Rockets roll to 11th straight win, Who will stop them

[Big Shot Rob]

The Rockets will go undefeated for the remainder of the season and win every game in the post-season by 30 points.

Okay--is that what you want to hear?!

[GuerillaBlack]

^^No they won't.

[mqywaaah]

^^Umm.. ok?

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by mqywaaah

^^Umm.. ok?

I said they won't go undefeated the rest of the way. Is that too hard to understand or what?

[Lor20]

cmon look at the opponents of those 11 games:
at home:
Golden State
Cleveland
Atlanta
Portland
Sacramento
Miami

Away from home:
Indiana
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Cleveland
New orleans


Yes, the wins @ cleveland and @ new orleans were good but the rest were not such great teams...
1 0.1xx team (MIA)
1 0.2xx team (MIN)
2 0.3xx team (IND,MIL)
1 0.4xx team (ATL,SAC)
2 0.5xx team (CLE,POR)
2 0.6xx team (NOH, GWS[golden wanker state - that's their name right?])

so of those 4 .5+ teams we had:
Portland, right in the middle of a 5 game losing streak.
Cleveland who had a hard game vs boston before the first and the all star break before the second one
GS who wasnt doing bad at the time but they are only 15-12 on the road.
NOH who had just played dallas in a real intense game.

The margins of victory were:
4
3
8
6
15
19
12
2
8
12
20

Their game vs the hornets was by far their best of those 11 so I wouldn't overreact - they have a few more easy ones and then they get dallas and new orleans before 2 easy ones and then the lakers,boston,new orleans, golden state, phoenix in one go - we will see what their strength is then.

[endrity]

I think the Rox's problem is McGrady. Not in that he gets injured often, but in that he doesn't want to understand that this is Yao's team. Yao to me is really one of the top 10 players in the league, at least. I completely disagree that he is soft. But as soon as T-Mac came back he started taking more shots than Yao. That to me is a no no. I guess it hurts his pride to admit that some chinese dude is better than him at playing ball, but those are the facts. Yao has to touch the ball on every possession.

Ultimately I don't think their role players are good enough. They don't have many good shooter. Depending on Luther Head and Aaron Brooks every game is not a great idea. It seems to me that Battier has concentrated himself so much on D that he has forgotten what a jumper is. I like Scola a lot, but this to him is still a learning experience. I don't care that you are a 27 year old seasoned vet, it takes a year for everyone to figure out the NBA. I think the Rox make it to the first round, but that's it.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by endrity

I think the Rox's problem is McGrady. Not in that he gets injured often, but in that he doesn't want to understand that this is Yao's team. Yao to me is really one of the top 10 players in the league, at least. I completely disagree that he is soft. But as soon as T-Mac came back he started taking more shots than Yao. That to me is a no no. I guess it hurts his pride to admit that some chinese dude is better than him at playing ball, but those are the facts. Yao has to touch the ball on every possession.

Ultimately I don't think their role players are good enough. They don't have many good shooter. Depending on Luther Head and Aaron Brooks every game is not a great idea. It seems to me that Battier has concentrated himself so much on D that he has forgotten what a jumper is. I like Scola a lot, but this to him is still a learning experience. I don't care that you are a 27 year old seasoned vet, it takes a year for everyone to figure out the NBA. I think the Rox make it to the first round, but that's it.

You're dead on here.

[tmac1yao11]

Originally Posted by endrity

I think the Rox's problem is McGrady. Not in that he gets injured often, but in that he doesn't want to understand that this is Yao's team. Yao to me is really one of the top 10 players in the league, at least. I completely disagree that he is soft. But as soon as T-Mac came back he started taking more shots than Yao. That to me is a no no. I guess it hurts his pride to admit that some chinese dude is better than him at playing ball, but those are the facts. Yao has to touch the ball on every possession.

Ultimately I don't think their role players are good enough. They don't have many good shooter. Depending on Luther Head and Aaron Brooks every game is not a great idea. It seems to me that Battier has concentrated himself so much on D that he has forgotten what a jumper is. I like Scola a lot, but this to him is still a learning experience. I don't care that you are a 27 year old seasoned vet, it takes a year for everyone to figure out the NBA. I think the Rox make it to the first round, but that's it.

