What's going on here? We have guys who are pleased with the team arguing over other guys who are pleased with team? I predicted this team would win 38 games. I also predicted 5 games ago that they would only win 6 out of their next 14 (they have now won 3 out of their first 5 of those 14). I'm pretty freaking happy right now about being wrong about this team.
we got the toughest part of our schedule in the beginning of the season, and we have a good record, over .500
And what is your definition of a mediocre team? You just named off 4 West teams that have been to the playoffs many times over and are expected to go again this year, and then you want to see how they stack up against the elite East teams. A fan who truly knows their team is mediocre wouldn't look really forward to facing those type of teams, cause they already know their team is mediocre and doesn't stand a chance against them. Our team is a gritty hardnosed FAIR TO GOOD team. That's my take. Mediocre my ass.
The team is a better team than I expected them to be and I'm kind of sad. lol. I was hoping the team would be a lottery team because unless we get some semblence of a stud player or two, the whole "they played with heart!" type of play wears thin after a while. It's fun watching Carl Landry become a beast (scoringwise, anyway). It's fun watching Chuck Hayes play his heart out. But how long will these love affairs last? Another season? All-star break? I mean, we're playing better than our talent would suggest at times, but how long are fickle fans like the ones on this forum going to be happy with that? By season's end, some will be looking to shoot Carl and castrate Chuck even though nothing's changed - they'll be the same team they always were. :grin: Of course there's the crazy chance that they actually improve and become one of the most overachieving teams ever and win a ring... well... maybe.
Best bet is hope Yao comes back as good as he was before and Morey adds another important piece to this team next summer with so many FAs available.
Huh, for us, the road gets easier from here on out. I have absolute confidence we'll make the playoffs at minimum, and I'm convinced now that we're not just "get in playoffs, out in 4 games" fodder. We can be a second round team. Honestly, you little crybabies are sad because we lost a back-to-back game to one of the top 3 teams in the league on the road. Just be quiet, you pansies.
Then the word you're looking for is "untested" -- NOT mediocre. No wonder people are jumping up your a$$ -- you did a really crappy job of saying what you intended to say. Obviously. You're a regular cheerleader, you are.
The funny thing is, a year ago our record was probably worse at this point. Same thing for the last couple of years. Rockets always surge the second half. Easy schedule...momentum just builds and builds. If it happens this year, the Rockets are a lock for the playoffs. Who'da thunk it?
Oh no, the Rockets aren't the best team in the league! These games are entertainment. If you can't enjoy watching this team play, then it's not basketball that you're interested in.
Well, I'd say this is Morey's challenge. He's gone on record and said tanking is not an option. That leaves two options to upgrade: free agency or trade. At some point, Morey will have to take some of our undervalued, overachieving players and trade them for better pieces. He has to convince other GMs that two or three of our quality guys with good contracts are worth one star player (and maybe a bad contract or two). So far, though, that hasn't happened. There were reports that he went after the likes of Rubio, Nash and Caron Butler by offering packages of guys like Brooks, Battier, Artest and Landry, but no one has taken the bait. So for me, despite the amazing team that he's been able to bring together, the jury's still out on whether in the long run this was the "right" way to go.
What choice did they have, exactly? The Rockets are in the ticket-selling business, and tanking teams can really dissolve a fickle fanbase like Houston's. Not only that, but how are you going to tell guys like Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes, "Hey, just kind of play out there. We're sort of tanking." They only know how to play one way, and Rick Adelman isn't going to waste a year of his career dicking around. They already give Ariza a lot of shots. What more are they supposed to do to suck?
I used to get angry reading these kinds of threads. Sometimes I even get so disgusted that I leave the GARM for a few days just to cool down. Then I realize, God intended for these threads to happen so that we can see who's an idiot and who's not. "Weedout Process" they say.
The truth is that you guys suck at handling losses. After reading the GARM, who would ever think that we had won 7 out of 10 coming into tonights game? After we pound the crappy Nets, it'll be 4 wins out of 5 games for the good guys.
Mediocre is not a good adjective to describe this team. The term is usually negative in connotation and means moderate to low in quality. The teams play and attitude have been far from that. The term might be a good way to describe their record by the end of the season, but not the team play. In fact, given the challenges the team faces, it may take exceptional play just for the Rockets to have a mediocre record.
I'm not advocating tanking. And I recognize that Morey is working under restrictions and limitations. However, I am saying that ultimately Morey will be judged for how close he gets the Rockets to a championship. Although I love watching and following this team of overachievers, I see this as the first part of the equation. The second part occurs when some of our current players are traded for star player(s) that will bring the Rockets closer to a championship. This has yet to happen. I'm not saying it won't, but until it does, Morey's genius comes with an asterisk.
Rockets won 9 of their last 12 before tonight. The losses were to: Nuggets at THEIR place off a back-to-back, 19-9 record Magic at THEIR place off a back-to-back, 21-7 record Raptors at THEIR place in some weird 9 AM Sunday church start time game that probably threw them off. Rockets next games are Nets and Cavs on a back-to-back. Expect an L for that Cavs game based on their pattern. In all the Rockets back-to-backs they've beat the lesser team and lost to the better team. Thats just how it is.
lmao. kneejerk. we can win a championship if we face the right teams. we can beat LA, Portland, Utah, and Cleveland. Boston, Denver, Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando is a different story. unless tmac returns with a vengeance or we make a trade to land us a proper star who can fit in the system we're screwed with the other teams. but yeah, as far as being definite contenders.. we are a star wing or proper big man away from it.
