Ok ... so we lost a heartbreaker, a game we should have absolutely won. But, somehow I wasn't too pissed after the game. I'll say that I'm not a HUGE basketball mind on strategy and everything, I like the game and I understand enough of it to make some comments. Overall, I think they played well ... yeah, there were numerous times when they made plays where you just wanted to smash the TV ... Francis just running into Walker in the 4th and then trying to make the pass to EG, nevermind that Yao was right next to him. Or Cuttino (again in the 4th) driving to the basket with time expiring (1.8 left) and Steve standing RIGHT next to him, and he was wide open. Or the worst one ... MoT leaving Horry wide open for the dagger. But we also came back from 12 down with 6 minutes left. Shaq or no Shaq, the team isn't a pushover, and Kobe was on fire ... so the fact that they were able to even push it to double OT was refreshing. We didn't just bend over and die. I read Bucher's article, and coming from someone who has absolutely no vested interest in the Rockets, it made sense. Many people have pointed out Sacramento, and Dallas as prime examples that time is needed to get used to each other. Look at Indiana now, look at Portland. Rudy sucks? I don't know if I can buy that too ... it's not like he is condoning any of the mistakes on the floor, you can see him shake his head on every blown play, it shows that he knows things need working, he isn't oblivious to the problems, he is aware of them and has said so himself. Steve, yeah ... he needs to learn how to play within himself, but everything he has said shows that he is sincere in trying to win ... maybe he's just saying the right things, but right now, that's all we have to go by. Not everything is all nice and happy, but it's not THAT bad either. I'm just happy that we even had a chance at the playoffs this year. I was expecting Yao to struggle like crazy and Steve and Cat to cause rifts between themselves and Yao, none of that has happened. The most frustrating thing is to know that we CAN compete with anyone out there, and that is hard to swallow when stupid mistakes cost us the game. All in good time
"Does anyone else wish we could fast forward 2 years?" -- some other BBS poster in the chat last night amen.. things aren't too bad, but I hate losing to the fakers, especially when we should have won. I won't be horribly disappointed if we don't make the playoffs this year, our starting lineup has been jumbled a lot and we're adjusting, this is typical.
and good thing is, we still have chance to beak lakers, at our home. i only wish by next season, or by end of this season, rudy will have a solid start lineup in his mind. after this season, i think most playes of our team will have some confidence to face those potential "championship" teams. next season, this confidence may turn out to be a consistent win (10 or even 15), no matter of what kind of opponent they meet. indeed, i care more about a solid team than a playoff berth this season.
Ah fresh air! Its nice to see a logical level headed thread every once in a while. This team just needs time. Patience is a virtue!
In case you haven't noticed, we were 8 games above .500 only a month ago and top 5 in the West. Now, the Lakers are in the left hand lane about to leave us in their exhaust. If anything, things are worse...
I think our schedule has dictated the bad streak more than anything else. We had so many home games at that point. The Rockets played well in the loss to Utah and in the Minnesota and Sacramento games. We lost a couple of close ones against Cleveland and LA, but the team seems to be meshing better IMO.
Leave it to A-Train to post the first negative response. Lighten up man. What did you expect us to accomplish this year? Yes we lost last night but IMHO the team looks as though thier startingf to "GET IT" as most people here like to put it. The players are just starting to understand their roles and learn each others games. Who cares about the playoffs this year? Its not like we have a chance of winning it all anyway. This is a throw away year, a year to develop chemistry and discover what kind of team we can really have. This team is going to be good it just needs TIME!
A-Train, in the past few weeks, how many playoff bound, WC teams have we played? Save the games against Cleveland and Miami, we've played Utah twice, Sacramento, Minn twice, Lakers twice, Phoenix twice (after tonights game), SA, and Dallas twice ... yeah, things were bound to get ugly. That is 12 games against the top of the Western Conference in the span of a month (Jan 15th to now). We managed to go 6-10 in that stretch, beating LA, Pho, Utah, Sac, and Minnesota. That is pretty damn impressive in my opinion. Again, I said things aren't perfect, far from it ... but to expect anything else at this point is inane. Give them time ... give them more than 50-60 games to decide if they can gel together. They have shown flashes of what they're able to accomplish, they just need to figure how to do it on a nightly basis, that takes time. As a programmer, a very lame analogy ... but when you first start out, you always need to keep going back to square 1 to look up the simplest things, you make the stupid mental mistakes ... you get ur test back, and you're thinking 'DAMNIT!!! I KNEW THAT ONE!' ... you keep learning, and eventually, you've gotten it down so well, you don't have to even think about it. Same for the Rockets, they keep making the same mistakes and go back and relearn, do it well for a stretch and have the mental lapse again ... give em sometime.
We lost 9 of last 13, we lost to Cavs, we lost to Heat without Eddie Jones, we lost to bulls, we were blown out by 30pts by Dallas twice, we lost to Utah and lakers in the OT with huge chance to win. All of those happened in the past month, how bad is "THAT" bad?
