The turning point was when Yao got pissed after the big bash of YOFs on clutch bbs and started to play better!
I vote"others" coz I think we haven't reach the point yet. if we can beat Sonic and Suns I will say this is it
i voted other, i think its a combination of all the things listed, plus the ease of the schedule to allow the team time to mesh. the real test begins post all star. the allstar break may be the turning point depending on how well the rockets play down the stretch.
I voted Sura coming off the IL. First, because it got rid of Charlie Ward's crippled ass (remember him?), which was an absolute necessity. Second, because it was Sura's return that began to give this team an identity of toughness and hustle, of never quitting. Before that, the team's identity had been slow and inept play on both ends. Of course, every factor on this list and more besides have contributed to the 8-game win streak. No one moment can define the turnaround. But I think Sura's return was the beginning.
I find it very ironic that the trade most everyone hated is now considered by most as the turning point of the season. I guess CD is not so dumb after all. Maybe time for a bump on the Jackson/Boki for Wesley thread.
i voted for tmac's 48. wesley coming (or more importantly, jj leaving) has been huge and barry was practically a package deal. sura coming back did what Hippieloser said and injected some life into this team. but the 48 point game finally unleashed tmac. the guy is the most important on this team and he does the heavy lifting. once he got rolling, it allowed all these other minor changes to mean so much, so that's why i picked it over the wesley and sura options.
I voted other. I think it was T-Mac's 11 point in 43 secs against the Spurs. We were 8 - 11 at that point, and went 22 - 10 since that victory. I think that was the where we saw what T- Mac can do and decided to make him the focal point of the offense.
The road game against Dallas. Not only did T-mac decide this was his team and score 48, but this was the game where Sura started pushing the ball on every possession. We still needed the subsequent trades to get this good, but that game was definitely the turning point. We stopped looking like a team that expected to lose each game, and started looking like a team that was having fun and playing hard.
Yeah!!! Seriously, I have to get atleast a tiny bit of credit guys. You guys should have seen the look Gundy gave me.
it was when i met scott padgett at best buy. I am the sole reason why the rockets have been led by scott and we are winning. without me u guys are nothing!
first post in ages.... leave it up to an oldtime poster to bring me out of the archives. the conversation with jvg was definitely the turning point in my opinion. the barry and wesley acquisitions were great moves, of course. but, they were great trades for what i call "satellite players". the tmac convo with jvg was immediately followed by a change in not only the offensive philosophy of the team, but a change in the "way" that tmac played. no longer was he second guessing himself on shots, wondering if it was the "right" shot for the possession. suddenly he started playing ball - offensively at least - the was he always has. which is to say - dominating his opponents. no bashing jvg on this point however, because i am equally convinced that jvg's handling of tmac early in the season forced him to be a better playmaker than he ever has been in his career. is there any doubt now that he is better than kobe? barry and wesley are "satellite players" - that is to say players that revolve around the core of the team. the core of the team changed after that conversation. it (mcgrady firstly...but yao to a point as well) became a much more lethal core and one much more difficult to plan for as an opposing coach. it was waaaay too easy to defend an offense that was almost 100% predicated on getting yao the ball first and foremost. now you have a wildman loose on the court, capable of dropping 12 assists on you just as easily as dropping 40+ points on you...sometimes in the same game. how to defend yao? get physical. how to defend tmac? pray. that convo changed the history of this franchise and will probably put trophies in cases (eventually) that would have never gotten there under the prior MO.
Actually, it was 13 in 35 miracle (see option #2). I voted for it as the team looked depressed and bored up until that point, as were most viewers, but that got them to believe in themselves and have fun (remember the celebration after that game) and was IMHO the best last seconds comeback to any NBA game ever including Reggie Miller's (7 points in 11 seconds or whatever) game against the Knicks in the '94 playoffs.
I think that you guys forgot to list one choice: Yao's recovery from the left elbow injury and regaining his shooting touch in mid January. Of course, it also helped that JVG since then ran a motion offense for the team and Yao, and suddenly the team & Yao look like world beaters and we still win game when TMac has an off night shooting from the floor.
Verse! It's great to hear from you again! I am honored by your comments, and your assessment is dead-on. Just like the old days! -- droxford
Yes definitely the conversation. Drox you nailed it. When Tmac grabbed JVG by the hair or scalp and said "Look coach I know your considered one of the best at defense but you don't know **** about offense. Let me do my thing". And JVG answered "Yes Master". TMac changed and shortly after the team changed.
