Your thoughts / comments / suggestions at the 20-game mark?

Suggestion: Pratice FT.

 

Eddie who?

 

I say Yao's FT really sucks at clutch time. Don't lose your composure big man.
I am satisfied with everything else.

 

Great defense, passing is improving.

Killer instinct is missing, the result of youth and all of our players having spent their years on bad teams (including ours).

Steve's immaturity also drives me nuts because he never respects the other team's guard. He played off Stoudemire even when Stoudemire was hot from the 3. Steve also doesn't respect his coach; check the sidelines and Steve's body language when dealing with Van Gundy.

Yao is also improving rapidly, and it's great to see.

And yes, PRACTICE THE G.D. FREE THROWS.

 

Win the same number of games for the next three quarters and we end up with 52 or 53 wins. That ought to get us in the playoffs, even if we are in the West.

 

Keep passing.

 

We are on pace to win 52. Barring injuries and suspensions, I think this team will continue to improve and win 54 to 58 games this year and get either a 5 or 6 playoff seeding.

I don't think we are deep enough to go much further than that though. Maybe a close 7 game series. We still need more players. I just don't think an 8 man rotation will get it done over the season.

However, if the players continue to buy into Lee Harvey Oswald's system, then anything is possible.

 

Rockets are #1....second what Dakota said...Steve has started off the year real slow, but I believe it's just like Berkman did this past season and he'll improve 'cause after all, he is the franchise. I think we should only have 3 losses right now, but I'll take a tie for first in the Midwest.

 

Franchise can do much better.

PG is the weakest link of this team.

An NBA caliber backup PG is needed.
I want to closely compare Steve's game with an ordinary true PG playing for this team.

 

I'm sorry, but kill yourself. Get off this board and kill yourself. This is disgusting!

 

Uh, the guy predicted 54 to 58 wins, and a 5th or 6th seed, and you want him to kill himself? Someone has been drinking too much over-optimistic juice...

 

Turnovers and poor free throw shooting has been the death of the Rockets so far. Hopefully they can remedy both problems by playoff time. If not they will slowly but surely take their toll.

 

The best thing about the season thus far is that the team is tied for 1st place and still has not hit on all cylinders yet. This team will get better as the season progresses.

It is a scary thought to believe that the defense will get better but the better it gets the more easy buckets the team gets. The more easy buckets you get , the more pressure is applied to the other team.

I like what I see so far.

Things to improve on:

1. Decision making while on offense ( ball-handling specifically)

2. create more fastbreak opportunities

3. Keep passing ( this one is for Steve )

All and all, a good season so far...

As the old saying goes....

Once you get it up, keep it up!

 

I don't think the Rockets are quite as good as their 13-7 record...but I think they are going to be. Primarily because they (the entire team, not just the starters) have bought into playing intense defense on nearly every possession...but especially at crunch time and they seem to know their rotations.

If you're in doubt or denial about the D, watch Piatkowski (an alleged one dimensional player) rotate on defense. Sometimes the shots may not be falling, but defense is something that can be played every single game. And it demonstrates the Rockets can remain focused...a sign of maturation.

I also like the fact that JVG will use situational substitutions at crunch time.

IMHO, the primary areas to improve...

* Pick up the tempo in transition to offense.
--- We need to get more shots than our controlled game currently allows. And the best ones come before the defense is set.

* Make quicker passing decisions in the half court set.
--- I can't be the only fan seeing an open Rocket for an instant and then...it's too late. Not every player will become a great passer, but you can't improve without making the effort. It's all about repetition and learning each others pet moves.

We're not talking about a far reaching, unfathomable concept here. The TO difference between a great passing team like the Kings and the Rockets is a whopping 2.6/game. Imagine...one less TO per half!

 

Good defensive effort and intensity.

The offense is starting to look better with MoT and Pike in the rotation. JJ is starting to hit. The offense needs work, which is not a bad "only big" problem in the NBA with guys on your team like Steve, Cat, Yao, MoT, Pike and JJ!

The coaching staff needs a better overall offensive scheme than just walking it up and playing slash/perimeter. I think they are working on it which is a plus.

We weathered the worst road streak and we are still in 1st.

We have the opportunity to distance ourselves from SA this week, this will be a big test. 2-0, not 1-1 is acceptable. 0-2 is a disaster, we don't need to be the team that lets the Spurs back in the door...

 

I think that right now our team is unbeleivable, Jim Jackson has been a Godsend. I really hope that Griff comes back soon, I don't think that he is starter material yet, but we could really use 2 very capable forwards off of the bench (MoT). Our starters in general have made great efforts, you can really see that they playy their @$$ off. I'm not ready to say that we can win the title or anything like that yet, though you never know; but we all know that we have made great strides in the right direction. Now to just get that attendance up.

 

get the freakin' prices down. How about a "Po Boy" night!

 

The Rockets have compiled an excellent record by making it harder than it had to be, often not playing very well at all, and at times playing far below their potential. This all bodes well for the future. This team still needs some personnel changes. Also, I have had passing thoughts that Francis may be consciously playing himself out of Houston. I don't know, but I don't think he and JVG are on the best of terms. Body language speaks volumes. Just a feeling. This is definitely a team in transition. If they ever become a "well-oiled machine" they will probably be able to beat anyone on a given night.