My thoughts on the Portland Game, the season, and the future.

Mt thoughts on the Portland Game, the season, and the future.

Believe it or not, I actually had a good time at the game last night. Actually, I had a great time. It may have been a double-digit loss, ending a miserable season, but it felt like a moral victory.

After a miserable first quarter in which the Rockets fell behind 26-9, they pretty much kept with Portland for the rest of the game, and challenged them in the end. Without Steve and Cuttino, the pressure of needing to see a Rockets win was off for me. I knew they would lose, the question was only by how much. I had a great time cheering the scrubs on. I thought they played as hard as they could, which is something the Rockets' stars have not always done.

Those guys played their guts out, and I was proud to be one of the few Rockets fans clapping and cheering for them. If not for that horrid first quarter, and that ******* motherf****** Steve Kerr, the team of Rockets role players would have whipped Portland.

Of the six Rockets games I have attended, four have been losses. This one was by far the most enjoyable, if losses can be. The margin was always between nine and fifteen. That’s not bad when you consider that the starting lineup was originally set as the third string lineup at the season’s beginning.

One of the highlights of the evening came in the parking lot, after the game. As I was pulling out, I saw an incredibly tall man walking along with a few short guys. He looks like a basketball player, I thought. I looked closer, and saw that he was none other than Kelvin Cato. He was in a hurry, and I couldn't get an autograph, but I did manage to get a few words in.

Me: Hey, Cato?? (I just wanted to make sure it was him. What a moron, I should have said 'hey, Kelvin'.) "Huge Rockets fan here!"

Kelvin, waving: "Hey, cool, man." or something like that.

Me: "Thanks for the season!"

Kelvin: "Thanks."

Me: "Better luck next year!"

And that was it. He seemed to be in a hurry. Still, it was definitely a highlight. That was as close as I have gotten to a Rocket since Calvin Murphy last year in Portland.

That's one of the things I like about the Rose Garden. The players and fans park in the same lot. Last year, I saw Arvydas Sabonis driving off. Should have followed him...

Anyway, that was it. It was probably a much better game to see from nine rows up than on TV. Kenny was a lot of fun to watch, and I enjoyed seeing my least favorite Rocket (Collier) play well. Nice job by Oscar in shaking off a slow start to score 16. My biggest complaint is that Eddie didn't play enough. No points, but one sweet pass to Terrence for a dunk in the second.

Oh, and the officiating was horrible. The Moochie shot should have been taken away, but why did the Blazers get the ball to start the fourth quarter? Houston won the tap! Absolutely unbelievable.

Hopefully next year, the Rockets will do a bit better in the Pacific Northwest. (1-3, with the losses decided by an average of 20 points, and scoring averages of 80.5)

At least they will get a good draft pick.


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As for the season, obviously it was a massive disappointment. The few positives I found were Cato's improved hustle, the fact that Steve hit a couple game-winners, including one against the Jazz, and that Eddie Griffin guy. He was definitely the highlight. The Rockets need to spend the off-season stocking up on good, solid role players. I would like to see Walt re-signed, as well as Willis, though that is unlikely. This team does NOT need to get younger. They need good defenders and shooters. Eddie can and will develop a low-post game, I firmly believe that. He will be the Rockets' answer to Rasheed, Webber, and Garnett in the west. Hopefully he can bulk up this off-season. The pieces are in place, Houston just needs the glue, health, and some time.

Also, the Rockets need to get healthy. The thought of having an improved Eddie Griffin, along with Mo Taylor, Glen Rice, and a healthy core of Steve and Cuttino excites me greatly. Kenny is a definite keeper, and I think Terrence and Oscar could both be solid. The Rockets could go from being crap, to being one of the deeper teams in the league.

Rudy needs to teach this team some defense, and a few new plays. The offense was stagnant. I didn’t find the Rockets to be boring, as Fran said, I just found them to be pain-causing. There were plenty of good, close games. There were great stretches in games where the offense was smooth, and the defense was spectacular. Consistency please!

The playoffs are an absolute must next year. The Jazz and Suns are finished, and the Wolves are vulnerable. If the Rockets don't make it next year, then Rudy needs to be canned. He did a poor job adjusting to the new rules, and getting his team to “bring it”, especially in the final weeks. He needs to teach this team to play at their level, rather than lowering themselves as soon as an awful team is on the docket.

Get well Rockets, win one or two up here next year!

 

"Mt thoughts", great. Any chance a friendly admin could change that to "My thoughts"? It would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks very much.

 

Thanks Crispee. It was fun seeing him up-close. Good Lord he's tall! He's a frigging giant! It was strange to see him on the second floor, however. You'd think the Blazers could provide him with a decent spot.