the phoenix game above, Yao had 31 pts and 13 rebounds! Tmac did play in that game, which makes the gsw game all the more special. Imagine what the rox could do if they can keep Yao and mac on the court simultaneously along with everyone else hitting their shots and playing good D.
Anyone bothers having a look at the Dark March? That is where we might be determined for the final rank in Western Conference. I am sure we will be playing well in Feb. But worrying about the March Sun 02 vs Denver (win) Wed 05 vs Indiana (win) Thu 06 @ Dallas (lose) Sat 08 vs New Orleans (win) Mon 10 vs New Jersey (win) Wed 12 @ Atlanta (win or lose) Fri 14 vs Charlotte (win) Sun 16 vs LA Lakers (win or lose) Tue 18 vs Boston 8:30pm (win or lose) Wed 19 @ New Orleans (lose) Fri 21 @ Golden State (lose) Sat 22 @ Phoenix (lose) Mon 24 vs Sacramento (win or lose) Wed 26 vs Minnesota (win) Sun 30 @ San Antonio (win or lose) I just do not know how many wins we could get...
Where do we draw the line at a successful March?? 8-7?? 11-4?? I think we go 10-5. The Rockets went 3-2 in January against the 5 western powers they played. If we go .500 against the west powers that puts us 4-4 and then a 7-1 against the rest (including Boston)gives us 11-4. 9-6 is still .600 ball, so thats still IMO acceptable.
Yea,the progress we made in January deserve our praise,especially our 4 rookies(including NOVAK),they have been the important strength in this team,their existence make our bench really deepth. But look at the negative side,we still can't reduce turnovers,T-MAC still can't fit into the team's system,we still can't keep the intensity...damn...we still have a lot of work to do...
The key of beating such small-ball teams should be:high FG% and less turnovers,that needs us do more drives and pay more attentions.then,we can slow them down to the halfcourt ball,and have good chance to utilize our advantage--height.
The definition of "Brutal Schedule"... 2 back-to-backs in 5 days, one against the best regular season team, 3 against the fastest teams in the league.
Agreed, but not a bad sign when you still have major issues and either are very much in tough games or beat (other) play-off bound teams. If we have high aspirations, it would be bad if we 1) lose to all of the good teams or 2) if we appear to be stepping out of our shoes when we beat good teams. Neither is true. This team can still get a lot better and a lot more consistent.
Actually turnovers have been way down in the last 20 games or so. Don't let a single game with a high turnover total skew your perception. T-Mac has been fitting into the system. Team has looked a lot more intense the past 20 games than the 20 games or so prior to that.
