Ever heard of "Ewing Theory? " Yes, I'm ripping off the idea (read up on the link if you need more of an explanation). Basically the theory is that when a team has a mega star that goes down to injury the rest of the team actually performs better. My thought is that the team may have already experienced some of this during the post-Yao period of the streak. That may have been what helped to win 10 more games. But I'm counting on it resurfacing in the playoffs since this will be the first time in the Yao era that he is on the team but unavailable in the playoffs. I truly hope I'm onto something... or... well the original theorist is on to something, and that it pans out for the Rockets. It can't hurt right? It's not like we have a choice in finding out this season. So here's to our version of the whole phenomenon. Why not monitor this and have some fun with it? If this holds in our case. I'll say we get into the 2nd round or better. This year's been unbelievable anyway, right? Just my stab at hope. Discuss if you'd like.
The "Ewing Theory" better be in effect in the playoffs...because since the winning streak ended, we've just been playing worse without Yao. If the Ewing Theory is in effect in the playoffs, we'll have a good chance of making it out of the first round.
Not entirely. Landry is obviously not 100%, and T-Mac hasn't been either... and Rafer has been absent as well... Scola may have slightly hit a wall, too. Trust in the Yao Theory. Believe it!
if this indicative of his whole 8 posts - then you would have to wonder how this dude achieved member status.
It already happened for this team during the 22 game winning streak, other teams did not know how we were going to play...and they got burned. Not anymore. DD
I don't think the other teams caught on to how the Rockets are playing it is just that the team ran out of gas and Landry is still not 100%. I don't know if Landry will ever be 100% but if he is the Rockets will be tough to beat.
we've been playing worse b/c not all our guys are healthy. in fact, going 6-5 after the streak is admirable. you dont' remember what landry's finishing capability did to our offense 5-6 games after yao went down? we were extremely efficient. tmac had a lot of spacing to operate. battier is injured too so he struggled 2-3 games the past week. rafer's injury MAY have affected his shooting (idk possibly ). and tmac's shoulder has limited him as we have seen. again, adelman wont' play them a lot of minutes but i want them to regain the rhythm they had during the streak. those things weren't luck that we did during the streak. those things were due to execution, effort, hustle, and heart.
The "Ewing Theory" happened to the Knicks during the playoffs. I really hope it does that to this team. It won't necessarily prove they are better without Yao but it will prove how much fight they have.
but they were not really an 8th seed. they had a ton of potential with or without ewing. allan houston and sprewell were one of the best combos. larry johnson was mad clutch. camby provided the D ewing would never provide at that stage in his career. and they had a lot of things go right (allan houston's game-winning shot v. th heat; larry johnson's 4pter...). we will need a "few" breaks here and there (like most teams do--spurs last yr with the suspensions, dallas against us in 04-05). maybe more breaks than the average "great" team but we will need them.
This team has constantly gelled and played better when only Yao or only McGrady is in the lineup for long stretches. Maybe with them both on the court we can't figure out an identity. I'm one of those that feels we play better basketball when our identity is Yao-centric. Low post offense, reliable play. Yao has obvious handicaps (can't ask him to come out high on the Amare's of the game in small ball situations), but our play is consistent. Behind McGrady, our offense (and defense) becomes bipolar. When McGrady and the team get hot, they're unstoppable at both ends. When McGrady comes out flat (and he mails in far more games than Yao), everything falls apart. Guys fall in love with jumpers that don't fall, easy baskets disappear, and the defense can be taken advantage of - especially when so many positions give up a size advantage. In the playoffs, you need to be able to bring your A game no less than 3 out of every 4 games. Some nights your A game won't be enough, so you can't afford to give away games because your legs are tired and you shy away from attacking the rim. With Yao, it's far easier to get the ball in deep than it is to constantly attack from the perimeter. Evan
If you look at the record since the streak the Rockets have been pretty consistent. They beat the teams they were supposed to and came up short against the elite talent in the league--often by wide margins. The Rockets are a good team without Yao, but good hasn't been enough to overcome the likes of the Celtics or the Suns. The question is will it be enough to get past one round of the playoffs.
Ewing was an overrated player on an underrated team who played hard. Yao isn't overrated at all and our team isn't underrated.
if Ewing was overrated then Yao is overrated. at least Ewing took his team to the finals. Yao can't even stay healthy for a season or lead us past the first round.
Ewing was a great player but nowhere near the level of the Dream or other great centers but people continually mention his name right along with them. Alot of people don't really consider Yao the best center in the league now (some say Dwight is) with the weak cast of centers we have now. When rankings for all-star games come out people always say Camby should start. I think you misread me. I definately don't think Yao is better than Ewing but he is at least as good as everyone thinks he is. Ewing had the benefit of playing in New York where he was overhyped, he was a great player but shouldn't be placed in the same sentence as the GOATs like dream, Jabar, wilt, russel. Ewing never really did anything that he wasn't supposed to do. He took a good defensive team with talented players to the finals.
It really hurts your delicate and tender little feelings every time someone says something non-negative about Yao Ming. Now go to your mommy and cry that the world is not being fair to you.
Well, I will agree that Landry's injury has affected our play significantly...but T-mac and Alston really have no excuse. They played pretty badly before their respective injuries hit them. Notice how with Alston out, the team actually plays a bit better.
