I'm pretty sure no one on ClutchFans is counting the Rockets out. If we're here, you can bet we want the Rockets to win 82 games every year. Some fans are just more starry-eyed than others -- and who know, the starry-eyed fans might end up being right!
Barkley also said: -Yao would never score 20 points in a game his rookie season -That Spain would beat Team USA in the gold medal round -That the Heat would beat the Spurs in the Finals last season At this point I'd be more worried if Charles picked us to win it all.
Only Golden State has any kind of depth from that group, they have 3-4 good oles players off the bench. And the Pelis have a phenomenal 6th man, but after that who? Austin Rivers? Dallas and Portland have ZERO depth, maybe even less that Houston, both those teams are extremely starting 5 dependent.
First off Barkley is entertaining, but he isn't exactly a great predictor on what is going to happen. Second off the Rockets lost in the first round and have an unproven bench. Why should nba "experts" go in predicting big things from them as they are currently constructed? Morey is still looking to make major moves because we aren't one of the favorites to win it all as currently constructed. That doesn't mean the team will look the same by the end of the season. Odds are the team will make a major trade at some point. The difference between the 8th seed and 4th seed was only 5 games in the West and Dallas had 49 wins, so it's not like the 7th to 8th seed is likely to have a bad record for who ever gets that spot. The funny thing is that the 3rd seed in the east with 48 wins wouldn't have even made the playoffs over the 49 win Mavs, and the first seed Pacers would have been the 4th seed in the west.
I know Kenny hit some crucial threes to win us a championship. I will forever like him just because of that.
None of the experts said the Blazers were going to make the playoffs last year and they ended up being the 5th seed. Just let the season play out.
i think us being in the top 3 or the bottom 3 will really depend on our Defense. Last night, we had good D throughout, but 2 excellent stretches, one at the end of 3rd / beginning of 4th to put the game away. Guys like Papa, Black, Ariza were excellent in strong side help defense. We were almost playing a zone on the side of the ball, and doubling on picks etc, which worked well. It may not on more talented squads, but it was still very promising to watch the help D rotations.
Houston rockets houston rockets clutch city houston rockets Shawn kemp Emmy awards Emmy awards Kenny smith clutch city clutch city Kenny smith hahaha lol lol clutch city lol Emmy Ernie Johnson clutch city Emmy. There. Saved everyone the trouble. I mean. Sure. It's your job to be an analyst, but have some sort of backing. Evidence is not hall of fame houston rocket Emmy Emmy Houston rocket. Personally, I think I would have taken an 8 seed and played San Antonio last season with that team. I think we would have been out coached, but we could have overcame that.
We got no bench. Everyone seems to move to a roster of depth. An injury here and there doesn't derail them. They are kept fresh through the season and into the playoff. They go at you for 48mins. We - 35mins. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see us doing much at all. Maybe 2nd round.
Pop is a fantastic coach. The Spurs have depth because Pop gets the absolute most out of all of his players. They have taken many a player off the scrap heap and turned them into a great bench - almost every year they have had their big 3. I dont see a great bench in OKC. I see some guys that work really hard and get the most out of their talent playing with KD and Westbrook. The Clippers are deep but I do not think they are a contender if either of Paul or Griffin miss a significant amount of time. Dallas has a good bench again because they have a great coach - similar to Pop in that way. I am intrigued by our nucleus and our hightened defensive awareness. I do not think Barkley is right. I think he was flippant and belittling in a dismissive tone. F*ch him. He is still pissed that the Rocks owe him money. Kenny framed his point about the 3 starters by saying the Rockets were worse off this year. We can easily make the argument that Asik was a crybaby, Lin was a basket case, and we traded Parsons offensive versatility for a more bonafide 3 point specialist that is a very good wing defender. Kenny chose to frame it the other way. Whatever. Those guys entertain the masses. They arent paid to be right.
There must be something about the Rockets that makes them so misunderstood by national media. Or maybe it's just that we know so much about them that bad analysis about them stands out. I was listening to the BS Report - Bill and Jack-O were doing their annual Over/Under Win Total Nba prediction podcast, and of course they went under on the Rockets at 49.5 It's not that they went under, it's just the stuff Bill said: - 'Lin was great for them I thought, they will really miss him' (HUHH???) - On Ariza: 'Ugh. An unmotivated non contract year Ariza? Ugh' - best of all, in praising Parsons on the Mavs portion (they went over 50.5 for the Mavs) - Bill said 'The Mavs will use Parsons better than the Rockets were able to, they never used him correctly, they just used him as a spot up guy' That last one made me slap myself. It's not like the Rockets developed him or anything. and lol at Parsons being a spot up shooter for the Rockets.
Funny that people mention the 1st round loss to the blazers... Key in that loss were... - Lin turning the ball over in a situation that no pg should ever turn it over - Parson being outplayed by batum vastly. - Harden... Who knows. All 3 of those things will change this year. Obviously because 2 of those players are gone. Also Harden has never had so bad a series, he won't again. As for seeding, our team is more experienced. What matters most in seeding is winning the games you are supposed to win like last night. The other games against teams like the spurs are bonus wins. Hopefully this team won't drop so many games to bad teams this year because of the added experience and even the sting of losing in the first round.
Facts be damned!....... The current national media "narrative" is that "the Rockets lost 3 starters (Lin, Asik, Parsons), didn't add anyone, and that Howard and Harden are overrated. I see the same narrative parroted over and over.
Barkley will always be bitter when it comes to the Rockets. I am always surprised with Kenny though he always goes along with what the media thinks about the Rockets. He never stands as a no matter what loyal to the team guy, like Magic does with his Lakers no matter what he roots for them.
Yes, like who sits down in a media meeting and comes up with the talking points for all of shows? Oh well, it will nice to prove everyone wrong.
