Duke wins, 99% of Nation angry.
Duke Basketball, Yankees baseball and New England Patriots football. Three teams that are perennial title contenders, that the rest of the sports world loves to hate.
The Yankees are easy. What with a bloated payroll, an unmatchable local revenue stream and a system that's got no interest in seeing their domination challenged, if you're not from New York hating the Yankees is a rite of baseball passage. Hell, Derek Jeter alone is enough right? I mean, does the guy REALLY need the entire Maxxim hot 100 to hang with? Couldn't he leave 1/2 of them to the rest of you single guys out there?
Then there's New England, with their star QB and a coach so disagreeable he refuses face time with himself in the mirror every morning, a team that's learned to play fast and loose with the rules, that cuts players with cold calculation, and who wins...every single year. Yup, hate away on New England. They deserve it.
That leaves us with Duke. A team whose vile reputation, in my opinion, lies not with the program or the players, but on one Richard J. "Dick" Vitale. That's right, Dickie V. ESPN's hyper basketball commentator who wakes up every morning, rolls over, and kisses a life-sized cardboard cut-out of coach V before asking his wife to go and get the paper. It's not enough that Duke is usually pretty good, but College basketball pundits such as Vitale and Jay Bilas (a former Duke player) pump them up as an unbeatable machine even in years when they obviously aren't. People hate that, they also hate success, seeking to tear it down.
The beauty about March Madness is that, unlike College Football, the champion at the end of the year is a true champion, having won the title on the court, against 64 of the best teams in the land (give or take a couple left out by the selection committee) in a single elimination format that creates the best event in sport, period. Before the Duke nay-sayers have a chance to try and diminish Duke's championship as some type of "gift" (which, when you think about it, is terribly unfair to the Butler team everyone was rooting for) it should be mentioned that both Syracuse and Kansas St. had a chance to knock-off the upstarts, and both failed. Duke did what the other #1 seeds could not do, they made it to the Final Four and won the championship. Congrats to them for that.
And congrats to Butler for making one hell of a run, and (for the record) being the prime mover in me having the winning bracket.
As for Duke, they'll go on being hated and won't give a damn what you think. They'll take their 4th NCAA title, have a party in Durham and will start planning for next year.
Maybe. Because the rumor is the New Jersey Nets are prepared to offer Coach K 5-years; $75 Million. So yeah, that's another reason folks will hate Duke. Their coach is loaded.
Showing posts with label Roundball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roundball. Show all posts
There's no such thing as running up the score in a rivalry game
By all accounts, this wasn't a rivalry game. There's also evidence (provided by KTRK's Christine Dobbyn) that this whipping was pre-meditated, and that the players for Yates went into the game with the expressed intent of scoring 200 points on an out-manned Lee team.
Now, I'm not exactly sure when the right time is to cut bait and back off a little, but if you're still employing a full court press defense and fast breaks in the second half when the halftime score was 100-12 then I've a feeling you're going to face some backlash from most people who at least have a superficial relationship with the concept of sportsmanship. Nevermind that these were High School kids, not young adults in a College program, or well-compensated professional athletes. Nope, 15-18 year old high-school kids who are supposed to be learning valuable life lessons from the wizened coach who's job is to craft them into productive adults......
Except, at Yates obviously, that's not what boys basketball is about. It's about winning and setting records and going through life never having to look askance at those who are beneath you. It's about self-congratulatory chest-pounding after dunking the ball over someone with 1/10th your athletic ability. It's about a coach who desperately wants to go undefeated and have his legacy forever cemented in the hall of Texas High School Basketball honor. Obviously, the folks at Yates are OK with this. They've made the decision to sacrifice sportsmanship in favor of winning, and winning big.
And that's fine. Because it's not about what I think, or what you think, it's about what the coach, kids, their families and the school thinks. And they think that what they've got going now is pretty cool. As long as their willing to accept the other side of it, because all good things will come to an end, and eventually they'll be on the losing side of a whipping in some sport. Hopefully it will be epic in scope. I also hope that people point to this when their coaches and parents gripe about being 'disrespected' and all of the other nonsense that goes along with it.
Because, when they do, I'm going to point back to this, and remind them that they're invited to open up a can of silence. Nobody cares how you feel.
