It might not be true with you, but alot of people would be lying to you if they said it was all about basketball. ALOT of people do not like Kevin McHale just because he's Kevin McHale. The Rockets organization has history with the Celtics from back in the day that might attribute to this, but its naive to think that this is all about basketball since so many people HATED him from day 1. I've never stood up for his coaching decisions that were at fault. The guy obviously isn't a top half of the league coach, and I'm pretty much leading the bandwagon with that statement. I'm not in love with the Rockets offensive sets even though I understand why they run it. On defense, I think he was proven wrong by JB Bickerstaff that his "fall-back" defensive philosophy beforehand was not right for the modern NBA, and they needed to re-vamp their system to provide more pressure on attacking guards. However, despite my criticism with McHale's offense, and defensive coaching techniques... I do like to call a spade a spade when I see it. I'm perfectly capable saying that I do think he's unfairly criticized just like many pro sports coaches are nowadays. Its easy to blame the over-weight, middle-aged, balding guy who you see picking his nose on national TV. That guy can be cut any point, and it wont hurt your salary cap. , and there is always a bigger name out there that you think can do a better job. This is something bigger than just the Rockets and Kevin McHale. This is a pro-sports thing. I mean the Denver Broncos just hired Gary Kubiak for crying out loud.
The Warriors are just a better team. They always have a game plan on both ends, and stick with it. Their ball movement, and off-ball player movement are just amazing. On the other hand, the Rockets are just too predictable on the half court, either dump to Howard and watch, or let Harden 1on1 and watch. There is almost ZERO off-ball movement. The Rockets are talent enough to beat some team, but not good enough to beat a quality this way.
Dead on man, this, so much this... I mean sure if we're okay with regards to the regular season performance (22 win streak anyone) then the Rockets did great, but if you're a fan that's all-in and have been watching for years, we just aren't seeing the improvement needed. I mean they're basically good enough to perform in the regular season but bad enough to not do anything when it matters. And OP I know I've become pessimistic, but I'm not starting threads on why we need to trade our star player, or why this is bad after a loss... Blah blah etc. But I will tell you that the team just isn't there yet. I've watched enough Rockets basketball, that injuries/effort/chemistry is really screwing this team. Harden is special but the Rockets will basically waste the opportunity unless something changes. I mean maybe a change could be not treating your team like assets, or not signing a coach to an extension during the freaking season. Ooh what about not chasing big names to sell tickets but start giving a **** about the playoffs... I mean, I will always watch the Rockets, but damn, you can't expect people to not complain intelligently. I mean it's become "next year" talk forever now, it's time they did something for the real fans. Maybe I'm not giving the new team a fair shot, but looking over the past performances since 97 we don't have a lot to be excited about (yet?). For example I'd talk these guys up every year to watch them basically get stomped, it gets old when I'm debating with the Spurs fans that live in my area, knowing regular season doesn't mean ****, and that their team has been pretty damn successful, I mean look how long they've been doing well, they haven't even had to rebuild/tank since Duncan, and have surrounded him with great players. That tells me either Les/Morey do a ****ty job looking at talent or we need to change something. Spurs have gotten some pretty damn good players with high picks and even some nice trades, it's not like San Antonio is a tier one destination. I ****ing hate the Spurs, but ****, if our team was even 1/2 as good I'd feel a lot better.
It would be interesting to see what this team could do with a great coach and great point guard and t j back.
it's not when they lose, it's how they lose. giving up wide open 3's to gsw, horrible transition defense, enbarrassing shot selection, 20+ turnovers, zero ball movement, low % shooters having the green light, questionable rotations, no game plan...
This is concerning. Dwight can not post up. So why do we keep trying? Is that a McHale decision? Is that a Dwight ego demand? If it is Dwights ego we are in trouble. He will have to have an "awakening" much the same like Dream had when he began to pass out of the double team for open three's. If it is a McHale thing. We are still in trouble because apparently the man does not know how to adapt. Sure you can have your bread and butter or default like the title teams had. Post of up dream and kick it out when doubled. But, if you are going to go deep you HAVE to adjust. If teams are going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at Harden and dare you to beat them with other players. We better damn well be able to pencil out a few plays to do just that. Beat them with other players. If we can't do that then sometime around late April we are all going to be licking our wounds, Plugging in an old VHS cassette from 95 and watch some old static filled images of better times wondering if maybe next year we can break through. Frankly I am sick of this draught. One and done in the playoffs gets old. Feeding off pond scum like the Astros is getting old. Dog ***** seasons like 2-14 from the TEXANS is getting old. I want to be proud to live in Houston. But our pro sports teams are not stepping up.
Agree on all of those, but let me also gave you an example. The Houston Texans was one point this season at 5-6, basically about 90% eliminated from the playoff, and somehow they won 4 of their last 5 and also had a mathematical chance to get into the playoff the last week. And even they failed, people somehow had much more hope and happier than 2 months ago when we were even worse in the QB and more question marks in the future. Fans mostly care what is happening right now, in this minute, from what they are seeing and hearing.
