Rockets, fans shoot for star, replacement level "writer" sits back and laugh at them

He's just mad because the rockets shipped the only Insider connection he had to the Knicks. Now he has as much credibility and insider information as a sportwriter based out of Istanbul

 

Really now. Did you happen to catch my post that looked at the Rockets' record since the last championship? If so then you'd understand why Solomon is "lacking a sense of humor". Let's take a look at the numbers:

The Rockets' best two seasons followed their two championship years when they went to the West Conf Semis & Finals in back-to-back years.

Since the 99-00 season, they have been in the NBA lotto six times including four straight years in the lottery (from 99-00 to 02-03) yet only have one active player to show for the futility (guess who).

Starting with the 95-96 season, they've reached the playoffs 9 times. Of those nine playoff appearances they have managed to get out of the 1st round of the playoffs only 3 times - reaching the West Conf Semis twice (95-96 & 08-09) and the West Conf Finals once (96-97).

Since their championship years, the Rox have won 50+ games a total of five times. However, they have only managed to get past the 1st round of the playoffs when doing so only twice: 96-97 & 08-09 (so much for feeling good about 50 win seasons).

Starting with the 95-96 season, the Rockets have played in 1198 games (14 seasons of 82 plus 1 season (98-99) of 50). Their combined won-loss record is 659-539 for a 55% winning percentage. This averages out to 43.93 wins per season which for the math challenged is 2.93 games over .500.

Conclusion? Don't know about you but a look at the numbers tells me that the Rockets are the poster boys of mediocrity - which is what Solomon harshly points out in his article that PO'ed the legions of Rockets' true believers. The consensus here is that getting Chris Bosh is the key to reversing their long slide into mediocrity and that somehow the rowdy red fanboys can help make it so. Dubious but stranger things have happened (why, I actually heard Mark Cuban say something intelligent the other day - had to do a double take). But hey: If all this is simply 100% marketing and you feel good doing it, then by all means, be my guest.

 

I agree they have been mediocre, but when you have Hakeem and you draft at the bottom of the first round for a decade and make trades to try to hold on you are going to have to rebuild.

San Antonio is about to find that out, and 44 wins a year on average while you are building is pretty good.

Now, the Francis team did not work out, and neither did Tmac but all trades and players don't work out.

All you can do is place a bet and hope it works out......

The Rockets are on the upswing under Morey, I have never been more excited about the future....and yes, this is a marketing ploy.......so what?

DD

 

Solomon is just playing The Game. He knows (like many media figures know) that being negative puts you in the spotlight more than anything else, so he's trying to be 'That Guy' for Houston Sports Media. Much like Dylan Guinn on 790.

Sad, but it is what it is. There are other ways of getting noticed - creativity and talent, for example - but not everyone uses them.

Still, it gets results, and they are well aware of that.

 

Don't judge Morey based on things that happened before he got the job. Just look at the roster he inherited and what he had to work with. Seriously, anyone who doesn't think the man has been an outstanding general manager is an idiot.

And haters will always hate, either at the chronic or on this board.

.

 

Solomon is way out of his league here. The guy has no analytical skills whatsoever and is criticizing a GM that is revolutionizing the analysis and management of pro-basketball while taking all the GMs lunch. For him to mention pursuit of Gortat and landing Anderson without mentioning Scola, Brooks, Martin, Hill, Battier, and picks from NY is terrible cherrypicking of an otherwise stellar record. We should critique the GM's moves good and bad, but the guy is looking at among the most inconsequential moves to be made. Pathetic, even for a blog.

 

Great point! I hadn't realized that Jerome is an old timer who is not with the new times. I mean, half of it sensationalistic nonsense to get traffic going through his blog so he can stay employed but the other half is that he actually is behind the times.

All in all, he remains a sad excuse for a journalist. The Chron sports section is becoming sad to read.

 

Thats why Morey makes a ton of coin running an NBA team and Solomon is a sad angry depressed excuse for a journo, probably on his last legs of employment.

 

We didn't "miss" on Gortat. In fact we "hit" by not signing him. The magic matched on his full mid-level offer from Dallas. If we had offered him the mid-level the magic would have matched we would have ended up with squat.

Honestly I don't know if you even bother reading other people's posts. You kill yourself with all these "missed" opportunities that you forget the facts and the reality in which these events took place.

 

Are you Jerome Solomon?

