The Last 10 Games Any objective fan without an agenda or a personal bone to pick knows that Kevin McHale has done a Coach of the Year job with the team this season. - They are the youngest team in the NBA. - They are the least experienced team in the NBA. - They have had the highest turnover / least stability of any team in the NBA. - They have only 2 players from last season still on the roster from last season. - Almost all of the experts thought they would be challenging for the worst record in the league, not a play-off spot. - No team this young and with this lack of experience has ever done this good Etc.... etc.. etc... The Rockets have had an amazing year up to this point but with a better than expected season comes adjusted expectations. With only 10 games left to go the Rockets have a 3 game lead in the loss column to both Utah and LAL (the 8th and 9th seed teams). With the Rockets owning the season series against the Jazz, they are essentially 4 games up on them in the loss column and at least two teams would have to overtake Houston to keep McHale and Company out of the play-offs. If Houston can just go 7 and 3 in the last 10 games there is nothing that can keep them out of the play-offs and their record would be 46 wins and 36 losses. The scary part of this scenario is that James Harden and Omer Asik who are probably the two most important players on the team are coming off back to back games where they have been the biggest reasons for the Rockets loss. Omer was just destroyed by both Hibbert and Gasol and it was not even close. James Harden who has typically been the best player on the court when the Rockets have played this season was completely out played by Lance Stephenson and Tony Allen. I'll even go out on a limb and say that it was Hardens play in the 3rd quarter of the Memphis game that contributed most to the starters being pulled for the remainder of the game. Against the Grizzlies, James looked to just wave the white flag and he quit making any effort at all to get back on defense by just walking back down the court and not making any sort of positive contributions on offense either. When Omer and James play the way they have played the last two games the Rockets are scary bad. It's up to McHale to do what ever it takes to get Omer, James and the rest of the Rockets up for the last 10 games. If we get into the play-offs then all the good things that can be said about the Rockets will have been well earned. The youngest team in the modern NBA to ever achieve this amount of success in what is a monster conference to have success in. Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year candidates as well as Most Improved Player and Most Valuable Player candidates will all be well deserved. But if Kevin McHale can not pull this team up for the final stretch run of 10 games then all the accomplishments and all of the good feelings will mean little for this season. Instead of everyone looking at what a shockingly great job this very young and unexperienced team has done, if the Rockets miss the play-offs, they will only be seen as a team that chocked away what should have been a sure play-off spot in the final 10 games of the season. These last 10 games are the defining games of the season. The last 10 games break down like this: Houston Rockets 39 wins 33 losses - 7th seed Utah Jazz 37 wins 36 losses - 8th seed - Rockets own tie breaker Los Angeles Lakers 37 wins 36 losses - 9th seed - Tie breaker not decided Dallas Mavericks 35 wins 37 losses - 10th seed - Mavs own tie breaker Games Left: Los Angeles Clippers @ home - underdog Orlando Magic @ home - favored Sacramento Kings road - favored Portland Trailblazers road - underdog Denver Nuggets road - underdog Phoenix Suns @ home - favored Memphis Grizzlies @ home - underdog Sacramento Kings @ home - favored Phoenix Suns road - favored Los Angeles Lakers road - underdog I offer no predictions on how the last 10 games will be played out but that is how I think the odds makers will see us in the last 10 games. We have not been a good road team so even though we have a better record than Portland, I think the Blazers will be favored. The Grizzlies have not beaten the Rockets in Houston in a very long time but with the way the Rockets just played against the Grizzlies I have a hard time believing the odds makers will not make them the favorites. Obviously I'm hoping for a 10 game win streak but as that has not happened all year and the Rockets are entering a very tough stretch of games to close the season out on. I'm just hopping they play well enough to get into the play-offs with out having to rely on the help of other teams. This last 10 games will determine how good Kevin McHale has done as a coach this season (not the vocal, obnoxious minority with a vendetta against him). The last 10 games will decide if James Harden is a legitimate superstar and a legitimate MVP candidate. The last 10 games will decide if the Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik signings in the summer were really as good as they have appeared most of the season. The last 10 games will decide what kind of progress Chandler Parsons has made, if Daryl Morey's confidence in Danotas Motiejunas was well placed and if all the roster shuffling was Genius or just endless meddling by a GM. The first 72 games set the table but the last 10 games will decide what it all means.
