...of losing. The tankers should be thrilled, because the Rockets are going to get one hell of a draft pick this year. I don't know why this gives anyone hope, however, because the Rockets have demonstrated that they are not capable of winning consistently. Another rookie is not going to change that. Houston is completely incapable of closing out games, when they are even in position to win. It would have been nice if the Rockets had dedicated themselves to figuring out how to win close games in the final weeks of this campaign. Instead, most of the losses came by double digits. The Rockets have now lost by 30 points or more twice. They have lost by 20-29 points ten times, including losses to Denver and Chicago. They have lost by 10-19 points eight times, including two to Memphis, and a home loss against Golden State. In total, the Rockets have lost by double digits 20 times. Combine that with the Rockets anemic 8-24 (not the exact record, but close) record in games decided by six points or less, and you can see that the Rockets need to simply learn how to win. Instead of using the rest of this season to figure that out, the Rockets will have to take half of next season. I bet that the Rockets will once again lose more than half of next year's games which are decided by six or less. More rookies certainly won't prevent that. So tankers, enjoy this pathetic, end-of-the-season "run" the Rockets are putting on. There will be more of the same next season.
Hey I know a good draft pick wont help us if we use it to get another underdeveloped rookie, but it will help us if we trade that draft pick along with KT or MoT for a good veteran bigman with shotblocking and rebounding skills.
The #5 pick is a lot better than the #10 pick and Rudy is figuring out which bench players are going to be with the team next year. If the Raptors can make the playoffs, this year's draft could be very interesting.
Sure, it is all well and good to say things like "the Rockets simply need to learn to win," but where the logic or any real argument behind any of this? I have not seen a good argument yet that proves in any way that losing begets losing as a basic rule. The Rockets are not a good team right now. Steve is good, Mobes is good, KT can be good when he is on. Tonight, Steve, Mobley and KT were all on, but NO ONE else was. And 3 good players playing well is not enough to beat a decent team when every other role player on the team is choking. Getting good role players in the draft will help this problem. If you don't think it will, then I don't understand why you even bother following the Rockets. If losing begets losing, then the Rockets will have to suck next season, because they sucked this season. Since the draft apparently doesn't solve our problem of "not knowing how to win" then it is apparently impossible for the Rockets to ever have a winning season again. Damn. Well, we had a nice run. This season was awash with bad injuries. On top of that, Steve Francis didn't have exactly the breakout season I think many of us were expecting, but he still had a damn good season anyway. Mobley continues to gradually get better, and we have a 19 year old rookie who shows a lot of promise. KT is good, but personally, I think he has just about hit his ceiling as far as his skills go. Outside of all that, there isn't a whole lot on this team to get excited about right now. We simply don't have a great deal of talent to work with. These are all tangible problems that the Rockets have to deal with. "Not knowing how to win" is not a tangible problem. It is a bull**** argument made up by people who are tired of seeing their team lose, and who know there is little that can be done about it.
What about the defense? Surely the league's worst defense could have been improved upon over these final few weeks. You don't need talent to play good defense, just effort and determination. Seeing that would make me feel much better about next season, and I'm sure a six game winning streak would sell more tickets for next year than a six game losing streak. There is nothing logical about losing. Fans pay to see wins. I don't care how meaningless the season is. I want to see the team win every game. It sickens me that there are people out there that root for their own team to lose. Even Rudy rants constantly about the time the Rockets finished the season going 41-11, and ended up going 15-0 and winning the title the next year. How many teams go from being 30 win teams to making the playoffs the next year? There is no Duncan in this draft, and the Rockets are losing for nothing. I would take winning for nothing over losing for nothing any day.
Returning to the title of this thread, this was the perfect game for the Rockets. A confidence building loss. KT continues his path toward big time player. It was also good to see Steve and Mobley give us another glimpse of what they can really do. Moochie showed us he is worth his contract. 13 Rebounds, some good defense and good effort by Kelvin Cato who seems to be puttin forth good effort. As Calvin Murphy said, look how it all opened up for Cat and Steve when the frontline (KT) started scoring. Next year with Mo T, Rice, the constantly improving KT and Cato and whoever our frontline will be consistently scoring. HERE WE GO, ROCKETS!
ZRB, must everything in such black and white with you? Because there is no Tim Duncan in the draft, then there is apparently NOTHING?! What the hell kind of logic is that? There are plenty of good players in the draft, and you seem to be neglecting to consider that the better our draft picks are, the more they are worth in trade. The Rockets losing DOES improve them right now, indirectly. Now, you finally mentioned something tangible in your last post that needs to be fixed. I agree that defense needs to be improved. But I disagree that it has anything to do with effort as a whole (certain players don't put much effort into it, but I doubt that will change....Cato, I am looking in your direction). I think the problem is that this team is simply bereft of any good defensive players (save Torres maybe and Griffin, both of which are raw in other areas of their game). Getting better defensive players in the draft cannot help this? Is this because they have not "learned to win"? It seems to me that the only point I see you making is that you would rather see the Rockets win these last games rather than lose. Well, that is your personal preference, but I have yet to see anyone prove in any way that them losing right now will actually effect in any way how badly they play next season (ie. more losses as a result).
