In recent posts and one particular article by Fran B*#%berry the 76ers heart and consistency seems to be the general consensus answer for what the Rockets need to advance like the 76ers. Allow me to address the Rockets inconsistencies this past season: First does anyone remember that we had a new power forward we were trying to work into our system? On top of that MoT missed some of the pre season games and many minutes because of injuries at the beginning of the year. About mid way through the year when he started learning the system and some of his injuries healed he really started making a difference. How about our center position? There was one stretch during the middle of the season where that we had no clue who was going to start from night to night. We had poor little Kenny Thomas trying to play the 5 spot against Shaq one night! Cato got hurt out of the gate and Dream spent a big part of the season on IR and to top it all off Collier gets hurt. Injuries seemed to run through our team right before all star break. There were several games when we did not no for sure if Steve or Mobes would play and one game against Golden State that we did not have Steve, Mobes, Taylor or Dream. Our team finally got healthy a few games before the break and suddenly became as consistent as any team in the NBA. I challenge anyone to dispute that with me! On to the teams Heart: Just before the all star break it appeared that our beloved Rockets were already out of the play off picture. How easy would it have been for Franchise, Wink and the rest to just lay down and play for next season. But did they? Hell no! They played with heart and had one of the best second halves of any team in the NBA. They looked almost unstoppable until Dream went back on IR and MoT hurt his ankles. Finally against Minnesota in the last game of the season when they were officially out of the race they played with pride and determination and beat the team we were chasing for the last play off spot. So please some tell me how it is we don't have any heart. Because if you think our Rockets don't have heart then maybe you should subscribe to the NBA League Pass and catch a few Rockets games because this team has tons of heart! ------------------
Your points re. injuries, working in new players are all well taken. That having been said, this team simply sleepwalked thru many games or parts of games, playing with no urgency. I did watch them on cable; a number of games against the Clippers were perfect examples. No, they didn't "bring it" consistently. A lot of that is youth and I expect that area to really improve next year.
The effort was not lacking in those games IMO. The only games the Rockets lacked effort was the losses to Miami and LAC Jan 30 and Feb1 ------------------
GO CRASH GO CRASH GO CRASH ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
I am in full agreement with Crash on this. This team has plenty of heart but just lacks experience along with good frontcourt defense and rebounding. They play hard but make youthful mistakes which should get ironed out in time. I felt in the 2nd half, they made fewer of the youth oriented mistakes and showed continued signs of improvement. It gets annoying when people take shots at this Rockets team considering the full scale re-building has only gone on for slightly less than 2 seasons. This team is improving at a rapid rate and will only continue to get better as more pieces are added and the core players gain more experience. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Didnt the rockets hand the Sixers the worst beating they had taken all year and I think it was in the Sixers own crib. ------------------
The Clippers also handed the Lakers one of their worst beating and it was in THEIR own building! I know they play in the same building, but the Lakers were considered the home team that game. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are ready to play with the Lakers. The Rockets slept walk through to many games last year. It isn't a lack of heart though, it was just youth and inexperience. ------------------ "I'm not here to protect my reputation, I'm here to make my reputation! Mama Barkley didn't raise no chumps!" - Charles Barkley
let me port this in from the other thread Where would the Rockets have fallen if we could have traded Cato and Walt for Mutombo [ok Ratliff is better than Cato but i put Toni as a walt like player] Philly's run was mainly on Mutombo who had a hell of a playoffs Philadelphia 56-26 40-14 [conference] That leaves them as 16-12 against the west Houston 45 37 20-32[conf] That leaves us as 25 - 5 AGAINST THE EAST!! NOW TELL ME WE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE AS WELL AS PHILLY IN THE THE F*CKING EAST So if what folx is saying is true . . about us sleep walking we should have been #1 seeds in the WEST!! Rocket River ------------------
Need to bump this back up All this talk about us [THE ROCKETS] not having heart in light of the MEGA heart of Philly Makes me want to see folx dispute what I said. Let's look at the sixers rise to power indiana - hhhmmm THEY DID NOT BEAT US THIS YEAR Toronto - hhmmm Nope they didn't beat us either Milwaukee -- oops sorry we swept them too Not to mention we mopped the floor with philly in their house and they BARELY got by us in our house. folx wanna say we slept walked through some games maybe philly slept walked too but being in the east THEY OBVIOUSLY CAN AFFORD TOO!!! Rocket River ------------------
Instead of comparing "heart," why don't we compare lineups? I'd give the Rockets a slight edge in the backcourt (Mobley & Francis are better than Iverson and McKie), the Sixers frontcourt (Mutombo/Ratliff, Hill, and Lynch) was significantly better than Houston's. With Eric Snow, Geiger, MacCulloch, Jones, and Bell, their bench was better as well. Francis, Mobley, and company played their hearts out... too bad they didn't have more help. ------------------ Lacking inspiration at the moment...
Actually Rocket River, the 76ers were rolling before they got Mutombo, and then they struggled AFTER they got Mutombo because of chemistry. If they had kept their old team, they probably would have won 60 games and had homecourt in the Finals, and would have had a healthy Theo Ratliff, and an extra scorer in Kukoc. That's what I mean when I say that the difference between the Rockets and 76ers is more then head-to-head matchups and what one team did in one conference. Granted the Rockets rolled through the East when they played them. But the 76ers also had a winning record vs the Western Conference. You throw Mutombo on Houston, yeah the Rockets would be playing with 56 wins. But if you throw an extra scorer on Philly, like Steve Francis, where would PHILLY be? You have to look at both sides. ------------------ "I'm not here to protect my reputation, I'm here to make my reputation! Mama Barkley didn't raise no chumps!" - Charles Barkley
I am BUT i felt that everyone else was on this philly lovefest they were being unfair to the rockets. Rockets were as injury plagued as anyone Not to mention the Malcontent session by Hakeem and Cato. Adjustments by Mo T etc I hate when folx Question the Rockets' heart with out taking things into consideration. Philly has a a hard streak against the west every once in a while Rockets did it more often . .. YOU WEAR DOWN Philly played well . .. but honestly The Rockets could take them in 7 THE ROCKETS AS THEY ARE NOW!!! Rocket River I have no doubts about it. ------------------
Rocket River understands where I am comming from with this thread. I get tired of hearing people slam the Rockets and point at the 76ers as the way it should be done. The fact is if we played in the east then the 76ers might be a role model for a team trying to get to the finals but in the West their formulay will not work. I would like someone to find just one team in the NBA that suffered from as many disrubtive injuries during the season. When the Rockets were healthy and allowed to develope some chemistry they were awesome and consistant. The Rockets record in the East was no fluke. ------------------
I see where you're coming from River. I don't see the Rockets taking the 76ers in 7 the way they are now. The regular season is different then the playoffs. Remember the 76ers and Lakers split the regular season. The Rockets have to beef up their front court. If they add a quality big man or two up front I can easily say they could be the 76ers. But as of now I don't think the Rockets are on the 76ers level in the playoffs because of the mental toughness and experience of the 76ers. ------------------ "I'm not here to protect my reputation, I'm here to make my reputation! Mama Barkley didn't raise no chumps!" - Charles Barkley
