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[minor comparison and long read] 2016 Houston Rockets and 2014 Indiana Pacers

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by oogie boogie, Apr 29, 2016.

  1. oogie boogie

    oogie boogie Member

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    First, I'd like to say that this is merely an off-season thread and shouldn't be taken too seriously. Just a comparison I'd like to make. Second, of course the '14 Pacers were better than the '16 Rockets, but I'd like to point out a few similarities. Also, I might just started rambling and whatnot, but just try to follow my thoughts and understand my thinking.


    The first thing I want to point out are the two proceeding seasons of both teams. Houston finished with 56 wins and a surprise visit to the WCF and got beat by a historical team. The Pacers finished with 49 wins and a surprise visit to the ECF and got beat by an also historic team in a very competitive series.

    The following season one team made major improvements and strides to become better while the other completely collapsed before the season started. The Rockets finished 41-41 and the Pacers finished 56-26. You're thinking that these teams can't be compared, but I think differently..

    The Indiana Pacers started extremely strong.. from 18-2 to 25-5 and to 33-7. By all-star break their record was a respectable 40-12. What followed afterwards was one of the biggest team collapses in recent time. The Pacers finished the season 16-14. That's 30 games of mediocrity which is roughly about 35.6% of the season. Not too much, but very noticeable when you're ending the season that way. I think this is the one key difference between those Pacers and our Rockets. One team was mediocre for the entire season and the other finished the season very mediocre after starting off very strong.

    The Rockets finished 8th facing a 73 win team and all 4 losses were complete blow outs in a gentlemen's sweep. Nothing to be proud of. The Pacers made their way to the ECF, but by comparison the competition they faced was adorable. They barely escaped the 38 win Hawks in 7 games after being down 3-2. The Pacers were also extremely inconsistent with the 44 win Wizards, but won in 6 games. They also went to 6 games with the 54 win Miami heat. You'd think that the Pacers did well, but if you look at what happened to the Heat in those finals (15, 19, 21, and 17 point losses) you could clearly say that the Pacers would have also done much worse than the Heat and likely would have been beat down to the same magnitude the Rockets got beat down if the Pacers played the 62 win Spurs in the first round. The Warriors without Curry are still a well oiled machine which those Spurs clearly were.


    So what happened to the Pacers? They started off so well, yet collapsed? Who was put to blame? Frank Vogel? Larry Bird? Paul George? The coach, the president of BO, and the superstar didn't share ANY of the blame. Vogel still has his job to this day, Bird is still respected as a president(he's been in this position from 2003-2012, and 2013 to present time which is MUCH longer than Morey yet....never mind /shade), and Young Trece is also still respected. It's weird because George started off that season very strong and was considered a MVP candidate that season, but then his play fell off in the middle of the season. Meanwhile James started off poorly and finished strong.

    The people who were blamed for the Pacers collapse were Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert as you can tell by the off-season moves. Attempting to re-sign Lance but failing, and shipping off Hibbert to L.A. No one ever put the blame on Larry Bird, Vogel, or George. (Not saying they should have.)

    Yet here in Houston the media blame is clearly going towards Morey, Harden and Dwight. Bickerstaff is protected in the media(not Houston) for some reason, and the rest of the players are also exempt from blame. The way I see it the Rockets did the same thing the Pacers did, but for the entire season rather than just the end of the season. The whole team just played bad and the chemistry was clearly gone for both teams.

    So I ask what's the difference other than sample size and time of collapse? Media and some fans alike are quick to blame our front office for what they can't control and blame our franchise player. Yet in Indiana, Bird who has had a long reign in being president of BO and having teams full of hot heads over the years wasn't dragged in the media (because he had nothing to do w/ two players on the team having a scuffle after a great season before.) Paul George didn't hear anything even though his production did decrease over the season. First 30 games (24 on 47/40) Next 30 games (22 on 40/35) Final 20 games (19 on 37/32) Ok, what the hell?? I'll just forget about this since I still love and respect Trece as a player.

    I just want to know why the blame is so different? Why is Morey being blamed for keeping the same team and it blowing up on itself, but Bird's team blew up on itself in the middle of the season and he has nothing to do with it even though he built it? Why was George still respected and not dragged around the media and internet despite his play clearly deteriorating, but Harden is being blamed for everything despite playing better? Is it because one guy sucks at defense and is elite offensively and the other guy was elite defensively yet was garbage offensively? What's the difference? The only similarity I see is how Hibbert was treated compared to Dwight.

    In Indiana the entire team around George was pretty much blamed for their poor play and George shared some, but he wasn't dragged despite his poor play. In Houston most of the players around Harden aren't liked around the media, but they don't get the heap of the blame unlike Dwight, Harden, and Morey are getting. Especially James. Jesus, it's insufferable how much blame James is getting. Yes, he deserves blame. Of course, but you have some people believing it's all his fault. You have people saying Morey hasn't done anything since he's been here in 2007 and should be canned/his method doesn't work, but Bird has been in Indiana since 2003 yet his reign as president of basketball operations isn't anything to brag about either.

    Sorry, this has become a bit of a rant. What do you guys think? Am I just excusing our guys, or do I have a fair point?
     
  2. RESINator

    RESINator Member

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    Because Morey is arrogant, deflects blame, and we have Dwight Howard.
     
  3. Karolik

    Karolik Member

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    Because we our cornerstone player is an immature diva, and would rather go to the strip club, then work on his game.
     
  4. clos4life

    clos4life Member

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    Because our "fans" are sour pusses that have been itching for years to finally have a reason to criticize. Unfortunately, they have one this year and they are coming out of the walls like the cockroaches they are.
     
    1 person likes this.
  5. oakdogg

    oakdogg Contributing Member

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    I don't know. I think the hate on James is totally irrational. I think it may be due to the narrative that James doesn't give effort on defense. If George's shots weren't falling, I doubt anybody blamed lack of effort. Your average Joe does not appreciate a lack of effort - nobody does.

    Roy Hibbert's freefall defined that Pacers' collapse IMO. I remember he'd have box scores of 0-0-0. Did anybody ever conclude whether George banged Hibbert's wife?
     

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