hypothetically... if we had grabbed that 8th spot ( a two game difference!). would we still be trying to trade cat? would rudy be on the hot seat? I wonder if these issues would be here today, if we had just won two more games. If we had won two more games, we would be saying Rudy did a great job int he 17 game improvement, the rockets are still young and are continuing to progress.... but we didnt win those two games, and now the entire team and staff has to be revamped.
would you rather make the playoffs, get swept by the Lakers, and live in a world where Rudy and Co can't do now wrong. or would you rather not make the playoffs, finally get some realization that maybe what we have isn't working and it's time to make some hard decisions?
sorry i was stupid when i said the Lakers...it's the Spurs that would have swept us. but what would getting swept have accomplished? Rudy keeping his job? Cat saving his job and not getting traded? Griffin not being branded as a bust? seriously, by NOT making the playoffs makes everyone that's a Rockets fan stop seeing the team in a 'can't do no wrong' kinda way.
Sorry to break it to ya but, some are still saying Rudy can do no wrong, Cat shouldn't get trades, EG is not a bust and other **** like we're the 2nd youngest team in the league. One thing for sure though, baseball sucks ass but that's what I'm stuck with watching right now.
We're not talking about 2 games, we're talking about 328 games ie. last 4 years. IMHO this group of 12+ players was good enough on paper to be a 6 or 7 seed maybe even a 5, not just sneak in the 8th seed. Are the spazz, twolves, suns, or blazers more TALENTED than us? I don't think so. Maybe the blazers. The team is under-achieving and that's a problem. Yes, we won more games than last year but what about the year before? So technically, we haven't improved in the last 2 or 3 years. That's a problem.
Very true. I am all for supporting the team but how can we, as fans, help our team when we think everything they do is great? I mean c'mon people, reality is a b!tch but you gotta deal with it. AND don't even get me started on the astros....
It's about standards and expectations. Neither were met. Also, it wasn't just losing the games it was the way the games were lost. Often selfish guard play and poor execution on the offense lead to the teams demise. So it's not just about the W's and L's it about the growth of the team. Poor chemistry and lack of offensive creativity is what is of concern. I think there is a valid reason why the coaches and players are on the hot seat...
Yao gave us the hope of getting into the playoffs and he's a great player/person BUT Yao didn't improve on how the Rockets love the isolation and never tried to feed him in the paint. Nor did he improve on the team shot selection or the team defense as a whole. Yao is only 1 out of 12 players on the team. Improvement as a team has to come from everyone.
with or without the playoffs the Rockets needed to make wholesale changes to their lineup and/or coaching staff. I think in many ways its better that they didn't make the playoffs so that Les is forced to realize that if he wants to put some butts in the seats at the new arena he is going to need to showcase something more than a 7 ft 6 in Chinese guy watching 2 idiots dribble out the shot clock.
Also, remember this quote (I got this from ESPN's Page 2) that I 100% agree on: "When the Rockets win it's because they have the talent to do so; when they lose it's because of their stupid play" that sums up the rockets. They can beat ANYONE in the league but their basketball intelligence is only higher than the Swiss Basketball team.
without those losing seasons we would not have the opportunities we do today. despite what you all may think eddie is a kid. yes a kid with a lot of money and no excuse to smoke weed and play without agression. but like kobe, kg, and tmac ( i consider eddie out of high school, that one year hardly counts) he still have to find his niche and grow emotionally. with the recent death of this brother/father figure eddie is a sad guy. despite being 6'10, hes a kid in a ogres body. he will be a great one... i just know it ive seen nachbar warm up and practice in person. this guy has one of the nicest stroke and offensive game ive ever seen. Expect him to make the adjustment, im telling you guys. him and yao being best friends, were gonna like this foreign duo. weve got a future....trying to win too soon, too fast like the mavs with the three J's, the nets with coleman, magic with penny, celtics with pitino..... we just have to be patient. again.
I don't knock on EG 'the kid' because he's sitll one of my favorite players. What i DO knock is 'the men' that can't carry the team like they're supposed to. as for nachbar, i don't doubt his shooting but shooting in practice is one thing and shooting in a real game is another. as for the future, you can't compare our team with either of those teams you've mentioned except for orlando w/ penny and oneal. those teams didn't ahve the team or coach we have. there is no excuse for underachieving.
kenny anderson, coleman, and the "dragon" , the nets were supposed to be the contenders out west then. the celtics with pierce, walker failed to make the playoffs three seasons straight, with the foundation that pitino had implemented, now someone else is taking all his credit. jason kid, mashburn, and jim jackson with don delson... all had high expectations placed upon them. the situation applies
The truth is they'd still suck. Who cares about first round exits? You want to be Minnesota? Screw that. All or nothing at all. Go for the trophy, all else is crap.
I am extremely happy the Rockets didn't make the playoffs. If the Rockets were in the playoffs, they would have just been embarassed by San Antonio in 4 games. At least Phoenix made it interesting with the Spurs. Frankly, I couldn't bear to watch the Rockets play anymore because their style is just so ugly with all of these iso, iso plays. Do we really need to see Francis running into the lane like a running back against 3 defenders while just throwing the ball at the hoop with the hope of getting fouled over and over again? Now, the Rockets are forced to deal with their ineptness and thats starting with the coach. Rudy is a nice guy but he hasn't been able to get it done for the past 4 years. We have the talent but Rudy has no idea of what to do with all of the talent. As stated by many, Rudy is more of an inspiration leader and doesn't really have a clue about the X's and O's and can't really teach fundamentals to anyone. If we just need an inspirational leader, just hire that guy Tony Robbins.
All you clowns saying "i'm glad we didnt make the playoffs" are SEVERELY discounting the effect of PLAYOFF experience on a player. To answer the original question of this thread: if we had made the playoffs, no one would be b****ing, unless we totally got embarassed, and even then, that would be expected.
