Fran Blinebury imagines a Rockets' turnaround
The Chronicle ran this bit of wisdom from Fran Blinebury a few days ago yesterday:
Oh, the Rockets remember losing 100-88 to the Sixers in Philadelphia this past month. The way an electrician remembers the first time he forgot to turn off the power before poking around in a socket.
"It was painful, really painful," Yao Ming said.
It was also ugly, really ugly. Because the Rockets did not play offense, did not work on defense and did not compete. Which is why by the middle of the third quarter, the Sixers had built a 31-point lead.
Tracy McGrady limped away from the carnage early in the second half with a sprained right ankle, and Yao blasted away when it was over, calling the Rockets soft.
"It was the lowest point of our season," Yao said of the 100-88 loss.
It might also have been the night the Rockets hit rock bottom and began to scratch and claw their way back to respectability.
"I know that game hit me," Yao said. "I think that game hit the whole team. I think maybe it is a game that stays with everyone. I don't think anybody can forget it, and it has made us a different team now."
The wins didn't start to come immediately after they left Philly. But over the past three weeks, coach Rick Adelman has seen the Rockets play at a higher level.
Not to be outdone, the Chron headline writer apparently decided to mimic Blinebury's typically overwrought prose:
Loss to Philly was turning point for Rockets
When the teams met on Dec. 10, Rick Adelman's team hit rock bottom, but the defeat was a shock that sparked the team and helped it regain respect
Really?
Since December 10 (and after two pitiful home losses in a row), the Rockets' record is 9-8. Their overall record is 20-19, meaning they were 11-11 before Blinebury's supposed turnaround.
Do any editors read the Chronicle's NBA writing before it is posted, ever?
UPDATE: Just last night -- the same day the Chronicle ran Blinebury's column celebrating the Rockets' turnaround -- Blinebury wrote the following on his blog:
Turn out the lights, the party's over.
The NBA draft lottery will be held on May 20.
No matter how you say it, this was the game that made it safe to plan a spring vacation.
The Rockets are going nowhere at warp speed.
Not with a back-to-back set of games where they give up 29 and 37 points in the fourth quarter. Not with a backcourt collection that cannot execute the simple entry pass to a center who stands 7-6. Not with a collective backbone that couldn't stand up to a jellyfish.
"We let up, as we usually do," said Rafer Alston. "It was a total let-up."
A complete and utter breakdown.
This has turned into nothing short of a clown act, missing only the fright wigs, red noses and big shoes.
Between that rapid change of heart and Richard Justice's similar mood swings, you have to wonder if the Chron sports department could get a discount on medication for bipolar disorder.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/16/08 07:58 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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