Nice post by the way, but I could give a flying rats ass if we are mediocre. Without the Rockets, win or lose, my life would be less exciting. I'll cheer for the Rockets when they suck, when they are mediocre, and when they are elite.

And no I dont want to settle or be happy being mediocre...but it is what it is. Its a sport. Everything is based on luck. We have had teams between 95-2010 that were championship caliber teams. But one Micheal Finley foot out of bounds or one awkward landing on Yao's left foot ruins diminishes our hopes.

 

Solomon's existence is befuddling to me. Any real fan knows he's just an obnoxious little troll who churns out the journalistic equivalent of a foot-stomping toddler tantrums. And since he miscasts the franchise as a bumbling bunch of incompetent misfits, he's not doing anything to improve the team's standing among casual fans. So if the fans don't read him and the "fans" probably won't either, his place on the Chron staff is truly a mystery to me.

 

I dont understand Solomon. First he writes that Rockets and Rockets fans accept mediocrity? Then he writes we shouldnt go after biggest free agents and if we do? We are somehow begging them to come to Houston? How else would we get Bosh to come here if nobody let him know he was wanted here first?

 

Come to think of it, most of DM's plans towards the public are usually redirected and surprising in some ways. I wouldn't be surprised if we got a big name out there... But everything is set up for Bosh to come to Houston. I'm expecting the unexpected.

 

Yup, sad, but hey this is America. You get the freedom to be the "that guy" here, while in many parts of this world "that guy" gets shoot in the head or stoned by ppl.
Got to thank your mama #$%# you out in the right land, Solomon, got to thank your mama.

 

I can't believe he has a job...His writing style is just horrendous. He provides no insight, writes like a 3rd grader, and is always chastising someone. I'm so tired of him criticizing fans for caring. Its one thing to assess someone in the spotlight, but fans should be left out of it. Apparently hits are more important than content, rationality, and credibility at the Chronicle. You can dislike Justice all you want, but at least he has some flow to his articles.

 

Since you asked:

Year by Year 1985-1993
YEAR W L Finish
1992-93 55 27 1st
1991-92 42 40 3rd
1990-91 52 30 3rd
1989-90 41 41 5th
1988-89 45 37 2nd
1987-88 46 36 4th
1986-87 42 40 3rd
1985-86 51 31 1st

What's curious is that since 2004-2005 season, they have won 50+ games four times yet were only able to advance past the first round of the playoffs once (2008-2009). What's even more interesting is that this was done without Yao+Tmac both of whom this team had been trying to build around. You will recall the theory behind getting Tmac: Yao+Tmac+role players=championship contender. Well they tried this for 5 years with very little to show for it.

Now, if you substitute Bosh for Tmac, then you have the same theory just a different verse (Yao+Bosh+role players=championship contender). This is what I believe that Clutch and the rest folks gleeping fervently for Bosh have bought into hence the bazillion Bosh threads and Clutch's Houston4Bosh.com website. What I haven't been convinced about is that this new theory is any better than the one it replaces. Simply put: why should I believe that Yao, given his injury history and physical limitations, should still be considered to be a player you build a championship team around. Secondly, what is it about Chris Bosh that has so many people here convinced that he's the missing piece to vault them out of mediocrity? He's put up fairly good numbers in Toronto but that was for a losing team. It remains to be seen what he can do when it's expected of him to help carry a team. As such, I am always wary about projections like these for players who are in that situation (like Bosh).

I wouldn't say just yet that they are headed in the wrong direction because I honestly believe that Morey has no idea in which direction he wants to move. He has to craft a new direction for the Rockets and he's nowhere close to doing so. So I believe that he'll play it safe and wait to see which Yao Ming shows up for the 2010-2011 season and go from there. He'll make a play for Bosh (that's just good PR) and possibly Amare but both are long shots to wind up in Houston (I'm afraid that playing next to Yao Ming no longer holds the allure it once did).

 

This all concerns me, too. I think they're so limited/blinded by Yao's value off the court that they can't do what's necessary to build in a different direction on the court.

Yao is not the lead dog of a championship team. And if you don't think Bosh is either, then that doesn't solve our problem...and MAY only exacerbate it.

I don't think that will matter though, because I have my doubts Bosh will want to come here. But I don't think the Rockets have much in the way of a Plan B.....aside for hoping DaDa is right and that one of the current players can become a championship caliber alpha-dog type player....but I'm less confident of that than I am that Bosh will be a Rocket next season.

 

Good job Carl Herrera not putting up the link to the article.. This guy does not deserve clicks.