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@  blakecouey : (07 May 2013 - 03:10 AM) Going to miss Sampson.  Everything Ive heard/read/seen say hes a great coach.
@  RollingWave : (07 May 2013 - 02:54 AM) Our D, at least in half court, was very sound, the transition part though... eeek.
@  2016Champions : (07 May 2013 - 02:50 AM) Sampson was the mastermind behind our underrated defense.
@  Richards : (07 May 2013 - 02:30 AM) We all knew Morey put together the team and McHale/Sampson coached the players. Sampson was a mastermind behind coaching.
@  feelingsuper... : (07 May 2013 - 02:08 AM) You got a right to your opinion but seems like Morey is the brains to me, thought that was obvious with the offensive scheme and all that. Rockets coaching is about leadership at this point which McHale possesses in spades.
@  Richards : (07 May 2013 - 02:04 AM) Well, by reading what players said throughout the season, Sampson seems to be the brain behind Rockets basketball.
@  feelingsuper... : (07 May 2013 - 01:52 AM) Of course he stays, what do you mean by that question? It is a strange question since what assistants do would never effect a head coach that way.
@  Richards : (07 May 2013 - 12:51 AM) Will McHale stay if Sampson got coaching job at another team?
@  RollingWave : (05 May 2013 - 09:37 AM) Irving still need to work on a few things (most notably defense), his performance considering his age is great.
@  Dan G : (04 May 2013 - 06:50 AM) Damn..who knew tonight was gonna be close out the series night? Four Games 6s and four closeouts.
@  feelingsuper... : (04 May 2013 - 06:28 AM) Whatever comes the next few seasons (barring injuries) it will be hard to match the unadulterated excitement we had watching these young Rockets this past year, it was definitely some kind of roller coaster ride...
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:36 AM) Irving will be nasty good when LBJ will return to Cleveland as the lost son
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:36 AM) good night everyone, have a great summer and I won't be posting until july 1st. Still a proud rocket
@  LMAOwais : (04 May 2013 - 04:35 AM) i really do hate the prospect of mulling over every little piece of FA news this summer, but life of  fan I guess.
@  2016Champions : (04 May 2013 - 04:35 AM) Watch out for Irving though, that kid is shockingly good for someone who just turned 21. I wonder who will be the better player in 2 years.
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:34 AM) so small margins
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:34 AM) Overall a good season though didn't expect to get this far, but its always hard when you get your hopes up, imagine if that ball KD shot in game 3 didn't fall
@  2016Champions : (04 May 2013 - 04:33 AM) Yeah in 2 years Harden is top 10 for sure, hopefully top 5.
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:33 AM) I wish we could fastforward to july 2nd and know what happened during Free agency
@  thenit : (04 May 2013 - 04:32 AM) those 10 I named I take over Harden TODAY, but in 2 Years, LBJ and KD are the only 2 I would pick over, maybe Westbrook and George

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Thanks for the ride, Houston Rockets


34 replies to this topic

#1 Red94

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    Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:15 AM

    New post: Thanks for the ride, Houston Rockets
    By: rahat huq



    • To begin, it was pretty disappointing to see how many people left the game before the final buzzer sounded.  By the 1 minute mark, 75% of the arena had emptied out.  On a Friday night, on the last game of the season, I thought it would have been a nice gesture to stick around until the end and give a show of appreciation to the team for exceeding all expectations, making the playoffs and almost forcing a Game 7.  But in Houston, it wasn't to be.

    • From the get-go, it was deafening in Toyota Center.  For maybe the first time I can remember, everyone had already arrived before tipoff and was standing.  When Kendrick Perkins and Francisco Garcia had to be separated on what was pretty much the very first play of the game, it was enough for the capacity crowd to completely lose it.  Things stayed that way until the 4th.




    • Speaking of that incident, it's amazing to think just how drastically the mental makeup of this team changed with the insertion of Beverley and Garcia into the lineup.  I know many of you will disagree, but I don't think Houston would have pushed this thing to 6 without the change in attitude provided by these two men.  Talent prevails above everything, but sometimes, the opponent just has to know that you're not backing down and will be delivering the first blow.

    • Unless he signs for the minimum, this was probably the last game for Francisco Garcia as a Houston Rocket.  Included as a throw-in to the Thomas Robinson trade, 'Cisco provided one of the more memorable--certainly the most unexpected--playoff performances in Rockets history.  His leadership and gutsiness will sorely be missed.

    • I had to do a double-take when I saw Omer Asik get in Kevin Durant's face.

    • What makes this loss so difficult to swallow is that it came at the contributions of the two most irritating Thunder players, Kevin Martin and Derek Fisher.

