Now that Houston has aquired Glen Rice, will their record and standing improve in the 2001-2002 season? Rockets- 50+ wins #5 seed
54-28 5th seed Rockets defeat Spurs in first round, and stun the Lakers when Glen Rice averages 39 points as the Rockets win in 7 games. The Rockets advance to the Finals, after defeating the Blazers in six games in the conference finals. But in the end, they fall to the Raptors in 7 games, as the Dream knocks down a turnaround J at the buzzer. The next year, the Rockets sweep the Bucks in the finals, as Francis averages 45 points to win the Finals MVP. Actually, I expect the wins and seed to be the same. I also see the Rockets defeating the Spurs in the first round, but losing to the Lakers in 7 games the next.
The Rockets will be either 7 or 8th seed. It will take a good part of the first half of the season for all the new players to gell as a team.
The acquisition of Glen Rice just might make this a playoff team this year. It's so hard to say though, not having seen them play together. I have no idea if this team will really gel. I have no idea what to expect from Eddie Griffen....or Kelvin Cato for that matter. I'll say this...I THINK their chances of making the playoffs just improved. In terms of scoring, Rice replaces Olajuwon's points....but plays nearly every game, a stark contrast from Hakeem at this stage of his career! I'll say they get the 8th spot.....but they aren't gonna beat the Spurs, ZRB's crack induced hallucinations notwithstanding!
Losing Hakeem, Anderson and probably Bullard, possibly Norris. Gaining Rice (34 year old vet), Griffin (19 year old rookie), Morris (2nd round end of the bench player) and Hill (Moochie insurance). And this leapfrogs us over Minnesota (swap Ellis for Joe Smith), Phoenix (Penny's finally health), Portland (too much talent) and Utah or Dallas to a 5th seed? You really think those teams have fallen off so bad this offseason that getting a more consistent shooter at the 3 and losing the all-time leader in shotblocking will make us better than them? Keep in mind, 10 teams in the west had a better conference record than we did. If we hadn't feasted on the east, or if they had played better out of conference, we wouldn't have made 9th in the standing. Oh yeah, the Clippers only had two fewer wins against the east than the Rockets. Do you think they might improve this year?
52-30, 5th seed Rockets take the Blazers to 5 in the first round before going down. 2003, however, will be a totally different story...
Couldn't agree more. It took the first quarter of the season to get Mo Taylor acclimated to this team, although he never knew if he was a center or a forward. We'll be starting this season with 2 new starters and what could be 4 new rotation guys. It'll take some time to get that together. j
I'm not so sure it will be as difficult as it has been in the past. For starters, as of now we've only got one change in the starting lineup - Rice @ 3 - as the 5 spot has yet to be addressed. I personally don't think that starting Rice will pose much of a chemistry problem, because everyone already knows his abilities. Chemistry invloves knowing what everyone can do, which affects decision making and timing. It can even be argued that the chemistry with Rice will be better than it was with Shandon because Steve in particular never knew which Shandon was playing (the one who scored 25 pts on 10-16 or the one who scored 2 pts on 0-9 shooting). With Rice you know what you're getting, and you won't have to wave him off... Hakeem was gone anyway. Cato has been there a while. Everyone already knows what he's good for: ally-oops, wide open dunks, and some blocking/rebounding work. Of course, he is also a ? on any given night... On the whole, though, I don't expect the roster changes to have a significant impact on chemistry development. Maybe the first 10-20 games it will be a factor, but not half a season.
In order for us to get to at least a 6th seed, we need to keep both Bullard and Moochie. Those guys know all the plays and they now where Francis and Cat like to dish out to. Plus, if Langhi isn't able to make the transition to the NBA game, we are gonna need Bull. He was the only player that consistantly knocked down the open shot (shotting 44% from 3's) last year. I'm not counting on Morris too much after seeing (and hearing about) him throwing up so many air balls in the RMR. We won't get in the playoffs with 3 Rook's , no C and 5 new players. It's vital that we keep some of our own veterans to be successful in the post season. with - 6th without- 9th 51-31 44-38
50 wins. We will be better in the West but won't come close to what we did in the East. 7th seed. Pig Miller is sounding better all the time.
drpepper - Bull is already inked w/ Charlotte. Done deal, kaput. But of all the positions to be worried about now, SF is not one of them.
yea, just read that. I'll miss him, but I think he'll be happy. We are gonna have a very different team next year.
I'm assuming we keep Moochie or sign a quality PG to back up Francis, because we're going to need a competent point. 52-30, #6 seed. I think the Rockets will stay in the Midwest title chase until the end. I can see the Rockets playing San Antonio, Sacramento or Dallas in the first round, and the Rocks can beat any of those teams.
record 78-4 Get swept in season series w/ Clipps. Cuttino named defensive player of the year. Cato named comeback player of the year averaging 4.75 blocks 16.5 boards 13 points and .6 fouls a game. Mooch records first album after not being signed in offseason.
Oh yeah lose first round playoff series to sonics. Rashard Lewis abuses Griff and Rice to the tune of 37.3 ppg in series.
