DEALT A LOSING HAND
With a roster full of teenagers, Silas never really got a fair shake from the Rockets
In the midst of a whining tantrum about life not being fair, I brought out the old saying that fair is a place where they judge pigs.
My teenage daughter stared at me as if I were speaking a foreign language that needed translation, then responded with, “So, you’re calling me a pig?”
There is nothing fair about what has happened or what is going to happen to Stephen Silas after the Rockets complete another dreadful season Sunday at Washington.
The third-year head coach has a contract with a team option for another season, but there have been no talks about the Rockets honoring the final year of the deal or offering an extension beyond that.
In a few days, Silas will be a former Rockets’ coach. Fait accompli.
Being the professional that he is, Silas has not gone off on a whining tantrum. (Note: the whining tantrum referenced above came from the 13year-old, not me.)
Silas has had a couple brief “woe is me” moments in postgame press conferences, which is a remarkably low number from a coach who was put in a no-win situation and didn’t win.
Silas was dealt a losing hand and charged with bluffing his way to wins.
During his tenure he has suffered more shots straight to the gut than he has hit gut shot straights.
As was the case with Bo Porter the losingest manager in Astros’ history, Silas never stood a chance once the decision was made to tear down the team and build it from scratch with young players.
Aaliyah said age ain’t nothing but a number, but the Rockets’ age numbers are bad.
Silas is a victim of circumstance. He is not what his record says he is. He has been coaching boys against men.
Consider this: The average age of the five players in the lineup Silas started in his next-to-last game Friday at Charlotte, is younger than the starting groups for three of the four teams that played in the Final Four last weekend.
With three players under the drinking age, the Rockets’ starters combined 103 years of life matches that of NCAA men’s champion UConn.
Women’s champion LSU had an older starting five, as did runner-up Iowa.
Having young players isn’t an excuse for bad coaching, it is absolutely a reason for not winning.
Silas’ squads have gotten better each year, but only one team has fewer than Houston’s 21 wins this season.
It is sad that such a good man and good coach is about to leave as the losingest coach in NBA history and Rockets’ history.
Silas’ .247 winning percentage entering Sunday’s season finale is the lowest for anyone who has coached at least 200 NBA games, and of the 15 men who have coached the Rockets, he is the only one with a sub-.300 winning percentage.
Only three Rockets’ coaches have more losses than Silas’ 177, Rudy Tomjanovich, Bill Fitch and Del Harris. All three coached significantly more games and led the Rockets to the Finals during their tenure, with Tomjanovich guiding the team to two championships.
The top three on the Rockets’ winning list (percentage wise) — Mike D’Antoni, Kevin McHale and Rick Adelman — all served under previous general manager Daryl Morey.
From 2008-2020, the Rockets had a .588 winning percentage and had a stretch of eight straight playoff appearances.
Those were vastly different days and times. Back when the Rockets had championship dreams and were actually trying to win.
In the Silas years, winning has not been a priority or a desire. The team’s goals have been to accumulate assets, build for the future, prep to land a couple of superstars in the draft or in free agency once the youngsters were ready to win.
Odds were low that any coach could survive thought such a rebuild.
The franchise strategy makes sense. Silas hasn’t and won’t benefit from it.
Silas, working with a contending team stocked with veterans who respect him and his style, could lead a team to a championship.
He hasn’t been given that opportunity.
It wasn’t fair.
Don’t judge him.