    • The Rockets lost this game because they didn't have Carlos Delfino.  It's as simple as that.  Once the wheels started sputtering in the fourth, the lack of that one extra rifle was clearly evident; they just didn't have the firepower.  It sounds odd, but we really took him for granted this season.  Delfino, too, may have played his last game with the team if his salary slot is needed to bring in a bigger fish.

    • Jeremy Lin, again, was a non-factor, going 1-4 in his 13 minutes for an overall -18 contribution to the team.  Several of you tweeted at me correlating his performance with the loss, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair.  Greg Smith, too, was a -16 and he shared the court with Lin.  But while Lin may not be solely to blame, he certainly didn't give the team anything of any positive value tonight or at any point in this series.  Aside from his lack of individual contributions, the team just looked overall out of sync during his time on the floor.  After these playoffs, there will certainly be debate and ample time for it: Lin played pretty well in the regular season, but at $8 million, and with a pretty capable alternative signed at the league minimum, is he really the guy going forward?

    • The other main development of the night was that Chris Paul's Clippers were also sent home early.  With the season over, the speculation can now begin.  If Paul and Howard want immortality, and their own Big 3, they can have it here in Houston, with James Harden.  But how badly do they want it?



    #2 feelingsupersonic

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    Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:25 AM

    Thank you to you Rahat for keeping the Rockets conversation interesting this past season and thanks to all the contributing writers at Red94 as well.


     The 2013 Red94 Fantasy Basketball League Champion


    #3 Dan G

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      Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:34 AM



      I second supersonic's comment. It was a great season and it's nice to finally have something concrete to debate about after years of mediocrity.

      #4 Forrest Walker

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        Posted 04 May 2013 - 08:36 AM



        As stultifying as that loss was, it's a good time to be a Rockets fan. This season was tremendous. It was great.

        #5 Stephen

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          Posted 04 May 2013 - 09:44 AM

          A great season.

          Can't sleep so following on Rahat's CP3 and Howard question.

          Big 3 not happening,but it could almost.

          Clips have to agree to a sign-n-trade of Paul for Lin,Asik(they only count as actual $5.2mil salary to Clips for trade purposes),Robinson and one of Royce/Jones/D-Mo. Howard and Paul agree to "only" sign for $18mil. Garcia,Delfino,Brooks,Anderson,Olbrecht waived. Cap has to rise to $60mil as expected.

          Rockets would end up w/Paul,Harden,Parsons,Howard,Bevery,2 of Royce/Jones/D-Mo and Smith. 8 players,@ $55mil in salary,and another $2mil in less than 12 players on roster Cap Holds.(As players are signed,the roughly $500,000 Cap Hold for that roster spot disappears.) Plus the new MLE. You could sign a player to a $3mil deal,the 2nd Pick and a Vet Min/cheap young FA,use most of the MLE on a player and have $$500 left for a min and a portion of MLE left.

          Doable,but really tough.

           

          OR...

          Sign-n-Trade Lin,Harden for CP3.

          Move Asik to Portland for TPE and whoever they agree to pick at #10.

          Waive Garcia,Brooks,Albrecht,Anderson.

          Sign Howard.

          Paul,Parsons,Howard,DelFino,Beverly,Robinson,Royce,Jones,D-Mo,Smith,#10,2nd. @ $4mil in Cap room and the MLE to find a SG(assuming one wasn't drafted.)

          Or trade the #10(or one of Robinson/D-Mo/Jones) and TPE generated by Cap space for Courtney Lee(who surprisingly hasn't meshed in Boston.) Let's say Boston likes D-Mo.

          Paul,Lee,Parsons,Smith/Jones/Robinson,Howard and Beverly,Delfino,Smith/Robinson/Jones,Royce,#10,the 2nd,MLE wing and min Vet.



          #6 PKM

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            Posted 04 May 2013 - 12:15 PM

            Definitely would like to thank Rahat for taking me on and everyone else for writing - I got lucky in that I got to write about a lot of great games, like the Utah blowout, the Thunder win, the Golden State 3-point game, and clinching the playoffs.  Feel like Red94 has grown over the past year, now that Houston's prospects are looking up.



            #7 wph342711

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              Posted 04 May 2013 - 03:01 PM

              This has got to be one of the most anticipated and crucial offseasons for the Rockets in recent memory.  So many questions left unanswered - who are we going to get to pair with Harden, is Lin a longterm pg solution, what do we do with the role players who had great playoff performances, what do we do with the lack of firepower off the bench, who in the hell is our PF of the future?  But isn't it amazing how the tone of this uncertainty is changed by the simple fact that we have a franchise player to build around and a couple of key role pieces in place already (Asik, Parsons, etc)? With Harden in place, these unanswered questions change from an exhausting laundry list of problems to an exciting mental exercise in possibilities and permutations.  Looking forward to it. 

               

              Thanks to the editors and writers of Red94.



