Sorry if this isn't worthy of it's own thread. I am a huge Clutchfans fan. Many of the posters on here and the media that has risen out of it (Clutchfans podcast and @BimaThug twitter) are amazing for their insight on the Rox (game recaps, analysis, rumors, etc). But I absolute abhor the overreaction that happens each time the Rox lose. It is almost enough to make me not visit the site. We don't need to trade Dwight each time we lose. We don't need to fire McHale each time we lose a game. We don't need to fire Morey. Building a championship basketball team is hard. It is a process. If it were easy each team would be able to do it. There are teams better than the Rox. There are teams not as good as the Rox that match up well with them. That is what makes each game, each playoff series, each season so much fun. We currently have the 7th best record in the NBA. We are only 2 games out of second place in the West division. We have a winning percentage of .674. There are three or four teams in the league that are much, much better than us (Golden State, Atlanta, Portland). Other than that - I will take our chances vs any other team in the league. That is a pretty good position to be in. Is our team a championship contender? Maybe... maybe not. But's lets enjoy them for who they are instead of trashing them every time we lose a game. Otherwise relatively levelheaded Clutchfans like myself will migrate to other forums where posters are a bit more educated and sophisticated. I have no idea where those forums are! (let the trashing begin). Conover
You want perspective - we are letting a truly humungous MVP performance by Harden this season go right down the toilet thanks to incompetent coaching.
Excellent post. Hey post some of those other sites. The sheer hysteria is annoying. I am not even sure those team you mentioned are that much better though they are at the moment better.
Its not just Clutchfans. Its just this generation of sports fans, and interactive online media. You saw it last night on Twitter with several apparent "NBA Analysts" that overreacting ridiculously as well and really writing them off. And you know what... its not just the Rockets. If everyone's darling Golden State Warriors went on a 6 game losing streak EVERYONE would be saying they were a fluke, or they are gimmicky or whatever. Hell, the Cleveland Cavaliers have Lebron James, and pretty much everyone has made them a running joke all season long. Here in the next couple weeks they might rattle off 10 wins in a row and everyone will try to act like they called it all season long. We are in the overreaction generation. Its who we are now as a society, and its fairly sad. And that's just with sports. I'm not even going to get into politics where it might be worse.
I partly agree with some of your post, but I disagree about it being not just the Rockets (to the same degree as say Golden State). I truly believe there is something inherently wrong with the Houston's system right now for the expectations that they have. And that's the difference between Golden State, Houston, and say a scrub team like the Lakers. If the Lakers go on a 10 game losing streak, well their fans are all for it because they know they aren't a championship team. They know their pick is only top 5 protected else Phoenix will take it - and they pretty much know they're in an early rebuilding phase. The contending teams like Clippers / OKC / Blazers / Cavs / Houston, etc... Fans of these teams SHOULD have a different expectation. When Cleveland was losing left and right it wasn't because they didn't have enough talent, it was purely because they're system wasn't working. They had no rebounding as evident when Andy V went down for them. They also had bad defensive habits (which they're addressing by getting Mozgov (and to a lesser degree Shumpert). The Rockets' main problem is their offensive scheme. We want to get inside buckets and 3s. We don't make any moves to obtain elite 3 point shooters like the Hawks or Golden State. We also don't have many guys who can drive into the lane for easy lay-ups. We also run the same damn ineffective post play with Dwight way too many times with no end in sight. This is extremely apparent every time we play a contender. And then the next game we'll end up beating the Knicks two nights later on talent alone, a team who's fans probably rejoice at each loss, and somehow convince ourselves we're still a contender. That's the issue with the Rockets right now, and why Clutchfans overreacts so much. We're on track for a first round exit despite semifinals or finals talent because our talent is underachieving through a combination of mismanaged and lack of effort. If Golden State were to lose 5 games in a row without deviating from their current game plan, it would most likely be their 3 pointers finally catching up with them. Their fans don't have to worry about Bogut or David Lee demanding post ups every other possession down the floor and thus don't need to complain about the same pervasive issues we all see.