As for the Lee team? Their coach had a chance to teach his players about losing with dignity even when faced with an impossible situation. He could have taught them about how to react when all of the chips are down and you're facing insurmountable odds. Instead, he pulled the victim card, blamed everyone but himself, and let his team lose control. The losers in this game were short-changed by their coach as well.
Both coaches are lucky that they're not being rated as teachers by whoever it is handles the hiring/firing decisions at their respective schools. Because if they were, both would be turning in their whistles today. This game wasn't a failure of the kids, it was a failure of both coaches to teach the kids how to be adults. That's the real tragedy here.
Now, I'm not exactly sure when the right time is to cut bait and back off a little, but if you're still employing a full court press defense and fast breaks in the second half when the halftime score was 100-12 then I've a feeling you're going to face some backlash from most people who at least have a superficial relationship with the concept of sportsmanship. Nevermind that these were High School kids, not young adults in a College program, or well-compensated professional athletes. Nope, 15-18 year old high-school kids who are supposed to be learning valuable life lessons from the wizened coach who's job is to craft them into productive adults......
Except, at Yates obviously, that's not what boys basketball is about. It's about winning and setting records and going through life never having to look askance at those who are beneath you. It's about self-congratulatory chest-pounding after dunking the ball over someone with 1/10th your athletic ability. It's about a coach who desperately wants to go undefeated and have his legacy forever cemented in the hall of Texas High School Basketball honor. Obviously, the folks at Yates are OK with this. They've made the decision to sacrifice sportsmanship in favor of winning, and winning big.
And that's fine. Because it's not about what I think, or what you think, it's about what the coach, kids, their families and the school thinks. And they think that what they've got going now is pretty cool. As long as their willing to accept the other side of it, because all good things will come to an end, and eventually they'll be on the losing side of a whipping in some sport. Hopefully it will be epic in scope. I also hope that people point to this when their coaches and parents gripe about being 'disrespected' and all of the other nonsense that goes along with it.
Because, when they do, I'm going to point back to this, and remind them that they're invited to open up a can of silence. Nobody cares how you feel.
As for the Lee team? Their coach had a chance to teach his players about losing with dignity even when faced with an impossible situation. He could have taught them about how to react when all of the chips are down and you're facing insurmountable odds. Instead, he pulled the victim card, blamed everyone but himself, and let his team lose control. The losers in this game were short-changed by their coach as well.
Both coaches are lucky that they're not being rated as teachers by whoever it is handles the hiring/firing decisions at their respective schools. Because if they were, both would be turning in their whistles today. This game wasn't a failure of the kids, it was a failure of both coaches to teach the kids how to be adults. That's the real tragedy here.
Rockets Redux
Red and yellow by flickr user drewstephens used via a creative commons liscense.Remember the Houston Rockets?
Of course you do. They're Houston's NBA team. You know, the one's that used to dress up like condiments.
What's that? You didn't live in Houston during that time period?
Well...that's OK, our sports media is going to make sure you don't forget.
Just remember to Practice safe lunch and wear a condiment OK?
Thank you.
The Report you're not seeing in Houston (Updated)
Yao could be out for season, if not even longer.
[Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! sports]
Contrast that to the Chron's coverage by Jonathan "tortured prose" Feigan:
Richard Justice danced around the issue but failed to mention what the Rockets are privately saying.
Namely, Yao Ming is out.....for a long time.
Instead of the company line from this town's sports scribes, or wink and nudge 'negative' columns designed to rile up the fan base while staying so outlandish so as not to offend the targets, it'd be nice to get a little bit of actual sports analysis and reporting on the big issues....
Say, like the severity of Yao Ming's foot injury. That'd be some reporting I'd like to see from the Chron. Because I love my family and would like to spend more time with them I'm not holding my breath.
UPDATE: Feigan files a report: Admits to being scooped by Yahoo! Sports.
Sad.
[Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! sports]
As the NBA draft approached, the grim truth about Yao Ming’s(notes) broken left foot hung like an anvil over the Houston Rockets. The fear isn’t that he’s just lost for next season, but longer.
The Rockets and Yao’s reps are frightened over his future, and the concern is the most base of all: Does Yao Ming ever play again?
“The realization has hit them that this is grave,” one NBA general manager said.
For now, the Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling, re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing.
“It sounds like he’s missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games,” one league executive who has had recent discussions with the Houston front office told Yahoo! Sports. “That’s all that [the Rockets] will concede quietly, but they know it’s probably much worse.”