I'm all for the optimism, but I did see what Steve really does. 0 assists in 53 minutes. WTF is that? I don't think there's any excuses for that. You can't even say that his teammates weren't scoring because Cat had 30 and KT had 26. It's not like he couldn't alley-oop to Cato. Even KT had 4 assists. Maybe it's the migraines/shoulder that's really bothering him, but it seems he regressed rather than progressed this year. It was good to see him hitting some of his lay-ups for once though. Also what's up with his free throws? I was happy with Cat's game and even Kenny. Also for a guy that supposedly gives no effort I'm glad Cato got 13 boards (I just wish he would get a couple of jumpshots from time to time.) Overall it wasn't a bad game, Ijust wish Steve would learn to make his teammates jobs easier (offensively.) Some of you get bent out of shape whenever ZRB posts, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the team played basketball with fundamentals. I don't think he's the only one who gets frustrated watching these guys play. I hope and believe that we will do better next year, but I'm not sold until this team starts to play smart. Defense wouldn't hurt either.
The Rockets didn't need the number five pick to land Francis, or Mobley, or Griffin. I would rather win, and trust our GM's ability to make good trades. Maybe you can tank for a Tim Duncan, but you do NOT tank for role players.
Ahhhhh.. a good ole ZRB sexual frustration post. Its OK man, things will turn around. Bring back Protrolls.com!!! I wouldn't be so pessimistic though. I can see you changing your tune if we landed Ming. And in no way are Jason Williams or Dejuan Wagner role players. Quentyl Woods is being compared to Tracy McGrady. Any one of these four players can make a huge difference in 2 or 3 years. ZRB, you must admit that we will have a shot at the playoffs next year IF we stay healthy.
I'm still trying to understand the "let's not draft a rookie, we don't want to spend more time rebuilding" argument coming from the people who generally take the most pessismistic view of the Rockets in general. If the team is so flawed, how is one mediocre veteran going to put them over the top? If Francis isn't a superstar, then why does he need a complementary player? If the team sucks, why not at least draft someone who could potentially turn it around? I think the vision you guys have is of Detroit. Most people here seem to think that all we need is our Ben Wallace, and we're set. I can't agree with that. While I do agree that someone like that would turn Houston into a playoff team... it's also a dead-end street. Great. We've got a 50 win team. I can think of any # of teams that won 50 games for 4-5 years in a row, but never had the talent to break through. I want more than that, and I think that a rookie is more likely to provide this. This desparation for a decent veteran is the product of frustration, not sense.
I don't want to trade the draft pick for Derrick Mckye, if that's what your're thinking. I would only package those picks for a Lamar Odom, or Rashard Lewis (please, get him on this team). I'd rather have a star with some NBA experience than another rookie. Tell me though, are there any players in the draft this year that could make an impact, or are we looking at another Eddie Griffin scenario, where we have to wait years for serious production?
Hard to tell, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Griffin play well next year, and very well the year after than that. I'm willing to let a guy incubate for a year, or two. Jason Williams is probably ready to produce, though I suppose we wouldn't draft him. If the reports on Ming are true, he'd be an immediate upgrade at the C position. Gooden would also be able to offer something immediately, though I don't think he'd fit in.
What about if the rockets pick that guy name Prince from Kentucky University (KU)? Totaly agree with getting Lamar Odom or Rashard Lewis, but without trading Thomas. I do think Rockets should trade Terrence Morris.
I like Prince, personally, but I doubt many on this board will agree. He's got long arms, size, range, and fair handles. I didn't get to see him often enough to comment on his Defense, however I would add that's what the rockets should look for first in a prospect. I REALLY like Butler
I guess I'm one of the rare ones that can't watch an entire Rockets' game? No offense.....just dribbling and ISOs. No defense, or any attempt at it. We don't have a coach or assistant coaches that seem to want to set their foot down, or attempt to teach the game of basketball....or..... We don't have players that want to listen.....either way..... We don't have a TEAM. For anybody that doesn't have the NBA League Pass, do yourself a favor and get it so you can actually watch what basketball is supposed to look like. Not saying every time is better, you'll just enjoy basketball much more watching teams that know how to play. It's just sad how much we suck, and the addition of MoTaylor and Glen Rice sure as hell won't take us over the top. We just don't know how to play the game......PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