GS is a better team and the Rockets need to improve or add pieces. Not an overreaction. We need to fire McHale, Morey and trade Dwight for a role player. Overreaction.
I am having trouble tempering my expectations. I am tired of swimming around in a pool of dog ****. This city has had precisely dick to get excited about since 2005 when the Astros made the world series. Why we locked up McHale for three years has me scratching my head. Yea, a players coached worked with Rudy T. But frankly Forrest Gump could have been the coach with #34 anchoring your team. I am not convinced that "players coaches" are all that special for a team.
When you see Toyota Center with all those empty seats, it shows you how much people in this town care about our sports as comparing to other smaller cities. It is what it is, if you are an adult, its your choice to live here, reality is a b****.
This is another gripe I have with Les. He needs to adapt to the new NBA. He got spoiled when he inherited the title teams and has never made an effort to change with the times. Rudy's success came in a different era. Illegal defenses were allowed. So not only was he blessed with the most dominant big man of his time in the post, but the league required the opposing team to single cover him until he received the ball(unless they were good at cheating like Seattle). So you could get away with a basic, boring offense like the dump it in and kick it out for a 3-pointer system. In fact, that system became even more successful during the 2nd title run since the 3-point was moved in closer. That's not the case anymore. Teams can play zone. They can double your big man even if he doesn't have the ball. They can make ISO'ing a lot tougher than it used to be back in the 90's. Not to mention that we don't have a post player as skilled as Dream on the roster anymore. Hell, Dwight is arguably not even as good down low as Otis Thorpe with the way he's been playing lately. The organization needs to change its thinking and start to diversify the offense(like they did during Adelman's tenure). If McHale is incapable of doing that and there's no assistant out there who can do it for him, then he needs to go. And I agree about the concept of a players coach. I always hated that term because to me it means a coach players like because he gives them free reign. Of course a bunch of young, undisciplined guys are gonna enjoy playing for someone like that. You know the worst that'll happen if your effort is lacking is you get benched after you spot the other team a 20+ point lead. But you'll be right back in the lineup playing the same minutes the next game.
Most adults will not base where they live on sports. That would be a child type decision. Yes, the lower bowl is mainly corporate season ticket holders. The upper bowl is pretty much full every game.
The Warriors have been beaten by these teams this season: Suns on Nov. 9 (Road) Spurs on Nov. 11 (Home) Grizzlies on Dec. 16 (Road) Lakers on Dec. 23 (Road) Clippers on Dec. 25 (Road) Thunder on Jan. 16 (Road) The Clippers have seemed to have the Rockets number for the last couple of seasons. Now we can add the Warriors to that list. With the exception of the Clippers, the Rockets have beaten the other teams that have beaten the Warriors. Memphis and the Thunder are not so-so teams. Match-ups do matter. Remember when Seattle had the Rockets number? The Rockets wanted and got Barkley, primarily, for him to get them over the hump and beating them. That worked out, but the Rockets couldn't get to the finals that year. That was only slightly less disappointing than losing to Seattle. There is no doubt that both the Warriors and the Clippers make the Rockets look worse than they really are, due to match-up issues. Match-ups in this case has to include Rockets turnovers playing into their style of offense, as well as individual match-ups. Also, their duo of Curry and Thompson has a synergy that just seems above other guard duos in the league. Their ball and player movement is also excellent. IMO, the Rockets won't face the Warriors in the first round unless they fall to the eighth seed. We'll have to see who they are matched up with in the first round. One can always hope history gets made again. Because there are more competitive teams -- in the West, especially -- this year, It isn't so far fetched to expect upsets. This article recalls memorable upsets from the past. (Note the records of the #1 seeds in those contests.)
To be honest I'm the type of fan who's always more worried about losing than I am excited about the prospect of winning. I see each season as a work in progress and it's all about who we have on the floor after the trade deadline. I think that's the only time we can realistically see what we have and how to make it work. It all just comes down to match ups and I'm sure GS wants no part of a team like OKC in the first round. I like our chances against any team outside of GS. I really do, because they each have their flaws, just like us. All these calls to trade Dwight are just nonsense. How does that make us look if we trade a player less than two years into his deal considering the effort that was put into bringing him to the Rockets in the first place. We, like many other teams are far from perfect. Let's hope we can get that extra piece, get healthy, get that right matchup and peak at the right time. It's happened before.
In his defense, Harden's lack of playoff success is not a knee-jerk subject. It is two-years running, paired with two years (before this year) of bad D. And let's not praise him as a savior on the defensive side: win shares overrate what he has played mediocre-decent D. Which is fine for his offensive load. Really, with his MVP campaign, people seem to forget he had an incredible regular season last year and stunk in the playoffs. Any who, IMHO, not a knee-jerk. Trading H&H for Kevin Love, well... knee-jerk.
Here's some perspective. Swap James Harden for Steph Curry and keep both teams surrounding the two players? What team does better with the swap?
You're seeing clearly, the OP is a bonehead. Blind as a bat. Some people just aren't hungry enough to see the big picture.