Houston general manager Daryl Morey refused comment on Monday and a team spokesman said the Rockets will not have further comment until Yao undergoes additional medical tests.
Contrast that to the Chron's coverage by Jonathan "tortured prose" Feigan:
Nearly seven weeks after the Rockets were shocked by the injury that ended Yao Ming’s season, they were as stunned Wednesday to find it has not healed.
A bone scan late Wednesday evening showed that the immobilization of Yao’s left foot has not healed the hairline fracture he suffered May 8 during the Rockets’ second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
A statement released by the team said Yao and his doctors will consider other treatment options. Those could include anything from wearing a cast, rather than the walking boot used since the injury, to surgery.
“Yao is not experiencing any pain in his left foot. However, the results from the CT and bone scans we performed over the past two days indicate that the hairline fracture has not responded to the degree that we expected,” Rockets team physician Tom Clanton said in a statement. “We will review a variety of treatment options before proceeding.”
(snip)
Despite the injuries, Yao has remained central to the Rockets’ long-term plans and is considered untouchable when it comes to trades heading into tonight’s NBA draft.
“He is the cornerstone of the team,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “We’re trying to win here. We have an All-Star. We’re hoping Tracy (McGrady) can come back and play at an All-Star level like we know he is capable, but we’re dealing with uncertainty there. We’d like to get more All-Stars, not trade one away.”
Richard Justice danced around the issue but failed to mention what the Rockets are privately saying.
Namely, Yao Ming is out.....for a long time.
Instead of the company line from this town's sports scribes, or wink and nudge 'negative' columns designed to rile up the fan base while staying so outlandish so as not to offend the targets, it'd be nice to get a little bit of actual sports analysis and reporting on the big issues....
Say, like the severity of Yao Ming's foot injury. That'd be some reporting I'd like to see from the Chron. Because I love my family and would like to spend more time with them I'm not holding my breath.
UPDATE: Feigan files a report: Admits to being scooped by Yahoo! Sports.
Sad.
Yao's foot
I realize that most of the talk surrounding the Rockets is going to be centered on thier attempts to win game 5 against the Lakers this evening, but you have to wonder if Rocket's GM Daryl Morey isn't the least bit concerned about the long-term implications of Yao's 4th major foot injury in 4 years?
I know I would be.
Until that time however....
Go Rockets.
The Cleaner
You knew the Rockets were in trouble when the NBA's Cleaner was announced as the referee.
No way were the Rockets going to win.
NBA officiating is a joke. If the league wants to fix its sagging image they'd do well to clean up how games are called. It won't happen, because TV ratings trump all, but fans have long since caught on and TV ratings Nationwide are reflective of that.
No way were the Rockets going to win.
NBA officiating is a joke. If the league wants to fix its sagging image they'd do well to clean up how games are called. It won't happen, because TV ratings trump all, but fans have long since caught on and TV ratings Nationwide are reflective of that.
Rockets win game one,
...City reacts with glee.
But first, today's moment of torturous prose: [Jonathan Feigen, Chron.com]
Ouch. Brutal.
Second: Today's 'huh?' moment: [Richard Justice, Chron.com]
Finally, and most importantly, Congratulations to the Rockets.
Sure, this is only one game and can hardly be viewed as something pivitol. What it does signify however is that we have a playoff series on our plate that's got the potential to be very competitive and very exciting. In one game the Rockets have changed most people's opinion of them from 'lucky losers' to 'Western Conference Final Contenders' with a game on win...in Los Angeles.
There's still a long way to go before this very good, very talented Lakers team is beaten, but at least the Rockets have given the faithful hope.
Something they've been lacking for 13 years now.
But first, today's moment of torturous prose: [Jonathan Feigen, Chron.com]
For a few agonizing, heart-stopping moments, Yao Ming rocked back and forth on the floor, grimacing and holding his right knee.
The Rockets had taken the usual Lakers fourth-quarter hit and hit back harder. But then Yao crumbled to the floor, felled when Kobe Bryant’s left knee crashed into Yao’s right. All that the Rockets had built seemed to be crashing with him.
Yao, however, had been knocked down, but not out. He grew stronger, more unstoppable and so did the Rockets, until they surged through the final six minutes to stun the Lakers with a 100-92 win Monday at Staples Center in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.
