I personally think this is a Championship Caliber Team I know many do not I think T-Mac and Yao make a stong Foundation Bonzi/Head/Battier are solid contributers JHoward/Rafer/Deke are servicable While it has weakness. . . . I think they are very overcome-able. If this is *not* a championship Caliber team . .. . what do we need to become one. While Rafer is not the best. . . .other teams have similar weakness and past Championship teams have had similar weakness but they over came them . . . .. Rocket River
Aside from Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio and Detroit, I think our team has the best outside chance of winning it all. We'll need to play at our very best to do it and maybe have some luck, but we have the pieces to give us a chance. That said, even if we win it all, I wouldn't say this team is a finished product. So no matter how we do, we definitely should look to upgrade in the post season.
So far they have been hitting those shots, right now we have 4 guys who have hit 100+ treys this season and 2 of them are in the top10 at 3p%. Heading towards playoffs, i think our shooting will only improve and when the big games starts we are make some serious damage behing the arc.
We don't hit them when we need to hit them. They don't fall when we play the top teams. Don't let the stats fool you. I work with stats all day - you need to look at the stats correctly.
Of course this is a championship caliber team. We have the same exact mold of the Laker's teams that won three championships. 1) We have a dominant, basically unguardable inside presence 2) We have complementing Yao an explosive wing player that plays set up man and is capable of taking the game over at any given point 3) We have smart role players that make smart decisions, hit their shots and play adequete defense ...and to add our own little twist to this comparison..... 4) We play probably the best defense in the league As I see it there are three main obstacles standing in our way: 1) Stay healthy 2) Forcing teams like Phoenix and Dallas to slow down and play our "game" 3) The onus is also on JVG to prove he can get it done in the playoffs and improvise/make key adjustments when the time is right
While I love our current Rockets team and the heart they show each and every game, I don't believe it is "championship caliber" due to the weakness you allude to in your post--PG. Our PG play is consistently horrible and it is even more of a testament to the amazing abilities of TMAC, Yao, Battier, Luther, Deke, and other role players that the Rockets are where they are today. Not sure how Bonzi has really been a "solid contributer" as he has played in so few games and his return to significant playing time the rest of the year is questionable. I hope I'm wrong on this because I think obviously Bonzi could be a factor in the playoffs but its hard to assume he would be if he can't even be a factor in the regular season. I agree that past champions may have had some "weakness" but I don't think those past champions had quite the weak floor generalship that our Rockets have this year. Hopefully the Rockets will prove me wrong and Rafer and his backups will all of a sudden play out of their minds.
Of course you cant always hit everything but we've seen Luther, Shane and even Rafer hit some big threes @ clutch-time this season or i'm wrong??
I hate all the rafer bashing....... like ive said many of times hes a great fit at point guard.. he runs this offense well if u havent noticed... ala the Hornets game when rafer was thrown out of the game our offense just fell apart.. I hope rafer proves a lot of people wrong in the post season
This is basically how I feel We got the tools. . now we need to use them Even Bonzi . . . we need to fine a way to have him contribute I know I know. . .one should not have to motivate a player well . . tough sh*t . . .someone needs to motivate him . . .IT IS WHAT IT IS Rocket River
Nooo i think hes watchin the right team... the question is what team are u watching??? lol and by the way has anybody heard any updates on bob sura....
I was watching this game http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2007031221 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2007030310 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2007021510 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2007020906 Get my point? It doesn't matter we hit lights out against scrub teams. Again , what team are you watching?
As far as i know we are still in the regular season, playoffs is a whole different thing and when the playoffs come i belive that we can hit those shots to win big games against big teams, and if i wouldn't belive that we can do that i wouldn't be a Rockets fan.
I'm sorry, what weakness does any other contender have that matches Rafer? We have two actually - the one and the 4. Hayes and Howard are ok, but not when they have to go up against Duncun, Dirk, and Marion or Amare. Even Boozer will give them fits. And all those teams have awesome point guards. Look, the only way we can be a contender is if we prove it by getting to the WCF. I doubt it, but even with me, hope springs eternal. All we can do it watch.
All we can hope for is that teams don't overexpose our glaring weakness at the PG position (Rafer/Head). If those two guys are even 'serviceable' and play with some consistency, and we have Yao/McGrady/Battier/Hayes and others playing up to their abilities, then we will be fine.
I believe! Spartaaaaaaaaaaa! Yao is getting stronger and stronger each game while T-mac has a history of raising his game to another level in the playoffs. Also, the pace slows down considerably during the post season which is to our advantage since we have one of, if not the best, half-court defenses in the league. Remember that 7 game war against a significantly more talented Mavs team 2 years ago? Well now we have Shane instead of Ryan Bowen as our starting forward! Yao is now dominant, T-mac has had more time playing in Houston to adapt to the team and build chemistry and we have more consistent outside threats. I like our chances.
