LINK November 28, 2009 Sitting on a plane headed for Oklahoma City right now. Just lost to the Spurs last night for our second tough loss in a row after taking a beating from the Mavs earlier in the week. Our record is now 8-8. There are 2 ways to look at this record. The pessimistic viewpoint that would focus on the games that we just didn't bring the energy or execution and let the wins slip through our fingers, like against Atlanta and Sacramento. We could very easily have won 3 to 4 more games than we have now. The optimistic viewpoint would focus on the fact that we have a brand new team, we are the third youngest team in the league and have had great wins against the Lakers on the road and Portland at home. We have shown flashes of brilliance and competitiveness during these great wins. In my mind, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two viewpoints. I think that when we play with great energy and spirit, we share the basketball and play tough defense. Everyone feels like they are a part of the victories and we play a fun and exciting brand of basketball. For the most part, our victories have come when we have played with this energy I speak of. In our losses, it seems like we play listlessly and spiritless. The basketball does not move and we play a slower style of basketball. For us to be successful this year, we must play fast. We must play daringly, and aggressive. We must put constant pressure on our opponent. There will be times when we cannot make a basket and those times will be frustrating. But this frustration should not deter our determination to play an aggressive. In this young season, when we fail to consistently make shots, it has affected the defensive end of the court where we become passive. We must run, take a large number of 3 point shots, attack the rim, draw fouls and play with a somewhat reckless abandon. This is the style that will give us the best chance to win. We still have a lot of basketball to play, only 15% of the year has been played. We must stay around the .500 winning percentage for the next month if we want to take advantage of the easier schedule that we will have when January rolls around. The only way to do this is to play with incredible spirit and togetherness. The good news is that we have shown that we are capable of playing this way. The bad news is that we are not consistent with this style of play yet. I feel we can be this team. Thanks for reading, talk to you soon. Shane
Great blog, but someone needs to tell Shane that the starters are the problem. They are not running. DD
Good blog, im sure he is aware of that. Did you want him to be Tmac and throw his team mates under the bus (particularly the starters)?
Someone must also remind Shane that he and Chuck must contribute on the offensive end for the Rockets to be successful. We all realize that their defenders are resting on defense when their defenders should be expending the most energy.
Why do you think their defenders should be expending the most energy? They're the 4th and 5th option.
Not at all, but it couldn't have hurt to say that he was not getting the job done himself, and was not running as much as he should. No....no way....lol.[/sarcasm] DD
I like Shane. He's obviously a good dude and a good leader. That said, this style of play doesn't seem to suit him very well. It isn't strictly his age (a ripe old 31), but, rather, the wear and tear that accompany those years. That bothersome foot seems to be taking a beating. Not a personal thing, but look at Shane's salary and what he brings THIS team. Put him on a half-court team where he can still contribute a bit on the offensive end and you're fine. Maybe Morey is looking to that end.
Our starters who consistently kick games off to 10+ point leads? Except the second Lakers game. The problem in my eyes is that we can't hold on to those leads because nearly all our shooters are pretty streaky. After bad games I always feel like Adelman will work with them on setting up the offense with those leads and not just going Leroy Jenkins into the fray only to get blocked expecting the lead will still be there.
a fine argument this is becoming as the season goes on. i'm not sure how many intangibles he still brings to this years team. however, i think adelman, morey and les are all looking at the big picture which is sometimes hard for fans to see. shane is still going to work wonderfully with yao next year and beyond. he is still an elite defender and has proven to be an elite leader. his salary has become a bit too high but its not holding us back from serious cap space, nor is it the main cause of being over the LT. his contract is up in 2 years, which means by this time next year (in his contracts final year) we will be talking about resigning him to a fraction of his current salary and letting him retire as a rocket.
Hurry make blog about how there is pessimistic viewpoint aka have sympathy for my 0 points aka excuse . He must get on clutchfans.
Bruce Bowen played terrific defense well into his 30s, regardless of his "dirty" tactics. You guys on the Shane is losing his game are completely off base.
