It just stinks how for the past few years, we do so well initially, only to falter so much at the end of the season while other teams pick it up... I remember ~3 years ago, we had an unexpected playoff spot, and then we lost it during the end of the season. The following season, we could have had a #6 or 7 seed, but we lost to the Lakers at the end and got the #8 seed. We also sputtered towards the end of last season. It looks like this season is more of the same...
Injuries have hurt us. The Ron Artest year should have been the year with realistic expectation an a beast of team, T-Mac surgery, Yao done for his career. This year is the best team we have since then Reality is that Houston was never able to enjoy a full roster. Houston never experiece a fully healthy front court rotation. Healthy Howard/Dmo/TJ/Smith should have been the best front court rotation in the entire NBA. Houston is curse.
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I'm quick to defend James when he has a bad game but I think we should be worried about his play in these types of games. James is cold blooded in a lot of regular season games, but he has a track record of playing terrible when it counts the most, and this last game was as close to playoffs as we can get outside of the playoffs. Go back to his college days and you'll see a player that shrinks when the lights are brightest. And when I say that it hurts because I want it to be the furthest thing from the truth. As a Rockets fan I want him to break out in the worst way. I want him to prove all the haters wrong. I want him to dominate a playoff series. I think he is capable of doing it, and that first playoff game will be a big indicator if this year is the year he takes that next step.
These last two games with the Spurs were playoff games IMO and played at playoff intensity by the Spurs. That's what Harden will face in the playoffs and he's going to have to overcome it.
Without a WILLING pick & pop PF with howard On this team the rockets will never be a real playoff team. It's hurts harden in big games because players can collapse, because our center & PF hang in the lane any highschool coach can figure out how to defend this team. Hardens good but he gets no picks from howard already then no picks from PF that can punish a defense with a jumper. Until morey figures this out it will stay in my sig, I will never have high hopes.
Look at every team in the west they have a pick & pop PF were the only ones without one !!!! Hell half the teams even have a center who can shoot a jumper also. Mchale needs to step it up but I really can't blame this guy, in order to have legit plays and punish a defense you need good movement and picks. I would say we would be better if we at least have better 3 point shooters but we still have nick, brewer, smith, jones, where you never know what's going to happen when a 3 is launched.
They need to start Brewer and bring Terry off bench. The rotation needs to include Capella and McDaniel as well. Dorsey needs to be the 12th man on the bench. So much talent on the bench that could be worked in now to gel. The Dwight offense needs to be dialed down to a few touches a game and def/reb. He needs to set screens for Brewer and Harden for easy buckets. The passing as a team is so frustrating to watch as well.
3s, lay-ups and FTs strategy--except we're sucking at all of them. I don't know. If DMo and TJones can hit 3s, they can develop that midrange jumper. But nah, we play the analytics way. It's got Morey's fingerprints all over it. And the coaches are dumb for taking it in hook line and sinker.
same here, right there with you. My wife kept trying to joke around, do cool and funny things, etc, and I just couldnt snap out of it. I told her I just needed to be frustrated for a bit, but really knew I wouldn't be over it til I woke up the next morning. Truth is I'm still WAY way way disappointed, but what makes it even worse is that I wasted that time. f-ing Rockets. lol