Ouch. Brutal.
Second: Today's 'huh?' moment: [Richard Justice, Chron.com]
The Rockets believe in themselves. I'm not sure when they started to believe. It probably was sometime after the trading deadline when the roster finally was stabilized.Justice' insistence on writing in an adversarial tone toward his readers, or anyone who disagrees with his take o' the day, is confusing. It's also dissapointing that writing talent of that quality is attached to the emotional and analytical equivilent of a three-year-old. Today Richard's all on the Rockets, if they lose Game two he'll be off the bus, and calling anyone who disagrees with him names.
By the end of the regular season, they were a completely different team than they'd been just a few weeks early. They were built around terrific defense and a tenacious competitive spirit.
There's also a collective ego. There are individual egos, but there's a collective ego, too.
The Rockets think they're pretty good, and if you don't believe it, that's your problem.
Finally, and most importantly, Congratulations to the Rockets.
Sure, this is only one game and can hardly be viewed as something pivitol. What it does signify however is that we have a playoff series on our plate that's got the potential to be very competitive and very exciting. In one game the Rockets have changed most people's opinion of them from 'lucky losers' to 'Western Conference Final Contenders' with a game on win...in Los Angeles.
There's still a long way to go before this very good, very talented Lakers team is beaten, but at least the Rockets have given the faithful hope.
Something they've been lacking for 13 years now.
NCAA Tourney: The Chalk
Looking at The Bracket running a chalk (where all of the favorites advance) bracket this year could be a winning formula.
One streak alive: Arizona (12 seed) advancing to the Sweet 16, which marks the 23rd consecutive time at least on team seeded lower than 10th made it to the "third round". The only other 'underdog' to advance is Purdue (5th seed) who won their second round game over 4th seeded Washington.
This weekend was tough for me. Michigan (10 seed) lost badly to OU and OSU (9 seed) gave my eventual pick for the Champion pick all they could handle. This game was made worse by the fact that my late Grandfather was an OSU grad. Because of this I have a rooting interest in the Cowboys. In the end, their loss to Pitt was bitter-sweet.
Still, the chalk was (mostly) how I went on this bracket, I picked some upsets in the first round but few in the second. I admit that I didn't have Arizona getting out of the first round. Ah well. My final four is still intact, as are seven of my elite 8 teams. Life is good in bracketland.
One streak alive: Arizona (12 seed) advancing to the Sweet 16, which marks the 23rd consecutive time at least on team seeded lower than 10th made it to the "third round". The only other 'underdog' to advance is Purdue (5th seed) who won their second round game over 4th seeded Washington.
This weekend was tough for me. Michigan (10 seed) lost badly to OU and OSU (9 seed) gave my eventual pick for the Champion pick all they could handle. This game was made worse by the fact that my late Grandfather was an OSU grad. Because of this I have a rooting interest in the Cowboys. In the end, their loss to Pitt was bitter-sweet.
Still, the chalk was (mostly) how I went on this bracket, I picked some upsets in the first round but few in the second. I admit that I didn't have Arizona getting out of the first round. Ah well. My final four is still intact, as are seven of my elite 8 teams. Life is good in bracketland.
Cougar Basketball Takes Another Step Backward
UH to Play Oregon St. in College Basketball Invitational. [Michael Murphy, Chron.com]
Ah the College Basketball Invitational. A tournament with so much prestige that they don't have a website, and they feel the need to select 13-17 OREGON STATE.
Oh sure, they didn't pick 13-17 OREGON STATE because their head coach is Obama's Brother-in-law. No way. I'm sure it was their quality win over Seattle Pacific (a program so tiny even NCAA.com doesn't have a link for them) that got them there.
This is a team that finished 7-11 in Pac-10 play this year. A year where the Pac-10 was decidedly down.
Yup, nothing odd about them seeing the post-season.
Oh, and they got the HOME game.
Brutal.
The Houston Cougars found out their postseason fate Sunday night, accepting an invitation to play in the 2009 College Basketball Invitational.
The Cougars (21-11) will play at Oregon State (13-17) at 9 p.m. Wednesday in a first-round game of the West Regional.
“They’ve had some great wins this year,” UH coach Tom Penders said. “It’s a very interesting matchup for us.”
It is the second consecutive CBI bid for the Cougars.
