nope, best not to consider recent success. ignore the wins, we're going to hell in a handbasket! no way any team gets better by winning. this winning thing is way overrated.
1) If Houston had gotten past Utah last year they would have gotten GS. I don't think there's any way they would have made it to the WCF. 2) Alexander wanted a new coach because of the lack of playoff success. If Gundy had been going deep in the playoffs, or even if he had gotten past the first round last year, he'd probably still be the head coach. 3) The thing that worries me isn't Yao or T-Mac having monster games. First, progress in adapting to Adelman's offense has been painfully slow. Second, the lack of energy and intensity in the last few games is really bugging me. Somebody on the Chronicle's web board posted that after watching the Denver/Portland game he didn't think the Rockets deserved to get the playoffs, because those two teams went and laid it all out to get the win. That's the problem, or at least a problem.
Feigen is an idiot. Last year he was a JVG lover never reporting the obvious shortcomings of the man and this year he is a Rocket hater never looking at the glass half full. Come on the Rockets are 13 and 3 over the last 16 games. Sure the Rockets could play better and yeah it doesn't look pretty but earlier in the season the Rockets were losing ugly. Now they are winning ugly. I would say that is getting better. Yes they need to improve more and we need both Yao and Tmac to play well together but don't forget Yao has just played back to backs on the road and 1 of the games was the chinese superball were he most certainly tried to leave it all on the floor in spite of his below average performance. His energy was totally expended for last nights contest but he will play better for sure in the gmes before the all star break. Also Tmac is playing better but his return distupted the better offensive flow we saw the team play without him. I already see Tmac passing more and playing one on one less but he needs to buy into Adelman's offense even more. I expect that to happen and the Rockets will get better for it. Yes this was an ugly road trip but they went 3 and 0 on the road and extended there road winning streak to 8. Come on Feigen that deserves some merit. All of a sudden you decide to become MR. Negative. Yes it's already half way through the season and the Rockets are still a work in progress. At least keep it real. TMac has been hurt Head is out Brooks is in a slump and yet the Rockets are only 1 game out of a playoff spot and could make that up before the All Star game. If you want to keep real than tell both sides with a Title like "It aint pretty but that's 8 straight on the road" or "An ugly Road to the Playoffs". Yes it was ugly but the Rockets took care of business. And the Rockets have already this year beat the Spurs, Warriors, Magic and Portland and almost pulled upset wins over the Hornets and Boston without Tmac and played Utah close until the end without Yao. That's impressive in my book. Yes the loss to Philly was disgusting but that is it this year. Otherwise the are playing it close to the best right now. And Feigen if you open your eyes you could easily see they are getting better even if it is not as fast or as much as you would like.
man guys chill this is the nba u can't expect to come out each night and blowout the crappy teams geez this is the nba where amazing happens
I can't agree more. They are not "unable" to blow out crappy teams, instead whenever they play a bad team their intensity of playing DROPS to a point that we can barely beat any team in this leaugue. But when we play the elite teams such as SA and Pheonix, we played as if we were a true contender of the ring. I think we have the pieces and everything that will make us a successful team in the playoffs, we just lack consistency in our willingness to compete.
There is no excuse for going out and playing without an real sense of urgency, but that argument goes beyond basketball. That is just human nature. You tend to slack off when things are easy and put your best effort forward when your back is against the wall. Everybody cannot suddenly become Kobe and become cutthroat. Do I think it is a problem? Yes. First off, I am still pissed that no Rocket player has laid Jerry Stackhouse's ass on the floor for dunking the ball at the end of that blowout game. If I were in that game, and he did that, the next time around, I would make sure he gets a really hard foul. But that is not the nature of this team and that was a reason why JVG wanted Charles Oakley and Charlie Ward. How do we fix it? I truly think we need a tough minded rotation player (ie Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Raja Bell, Rasheed Wallace). If you look up and down the roster, the closest to an enforcer that we have is Carl Landry. And most NBA players and referees aren't going to really respect any non-sense from him because he is a rookie. Even Scola and Hayes, despite their toughness and hustle, are not really enforcers. So I am definitely for getting a Sam Cassell or Jason Kidd type player in here. Even when you look at our two superstars, they began to struggle when they face tough, in-your-face defenders that reach in and shove them around. Although lately, I have seen both of them do a better job of throwing back some dirty plays, they still have a long way to go or need a real tough enforcer on the team. That is why we get blowout when teams intensify their defense on the ball. It is like we get in the corner and crouch up, and hope it all goes away. But once again, this is a work in progress. We need to get the wins and hope that by winning and practicing the things we did good from the previous games, we can develop chemistry and comprehend the offense. I for one, still believe that this team is too talented to not make the playoffs and not make noise in the playoffs once we get there. We have two superstars that are too talented to guard one on one and demand double teams. Add Landry, Scola, and Brooks firepower and hustle and Bonzi's decision to start playing, and you got one hell of a dangerous team. I believe that we could take San Antonio, Utah, GS, Dallas, Denver, NO, and the Lakers in a 7-game series if we get enough of a comprehension of the offense. That is why I feel it is better for Aldeman to experiment and allow different players to get some time on the floor rather than play our starters the whole time and get a blowout.
I'm starting to think that this team's problem is that instead of playing to win, they too often play NOT TO LOSE. It's most obvious when they have a large lead but can't seem to maintain it, but I think we also see it when they're playing bad teams. They tend to become more conservative in their offense, overly relying on tried-and-true moves, and their overall agressiveness goes down a notch. It's like they're just trying to hold on and not let the win slip away. This tendency goes away against the elite teams because the win is not so assured. Anyway, just a theory.
I can't believe people are blaming the Rockets poor play because of T-MAC....People are also blaming that Yao isn't getting enough shots.....Yao isn't doing the things he need to do to get the ball.........Why would someone give him the ball in the high post? He was playing great in January but these last three games have been horrible....You can't blame it on him being tired.....There are too many Yao lovers on this board and you are giving him a free pass.....if it were T-MAc, it would be a verbal slaughter!!!
Tough to say T-Mac is choking the offense. The last game Rockets had 23 assists on 35 made baskets. Five different players had 10 or more field goal attempts. Once again, people remember the last minute or two and think that was a microcosm of the entire game. T-Mac is doing what he is supposed to be doing with the offense. Maybe teams are gearing their defense to stop Yao and be more relaxed on T-Mac. You cant double both of them all the time.
I didn't realize we were coming out slow and no intensity. It seems like we've actually started games well. Normally, if you all recall, we used to come out and get smoked in the 1st halves of the 1st quarter.
I think they are improving from the way they pass, driving and laying up. However, they occasionally make sloppy play, if they can eliminate that, then the improvement is significant.
I think Scola needs to work on his layups. hehehe The whole team needs a lot more FT practice or something, man!
Yao not getting shots is Yao's fault. He has averaged more minutes than anytime in his career and it's starting to show. I think he really needs rest and the all star will bring some of that. I also think Adelman should start ramping down his minutes whenever possible. On the other topic, the Rockets didn't just beat a crappy team last night. They beat an improving team who had won their last 4 home games including wins over Phoenix and Golden State. Yao had a terrible game, but Tracy, Landry, and Scola were able to carry them to victory. Landry looks better on offense every game. We should start running some plays for him.
Well, I think the team is trying to get Yao the ball, but it's not working b/c of all the attention he is getting. Yao's dominance depends on the ball getting to him. Defenses have come into games with the gameplan to take Yao out of the game no matter what. You see what happens when we force feed it. He'll get it taken away. No fault of his...he's just got too much heat on him. So it's up to everyone else to step up. There really isn't much you can do about it.
