The Rockets can go one of two ways: 1) Lose most of their remaining games, gobbling up as many Lotto balls as possible; or 2) Have a respectable finish. It's still possible, actually, to finish 9-2 and end the season with a .500 record. What would you rather see? I've gone back and forth. Tanking is tempting. At first blush, it seems like the long-term move, the smart move. The only move. But. Here's what gives me pause. As most of us would agree, our franchise will only go as far as the Big Fella takes us. Yes, role players are important. The coach is important. (And T-Mac's back is certainly important). But we all know the key variable, the question mark that will determine how much confetti we get to throw: the progression, stamina, and mindset of Yao Ming. Yao's emergence has been a brilliant silver lining. Extending that logic, wouldn't it be great if we could finish the season strong, with a 9-2 record, say, and give Yao a surge of confidence that will sow the seeds for future greatness? Something to consider. Also. About the draft. It's not like we're the Texans and have an inside track on the #1 seed. We're talking about moving up 2, 3, maybe 4 spots at the most. Even if the stars align, we lose all our remaining games (and, to my earlier point, perhaps stunting Yao's confidence in his leadership), we'll be a #6 seed at best. As for the ping-pong balls? I don't have the odds in front of me, but even if we lose every remaining game, we will MOST LIKELY not get a top-3 pick. And by most likely, I mean something like an 85% chance that we won't get it. So. With that in mind. What would you rather see? Wins or losses? Edited to add: I never have been good at a little thing called "fact checking." Or math. The Rockets need to go 10-1 to finish at .500, not 9-2.
Does anyone remember when the Rockets lost 15 of their last 18 in 2001-2002? Or do you only remember that we got Yao Ming?
I think tanking is a better option,because we can actually gain something of it.This season full of injuries and bad managing decisions was a nightmare,except the part of Yao finally becoming the player he was projected to be.What's the goal of pushing this last 11 games?We can only let the young guys play most of the minutes to either increase their trade value or secure a spot on the roster.If I was JVG,I would let Stro play big minutes for the remainder of the season,i believe if he gets pt he would eventually become a good player for this team.In the first couple of games he wouldn't be that good,but after a few games he would start to play better.
the remaining 11 games are no joke, and regardless of what happened last night against the sonics, we could lose a lot of them even if were NOT tanking that being said, i would hate to see the rockets overtly throw away games (a la the texans...kris brown against the titans, and dont get me started on the rams game, but i digress)...for one, were gonna need more help than just moving up in the draft to take a marginally better player than what wed get right now i know a lot of people disagree, and ill add that i HATE duke with a fiery passion, but either one of their guys would fit real well on our team anyways, and they both could be had even if we dont tank i say we give the fans like myself a reason to keep coming out and give the young guys a shot of confidence for next season, it has indeed been tough...but i dont wanna be compared to that 96-97 spurs team that sat robinson to get duncan ...well, its a lot but i guess thats all i got to say right now
Sac is at 36-36. We have won 2 out of 3 against them this year. They have 10 games left. We are at 31-40. We have 11 games left. If we win every game we have left, and they lose 5 out of 10, we make the playoffs (assuming no other teams make a push). I say we keep trying to win until we are mathematically eliminated. Although I admit it bugs me to see them winning now, when it feels like it's too late.
I'm sorry gang, tanking just seems so...weaksauce to me. I know it's in the best interest of the teams future to get a higher pick in the lottery, but...this is a competitive sports team. I guess it's a good thing they would never think about tanking. By they I mean Yao and JVG...and hopefully the rest of the organization.
Rockets should play out the season and win the games if possible. I rather go out strong. GO ROCKETS!!!
So you're saying there's a chance..... all kidding aside, i like your style, GoatBoy. i wear similar rose-colored glasses. True, it takes a nosedive to get a blue-chip pick. And yeah, I still have fond memories of that 3-15 finish. But there's no Yao Ming in this year's draft. Plus, we're not as close to that '01 team to being in the top (bottom) 3. Unfortunately, I think we're smack dab in the middle of success (playoffs) and success through failure (#1-3 pick), with almost zero chance of getting either one. Good times.
I'm all about the lottery balls. Every win like last night is utterly painfull. Forget the winning culture, this season is over. Think of the big picture. If I had my way Yao would be on the IR with a pulled hamstring for the remainder of the season, too guarantee a #6 or #8 pick.
I don't know the details about how lotter works. But with Tmac out, Wesley out (or won't be effective due to injury), Rockets won't win more than 70% for the 11 games left. So they will probably end up as a team with the 13th or 14th worst record. Assuming both Tmac and Yao will be healthy next season, all we need are solid role players. With a little bit luck, Rockets should get a pick close to 10th pick. That should be good enough. So no need to tank on purpose. And I ran the lottery generators for a few minutes and get the Rockets a #1 pick!
Yep. I think we get a pick around number 10. If we get Tracy back for 65-60 games next season and get some shooters to replace Sura and Barry, I still say we win 55 games next year.
Win Baby. Let the chips fall were they may. These are our Rockets people. No that crappy Arena Football team at Reliant.
No question, the Rockets should be trying to win every game. But, I'll be rooting for the lotto balls.
Pride? What pride? We lost it in Game 7 last year and haven't found it ever since. If we lose all the way and get a high lotto pick to improve our team, come next year with (hopefully) a healthy T-Mac, we can get all the pride we want.
go for wins, guys! You can be never sure you will draft the right piece for this team unless a top-5 pick. I would say the 6-15th place in this draft makes little difference.
This team should win everygame they can. I can never, ever, root for team to lose. At this point in the season, if they lose it doesn't tear me up but I still want a win. This draft is fairly light, IMO, so tanking on purpose seems silly. We'll end up with a mid 1st rounder who can, hopefully, be a solid addition to our team. This year and next years success has and will be predicated on the health of T-mac and Yao.
Half of players won't be here next season. Of course they will play hard to pad their stats. Don't worry.
Empty the bench, the present is meaningless, the future counts. Low minutes for Ming, high minutes for the scrubs.
