A reader, Michael D, writes:
Wow. Like you mentioned, its just a sense of deflation…perhaps that’s a product of being so optimistic about this season: having Yao back (though limited), the solid roster we have and just a general feeling that if we did as well as we did last year, then this year should be an even greater improvement. And then of course the Rockets proceed to take the piss for the first 4 games.
What seemed at first to be somewhat of an aberration now seems to become habit. It’s just bizarre to watch them now. They would start strong in the first half, tank right after halftime and become desperate in the 4th quarter. Yes, defensive identity is issue #1 and I have no clue how we solve that. I’m tired of hearing from players and coaches that they need to improve defensively and then simply ignore it. Also, I know its early in the season and there will always be rotation issues but we just seem like a poor man’s Heat: we have talent but just seem unsure of how it should all “fit” together. Just in the Heat’s case their talent can overcome those issues. Should the focus be Yao? AB? K-Mart? What is the pecking order on the second team? It’s that uncertainty that is creating doubts, and those doubts are becoming exposed on the defensive end.
I’m not panicking yet, but at the same time I’m just the type of person who hates lip service. In most cases it’s simple: do it or don’t. But don’t tell me you’re going to do something and then it’s clear from your actions that it never had the priority you said it did. We can still turn it around, but they need to have a team “Come to Jesus” meeting and to me, the onus is on the coach to establish that committment and identity and then its on the players to follow through.
<sigh>. Ok, that was strangely cathartic. But we’re still 0-4 </sigh>
It was a strange week and a strange start to the season with the team dropping it’s first five and frustrations setting in with few answers to the source of the Rockets’ many problems. Thankfully, it is over.