              #8 bob schmidt

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              Posted 04 May 2013 - 04:16 PM


              Wanted to add my voice thanking the Rockets for giving us an exciting and unexpected year of great basketball. The coaches and players should be celebrated for their achievements this season. There will be an appropriate time and place to consider potential changes for next season, right now I hope that everyone enjoys 'being in the moment' of unexpected success.

               

              In addition, Rahat and his staff of contributors deserve recognition for their dedication to providing a great resource to the Rocket fans. Thanks guys, your time and professionalism is greatly appreciated. Next year should be a lot of fun, and I hope every single contributor returns to feed our hunger for info on the Rockets.



              #9 khyberjones

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                Posted 04 May 2013 - 04:36 PM

                I thought Lin played well defensively.  He was much better than Beverley.  Offensively, he only had 4 shots and didn't really get to run the team.  He had a nice block/steal off of Durant, handled Jackson and doubled nicely off of him, a potential assist blocked at the rim by Ibaka and 1 turnover.  The Rockets need to learn the right lessons from this series in order to advance as a team.  Here is my take:

                 

                PG spot -  IMO, Beverley was exposed for his limitations.  In 4 full games as a starter, he only played well in 1.  He was poor in game 6, average at best in game 5, good in game 4 and poor in game 3.  He had barely any assists, did not shoot particularly well and could not really run the offense.  He also was outmatched on defense by Jackson and Westbrook.  He was outplayed by a role player.  He's a good free safety on defense, but is not a good one on one defender and not a great scorer/shooter.  Lin has proven that he is much better.  But the Rockets now need to commit. Do they want to give Lin the same recognition that they give to Parsons or Asik or do they want to move on?  Do they want to allow him to play his game, or are they going to continue to force him to play off the ball and let Harden go Iso?  Will he have to compete for minutes and sit on the bench even when he goes through 4 games in a row of 20 pts and 6 assists?  They need to make that decision.  I think he has improved tremendously as an off the ball player while also improving on his NY stats.  If they don't believe in him, then they should trade him.  

                 

                SG - Harden was an all-star for the first 3.5 months of the season, but played poorly in the last 2.5 months of the year. He will improve and has earned his place as a #1 guy.  He is not an effective ISO player when his 3 pt shot isn't falling.  He is not Carmelo Anthony and he is not the athlete that Westbrook and Durant are.  He needs help and that's why Lin was so important to the playoff run.  

                 

                SF - Parsons really made great strides. He showed an ability to get his own shot towards the end of the season that was impressive and took the leadership role from Harden in Game 4 of the playoffs when Harden was struggling.

                 

                PF - It's a logjam there and no one really stood out.  There's talent there to be developed but any trade or free agent they get will need to fill that spot.

                 

                C - Asik had a nice year.  He's definitely a good rebounder. Average offensively but he can get his share of points.

                 

                Coaching - McHale did well in the playoff series but overall I think another coach might be better suited to take the team to the next level.  I don't think he handled the PF or PG spots well and he allowed Harden to do too much ISO. He also was very mercurial in his use of Asik at times.  All in all, the team would've benefitted from a more consistent lineup and approach to the game.  I don't ultimately think the Beverley experiment helped the Rockets.  He didn't add much value in the playoffs and took minutes from Lin and encouraged more isolation plays.  Stan Van Gundy would be a better choice.



                #10 Steven

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                  Posted 04 May 2013 - 05:00 PM

                  McHale should be fired. It was clear in the first game that Greg Smith was not athletic or talented enough to play against the Thunder. But there in the second quarter the Thunder make a run because Smith is on the court.

                  #11 thejohnnygold

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                  Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:30 PM

                  McHale should be fired. It was clear in the first game that Greg Smith was not athletic or talented enough to play against the Thunder. But there in the second quarter the Thunder make a run because Smith is on the court.

                   

                  What would you have him do....Run Asik into the ground.  Smith played 7 minutes...the exact amount of time Asik rested.  And if you're going to use the first game as a barometer then none of the Rockets are good enough...



                  #12 Steven

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                    Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:37 PM

                    What would you have him do....Run Asik into the ground. Smith played 7 minutes...the exact amount of time Asik rested. And if you're going to use the first game as a barometer then none of the Rockets are good enough...



                    And in the 7 minutes he played the Rockets went from up like 5 to down 5 against the Thunder's scrubs. In the first game others were missing shots, but Smith was outmatched. Everytime he stepped on the court it was 4 vs 5. At least Perkins gave the Thunder some grit an toughness. Smith gave them nothing.

                    #13 timetodienow1234567

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                    Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:46 PM

                    I thought it was funny that you mentioned Lin as being pretty bad. He was. But to say that he made ZERO positive contributions??? He made a great defensive play and set his teammate up for an easy assist, his teammate just missed it. But that was a poor play. If you're saying that overall, he didn't elevate his team, I would agree with you. But you're coming across as a Lin detractor rather than an objective commentator. He struggled and NEEDS to improve, but to say that he didn't have any positive impact is stretching the truth.