Screw that "we've played a tough schedule" crap. We've beaten the Kings, Spurs, Jazz, and T-Wolves by double digits and beat the Lakers with a healthy Shaq and Kobe. After the Lakers game at home, the Rockets were flying high and seemed to start clicking. Then, the bottom fell out. EVERY team plays a tough schedule, but playoff teams (i.e: not the Rockets) find a way to make it though those tough stretches with a respectable record...We're atrocious on the road, and we consistently lose to CBA teams. During the easiest, home heavy part of our schedule, we only went 4 games above .500! Now, we have two three game east coast road trips and a five game in seven day west coast road trip....did I mention that we are atrocious on the road? I want to know how that equates to "It's not THAT bad", because I don't see it... We also have six games left against the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Nuggets...if I predicted that we would go 2-4 in those games, would you bet against me? Yeah, I didn't think so...This team has NO excuse right now to be struggling for the final playoff spot Face it, rockit, this season is OVER, it's just that you, Possum, and the Rockets team haven't found out yet
yeah, we only had 3 straight seasons during April and May where the most interesting thing to talk about around here is Tracy Murray and big ass gorditas. so hell, whats another season or two....
I agree, it is not THAT bad. Atleast we have something to look forward too. We have a nucleus of Yao, Steve, and Cat that will gel and propel this team to the Finals one day in the not too distant future. Look at Atlanta, Cleveland, and Miami. Those fans probably don't even care enough to boo anymore. So yeah, it really isn't that bad. I think that Yao's surprising play this year got all of our hopes up. But I think this team now has the talent, but has to learn how to win next.
3 seasons is nothing. Check how long it took Boston, Detroit, and Chicago to get back into the playoffs. Hold on, Chicago may never get back to the playoffs. The Rockets are WAY ahead of schedule.
See, I dont like this "we need TIME" excuse at all. Is the low seed playoff spot a tall order for this Rox team right now? We need time to make it to low seed playoff spot or what. Rudy and the Rox players have been using it to avoid critisim, I dont like it. The coach needs to step up and say "that's it, we are good enough to make the play off right now, there is no excuse for that". Where is the urgency, it's not like brewing the beer or something.
Well, apparently we do need time. It is not just an excuse. It is a tall order for both Marbury and Francis. It's not so surprising that the more experienced player with arguably the best small forward in the conference has the early lead. Do you not agree that it is up to Yao to make the difference. He's young...but there is no excuse for Yao not making the difference! "to avoid criticism." I don't see it. Is that the solution? Rudy just needs to say, "there's no excuse." Wow. Then you're right, he should say it. What they hell is Rudy thinking. Just say it Rudy. Tell me there's no excuse. It will work.
I never said anything about this season ... I was making an observation that overall, in the bigger scheme of things ... future perhaps? ... things aren't that bad. Right now, we have SOMETHING to feel good about, the wins against the quality teams ... how can things be worse? We could have lost ALL the games to Utah, Minny, Sac, LA, Pho ... be under .500, the team could be falling apart, cliques forming where players are alienated, a great coach resorting to shifting blame on refs for a failing year ... Playoff bound teams find ways to win games that they SHOULD win, you are absolutely right, they do. Again, they'll start playing with that killer instinct. With the exception of the Lakers in the West the past few years, I don't think ANY team has developed that killer instinct yet. Sacramento comes to mind, but they fold in crunch time, Minnesota? Dallas? I'm talking post-season ... not regular season. And you're the one expecting them to be a playoff team, I wasn't. I am actually pleasantly surprised that we're even in the running for a spot to play in the post-season. As I said in the first post, I was actually expecting the team to self-destruct, following all the pre-draft posts that Stevie was having heart-attacks with the thought of playing with Yao, Cuttino questioning whether the Rockets should trade the first pick for Odom, concerns that MoT was seriously overweight ... So we won't make the playoffs this year ... if we make it as the #8 seed, we'll only be furthering our misery by watching the Mavs totally destroy the Rockets, not in 3 games ... but 4 games of pure hell! Come on, lighten up ... it could be worse!
Can you honestly say that you didn't expect this team to be in the playoffs after that win against the Lakers at home? This thread wasn't about whether things could be worse...things could ALWAYS get worse no matter what team you are...This thread was whether or not things are THAT bad. When you compare our situation with the situation we were in after the aforementioned Laker game, then YES, things are THAT bad. The only problem that the Rockets seemed to have before the season started was whether or not Yao would be able to make an impact. Well, needless to say he's exceeded everybody's expectations, yet this team still continually spins its wheels in the mud. This team has made ZERO progress since the beginning of the season...how long do we wait? one more year? two more years? I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't know if this team is capable of forming a cohesive unit...Those games where we blew out the Jazz, Kings, and T-Wolves were anomolies, if anything... ...and yes, I'd rather watch this team get pounded by the Mavs in four games than them watching the playoffs at home. At least then, they know what the playoffs FEEL like and can start to shoot for higher things. At least if they make the playoffs, they'll accomplish SOMETHING
