This season has been a drama fest like no other, but I have been and always will be a Rockets fan for better or worse. I don't know what it is but ever since the Bucks game this team feels stronger and closer and I'm not even in the locker room. It's being seen out on the court. Guys are passing, communicating, driving, being just downright hardnosed on defense, and playing with a since of urgency. We look like a team that is ready for the playoffs the past few games. We look like the same team that won 22 games in a row but stronger in alot of ways. We may have a team full of roleplayers but good god they are the best in the league in my opinion. Give me Luis Scola any day over Amare, give me Aaron Brooks over Allen Iverson, or give me Shane Battier any day over Rudy Gay. These guys have heart and thats what matters in the end. I will even take a loss if I can see that our guys busted their ass for 48 minutes. And yes most of these teams have been below .500 that we have beat the past few games but those were some of the teams we were struggling against with T-mac in the line-up. I just want the Rockets organization to know that I appreciate the organization and how hard this team is playing lately. And if they chose to sit T-mac the rest of the year with or without a surgery I'm ok with that too. As long as this is how we are going to play from here on out all my negativity toward this team is washed away and I and hopefully everyone else can enjoy this team that we have been with for a very long time. Anyways here's to a getting out of the first round and to a 23 game winning streak to get there. Bleed Red and GO ROCKETS!
Hear hear. Here's a telling stat. The last four games the Rox have held their opponent to under 90 points. The game before that was T-Mac's last and they lost 124-112.
So the effort is clearly there now, the team's bonding and the improved ball movement and defense are really fun to watch. At the very least we're seeing good, entertaining ball now.
Thats exactly what I'm trying to say, this team is actually fun to watch again and I feel like every game we actually have a chance to win. The past few months its been almost depressing to watch the games and I'm just so happy that everyone is seeming to come together.
Great Post. I, too, am proud to be a rockets fan. Look at what we have! Luis: Hustlemaniac Chuck: Great story, Gives it his all Artest: Intensity night in, night out. Mutombo: A Classic! Brooks/Lowry/Landry/Wafer: young players giving it their all to be successful and help the team. We have something to cheer for here and a really great team. The sad part is, we have seen one player, Tracy McGrady, offset all of the aforementioned traits of our team. Hm..
What? We beat Sacramento by 11 and New Jersey by 23 with Tracy in the lineup earlier this year... That's not exactly "struggling"
Amen. All this pessimism and talk about other teams not being fearful of us means nothing to me. The real fans will always find something to be proud of. I see a picture perfect finish in the regular season and a pretty successful playoff run.
And dropped games to NY, Philly, Minnesota, etc. The Rockets have lost around 7 times so far to last place teams. And the worst thing about some of those losses, like the one to NY, were that the Rockets were leading going into the fourth and choked. Now McGrady's gone and the Rockets are taking care of business--they never take their foot off the gas. Coincidence?
I almost feel bad for [him] because I know he has tried, but then again, he has 20 million reasons not to feel bad.
The offense looks crisp like a machine. We are passing balls like nothing and guys are trusting each other to make shots. The team is running down the court and knows where to get in position to score. The D is working together. I love this team but I keep my eyes on the action all game now
Another thing that gets me excited is that we have been without Landry since the trade deadline, we will be even deeper when he comes back. I hope we get him back for the Portland game. And I am getting really excited about the Cavs game this week so Yao can take his promise of "We will see you in Houston" and shove it up all the media outlets ass since they just can't get enough of Lebron and Kobe lately.
I understand that, but it's not like those were the teams we were struggling with. The most impressive game was the Dallas game. Not because we beat a pretty good team that night, but because this team overcame 22 turnovers and a big deficit to win it. They gave up a pretty good lead (twice) in the second half, but instead of putting their heads down and giving up, they punched back and willed their way to victory. They hit clutch shots and played great defense at the end of it. THAT is what this team has been missing. Hopefully they can keep this going through the week.
i feel quite better lately, but i'm also afraid that frustrations can still set in. i'm not talking about the win-loss thing. somehow i feel in a day or 2 we are gonna see a brand new chapter of the mcgrady drama. he's not gonna have surgery and says he'd be back in a month or so just to catch up. adelman is gonna grow some more gray hair. (p.s. - i'd be very happy if i am wrong on this.)
Now that T-Drama is done for the year I'm really looking forward for the rest of the season and see how great Ron Ron plays with the current roster.
i know we have been playing against some bad teams lately but i really feel like this team can get out of the first round. ...we shall wait and see...
Great post, OP. I too really like this team. We've upgraded the whole team in terms of effort and ability.
Totally wonderful post.... I LOVE watching this team play, and think the team AS ASSEMBLED NOW, can make noise in the playoffs. Why not NOW !!!! DD