http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview2004/news/story?page=rocketscap Its not too in dept, just a simple analysis with some comments. The grading are some what acurate but I would grade T-Mac a 9 and Yao an 8 at this point. ESPN, The Magazine- They've got a guy who could go for 40 on any given night, and we're not talking about Tracy McGrady. With Shaq gone, Yao Ming becomes the West's best center, but he has to bring it. TMac will get his, and Juwan Howard, Mo Taylor and Jim Jackson make up a strong supporting cast. But it's Yao who dictates the fortune of this team. Party's over, big fella -- it's time to start dominating. Roster analysis- The starters: Best one-two punch in the league. Hands down. Pos./ Player Comment/ Grade* PF/ Juwan Howard Fab Five? More like fab two and three old guys/ 7 SF/ Jim Jackson Averaged 39 mpg last season. No relief in sight/ 8 C/ Yao Ming Hasn't missed a game since joining the Rockets/ 10 SG/ Tracy McGrady He got his wish. Orlando now has a strong supporting cast/ 10 PG/ Charlie Ward Like filling a Rolls-Royce with 87-octane gas/ 6 BENCH/ Starters need to stay healthy. Mo Taylor is good. But Tyronn Lue, Bob Sura, Clarence Weatherspoon and Bostjan Nachbar ... see where we're going?/ 7 TOTAL 47[
1. Is Fisher 87-octane gas in the Laker 3peat? 2. He forgot Deke on our bench Lots of people are sleeping on Ward and Deke, while i think they will become solid support players.
Rockets must be the most under rated team ever in the history of the NBA, we never get any respect from those sports writers, even in the championship years. Now even we have the best 1-2 punch in the league, they still gave us 47 out of 60? I can't wait for us to win another title so we can laugh at those idiot's face.
I think that is the point JVG was trying to make when he talked about talent vs. execution & preformance if the team executes, they will be fine
I think he is saying that Ward is a nice PG, but well past his prime. I think he has had knee problems the last few years as well.
Exactly... I've always thought Ward was a solid player, and he's a little bit older, so he's not quite as quick, but he's still a decent PG who can knock down open jumpers. People can say what they want about depth, but the way this roster has been built, the only rotation players that can't knock down an open jumper are Deke and Bowen. I think Sura is going to be a good addition. I like the idea of a tall backcourt with him and McGrady, especially defensively and on the glass. Deke's actually shown something this preseason, he's got a little more left than I thought. We've also still got that trade exception and a couple of tradeable players, so there's a definite possibility we'll pick someone up in the middle of the season.
WTF were you expecting, ratings-wise? God man, they gave the Rockets the 2nd highest ratings in the west, behind only Minnesota (50). Second highest!! San Antonio, for comparison, scored a 46. "Most under rated team ever in the history of the NBA."
If you look at how they rated other teams, they were pretty generous. For example, JJ was rated higher than lamar odom.
