Les Alexander: Rockets are contenders and do not need to get out of the first round

Guys, you're not the owner, right?

He's speaking from the owner's perspective. He's happy with the team and considers the season already a success because we've gotten back into the conversation as a contender. He will see this season as growth even if we don't get far in the playoffs.

I think he's saying it to lessen the pressure on the players and coaches. But of course, he's also looking for playoff success. Just not the carrot-stick approach. Morey is the one who is the hard-baller here.

 

Les Alexander is not someone to listen to regarding basketball - he is an ok owner, but not someone to give two anythings about.

DD

 

So now we know. He's a MOF.

 

a bunch of posters in this thread have shown a total lack of maturity and perspective.

 

IMO you can't just win a championship out of the blue

Rockets did that with the 6th seed but how many teams are going to repeat that and how long does it take to witness that?

You have to go through second round exits, WC finals exits and Finals losses.

We do not even get the opportunity to stand in the WC finals as of now.

 

Yeah and we have had 2 first round exits in a row. Another first round exit shows the team is stagnant, there has been no growth if we do not at least get into the second round.

 

Yeah, definitely like to see 2nd round (at least)... Man NBA is definitely tough, just seems windows can be short sometimes. Obviously SAS are special case, but most teams come and go quickly (5-10 years is nothing, sometimes even shorter). I just hope this team gets somewhere before it's time to start over. Houston has been lucky to avoid several rebuild seasons in a row, but I sometimes wonder if that'd be better if it meant going somewhere in the playoffs.

 

Alexander's comments are perfectly consistent with his lack of holding Morey accountable. It's all "feel-good" and Morey has mastered that.

 

Huh? We all can agree that Morey has been improving the team incrementally. We're still missing pieces, we're still to be tested with a playoff run, but surely we are better than than our team last year.

 

Maybe Les has had dementia for years that it might be Alzheimer's at this point.... He can't really mean this.

 

Les wanted Jeremy at all cost (8 million) to make more money

Obviously there are more important things than just winning

 

Seems odd at first... but he is looking at trending. Since signing Harden, and excluding injuries, the trend has been positive. Bosh was a real disappointment at the time, but the backup plan has certainly improved the defense this season. A good trend. Offense hasn't suffered. A good trend. Recently, two good defensive players wanted to come here. Two vets from previous championship teams wanted to come here. A good trend.

Match-ups do matter. It is why #1 seeds have been eliminated in the first round before. The Rockets will almost certainly not see the Warriors in the first round. And I expect once the playoffs begin, their recollection of the Portland series will become very vivid again. If they can't muster the effort (the current up and down trend) needed to win in the playoffs once they start, it won't be on the coaching staff. That's purely a desire for redemption by the players -- or should be. It is part of the reason Harden became more defensive. Sure it seemed like it was the FIBA games and that he inherited a leadership role. But the Portland loss will never be far away in his or Howard's mind come playoff time. We can't forget that there are quite a number of new faces who didn't experience that bitter pill.

I think Harden and Howard's focus come playoff time will be contagious. Terry and Ariza have been in that atmosphere and won't need to catch the disease, but some of the younger players will, likely, need to. Terry and Ariza should be a help in that regard. I hope Howard and Harden will be leaders in the true sense of the word and lead by example. If they do, I have every hope there will be no first-round exit this time around.

The game Wednesday against the Warriors doesn't have to be a win, but if it becomes a loss similar to Saturday's, it could put just enough doubt in the Rockets minds to mess with that specific playoff effort, if they end up playing the Warriors in the 2nd or 3rd round. A good close game, even it it's lost in the last minute or two won't hurt their psyche as bad as another blowout. A win would, hopefully, be the start of another good trend.

 

Wow, this sounds like he has accepted in his head that they won't make it out of the first round with McHale and this is his way of feeling okay about it - saying "we don't need it". REALLY?? This is some major cognitive dissonance and very disheartening to hear from Les.

 

honestly i think no owner care about winning...if their team is popular and doing even remotely good in RS they are fine...i dont think any owner is losing his sleep over playoffs failures....

 

How incredibly misleading. The Mavs had enjoyed plenty of playoff success with the Dirk led squad before they won the ring, they even made it to the finals 5 years prior to that...

The Celtics are the only I'll give you, and thats because they assembled one of the best fitted teams in NBA history

 

There is a difference between legit contenders and absolute favorites.....

IMO Mavs, Pistons were legit contenders

Celtics were favorites (because of the Lakers not absolute favorites)
Spurs were co favorites

Lakers, Heat were absolute favorites IMO

They sound to fans like the same but expectations are different.

Favorites should win more just once.... they should repeat, three-peat

Contenders should just win one or twice at most and everyone is ecstatic

 

in another word, who cares win or lose, all I need is the sellout seats.

 

what a dumb thing to say, and its honestly depressing to hear as a long time rockets fan

wasting hardens prime with an inept coach