man, i LOVE the Rockets! but comparing these two franchises going to a game last april (when the Astros were 19-9 and the reigning NL champs) with the Rockets, who haven't won a playoff series in roughly forever...that's just a joke. the astros were playing before sellout crowds with lots of energy in the park. the rockets were closing up on a disappointing, injury-laden season.
Imagine how many more opportunities the Astros would have had if as many teams made the playoffs. As for the original question, I once had the tickets offered to me for the Rockets and the Astros at about the same time as the original poster. My friend and I chose the Rockets, because they were going to be in the playoffs and it was the Astros third game of the year. Needless to say, that was the night Ken Forsch threw a no-hitter. This was one of 4 no-hitters I have actually had tickets for where I was unable to attend or chose to do something else. We had a mini-season ticket plan and were out of town for Mike Scott's. My brother-in-law got married for Nolan Ryan's and I had something else going on for Larry Dierker's.
I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the above quoted comment. You basically said that the Rockets 2nd title doesn't mean anything because they were the lowly sixth seed that shouldn't have even been to the playoffs...a lowly sixth seed that beat three 60 win teams and a 59 win team. You're just lucky tinman isn't around. I'm sure he'd have some choice words for you.
i'm saying it's an entirely different system, a-train. it's what i like least about the NBA...that the regular season doesn't mean jack. they play 82 games...and more teams make the playoffs than stay home. why play 82 games if you're gonna do that? i never said the Rockets 2nd title doesn't mean anything. i loved it!! i was there when they won it!! it was a blast...it was incredibly inspirational. they were the NBA champs. but it highlighted the joke that the regular season is in the NBA, in my opinion. and it created a "who cares" apathy about the regular season that, as a season ticket holder at the time, i could feel during the regular season. just make the playoffs...just finish within the top 8 spots in your conference. making the playoffs in baseball and making the playoffs in hoops are two entirely different things. one is an accomplishment...the other is a sigh of relief.
You just said the Rockets shouldn't have even been in the playoffs that year. What else is that supposed to mean? Just because a team can make the playoffs with a .500 record in the NBA (what was the Cardinals winning percentage this season?) doesn't lessen their playoff accomplishments. Every team still has to win 16 games to win the NBA title. The NBA playoff format is really about making money. Trust me, if MLB didn't have every playoff game nationally televised and only had about 18,000 tickets to sell for each game, you can bet the farm that they would squeeze as many teams into the postseason as possible. Besides, there are half as many games in an NBA season as an MLB season. Doesn't that make each NBA game twice as important? What was the Astros record after 82 games the last three seasons? The fact is that, when it has counted the most, the Rockets came through and the Astros haven't. That's not really a knock on the Astros because, like you said, it's two different sports. Also, that's why the Rockets don't hang division title banners from the rafters, because winning a division in the NBA really isn't that big of a deal.
i never said the rockets shouldn't have been in the playoffs that year. i never said that at all. ummm...there are more games in baseball...because they take less teams in the playoffs. it used to be that winning the regular season meant you were the league champ...you then played in the world series. then it was that you won a division and were instantly in the league championship series...if you won that series then you were in the world series. now 4 teams from each league make the playoffs. the idea is that after 162 games, you should know who belongs there. the nba plays 82 games to start all over. more teams make the playoffs than don't. there is no urgency from game to game for the better teams in the league. there is only urgency for the teams playing mediocre hoping to slip in at the 8 seed. it's a poor system in my view. the strike shortened season was the best season of NBA basketball...there was heightened intensity surrounding the games down the stretch. 50 games is just about right to me. my only point about the rockets coming through when it matters is that they've had more "when it matters" opportunities because of the structure of the playoffs. there are no 6 seeds making the playoffs in baseball. you win a division, you take the lone wild card berth...or you sit home in october. that's not taking anything away from the rockets...who i love!! and who came up huge. but a-train..that was freaking 11 years ago. remember the context of what this thread was about to begin with.
