9-8 ain't bad considering a few of those losses were with MacGrady injured. If we had a healthy T-Mac, I think we would've gone 11-6. On the downside, we've relied way too much on MacGrady for our offense so far. In the last few games, we look like we're getting away from that some, which is a good sign. As for December, my guess is 9-5, maybe 10-4. In the second half of the month, there are three pairs of back-to-back games with a few days rest inbetween. They're not all tough teams, but it should be a grueling stretch nonetheless. And after the last back-to-back, we get a day's rest before facing the Warriors to end the month.
wow... I didn't realize that 11/17 of our games were against western conf. playoff teams... Eastern conf. here we come! Hopefully as the season progresses we can get some consistency. Watching the rox is a roller coaster- YAAAH! we are unbeatable!!! (and the next day) What??? these guys can't hit a shot... what happened to our defense?
Before the season started, I was hoping for at least a 10-7 record in October/November, so there's no need to be too upset about finishing 9-8, especially with T-Mac missing a week. Now obviously after the Rockets started 6-1, my expectations were a lot higher than a 3-7 record the rest of the way. Still, given T-Mac's injury, Adelman's stubbornness about changing the rotation, and the brutal early schedule, you figure barring any further injuries that the Rockets can only get better from here on out. The key is December. It's mostly road games, but the majority of them are games the Rockets should win. If they can do well this month, they'll be rewarded with a very easy January and February when the team theoretically should be adjusted to Adelman's system and the rotation should be solidified.
The problem for me is not their record, it is the way they have been playing in some of these games. Just lacking passion or drive. They got away with it against Charlotte but it has bitten them in the arse more often than not. Last night was another example...they just gave up.... Unacceptable.....this team needs to care more. DD
9-8 is good? We're 9th in the West and out of the playoffs. While we've had good flashes, generally we've looked pretty bad.
I could have done without that 6 game losing streak, but we have PLENTY of time to improve. We're 3-1 since Yao and Tracy talked on the plane and Steve started getting major minutes. IMO there's no reason to think this team won't improve as the year goes on. I don't really care what seed we are in the playoffs as long as we get there. We suck at home anyway.
O.K., average, all right, it will do, ......sad. The Rockets are always "adjusting"....new players, new coach, new system, new stadium, new concessions menu, new..... gets old doesn't it?
Yes it does. But they say you are what you are after 20 games into a season...so 3 more games and then maybe everybody will stop the excuses. Yeah right.
the losses to memphis, miami and LA were pretty bad. THey shouldnt lose those games, and letting the one dallas game get away from them was disheartening. Obviously there is no need to panic and it is expected for there to be rough patches early on. However, i'd like to see some more consistency over the next 10 games.
Not saying that, but thanks for putting words in my mouth for me. Obviously you can...Rockets started 6-11 in 04-05 and finished 51-31. That team also had a lot less talent than this year's does. But they also didn't make excuses and say that things are going to take time to figure out. That's what bothers me. There's so much talent, and while there's still obviously time to figure things out...I just wonder about the weak mindset of the team. What happens if we keep saying it's going to take time, we keep losing games to the likes of Memphis and the Lakers and all of a sudden we're 10 games behind Dallas and San Antonio at the All Star break? From what we've seen so far, it could easily turn out this way. It could also turn out the complete opposite way, the Rockets go on a run for the ages and are in 1st place by the All Star break, etc. But therein lies that's the problem...the team's too inconsistent. The team's not always interested. And it seems like it's getting pawned off on "it's going to take time." There's no time for that attitude.
the TC is not a homecourt advantage. crowd sucks. our record at home has never been great. we got homecourt last year and blew it in the playoffs. we blow leads at home just as much as on the road. as long as we're playing great, it doesn't really matter if we're on the road or at home, as long as we have a good matchup. but i prefer facing the nuggets or lakers or utah. let's face the top 3 in the 2nd round and on.
they did make excuses. tmac said he's deferring. yao said it's tmac's team. JVG said we're still trying to incorporate tmac. there were plenty of "reasons" for our start as stated by the players and JVG that year.
