“Only a cockeyed optimist could say that Houston’s glass is half full” WTF! I suppose the article is fair if absolutely everything goes wrong. If Yao struggles to match Rik Smits dominance? I’m sorry, did Iverson, Duncan, Robinson and all swoon about Smit’s talent level. Don’t think so. I guess the players at the WC are poor judges of talent as is almost anyone else who’s actually seen Yao play. If Griffin doesn’t improve?? His only knock from the draft was attitude. And he’s had a great attitude so far. A year older, and focussed. It’s possible he doesn’t improve, but not likely. His shooting will improve as he gets experienced and has more help. Cat’s shots? Put a big centre in there and it gives him more options. I guess they’re expecting Francis to miss 25games too? Houston’s glass was more than half-full without Yao. Last year’s healthy team would have been expected to win more than 28 games. Nachbar’s possible prominence is not the key to a better year for Houston as the article implies. This article is set to be a collector’s item, because with insight like this, the writer is not likely to be producing for much longer.
That was the worst season preview i have ever seen. What bum wrote that crap? Seriously, they should give that job to someone who has watched at least a game of Rockets ball. Anybody on this board would do a better job than that putz.
I don't get the knocks on Griffin, isn't he 20 yrs old. Sure he has room for improvement, but he should be in his junior yr in college for christ sakes. I'll bet this same writer raves about the potential of Kwame Brown, Chandler and Curry.
That's true, but it's not the anchors that annoy so much, it's the people in the back. A lot of the anchors' material is pre-written. Obviously they ad-lib a lot, but I'm guessing material for, say, Yao are pre-written.
Everybody is entitled to he opinions. If he thinks the Rockets are not a good team this year, fine. But Nachbar taking Griffin's spot? They aren't even playing the same position. And "rail-thin" Yao Ming? What kind of rail is that? Plain ignorance. Plain ignorance.
You guys are being oversensitive homers. There's nothing that was written that is not a legitimate issue with the current Rockets team. Just because his words are harsh doesn't mean he hates the Rockets, he's just not a homer. By the way, people say the Knicks lost to the Rockets because John Starks sucked not because of luck. People will point out that they lost game 7 by 7 points with a 2-18 shooting performance from Starks. As the joke goes..."John starks tried to shoot himself after the game...but he missed."
Wrong...Comments that include Nachbar taking Griffin's spot are stupid. The writer needs to educate himself a little more before posting such ignorance.
Also, conceding that the Rockets may win more than 28 is just dumb. We’re often pretty sensitive at ccnet, but this is just one bad preview
Perhaps we should go back and look at all the predictions for last year from Rockets fans on the BBS. And those that bashed everyone picking them for the lottery should apologize to those who picked them for the lottery. Predictions are just that - people's OPINIONS about the team. They don't come from people with Rockets-colored glasses. It's amazing how much attention people pay to ESPN predictions while at the same time talking about how stupid ESPN is. If they are so stupid, who the hell cares what they predict?
I would be willing to apologize to everyone that predicted we would be in the lotto because we had 3 starters miss significant time and the other two playing through injury. Those that predicted the team would suck due to personnel really can't be said to have been right or wrong.
I read through all the reviews and it isn't just about the Rockets. They ATTEMPTED to be funny and snide with pretty much EVERY review with very few exceptions. The problem is that ESPN seems to think their writers are: a. funny b. inciteful c. attentive Since the answer would actually be "none of the above", they probably should try again.
Jeff. You are on money there. I think the predictions are fun readings...and they are all over. Nothing matters as much as the real season and results there. The only thing that I am hoping for is getting to PLAYOFFS.
Put it this way, if you weren't a Rocket fan, what would you predict the record to be? Would the Rockets be much different than a GS? A Was? Not really... We all know that the Rockets will be better than they were last year, but why should someone outside of Houston think that? Facts are facts, we sucked last year. When you suck that badly, you are bound to have your critics. I don't see why this is so shocking to some of you.
i still just can't get over saying bostjan will replace eddie. based on what!? going by this preseason, i'm not sure nachbar could replace my little sister in a starting lineup, much less eddie griffin (note, i'm not saying i think nach sucks or will suck, just he hasn't looked good so far). and then just the obvious fact eddie is a friggin 4 and not a 3! also, all they did was point out negatives. steve turns it over, who cares about scoring/rebounding/assists, cuttino shot a lot, who cares if he made them, eddie shot bad, who cares about rebounding and defense, ming is top 5, apparently this is bad. major, why do you have a problem with people on this board complaining about that. it's not as if he said, they'll win 50 and everyone jumped on him for not saying we would win 60. i mean people may put on the rockets-colored glasses quite often around here, but it would take some jazz-colored glasses to write something that negative about us (although jeff said the other reviews were similar, that doesn't really justify any of them). hell, i'm fairly pessimistic by nature and even i don't see things being nearly that bad.