                    Why so Serious? :D


                    #14 feelingsupersonic

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                    Posted 04 May 2013 - 06:58 PM

                    I used to be on the side of giving Lin more time as a Rocket but I am about fifty fifty on him now, I think. I agree with Rahat he was a non factor and to me he is quickly becoming a contract. Lin's contract seems more valuable than his play which Beverley and some other point guard could possibly replace. As far as Les' pocketbook goes trading away Lin and his value as a commodity can be quickly forgotten with the Rockets transformation into an exciting winner. Perhaps you miss some of the Lin leadership/comraderie component but you get enough leadership from Harden and Parsons for it not to really make a difference. Maybe he needs more time here but then again maybe time to cut the cord, Lin's contract is an albatross going forward.

                     The 2013 Red94 Fantasy Basketball League Champion


                    #15 rockets best fan

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                    Posted 04 May 2013 - 07:16 PM

                    after settling down from last night and reflecting on the season.....I agree with rahat.....thanks for the ride. there is plenty of time to debate moves for next year.......we have a whole summer while the astro's bore us to death :wacko: this team has exceeded anything I had hoped for at the beginning. I'm even starting to have hope McHale can figure it out :rolleyes: watching this young roster grow and mature had it's highs and lows, but never lacked for excitement. the return of the playoffs to Houston and reintroduction of Houston on the national scene was sweet. nice to hear us as part of the conversation for a change. even if we did go fishing last night :lol: I wonder what Charles and Kenny will cook up on that one? :rolleyes: pride is the feeling I most enjoy at this point. I can't wait for next season.........HOUSTON WE GOT THE ROCKETS AND THE TEXANS.........2 OUT OF 3 AIN'T BAD



                    #16 blakecouey

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                      Posted 04 May 2013 - 07:53 PM

                      Great season.  Im bummed about the loss, but it's easier to take knowing we could've just as easily been swept.  I must say I lost a lot of respect for the Thunder during this postseason, due to all the BS and hard fouls that were unneccesary(I'm biased though, and I'm sure our guys gave them a few bruises as well).  As for the season, we made huge strides.  We've got a team now that gels to a point, even though there are still a few cracks to fix, but hopefully that will be fixed in the offseason.

                      We've got a lot to do this offseason, although it should be easier now than past years, since we've got our superstar locked up.  Hoping that we can make some headlines and be even more of a contender next season.  


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                      #17 2016Champions

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                      Posted 04 May 2013 - 08:07 PM

                      I haven't felt this excited about being a Rockets fan since I was a kid. Thanks for making me a kid again! All we need to do is grow, the league is our oyster :)


                       “Every [player] decision has two main components, the scouting or traditional analysis and the numbers … depending on the situation, you weight them differently.” - Daryl Morey

                      Small sample sizes exaggerate effects. 

                      Do not read statistics as gospel. Statistics provides tools that you need in order to react intelligently to information you hear or see.


                      #18 khyberjones

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                        Posted 04 May 2013 - 08:14 PM



                        I think drawing conclusions from the OKC series is flawed. They won 2 games because Westbrook was out and it took time for OKC to figure out how to play together without him. Harden also had a bad series except for 1 game. Beverley was ineffective except for 1 game. Garcia was great but will not be on the team next year.

                        Rockets should unload Beverley and let Lin run the point for the year. At 5.25 million, he is a relative bargain at the position for the production value he gives and the wins he helped get for the team this year. The only way for the Rockets to know whether they want to build with him long-term is to let him have the PG role next year full time without having to fight for minutes. That's the only way for the Rockets to make a fair evaluation of him long-term and determine whether to keep the third year contract intact, restructure it, or amnesty him.

                        #19 feelingsupersonic

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                        Posted 04 May 2013 - 08:32 PM

                        Once again 2016 I agree with you on that excitement level. Red Nation has invaded my house lately, between all the basketball I am tuned into and my 3 year old running around screaming "Fear the beard!" it's an exciting time for sure.

                         The 2013 Red94 Fantasy Basketball League Champion


                        #20 miketheodio

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                          Posted 04 May 2013 - 08:46 PM

                          i dont understand the lin love. people talk about him like he is already an allstar caliber PG. at least 1/3 of his performances are subpar. he seems average. he definitely has pressure on him next season to perform consistently and handle the ball better.

                           

                          anyways im happy the rockets didn't get swept. the games were close. more room for growth and no longer a boarderline playoff team. this is going to be an interesting off season. hopefully morey continues to make great moves. i actually have hope with this team. haven't had that since hakeem was on the court.






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