I'm feeling the same way. The season was a constant evolution of the team and the finished product was too much for teams to handle. I believe we are on the cusp of that now.
No. He won’t. Unless getting the number 2 seed also means having a better or equal record as the Raps. Nick Nurse lost his best player from last year and is playing a few undrafted players in his rotation and is on pace to match last years record if not exceed it. Again, I’m not taking a dig at MDA, but saying “he got the second seed without a big man” does not win you an award. There’s always a third nominee for the award that doesn’t have a chance at the award; like another poster stated, Spo and Billy Donovan are leading the race for that (Bud and Nurse being locks)
Now you are talking in absolutes, stop already. You cannot say MDA not in running if he takes team implementing revolutionary system to 2nd seed. It's more than just "not having a big man" and you know it. MDA is changing basketball ... AGAIN.
Hopefully clippers fall to 4th or 5th so they can see Lakers in the second. That’s more important than second seed. We need those two on a pre-wcf collision course.
We can absolutely get to 2nd seed if we stop losing to sub .500 teams ALL the time lol Just go check out our last 10 losses, 6 of them to sub .500 teams, GSW/NOP/MEM/POR twice/PHX
Mda idea of chemistry is playing the same lineup to the ground. We need more spare tires for this marathon
Your really not that good at this. Maybe pay for lessons from chow, basketmadman, smoothy queen or that other weirdo who's handle I forget.
https://theathletic.com/1607994/202...ed-chemistry-evident-as-they-enter-final-lap/ “I think we found some things that we’re excited about,” D’Antoni said. “I’m excited, I don’t know if they are, but I’m excited. There have been two games so far that we’ve been beaten at the buzzer, just people throwing in shots. I think we can make a run for 2nd. Whether we will or not, we gotta stay healthy and then we gotta go after it. But we can make a run, put ourselves in a great position and then we’ll see if we have the mettle.” [...] The All-Star break isn’t exactly the halfway point of their season—that came in a 124-115 loss in Los Angeles on January 18—but it’s often referred to as the second half. In seasons past, this is when the Rockets turn up the jets. The defense gets tighter, the ball moves faster, and the wins mean more. The past two seasons have seen them shoot up the Western Conference standings in that timespan, playing their best brand of basketball as the playoffs approach. Back in January, it didn’t seem as if that would be possible, just given the nature of circumstances. What about now? “We’d better,” Mike D’Antoni joked. “I think they feel that. We’d have loved to have won against Utah, then we’d have been rolling a bit more. But we just gotta get better. The wins will take care of themselves if offensively we get the right shots and defensively just keep improving, keep our energy up and battling. We’ll be alright.”
Lot of people hate on MDA and always being positive, not enough adjustments, short rotation but every season he has Rockets playing better after ASB. It has become so routine that media and fans take it for granted.
It's true, but it's also interesting when contrasted against the eventual playoff ouster... where it seems like he's outcoached, even if also outtalented. Personally, I think that's because he doesn't do a lot of specific, in game, in a series strategic level adjustments... and when he has tried it hasn't worked great. Rather he coaches to an overall system. So the team gets better, healthier, whatever throughout a regular season as they just get more and more comfortable within the overall system. The question is in rounds 2+ in the playoffs, playing against other really good teams (a top 4 team in the West is a legit good team), that is also at that point comfortable in their system, can MDA make whatever MINOR adjustments or the correct rotation moves at the correct time, over and over again in series... assuming the team isn't good enough, with enough "mettle", to get it done without those adjustments? I don't know the answer, nor really care a ton at this point. He is what he is as a coach - which is VERY VERY good but not cream of the crop best - and they've gone with the new system and he's saying the right things right now, imo. They clearly realize seeding matters, the Utah lost hurt - but isn't a dagger in the heart yet, they don't have room to lose more games like that or to teams they're not supposed to, they need to push hard for that 2 seed, and whether its 2,3, or 4 seed, have to see how it goes in the playoffs.