Ah the College Basketball Invitational. A tournament with so much prestige that they don't have a website, and they feel the need to select 13-17 OREGON STATE.
Oh sure, they didn't pick 13-17 OREGON STATE because their head coach is Obama's Brother-in-law. No way. I'm sure it was their quality win over Seattle Pacific (a program so tiny even NCAA.com doesn't have a link for them) that got them there.
This is a team that finished 7-11 in Pac-10 play this year. A year where the Pac-10 was decidedly down.
Yup, nothing odd about them seeing the post-season.
Oh, and they got the HOME game.
Brutal.
So much for all that pre-season Rockets hype....
Who let the Dog's out? [Fran Blinebury, Chron.com]
Rockets latest flop changes game [Jonathan Feigan, Chron.com]
Even for Mr. Calm, It's almost panic time on Rockets [Jerome Solomon, Chron.com]
Rockets still have 30 games to figure it out. [Richard Justice, Chron.com]
It's important to note that the season also began with Chron Sports columnists falling over themselves with rampant Rockets praise...
Whoops. If this season has been anything, it's not a lot of fun. What all of the Chronicle's columnists are lacking is the ability to provide serious analysis of Houston sports teams. Analysis such as this is sorely lacking {Houston's Clear Thinkers}
So far I haven't heard anyone address what is now unquestionably the Rockets folly of ridding themselves of Jeff Van Gundy in exchange for Rick Adelman. Even after a loss in which they gave up 124 points (wait, say that again 124 freaking points) to a middle of the pack Eastern Conference team, such as the Milwaukee Bucks (25-29, currently the 8th seed in the East) there's little talk about what a disaster the Rockets' defense has become. If you need any more convincing that's 25 points higher than what the Bucks are averaging per game all season long. For a team with a player whose unofficial motto is "no layups", the Bucks sure had a ton of them last night.
Granted, you can't expect to see 'gloom and doom' 24/7 when it comes to the local sports fanchises, that would be unreadable. But isn't 'sort of' fair to expect sports analysis to be, I don't know, based on reality?
Reality says that McGrady has been a good player in constant decline over past years to the point that he's morphed into the injury riddled, no heart, just-above-average player he is today. Yao is Yao, a quality big man whose game is limited by his size and slow feet. Ron Artest is over the hill, Rafer Alston is the worst starting point guard in the league, and Shane Battier playing team defense is hurting the Rockets because no one else is. If you add to that the reality there's nothing in Adelman's resume that suggests an improvement over Van Gundy and you have another average season with a first round loss in the playoffs dead in your sights.
Depressing? Yup, and given that this is Houston the Rockets will hang on to declining players for too long. Where's that analysis?
Here were the Rockets up to all of their old tricks - chasing their tails on offense while the defense rolls over and plays dead.
The Bucks were without three of the regulars in Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Luke Ridnour.
Then again, the Rockets might as well have boarded Tracy McGrady (1-for-9, 3 points), Yao Ming (2-for-8, 7 points) and Rafer Alston (2-for-8, 9 points) back at the kennel.
Who wants to be the first one to step up after practice today and point a finger of blame at somebody else?
One game from the All-Star break and this is a collection that is far more poodle than pit bull. Oh, they can look pretty strutting with a ribbon in their hair when everything is going right. But they don't have an ounce of snarl.
Rockets latest flop changes game [Jonathan Feigan, Chron.com]
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said months ago that he wanted to see his team play just 10 games together.
Sorry. It's too late. They've played just six together. That will have to be enough.
The trade deadline is in 10 days and Daryl Morey is on the clock.
There have been too many signs that this team just does not care enough. For whatever reasons - and that silly, little locker room tension would qualify as a pathetic excuse/explanation - the Rockets cannot maintain intensity and focus, effort and energy game after game.
Even for Mr. Calm, It's almost panic time on Rockets [Jerome Solomon, Chron.com]
After last night's horrible showing in Milwaukee, the Rockets have people freaking out.
Yes the King is normally Mr. Calm in these situations, but I've actually unlocked the handcuffs and opened the briefcase in which the panic button is held. ... My right hand is hovering.
I can't get any closer to pushing the panic button than I am now.
Do you think after talking to a few players, Rick Adelman and the GM, I'll close the brief case without a detonation?