Then they shook things up by trading for Wesley and Barry, then they got it going. Maybe that's what it'll take. Where I disagree with you on your point is that was a brand new team that year. For the most part, the core of the team is already established this year, sans the new coaching staff.
new coach is harder than new players. our core players have been playing under a completely different style of play in the last 4 years (it's NIGHT and DAY). most of our starters are not offensive players (outside of mac/ming). therefore, those guys were pretty good under JVG but we are now seeing how they are just not for this offense (including battier, which has been a HUGE disappointment). then u add in an influx of players from the bench. then we have an influx of PGs and the rotation is STILL NOT SET. and a lot of our players are not "off-the-ball" type of players. and to make them play off the ball, it's HARD. that's why adelman has reverted to some JVG plays b/c it's just that tough. this adjustment is MUCH harder than in 04-05 and it's not even close. and the schedule this year is MUCH harder too. i think we could have been better than 9-8, but it is what it is. i didn't think we would struggle this badly offensively shooting the ball (the role players--it's like their suckiness dragged on from last yr and spread to the new players). but i think we're fine. we're taking the ball away from tracy and that forces the team NOT to depend on him. hopefully as the season goes along, that will pay HUGE dividends. yao is now playing longer and hopefully that will pay off as he learns how to handle himself in the 4th. w/ the incorporation of steve francis, hopefully we'll soon develop that unit that will play the majority of the time that will be our "A-TEAM" (francis/tmac/bonzi/scola/yao) => we're slowly getting to that. and hopefully our defense remains consistent. we've shown we still can be a shut-down defensive team. ultimately, i think we're in decent shape, obviously could be better. but i like the direction of this team. we're starting to not depend on tmac too much, our bench is becoming a strength... adelman just REALLY needs to bench battier/hayes/rafer if they suck. we can't afford battier to play 35 minutes if he's going to suck; his defense is highly overrated. since we're taking the ball away from tmac, let him play some D.
I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. I just get tired of people here panicking about the first month of the season under a new head coach. I’m not making excuses, just stating a fact. Believe me, if we have a December like our November was, I will be just as worried as you. I don’t disagree with anything you say, but I’m encouraged by the way we’ve played (except last night) since Steve started getting minutes and Yao and Tracy apparently had a talk after the Miami game. Not convinced that we’re where we need to be, just encouraged. But yes, I DO agree with what you say about our soft "aw shucks, we lost again" mindset. This is a problem I don’t see going away unless perhaps Steve (and maybe Mike James) can instill their ‘no fear’ attitude to the rest of the team, specifically Yao and T-Mac.
You can't be serious. The guy is a professional athlete. He comes to work everyday just like everybody else. For you to insinuate that he was willing to sabotage his TEAM (guys he goes to battle with night in and night out, shares a locker room with, spends almost every second of the day with, etc...), is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. He had an issue with the front office, not the guys in the locker room. And besides that, he's even been on the record saying that he was excited, and glad to be back in Houston. He hasn't played as well as he has in previous seasons, I will give you that. But remember, he was in exile the ENTIRE year last year....it's going to take him a little while to get his rhythm back. He'll be a valuable asset to this team come April and May. As for the 9-8 record, I am OK with it. If anything, we've got to keep in mind that not only are the players getting used to each other, the coaching staff is getting used to the players, and vice versa. This is a completely new team, and it's going to take a while to get things going. I'm glad we're getting the tough schedule out of the way early, and our guys are getting battle-tested now. Otherwise, we would be losing easy games NOW due to chemistry and coaching issues, and be forced into must-win games later in the season against the top-team teams. This is a much more favorable situation, and the fact that we came out of it really only 1-2 games off the pace of what most of us expected is pretty encouraging in my opinion.
I would like to know the "they" who say that. I've been watching NBA basketball for 17 years now, and I have never heard that. If anything, the one thing "they" say about ALL pro sports is "it isn't how you start....it's how you finish." I can think of countless numbers of teams who have started out slowly in the first 25% of their respective seasons, and gone on to do great things. A lot of those teams just happen to be from right here in Houston. So maybe you should tell "them" that "they" are full of it.
I am worried and not very satisfied with the 9-8 results. Most of the losses are against West Conf. teams and worse of all against SouthWest teams like Memphis, SAS, Dallas. I am not sure we can even beat the New Orleans who beat us in the preseason. BY looking at last night game, I am also have a weird feeling that the other teams will emulate the game plan i.e. fronting Yao aggressively and doubling TMac when he got the ball, while the rest of the Rockets are not making them pay.
