Im sure a lotof you guys know about jumping the shark. In television they usually talk about it as the exact episode where a TV show started to go downhill...It gets its name from an episode of Happy Days where the fonz jumped over a pool of sharks with his motorcycle and most Happy Days afficianados consider that the episode when the show started to suck. Well Ive spent many countless hours developing a new theory call Sharking the Jump. This theory applies to sports...actually just this Rockets team... and as you can see this theory is the Bizarro version of "jumping the Shark" (Seinfeld Fans will now what i mean by Bizarro). Anyhow, for me Sharking the Jump is trying to pinpoint the exact game where the Rockets started to turn the corner to go uphill (NOT DOWNHILL) like jumping the shark. Im really starting to see some good basketball from the Rockets. Is it perfect basketball? No, far from it but just two weeks ago I was telling my coworkers and friends about how the Rockets always had one horrendous quarter each game, or how they couldn't beat any of the elite teams. Now im actually to start feeling more confident in the Rockets. I went into last night thinking we had a real shot to win. Whereas in our early games vs Dallas i was like...damn were gonna lose. For me, the Memphis loss was even a good game. I know the Rockets made soem mistakes, but they played hard that game and fought it was not a game that you just wanted to turn off in Disgust. To me i just seems like the team is starting to click. I know a lot of people will say "Waaaah its just two wins..shut up" But im really starting to feel good about this team. Does that mean we will win the rest of our games? Hell no. But I think it means we are becoming a Good team...and making our move towards elite (NO we are NOT elite...but i think were finally headed that way) Or actually headed somewhere instead of forward than back. This past 2 weeks has been the greatest Ive felt about watching Rockets games since the Hakeem glory days. If the Rockets win the next two games at Orlando and Miami....You Houston MF'ers better show up to that Kings game!!!! I would love to be there but im stuck in NYC... Anyhow, im getting off track, but for me the Memphis loss was when this team Sharked the Jump to becoming a good team. Because with that loss I came away satisfied and not incredibly angry. It seems like the team is starting to understand that it does need to go through Yao. Is he getting all the touches? No...But you can see that through certain stretches, like when Yao scored those 5 points in the last 4:15 last night...they were consciously trying to get it to him. Mark Jackson makes sure he gets Yao the ball and thats awesome. Anyhow, Im pumped about our rockets now...I woke up early on a Saturday because i wanted to get this excitement off my chest. I think if we win these next two games...it will really solidify my theory that we sharked the jump even if we dont beat the kings we will compete. Anyhow I wanted to get some of your opinions on when you think we Sharked the Jump Anyhow this post has gone on for too long... I love youy guys!!!
P.s> lets keep an eye on when the Rockets might Shark the Jump into becoming an elite team (may be next season)
Yeah good thread.... I love the Rockets!!!! So I always want them to win. I still feel they can be unpredictable and inconsistent...I don't know if other teams are like this... We did beat the best team in the East yesterday... Just continue to play well! We've been doing all right the entire season...getting rid of Moochie helped!
There was a moment in the Minnesota game, where Garnett made a great move along the right baseline and beat Cato ( OR Mo, can't remember) and Yao jumped to help, and stoned KG. Honestly, that even seemed like a turning point at the time. And considering Yao's comments after the game, and how much his 'turning it on' signifies to our team, to me that was the moment we sharked the jump, to use your phrase. Last night was the best I've seen us assert the entry pass, even if it took 2 or 3 passes to set up a better angle for entry. That was awesome, and is the first time I've really seen the team play as though they understand that Yao is going to have to be The Man for this team, while at the same time Stevie played great. But to me it started in Minnesota.
They sharked the jump when they hired Van Gundy, who made Yao the focal point of this team instead of SF.
When we started to finally quit trying to always force tao inside and the offense began to gel with Yao mixing it up outside more. I think Taylor's O is part of that equation as well....
Don't know about the Rox, but Yao's sharking the jump moment came when he got absolutely mugged and thrown to the floor by Brendan Haywood.
Yes..getting Jeff Van Gundy and his crew, getting Jacksons, Padgett, Piatkowski, and Griffin, and getting rid of Amaechi and Moochie has helped. Gradual process.....we are improving....hopefully!
It started just before they traded Moochie. Steve started playing major minutes at that point and to take a bit of a load off of him they started to let Jim Jackson take a more leading role setting up the offense and in spurts bring the ball up. When that happened you could see the offense start to energize. The offense which was almost unwatchable, started to have moments where everything just clicked. Since then its been albeit slow process, there is no doubt you can tell things are beginning to gel. There are less and less 20 second dribbling displays going on but Steve and Cat are still getting their shots. Also with better ball movement, Yao seems to better understand what's going on around him. He's getting the ball more often not because he's a focal point but because of his movement without the ball. IMO its because with JJ running the show more often, he knows he'll get the ball at the right time.
That's certainly when Yao turned his season around. Dude's played like a man possessed since then. As far as a single game that signaled a turning point for me, I'd have to go with the T'Wolves victory a week ago. The Rockets really surprised me with their play in that game, completely shutting down one of the top 3 teams in the NBA.
Shawndme7, Not sure if "Sharked the Jump" can also mean, "getting it" or "becoming elite." Because that's the last thing this team needs to think of themselves: that they've "made it." But, as far as turning a corner (learning each other better mentally), I'd say they "Sharked" at the Memphis game. Why? Because that was one of the few games they DID NOT give up even when things weren't going their way. Francis didn't loose it. Yao didn't foul out and they pretty much believed they could win until end. They never "threw in the towel." And because of the Memphis loss, I feel the Rox were able to win the Pacers game. The gruling, hard nosed, painful wins. Win when everything is NOT going your way. Those are the hard ones. It's going to be interesting to see if the Rockets start to fall back into that old habbit of "playing down to the competition." If the Rox don't prepare mentally for the average teams we could get a few loses... Because, trust me. Those average teams WILL prepare for us!
This is the most perplexing and worthwhile non-Macbeth thread I've seen in a long time. I mean, really, couldn't you have just asked, "in which game did we turn the corner?" ? Heh. That said, I think it's a worthwhile consideration. The Memphis loss notwithstanding, I think this team is finally asserting themselves mentally to be a winning basketball team. The guards are finally "getting it", and since that means getting the ball to Yao, it's good news that Yao coincidentally seems to be simultaneously "getting it" down low. This has been a great couple weeks of basketball.
15-14 with Moochie Norris. 9-3 without Moochie Norris. I think you see where I'm going with this. My work here is done.
