1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

The top 10 reasons things went wrong last season

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by topfive, Sep 20, 2016.

  1. topfive

    topfive CF OG

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    19,249
    Likes Received:
    37,915
    Incomprehensible... unless the single biggest key cog in your defense gets pouty very early on and decides his time as a Rocket is pretty much over. See #6 above. When that defensive foundation checks out, the entire defense crumbles around his remains. With no defense at all, it really doesn't matter what your offense does.
    <BR>
     
  2. heypartner

    heypartner Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 1999
    Messages:
    62,973
    Likes Received:
    57,283
    whoa now ... don't be so hard on yourself.

    Both Capela and Beverley improved.
     
  3. baller4life315

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2003
    Messages:
    12,656
    Likes Received:
    2,955
    It's a fair point, but it doesn't explain why Lawson, TJ, Josh, Brewer and others all fell off of a cliff.

    Everybody got worse. I'm at the point where I could be convinced it was more of a curse or bad juju type of thing as opposed to any attempt at a rational explanation.
     
  4. lastreg

    lastreg Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2007
    Messages:
    1,555
    Likes Received:
    535
    1. haren
    2. haren got a pass from fans
    3. dh12 thought playing D was low-rewarding work, he stopped D too.
    4.
    5.
    6.
    7.
    8.
    9.
    10. Nobody wanted to play D.
     
  5. chenjy9

    chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2008
    Messages:
    13,534
    Likes Received:
    10,531
    TJ just never came back from his injuries, too much rust to shake off and too much confidence lost. Brewer was never good, just hustles a lot and last year, he missed a lot of transition shots trying to do too much. Josh Smith was good for like 3 games before last season where he was just garbage. Lawson was never good since he stopped drinking.
     
  6. HayesIsBack

    HayesIsBack Member

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2015
    Messages:
    1,975
    Likes Received:
    337
    Pretty much sums it up.

    Harden wasnt in shape even quarter way through the season, and Dwight only playing defense for 41/82 games is still 41 more than Harden did.
     
  7. Mazulis

    Mazulis Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2015
    Messages:
    1,372
    Likes Received:
    1,154
    Wher is
    1.K
    2.a
    3.r
    4.d
    5.a
    6.s
    7.h
    8.i
    9.a
    10. n
    curse?
     
  8. SF3isBack!!

    SF3isBack!! Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2007
    Messages:
    10,163
    Likes Received:
    1,879
    Pretty much this.
     
  9. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2008
    Messages:
    72,175
    Likes Received:
    117,056
  10. heypartner

    heypartner Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 1999
    Messages:
    62,973
    Likes Received:
    57,283
    According to OP, shouldn't it be Dwight Howard without the D ... then it fits, as well

    1. w
    2. i
    3. g
    4. h
    5. t
    6. H
    7. o
    8. w
    9. a
    10. r
     
  11. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2002
    Messages:
    36,323
    Likes Received:
    26,408
    About half of the teams followed us and half were ahead of us.

    But heypartner was wrong. Turning the corner three times does not always get you back to where you started. He assumed that all the corners were 90 degrees.

    I contend that the corners we turned were more acute than right angles. That's why everybody got dizzy after the third turn.
     
  12. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2002
    Messages:
    36,323
    Likes Received:
    26,408
    On topic. I can't argue with OP's 10 points, although some of them could be combined. No need to have so many.

    I especially agreed with #9 and #10. Howard was injured half the time the season before last. The biggest difference between that season and last season (regular seasons, not playoffs) was Harden's effort and DMo.

    But no matter, this team had no character even before last season. I blame it on Morey. I hope Harden will grow up. And the new guys bring some new attitude. Still don't like the D'Antoni hire.
     
  13. HayesIsBack

    HayesIsBack Member

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2015
    Messages:
    1,975
    Likes Received:
    337
    Great post!
     
  14. Air Canada

    Air Canada Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2009
    Messages:
    1,263
    Likes Received:
    1,332
    Yep... Five of the reasons should be

    JB
    JB
    JB
    JB
    JB
     
  15. xtruroyaltyx

    xtruroyaltyx Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    Messages:
    11,165
    Likes Received:
    13,822
    1. Poor leadership on and off the court
    2. Terrible coaching
    3. The end.
     
  16. baller4life315

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2003
    Messages:
    12,656
    Likes Received:
    2,955
    Not pinning this all on Terry, since that would be grossly unfair, but this is yet another reason why last year's epic failure is so puzzling.

    We weren't bringing back a 38-year-old Terry to be a rotation player. He was supposed to be our chemistry safety net. The experienced locker room guy in his twilight years just looking to be a leader and contribute small minutes when needed. A guy that theoretically could squash turmoil, call people out and put people in their places. Your prototypical veteran leader that every great team has.

    We had our stars, our role players, our major upgrade and momentum coming into the new season. We signed Terry last minute for the reasons I mentioned above. We had seemingly checked all the boxes.
     
  17. Htownballer38

    Htownballer38 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    Messages:
    9,069
    Likes Received:
    1,286
    You can not put the defensive woes solely on Howard. That is absurd and ludicrous. Especially when Harden wasn't putting max effort. You can't let a player blow right by you and expect the big men to always clean up your damn mess.


    When one person messes up their assignment, then the entire defense is screwed. The rotation is all jacked up and the defense is at the mercy of the offense.


    Another reason why last season was an epic failure; the entire locker room was divided. It started when they didn't bring Smith back and brought Harden's boy Ty Lawson in. Dwight then realized the Rockets was only Harden's team. During that three game skid Harden was struggling to get his game going but continued to jack that bad boy up. Not only that but he refused to play his part on defense. Thus causing a division in the locker room.
     
  18. cdrive

    cdrive Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2006
    Messages:
    7,498
    Likes Received:
    7,175
    Conversely, and this is what so many fail to acknowledge, you can't expect Harden to go 100% on defense when he is being forced to go 40,0000% on offense because of the teams struggles: Lawson plop, Coach plop, Howard plop, all the role players shooting terribly, and many in their own respect individually lacking on D: Jones, Lawson, Thornton as starters to name a few. Even Bev couldn't keep people in front of him.
     
  19. topfive

    topfive CF OG

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    19,249
    Likes Received:
    37,915
    Great point. I agree 100%. We could have found someone younger and better if all we needed was a backup PG. Terry also let us down by talking a big game about being the veteran locker room presence, then not delivering when it mattered. I suspect that's why he's currently on someone else's roster.
    <BR>
     
  20. topfive

    topfive CF OG

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    19,249
    Likes Received:
    37,915
    But if your key defensive player, the guy who can absolutely shut down the paint on his good nights, decides not to bother, it barely matters what everyone else does. A team can withstand a few nights where the main defensive guy is off his game, but not 3/4 of a season.

    Absolutely. I really believe Howard's attitude problems popped up because he realized he was not the main guy, or even sharing that role, on the team. I think by December, Dwight had already decided he would opt out and move on to another team that he felt would value him and give him the prominent role he deserves (and the respect he thinks he's earned). His own comments in the off-season confirm that he checked out mentally at some point during the season.

    Was DH the cause of ALL of our problems last year? Certainly not. But as one of our two key guys, his horrible attitude definitely brought the entire team down around him.
    <BR>
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now