Why not the last 9, or the last 8, or the last 3? 10 is an arbitrary number that's far too late to expect any changes imo.
it is now or never. we shall rise to a 7-3 record, avenge memphis, phoenix and sacramento! time to Harden our hearts... <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OqeKV2UYq1Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It's been a good year, credit Morey and Mchale, and hopefully we can build on this foundation for years to come.
Hell why not make it at 82 games right? To say nothing can change is you either being naive or condescending but I'm not sure which. What can change? The Rockets could find themselvs out of the play-offs. James Harden and Omer Asik could continue playing like crap which would be a change from the 1st 70 games of the season. Why this thread at 10 games? Because 1. It's a reasonable number of games to the end of the season where there is still a chance the Rockets could make of miss the play-offs. One losing streak can end our season and one winnning streak could solidify our play-off spot. If we wait till 3 games left in the season the play-off seeds could be decided.
Let's say we can go 5-5. Then Utah needs to go 8-1, LA 7-2, and Dallas 9-1 to beat us. As long as we don't fall on our face, we are in. Of course, we've fallen on our face before.
I don't have an agenda or anything personal against McHale. And I'm the furthest thing from a LOF. McHale is just a bad coach, period.
Hope they go 7-3. I'm critical of Mchale as much as the next guy here but looking at the big picture, he's done a fine job and should seriously be considered for COY.
To the long OP, my answer is two words -- Transition offense. If the Rockets can find a way to keep their transition offense alive, they will be fine. Otherwise, I'm not so sure the Rockets can do anything meaningful whether they get in to playoffs or not. Harden is not yet a superstar who can get quality shots one-on-one most times. So I hope McHale don't do that too often, especially when the one guarding him is a good defender.
McHale is nowhere near being CotY material. If he wins it it just further cements that that award means nothing. Now Morey? He deserves Executive of the Year. Harden is a legit MVP candidate and Asik is a candidate for Most Improved. There are legit arguments against McHale being a good coach. He has no playbook for one....
Dallas just went on a 10 - 0 run at the end of the 4th to come back and beat the bulls. Harden and Lin were sitting on the bench smiling and cracking jokes last night in the 4th last night. I 100% guarantee we will fall short of the playoffs again and yet dillusional fans and experts will say things are looking up despite of it. We are competing against Utah lakers and the mavs for the last two spots. How many times have those teams missed the playoffs the last ten years? Who from us 4 are the youngest, has the least experience and least amount of talent on their squad?
So, heading into the last 10 games this season, the Houston Rockets are 39-33, 6 games above .500. Heading into the last 10 games in 2011-12, the Houston Rockets were 31-25, 6 games above .500.
this one i was talking about on the other thread. harden had no interest in what mchale was going to say when the timeout was called. he didn't want to move until someone pulled him up.
Truth. Beware of the McHale tank machine. Omer will change shots, but somehow, coach will put TRob in there to do too much or poor Carlos to guard a 4. I am incredibly proud of this team, but I think they would be even better under different circumstances. I can't agree that McHale is coach of the year, though. Not even close. Even with his personnel, you have to consider Spoelstra, Pops, Scottie Brooks, etc... Those guys are on a whole different level than McHale. I hope we make the playoffs. And if we don't, I hope it's because of the players missing some shots and not the coach ignoring mismatches and opportunities to win. A late-season collapse like last year shouldn't be tolerated again. I've never despised a Rockets coach as much as McHale, and I have been a fan for a long, long time. In fact, the only players I've ever despised are Pippen and Royce White. Just like players don't want officials deciding the outcome of a game, I don't want crappy coaching calls (had to throw in alliteration haha ) to decide our playoff chances. Love my Rockets, hope they make the playoffs, but I could do without coach.
