I cant stand for the Rockets to lose as much as the next Rocket fan but we have to give these Rockets some time. Our last title came 7 years ago this June. DO you realize how long every other team in the league had to wait to get their next one? Half of the teams on this league have never won a title or made the playoffs for that matter. What I'm trying to say is it takes years, sometimes decades before a team gets back to the finals, let alone win the entire thing. Look at the Lakers. They last won the title in 1988 and if it wasnt for pure luck in landing the biggest Free Agent of all-time in Shaquille O'Neal AND trading Divac for Kobe Bryant they would still be buried in the depths of the Western Conference basement. Look at the past Champions and teams on the rise. Everybody talks about how great the Mavericks are. For crying out loud they havent been to the conference finals since 1988 and havent been to the playoffs in forever before last year. Hello? How many lottery picks did they get??? They should have won several titles by now but they havent done crap. And because of the teams oahed of them such as the Lakers, the Kings and Spurs, they wont win it for a good while. Look at the Pistons; it's been 1990 since they won the title and they are worse off than the rockets could even imagine. THeyhave stackhouse and that is all. They have no future whatsoever. 12 years and they have made no progress whatsoever. Same can be said for Seattle, Philadelphia, UTAH, Boston, and finally the Bulls. I dont think it will take the Bulls long to get back, but it will take time. Losing is just something teams have to deal with. Lok at teams like the Knicks and the Jazz. They tried to hold back the inevitable, conned themselves into believing that they wewrent getting older and tried to tell everyone that they were "veterans." The respective organizations are now in shambles because of it. I know I wrote a lot; but what Im trying to say is, GIVE THE ROCKETS SOME TIME! We have managed to win back-to-back titles which is extremely tough to do in sports and we have managed to rebuild in a relatively short amount of time. Look at who we could have become (Boston, Philly, Detroit) past winners who have taken forever to try to gedt back to the Finals. The Rockets will be there, give them time. Everyone is young and we have 2 potential superstars in the making in Franchise and Griffin. We got time, everyone goes through a "changing of the guard" so to speak. Everyone goes through this transition, even our Rockets.
While the optimism is welcomed, you have to look at reality Our offense is stagnant and relies on the three point shot too much Our guards are average defenders, at best Our only interior defense comes from a rookie Our starting shooting guard is too inconsistent Our starting point guard turns the ball over too much We probably have the worst set of small forwards in the league We've had multipe bad front office moves in recent years Our star player will probably sign with Washington after next season Injuries are not an excuse. Good teams find a way to win without their star player. Good teams do NOT lose 15 games in a row. We won 45 games last year, and should be AT LEAST hovering around .500 this year. We took two steps forward last year, and 10 steps back this season... To paraphrase the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons... WORST...SEASON...EVER...
Championships take time, but simply making the playoffs as a lower seed should NOT take this long with the talent on the Rockets.
Let's look at the teams that are in the playoff positions this year, that weren't there last year: East Boston New Jersey Washington Detroit West Seattle LA Clippers You can take out Seattle and Washington, because both of those teams are on the way down (their best players are past their prime), unlike the Rockets. You're left with Boston, New Jersey, Detroit, and the Clippers. How long did it take those teams to get to the playoffs (of course Detroit and the Clippers probably won't even make the playoffs anyway)? What current playoff team do the Rockets have more talent than?
The Rockets have more talent than Utah and equal talent with Phoenix, Seattle and the Clips. Honestly, I think this team has all the talent it needs to bang with the big teams in a few years, but right now they are fairly young. The Clippers are a young team, and they appear headed towards the playoffs. The Rockets should be at least as good as them. Obviously, the injuries hurt, but the Rockets should be at least a .500 team with Steve back.
I have no faith in this offense or defense until it gets better. I do have faith the guys will get better but a new system has to be there for this to happen. I have faith Rudy will come up with it, but I know they need a lot more talent than they have. I don't see a dominating rebounder, or playmaker (assists)or defensive specialist (outside of Griffin), or ball hock(steals). Sure we've got guys that can do some of these things.But we need a threat, every game, every night. And I have faith we will find these guys. And I know that it takes time and better scouting than LANGHI/COLLIER.That's what you have to worry about. And a offense that lives and dies by the three.I have no faith in these things. But I do have faith the rockets will be champions again one day. But REALITY is much brighter than the FUTURE right now. I believe the pieces will come in time. And we shouldn't take what we have right now for granted. What's working can be better and what's not must get better. If these things don't then I will lose some faith but either way the ROCKETS will be my team. WIN or lose!
Our players don't know what it's like to be in the playoffs. We need to make a playoff appearance (next year), we NEED to get humiliated (lesson learned), go back the next year, lose in the Western Semis (by a game), then the year AFTER that we can go for the championship. THAT's how long it takes to get to the NBA championships. Unless youm have the #1 and #2 players BOTH on your team, then you get a coach that has done this before, but with less talent.
Jerry36, Seatte on their way down? Desmond Mason Rashard Lewis Gary Payton Vin Baker Radomanovic Payton and Baker will have less pressure on them with the emergance of the other players. I don't think they're going down. The Spurs are going down big time next season judging by David Robinson's play. Steve Smith, their #2 scorer, isn't too young either. Maybe Tony Parker and Antonio Daniels can improve dramatically. Truth is, in the West, there's no mroe waiting for someone to decline. You have to fight your way up, kick ass, and shove your way to the top. P.S. THE JAZZ ARE FINALLY DONE. YES!!!!!
emoreland -- for the most part i agree with you. what i'm not sure about though is whether this team is headed in the right direction to be a championship contender again. i'm not convinced. i don't think just adding one more good player to this team gets it done.
I wanna add that sometimes, a coaching change makes all the difference. not because the new coach is so much better, if better at all, but because the team is learning new things, braodening their horizons.
For a counter example look at the Steelers right now. Instead of changing coaches in the middle of a slump (if two seasons can be considered a slump) they opted for consistency and a guy who had already proven himself (like Rudy) and look where staying the course has gotten them. Sometimes change for the sake of change isn't the solution.
Agreed Yes, but much better than they once were. Everyone's a rookie at some point. Doesn't this mean he'll be likely to improve? Griffin's showing so much potential at 19 that it makes me think he might be a Ratliff/Deke/Hakeem type eraser in the middle. I'm not so sure. Mobley makes some boneheaded plays, but he seems to score pretty well day-in and out. Agreed. Perhaps our biggest problem Start Kenny at SF! We've had some bad ones, but also some good ones. Signing Kelvin Cato to that deal was dumb. Picking Jason Collier was foolish. Trading 2nds for Langhi was foolish. Using a 1st roudner to acquire Morris was silly. But acquiring Steve Francis was terrific. Picking Mobley was fabulous. Finding Oscar Torres was smart. Finding Moochie (last year) was bright. Letting Dream go was a good idea. Signing Maurice Taylor was a good idea. The good outweighs the bad. We've only had two lottery seasons. I don't expect many more. So many people speak of this as a given. Why? I really sort of doubt it. Jordan will have retired. Kwame Brown will still suck, in all probability. Rip Hamilton's completely one dimensional. The rest of the team is forgettable. Francis ain't gonna ditch Mobley for Tyrone Lue.
