some of you aren't following the rules. this isn't to discuss whether van gundy can coach or not. do you remember that team being fun? i do. also yao ming did not have his best season then. not even close to what he became post all-star 06.
ATTENTION REVISIONIST HISTORIANS: The Rockets played at a slower pace with a less efficient offense in 04/05 than they did in 06/07. The difference wasn't in playing style from one half of the season to the next, it was in having guys who could make shots - and more importantly were not afraid to take them. THen 2 of them got hurt and the 3rd was inexplicably cashed in for Rafer. Nobody wants to believe it, but teh Rockets, despite massive injury issues and not a lot of depth - were in the top half in offensive efficiency this year. I know that nobody wants to believe it - but that's part of how you win 52 games with a shallow roster and your stars out for half the season.
If the 04-05 Rockets played slower AND were less efficient than 06-7, why do you say the 04-05 guys could make shots while this year's team couldn't? Shouldn't it be the other way around? By the way, statsitically we should probably be in the 2nd round by now
That was the best season the Rockets had (entertainment wise) in the last decade. It was awesome. I loved the fire that team had. Lots of emotion. Lots of heart. They lacked that last season. BIG TIME.
I don't think the question was phrased correctly. IMO, we all probably had fun watching the team as we were winning games. However, the style of play/games were still boring. Remove your emotional attachment from the team and ask yourself would you have truly enjoyed watching us that season.
that was the best rockets team in the JVG era. T-Mac was still a top 5 player and we had so many pit bulls in Bob Sura, Mike James, and Jon Barry. that season as SO FUN, much funner than our previous season.
That was back when JVG could motivate the team. Now they come out in game 7 at home like they're sleep walking.
IMO the catalyst for the the 04-05 team was Sura, Berry, Wesley and James. Coincedentally JVG did not have the oppertunity to ruin any of those three with his off-season, training camp and pre-season since all of the above were either aquired during the season or in Sura's case was hurt until December of that year. Wesley and Berry were noticably less effective the following year after the experience of a JVG off season. Sura and James were not with the team.
Yep they were more fun to watch especially late in the season when we ended Miami's 12 game win streak in a defining game. Then a few weeks later Denver came in all hot after the all-star break and we just handed them a blowout loss at the Toyota Center. T-Mac was still dunking and serving facial on guys like Shawn Bradley. Bob Sura was a warrior hustling for all the loose balls. Jon Barry and David Wesley were making a living draining all those 3 pointer's. Dikembe was a few year's younger and still bocking shots with his trademark nasty finger wag. Yao wasn't as dominant as now but still he had his moments. JVG had more hair on his temple and and a somewhat of a half-grin half-smile on his dull face. In all that team had some good chemistry and bonded very well. Too bad most of the guys on that team either retired of got so old they couldn't even play any more the next season.
you can't possibly be serious. jvg hating logic is so twisted. wesley and barry weren't new kids on the block. they're both old players who got older the next season. barry credited jvg for rejuvenating his career. he contemplated retirement before becoming a rocket. the next season he broke down and couldn't play at the same level anymore. wesley played his heart out but he's a undersized shooting guard in his mid-thirties, who a year later is on a roster but practically out of the league. yeah i guess a van gundy offseason ruined is a far far more logical explanation.
As a Rockets fan, hell yeah, as a basketball fan, hell no. Here's why: I only get 1/2 the package with the Rockets, amazing stunning defense, but no offense. I paid for the whole ticket, I came for a show, show me some offense!
I guess you are a big believer in coincedence. The team's offense only got better once guy's like Tyrone Lue, Jim Jackson and Charlie Ward (all who spent the off season and pre-season) were gone and Wesley, Berry, Sura and James started running the back court. That 04-05 team from about January on was probably the most efficient and fun offense JVG has ever coached. Just check out the guy's recored every other year he has coached...his offense is almost always ranked at the bottom of the league. I'm not a big believer in coincedence.