Conover, thank you for this post. As glaring as our lack of a second playmaker and Dwight's knee troubles are, personal attacks on our players or our coach are not warranted. Every time a poster goes "I don't understand why Kevin McHale can't see this or that" and proposes a magical solution that would presumably solve all our problems, I can't help but shake my head - sure McHale might not be as great as coach as an all-time great like Popovich, but our issues are not that easy to solve. As maddening as is the team's inconsistent energy level and performance, by and large the players are hardworking, want to win, and together are as talented as any other team in the league. The people in the organization, from our GM to our coaches, aren't dumb. If there was a one button solution, they would have pounded the hell out of that button already. Dwight Howard, our second best player, is obviously troubled by his right knee. Two key rotation players in Josh Smith and Corey Brewer are still new. Hell, half of the entire team only joined in the off-season. How many games did Golden State's core have together? I'm not saying that our problems will automatically solve themselves, and accountability is important, but some of the posters here are way too results-oriented. There are some people who lament the decision to sign Dwight Howard (!!) and somehow still argue that we should have built through the draft. Are you kidding me?! Hind sight is 20/20. No one wants to be the Sixers right now. Curse all you want during the game, but after it's over, enjoy a good night's sleep and a hot cup of coffee and stay away from your computer, for your sake. Sheesh.
Once other teams imitate how GSW defends us, we're goners. Only Harden can make this team run, as the schemes the coaches have put in have shown. That's why we are starting to panic. We need to try something else, like a different rotation. Using Canaan or Shved to run some semblance of offense. Holding players accountable for not running the ball and player movement we want. Benching players who don't show effort or are playing badly.
This isn't accurate. Most teams can't imitate how GS defends because they don't have the personnel to do it. GS is boasting the best defense in the league. That's how they're defending EVERYONE, not just the Rockets.
I think this section pretty much sums up what you were getting at I think. I was talking about the overreaction generation, but yes on a separate note, I think anyone with a bit of knowledge of the game of basketball would probably spot out the Rockets volatility from a mile away. They have a philosophy. It works for them a majority of the time which is why the Rockets from an analytic standpoint make a ton of sense. The Rockets will destroy teams a good portion of the time. Other times, they get exposed, and it looks like last night. I have no problem with what Morey has installed in the Rockets offense, because it does work to get your team enough wins in the regular season to be setup well for the playoffs. I do think its a bit gimmicky, and that gimmick probably wont work in the playoffs. -If the team is executing effectively on BOTH ENDS, I think they can win with this system in the playoffs. -If the team isn't executing effectively (turning the ball over, missing 3's, bad defense, not moving the ball), there offensive will be revealed as a regular season gimmick. -If the team isn't executing effectively they can still win in the regular season enough to get in the playoffs. Their offense is an insurance plan in the regular season to manufacture wins. That's really all it is. They don't care about the nights where they will look like bottom feeders because its bound to happen. This is a major philosophy of the team that isn't going anywhere. We'd all like for them to be the June 2014 San Antonio Spurs all the time, but its just not going to happen. The wheels will fall off their offense because of what it is to begin with. What we really need more than anything is the wheels to stop falling off their defense time and time again. They need that more than anything to rely on during these tough stretches.
And by the way, the McHale bashing is not a kneejerk reaction. It's been 4 years now, ever since we lost 6 straight games to end that season because of his love of the Scola-PPat frontline. Maybe he's improved some, but overall he's still ineffective in game adjustments, schemes and rotations.
It depends on your expectations, I expected them to be a championship contender this year, and it is now becoming clear that they really aren't. So, I personally need to temper my expectations - which is not easy - and I honestly don't like the team Morey has assembled, I hate that we constantly get unbalanced players which are good at one thing, but do not have a balanced game while teams like Golden State fill their roster with guys who play both ends. We have won exactly 1 playoff series in about 16 years, that is unacceptable as a Rockets fan... DD
They may not be able to defend as well as GSW, but now they know how to beat us, unless our coaches try something else. MEM, MIA always send two guys to defend Harden. Who else? NOP with Davis and Asik just terrorizes us at the rim.
You know what I abhor? Haughtiness!... This isn't Rocket science (pun intended), you have the freedom to read OR not read a thread/quote! No one is being force fed here! If you know the typical reaction in the GARM after a loss, and it is not to your liking, why don't you go to the other forums on CF's? Or do you secretly enjoy all the mayhem in the GARM? The different opinions and reactions in the GARM is actually what I enjoy the most! I don't need/want everyone to agree with me, if they did, what would be the point in coming here? You have the right to your opinion as does everyone else. ....... ....... .......