I am a die hard Rockets fan and I can tell you that Yao is soft and really the time that he really excels is when he is guarded by one player. Teams that do that are just plain stupid but when he has two people on him its a different story. I cant tell you how many times we lost a game late because of the physical play from the other team which either causes him to walk at key moments in the game or he gets the ball easily slapped away. Go check his turnover stats. The other thing Yao may do too much in crunch time is shoot that stupid fadeaway. At 7'6" you need to be powering and taking others up to the rim with you.

Now dont get me wrong I wouldnt trade Yao for any other big in the league except maybe Howard, but this team goes as TMac goes. TMac can be very soft as well but for some reason when the playoffs come or when he is on national TV he takes his game to another level. The thing about Tmac is that he finally understanding that he doesnt have to take over the game scoring anymore. He has other options in Brooks, Landry, Battier and Scola who can hit the wide open shot and can score when called upon. I believe Tmac realized that when he was out hurt. The rox were actually able to win some games without him this year when historically they havent been able which too me was a testament to how soft Yao can be.

Only time will tell about the role players and it will be interesting to see how Bobby Jackson will fit it in. I like him because he plays with an edge and that is the type of player the Rox need now. Since the Rox inserted Scola into the starting lineup they have really taken off. This is something they should have done along time ago. And although Carl Landry is a rookie, he is a monster on the board. You guys havent seen him since he is just now getting alot more playing time but you will hear from him in the very near future. He has moved Chuck Hayes to 3rd for playing time at PF.

Also now that Bonzi is gone it will probably free up some playing time for probably many consider our best shooter in Steve Novak.

With all this talk about if the Rockets are for real and they havent played anyone in this winning streak, they are right there in the thick of things and only 1 game behind the Mavs. If anyone wants to talk about schedule, I believe the Rockets have had the toughest schedule of anyone early on and now that it is balancing out.......

[horse900703]

Originally Posted by tmac1yao11

I am a die hard Rockets fan and I can tell you that Yao is soft and really the time that he really excels is when he is guarded by one player. Teams that do that are just plain stupid but when he has two people on him its a different story. I cant tell you how many times we lost a game late because of the physical play from the other team which either causes him to walk at key moments in the game or he gets the ball easily slapped away. Go check his turnover stats. The other thing Yao may do too much in crunch time is shoot that stupid fadeaway. At 7'6" you need to be powering and taking others up to the rim with you.

Now dont get me wrong I wouldnt trade Yao for any other big in the league except maybe Howard, but this team goes as TMac goes. TMac can be very soft as well but for some reason when the playoffs come or when he is on national TV he takes his game to another level. The thing about Tmac is that he finally understanding that he doesnt have to take over the game scoring anymore. He has other options in Brooks, Landry, Battier and Scola who can hit the wide open shot and can score when called upon. I believe Tmac realized that when he was out hurt. The rox were actually able to win some games without him this year when historically they havent been able which too me was a testament to how soft Yao can be.

Only time will tell about the role players and it will be interesting to see how Bobby Jackson will fit it in. I like him because he plays with an edge and that is the type of player the Rox need now. Since the Rox inserted Scola into the starting lineup they have really taken off. This is something they should have done along time ago. And although Carl Landry is a rookie, he is a monster on the board. You guys havent seen him since he is just now getting alot more playing time but you will hear from him in the very near future. He has moved Chuck Hayes to 3rd for playing time at PF.

Also now that Bonzi is gone it will probably free up some playing time for probably many consider our best shooter in Steve Novak.

With all this talk about if the Rockets are for real and they havent played anyone in this winning streak, they are right there in the thick of things and only 1 game behind the Mavs. If anyone wants to talk about schedule, I believe the Rockets have had the toughest schedule of anyone early on and now that it is balancing out.......

here comes a real Rockets fan~~~

[mqywaaah]

Originally Posted by horse900703

here comes a real Rockets fan~~~

Here comes Horse again, with another new thread to open~~~

[endrity]

Originally Posted by tmac1yao11

I am a die hard Rockets fan and I can tell you that Yao is soft and really the time that he really excels is when he is guarded by one player. Teams that do that are just plain stupid but when he has two people on him its a different story. I cant tell you how many times we lost a game late because of the physical play from the other team which either causes him to walk at key moments in the game or he gets the ball easily slapped away. Go check his turnover stats. The other thing Yao may do too much in crunch time is shoot that stupid fadeaway. At 7'6" you need to be powering and taking others up to the rim with you.

