Life’s not fair.
I hear that a lot. My response is always that while that’s true, we have an obligation to try and make it as fair as possible. The logic behind that is tangled up in something between social contract and a Locke-ian emphasis in college. But there’s really not a lot we can do about something that is prety much completely unfair.
The Houston Rockets simply cannot win.
Now, I don’t think Houston was beating LA. I don’t think anyone’s beating LA. And there’s no “oustside of Cleveland” caveat there. They’re just more talented, they’re pretty well coached (no understatement), and they have matchup advantages over every team except Orlando. But pushing LA, which I think Houston was going to do, would have been a measure of victory. It would have at least brought some sort of positive result for the season, outside of advancing to the second round. But instead?
Both of their superstar players have their seasons ended by injury.
I mean, what do you do with that? If you’re Daryl Morey, your system is built on logic and data. Cold, hard, information that people may not agree with, but under your system, makes the most sense to act on. But at what point does “CURSED_BY_THE_GODS_Q_RATIO” become a variable in the database? Some guys are injury prone due to a lack of conditioning. Others, just poor luck. Others, genetic flaws that make them slightly more human, like the rest of us, as opposed to the unfathomably healthy peers they work with. That’s the case with Ming. Random injuries all over the body would be one thing. But his feet just can’t hold the frame, it seems like. It’s entirely possible that all of his foot injuries are separate instances. That this is just a random series of circumstance. But the more logical conclusion is that Ming has too much weight on too weak a structure, and the result is injuries that prevent him from finishing seasons. Ming battled through it at the end of Game 3, you can’t call him a wuss. He played through it, because that’s how badly he wants it. What must have been going through his mind then? To know how much pain you’re in, but to play through it, either out of desire or fear for that post-game X-ray?
I’ve often said that the NBA Universe holds some teams as favored and some teams as cursed. Look at the Lakers. Blessed with the biggest market. A constant stream of superstars. Pau Gasol on a silver platter. And now, in a series that might actually test them, their biggest weakness, Ming’s dominance, is nullified. Conversely, this Rockets franchise since the 1995 championship has faced nothing but teasing agony. They assemble a solid all-around support system, which is often harder than getting superstars. Ask Kevin McHale. Only to find their superstars on the shelf, year after year, after year.
Maybe this is all luck. Blind luck. Some would probably say that it’s Morey’s fault for relying on injury prone players, but that’s the hand Morey was dealt. But at some point you have to wonder if there’s some design in all this, a predetermined decision that the Rockets simply are not chosen by the Fates. It sounds silly and superstitious, buth how eslse do you explain the never-ending stream of outright disaster this team has faced?
At some point you have to face facts and just accept that despite the facts and data and reason, things are not meant to be. The Rockets may be approaching that point.