Rockets still have 30 games to figure it out. [Richard Justice, Chron.com]
I keep going back to what Rick Adelman said a couple of weeks ago when he finally had both Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady back in the lineup. He said it would take a few weeks to get guys comfortable with one another and to figure out a rotation. At the time, he left open the possibility of changing the rotation depending on the matchup.
So I keep telling myself there's still a chance a light will come on, and the Rockets will start to resemble a team. They've done that for a few stretches, but then they follow it up with another embarrassment.
This loss to Milwaukee qualifies as an embarrassment on several levels. It's so bad that you wonder if what is broken can ever be fixed. Coaches sometimes use the phrase ''lightning in a bottle'' to explain how teams click.
In other words, they can't really explain. We all saw it last season in the 22-game winning streak. The Rockets played as one. They moved the ball, were terrific on the defensive end and made winning plays. They also seemed to be having fun.
They're clearly not having any fun now. I don't know if Tracy McGrady is to blame, or if it's Ron Artest. I don't know if one or both of them has killed the lockerroom chemistry.
I still think a few victories would improve things dramatically, but maybe they're just not capable of that.
The NBA trading deadline is 10 days away, and Daryl Morey has decisions to make. I'm not sure his decisions now are as tough as they would have been, say, a month ago.
This season began with the Rockets thinking this group was good enough to win a championship. They're clearly not. If Morey makes a trade, he's not going to be breaking up something that works.
It's important to note that the season also began with Chron Sports columnists falling over themselves with rampant Rockets praise...
There's something hugely refreshing about the Rockets. That is, they're really good and they know they're really good and they know these next few months are going to be all kinds of fun.
It's going to be hard for some of us to enjoy the regular season because there's a feeling that this time the playoffs are going to be different. That's a danger, but it's a good problem to deal with.
This isn't the kind of situation we get from our professional teams very often. The Astros have had success, but Drayton McLane is never going to put all his chips on the table and go for it. He's going to spend just enough to be competitive, is never going to allow his people put a complete team on the field.
Meanwhile, the Texans just seemed jinxed. There's no other explanation for it. You can take two or three steps back and see a team with a pretty good offense and with a defense that did a lot of good things against the Colts. And someway, somehow it fell apart.
Leslie Alexander gave his people the go-ahead to do whatever needed to be done. He had to be talked into the Ron Artest deal, but when Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman wanted to do it, he did it.
Likewise, the Carl Landry signing put the payroll higher than Alexander wanted it to go. He agreed, though, because in the end, it closed the gap on the Spurs, Lakers, etc. I once heard a NASCAR owner say: "When our people come to me with something new, you don't ask how much it's going to cost. You ask if it'll make us go faster. If it'll make us go faster, we have to have it."
Whoops. If this season has been anything, it's not a lot of fun. What all of the Chronicle's columnists are lacking is the ability to provide serious analysis of Houston sports teams. Analysis such as this is sorely lacking {Houston's Clear Thinkers}
Frankly, looks to me as if the Rockets would be better off at this point working on their "Life-After-McGrady" plan.
So far I haven't heard anyone address what is now unquestionably the Rockets folly of ridding themselves of Jeff Van Gundy in exchange for Rick Adelman. Even after a loss in which they gave up 124 points (wait, say that again 124 freaking points) to a middle of the pack Eastern Conference team, such as the Milwaukee Bucks (25-29, currently the 8th seed in the East) there's little talk about what a disaster the Rockets' defense has become. If you need any more convincing that's 25 points higher than what the Bucks are averaging per game all season long. For a team with a player whose unofficial motto is "no layups", the Bucks sure had a ton of them last night.
Granted, you can't expect to see 'gloom and doom' 24/7 when it comes to the local sports fanchises, that would be unreadable. But isn't 'sort of' fair to expect sports analysis to be, I don't know, based on reality?
Reality says that McGrady has been a good player in constant decline over past years to the point that he's morphed into the injury riddled, no heart, just-above-average player he is today. Yao is Yao, a quality big man whose game is limited by his size and slow feet. Ron Artest is over the hill, Rafer Alston is the worst starting point guard in the league, and Shane Battier playing team defense is hurting the Rockets because no one else is. If you add to that the reality there's nothing in Adelman's resume that suggests an improvement over Van Gundy and you have another average season with a first round loss in the playoffs dead in your sights.
Depressing? Yup, and given that this is Houston the Rockets will hang on to declining players for too long. Where's that analysis?
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