Now dont get me wrong I wouldnt trade Yao for any other big in the league except maybe Howard, but this team goes as TMac goes. TMac can be very soft as well but for some reason when the playoffs come or when he is on national TV he takes his game to another level. .......

That's plain American stereotypical talk. How many 7-6 dudes do you know that physically dominated the league? I will tell you. NO ONE. At that size it's almost impossible to move, let alone play basketball fluidly. It's amazing that Yao does what he does. And anytime I have seen him play Dwight, Yao dominates him so there you go.

The Rox were playing well before T-Mac came back, and that should serve as an eye opener. It has to a certain level. But it should more, I think.

You say T-Mac raises his level in key games, yet he always comes up short because he puts too much pressure on himself I think. It was stupid that last year he said, "this is my team". It was's Yao's team, and if they fed him more I thought they were going to beat Utah.

[tmac1yao11]

Originally Posted by endrity

That's plain American stereotypical talk. How many 7-6 dudes do you know that physically dominated the league? I will tell you. NO ONE. At that size it's almost impossible to move, let alone play basketball fluidly. It's amazing that Yao does what he does. And anytime I have seen him play Dwight, Yao dominates him so there you go.

The Rox were playing well before T-Mac came back, and that should serve as an eye opener. It has to a certain level. But it should more, I think.

You say T-Mac raises his level in key games, yet he always comes up short because he puts too much pressure on himself I think. It was stupid that last year he said, "this is my team". It was's Yao's team, and if they fed him more I thought they were going to beat Utah.

Tonight was a perfect game of which Yao shows his softness. He had only 12 points and 6 rebounds with 4 TOs. They tried going to him early and he kept turning the ball over. He always has trouble with long athletic defenders especially those play in front and back of him. He is not able to impose his will on them for some reason.

And as far as putting pressure on himself that is what he is supposed to do, especially since it was his team. The problem still was that no one else stepped up besides TMac and Yao. And when I go back to check Yao's turnover rate in the playoffs last year, he didnt have one game with less than 4 TOs in the 7 game series. He had two 8 TO games and a 5 TO game. When you try to get it to Yao he is turnover waiting to happen. If they would have kept going to him he would have only lost the ball.

And as someone else stated yes the team played better without TMac but when he came back they have now taken it to another level. Take for instance tonight, TMac didnt score a lot early and was just getting his teammates involved but in the 2nd half he took over in the scoring depart while still finding the open man. 24, 8 and 4 with 2 steals is a very nice line.

Until Yao can impact the game on both ends and can do it against any kind of defense this will still be Tmac's team.

[antoinewalker]

you guys do realize that the rockets have not lost since tmac returned from his knee injury right? actually, they did lose one game against the jazz but tmac sat that game out with the flu.

[DOMINATOR]

Originally Posted by antoinewalker

you guys do realize that the rockets have not lost since tmac returned from his knee injury right? actually, they did lose one game against the jazz but tmac sat that game out with the flu.

Yao sat out the Utah game.

[antoinewalker]

Originally Posted by DOMINATOR

Yao sat out the Utah game.

i stand corrected. regardless, the rockets are much better with tmac. this is his team, not yao's.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by antoinewalker

i stand corrected. regardless, the rockets are much better with tmac. this is his team, not yao's.

which is why they will fail. T-mac gets hot and wins a few games and then when the money is on the line he trips over his own shoelaces.

[antoinewalker]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

which is why they will fail. T-mac gets hot and wins a few games and then when the money is on the line he trips over his own shoelaces.

12 games is more than a few.

[MavsX]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

which is why they will fail. T-mac gets hot and wins a few games and then when the money is on the line he trips over his own shoelaces.

ha, can someone post the pic. of t-macs eyes....

[jianhui]

Originally Posted by antoinewalker

you guys do realize that the rockets have not lost since tmac returned from his knee injury right? actually, they did lose one game against the jazz but tmac sat that game out with the flu.

---------------
wrong
Rockets lost to Jazz without yao in the game, and yao won the next game against warroirs without Tmac.

[Flacolaco]

Where were you posters in january? It's pretty convenient to come around now.

Is your home board broken?

