I know you guys are sick of the media silence where the Rockets are concerned, so I figured you'd appreciate this. It's more a statement of facts than a complimentary piece, but any mention is nice! http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-shootaround-so-this-is-what-winning-feels-like/ Here's a bit of the piece. There's another mention in the article, click the link to read the whole thing.
I love the video that they had accompany the Rockets section of the article, "Who the **** are these guys?!"
I think that's the problem with the media & their attitude towards the Rockets. Outside of Harden and maybe Terry & Ariza, they have to dig deep to find any info on our playing roster. Plus they probably don't have D-league/Euro stats readily available. It takes effort on their part to cover the Rockets. I'm not sure they're prepared to explain why OKC missing 2 starters is 5-13, while we're 3 starters down and 14-4.
Just a start for the Rockets narrative to continue and extend throughout the rest of the year and beyond. Get ready for it guys. We will hear "The Rockets shoot 3's enough to beat anyone IF they get hot" if they beat a good team, or "Live by the 3, die by the 3" when they lose. "Gimmicky offense, and Harden flopping to the free throw line" will all the radio and media play when all the while its quite obvious they are totally skipping the major weapon the Rockets have used thus far during the season that is really the main factor in their success.... ... Defense. I've already heard it through several media guys who love to rip the Rockets, and when they are trying to explain their success they always fall short. The simple answer they have is "Guys around the league just don't like the Rockets" and "THINK" they aren't fun to watch. My thought about that is why the hell do we give these glorified "bloggers" some gold pedestal for opinions when they are self admitting that THEY DONT ACTUALLY WATCH GAMES THEY CRITIQUE. Its a pretty sad era of sports media we live in. So many opinions, such lazy narrative.
This teams recent success can be attributed to D-Mo. Anchoring a quality defense, much of the same way that Omer Asik did. Great positioning to make up for his lack of GETTY UP!
To be fair, if we were without Harden and Howard, our two best players, our record would be a lot uglier.
What does losing to the Lakers have to do with anything? Good teams sometimes get beaten by bad teams in an 82 game season.
It's almost like they were forced to put that bit about the rockets in or it would have been blatant journalistic negligence.
It's to make sure we don't get too much credit. If it weren't for the Lakers loss, it would be, "but they almost lost to the Sixers. So …" or "but they almost lost to the Thunder without Durant/Westbrook. So …" If they had to write about the Mavs losing to the Pacers, it would be "but it's an 82 game season and upsets happen. So..."
Is there any explanation needed? OKC was missing Durant and Westbrook. The only two players that make thier team relevant. The Rockets are missing DH, Jones, and Bev as far as staters go. And only one of thier two players that make them relevant. The Rockets BEST player is on the court and playing at an MVP level. That's not the case for OKC. Why does that need any explanation?
Hey give the media a break. I don't really know whether to believe this start or not. I don't know whether to believe D-Mo is for real or not. Is Clint the real deal? Papa? Dorsey? Will the wheels come off of Terry next week? Assuming it is all true (I want to believe so) we should make no trades unless a total gift falls into our hands. In fact with Harden now going nuts I think we are about to enter the zone in which lots of good vets with a year or two good years left will come knocking on the door with steep discounts. Just like they do to play with Lebron or did with Kobie.. Let the good times roll.
I think his point was your take is wrong. Maybe I missed something in all these games I have been finally able to watch in real time, but I havent seen Howard on the floor playing in weeks. You implied we had him and Harden playing, why in the hell am I explaining this? You cant be this dumb....you must be trolling. btw...As a certified old f***, I gotta admit I dont understand the constant need by the younger generations for validation from the national sports media in an age where any moron can put up a webpage and claim to be a sports journalist. Use your own brains and eyes to determine if your team is really good, quit begging for validation from guys who obviously dont pay attention to the team in the first place. Seriously tiresome.
It is the celebrity meme culture that kids are wired into. Being on TV frequently means you have value. If this was a popularity contest Morey would have signed Bieber and one of those big-assed Kardashians to the team. This is basketball. You win and people take notice.
This is the big leagues, all teams have talent and can hit a hot streak from time to time. It does not mean they are contenders. Ask Jeremy Lin about NY and just about any team that starts out the year hot and ends up in the crapper. The problem with fans comparing the amount of hype their smaller market team is getting over the main media markets teams(where the headquarters and studios of the major media companies are located) is that the lazy media will always give the hype and coverage to the teams in their cities.(NY/LA/Chicago) Thats just the way it is and the way it has always been, so get used to it. Ask the Championship Rockets how they liked their coverage the first year they won. Long time fans know what Im talking about.