[antoinewalker]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Where were you posters in january? It's pretty convenient to come around now.

Is your home board broken?

hasn't horse900733 been around for a while now?

[kingmalaki]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Where were you posters in january? It's pretty convenient to come around now.

Is your home board broken?

Home board works just fine. I have been here all season in various threads. If a Rockets thread happened to be open (i.e. in the AROUND THE NBA forum), then I am pretty sure that I posted in it. Folsk don't come here to "talk about the Rockets". They come here to talk basketball in general. If a Rockets thread comes up do you expect them not to post in it?

As I have told you on numerous other occassions, if you have a problem reading about other teams or folks takes on their teams in the AROUND THE NBA forum, then just stop visiting this forum....or stop going into a thread about the Rockets. How silly is that? That's like a kid going to Disneyland and complaining that there are too many animated characters.........

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by kingmalaki

Home board works just fine. I have been here all season in various threads. If a Rockets thread happened to be open (i.e. in the AROUND THE NBA forum), then I am pretty sure that I posted in it. Folsk don't come here to "talk about the Rockets". They come here to talk basketball in general. If a Rockets thread comes up do you expect them not to post in it?

As I have told you on numerous other occassions, if you have a problem reading about other teams or folks takes on their teams in the AROUND THE NBA forum, then just stop visiting this forum....or stop going into a thread about the Rockets. How silly is that? That's like a kid going to Disneyland and complaining that there are too many animated characters.........

This is what I was thinking. This is the Around the NBA section. Fans of other teams are allowed to post here (and anywhere on this site).

Here is Rick Adelman:

Feb. 23, 2008, 11:45PM
COMMENTARY
Adelman stays true to self


By STEVE CAMPBELL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Rick Adelman had his doubts. Serious-as-a-divorce-proceeding doubts.

As the Rockets trudged through November and sludged through December, Adelman kept looking for signs he was getting through to his team. The Rockets kept responding with signs of apocalypse.

Yao Ming derided the team as "soft." Tracy McGrady's health was a daily drama — aching elbow, wounded knee, heaving stomach. The offense was so stagnant, fans waxed nostalgic over the free-wheeling days of Jeff Van Gundy.

"I was wondering," Adelman said. "I was wondering if we really could do this."

Adelman has won enough to know his coaching style and philosophy work. He got to the NBA Finals twice and came within an eyelash another time by showcasing his players' talents, not shackling them. He has also been around long enough to know that some of the best coaches aren't necessarily the best fits for every situation.

Don Nelson and Larry Brown crashed and burned in New York. Rudy Tomjanovich took to Los Angeles like Allen Iverson does to practice. Two seasons after an NBA title, Pat Riley is getting a daily dose of humility — we'll see if it takes — in Miami.


'The paranoid survive'
"I think part of what makes people succeed is, the paranoid survive," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "Often, some of those worries keep you motivated to get things better."

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the people who are out to get you will have their way. Adelman stayed true to his steadfast self during the Rockets' 15-17 start. No ranting. No raving. No uttering words he'd like to take back but couldn't.

Look at the Rockets now. A franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since 1997 is a stealth contender in the Western Conference.

"It's all about resiliency and trying to get the guys on the team to maintain a consistent attitude game in and game out," Adelman said. "Accept what you're not doing well, but don't overreact to it. It's not always as bad as it seems.

"That's the key: You can't panic. You always tell players to trust each other. I have to trust them, and they have to trust the coaching staff."

His first coaching job in the NBA was as an assistant to Jack Ramsay, architect of a masterpiece 1977 Portland championship team. If Bill Walton's body hadn't turned out to be so brittle, Ramsay could have built one of the mightiest NBA empires of all.

"He was the most resilient person I ever saw," Adelman said. "I listened to him at night after a loss, and it looked like he wasn't going to make it until the next morning. The next morning, he was right back at it. I think if you're consistent with the players, they're going to maintain a consistent approach to what they do every day."

Adelman keeps at his players with trite-and-true messages that subliminally become a way of life. Be prepared. Be consistent. Be ever-ready to take advantages of opportunities as they arise. Take nothing — no team, no game — for granted.

With a core of veterans in place, Adelman had hoped to install a flowing motion offense and let his players react on the fly to opposing defenses. The Rockets kept doing the same thing regardless of the defense, so Adelman changed his tack. He began calling set plays to counteract what he expected the defense to do.

The Rockets are growing on offense game by game. They're figuring out what to do, how to play off of each other. Maybe next year Adelman can even get Yao comfortable with floating away from the low-post area, with running pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop plays.

"You assume you know about players," Adelman said. "Until you coach them, until you get them on the floor and see what they can do. We're not even running close to what we had hoped we were going to run, just because we feel they're not ready. I think it just takes some time."


No T-Mac, no problem
The Rockets began to establish a sense of themselves while McGrady nursed a strained tendon in his left knee that sidelined him for 11 games. Previous Rockets teams turned into damsels in distress without T-Mac on the court. Adelman guided the Rockets to a 7-4 record in McGrady's absence.

One rookie, forward Luis Scola, has emerged as a starter. Another rookie, forward Carl Landry, has become such an energizer off the bench that the Rockets felt empowered to trade Bonzi Wells. Adelman makes no pretenses about being a visionary, that he had to change his rotation "out of necessity." He dealt with the reality in front of him.

In a sense, all this brings Adelman back to his early days of coaching Portland. Cliff Robinson, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey and Kevin Duckworth blossomed around established star Clyde Drexler, turning the team into a force in the West. The Rockets have two established stars, a flourishing supporting cast and an 11-game winning streak. They have a coach who doesn't have to wonder anymore if he's getting through to his team.

"I have no doubt that if we got to the playoffs, we're going to be a tough matchup," Adelman said. "There's nobody we can't beat."

steve.campbell@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...l/5565257.html

[MavsX]

i hate horse

[MavsX]

i love lamp...i love lamp

[GuerillaBlack]

The Rockets played well before T-Mac came back, but they are playing even better since he has came back. They are closing out games better, and getting better matchups as teams double team him.

The Rockets also got a steal in the second round that is playing great right now. Carl Landry. Landry has a lot of potential and its hard to believe he lasted until the second round, I consider him a steal there.

His offensive game is pretty good , rebounding is great and he has the tenacity that this team has lacked in recent years, diving on the floor for loose balls and the like. His defense is what has to improve imo, and that will just take time . As long as he continues to contribute he'll see considerable PT. I'd really like to se him at the SF rather than the PF. I think he would be an absolute match-up nightmare and has the shooting range to be productive there.

[haywoodjay]

yao almost non-existent, rockets struggle defensively, bobby jackson's 1st game... rockets still win by 13.

i was actually impressed with the bulls... they got better with this trade, imo.

[MavsX]

Originally Posted by haywoodjay

yao almost non-existent, rockets struggle defensively, bobby jackson's 1st game... rockets still win by 13.

i was actually impressed with the bulls... they got better with this trade, imo.

"get back to me when you graduate high school" --Thanks for the negative rep, you d*ck.

Thats all you got? Thats all you could think of?

[haywoodjay]

Originally Posted by MavsX

"get back to me when you graduate high school" --Thanks for the negative rep, you d*ck.

Thats all you got? Thats all you could think of?

yeah, "idiot" just screams creativeness.

isn't it past your bedtime?

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by haywoodjay

yeah, "idiot" just screams creativeness.

isn't it past your bedtime?

..."creativity"?

[haywoodjay]

Originally Posted by ProdigyDub

..."creativity"?

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

creativityness

pick up a dictionary.

who knew there were so many ESL folks on a mavs board?

[ty]

Originally Posted by haywoodjay

yeah, "idiot" just screams creativeness.

isn't it past your bedtime?

Creativenessitegery?

[antoinewalker]

horse900703, are you going to make a new thread about the rockets 12 game winning streak now?

[And1]

rockets haven't done anything yet........

good night.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by And1

rockets haven't done anything yet........

good night.

Now that's the kind of thing a person who has seen too many first round losses should be saying.

Dallas Stars fans feel the same way.

[Tokey41]

Theres like 4 different Rockets fans I havent seen post since the start of the season jumping into this thread. I guess they were waiting until someone mentioned their team? Weird.

P.S It should be Yao's team

[Flacolaco]

creativityness

[chumdawg]

Nothing wrong with "creativeness."

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Nothing wrong with "creativeness."

Strategery.

[Dirkadirkastan]

haywoodjay has gone from two red boxes to one red box to two red boxes again tonight.