(Debbie Downer) How Much Do We Really Over-Rate the Rockets?

Yeah you're right.. But it seems like all the people who start bashing the Rockets do it right after a loss. Then, when we win a good game everyone wants to hop back on the bandwagon.

If we win tonight, we'll hear, "man the Rockets showed great tenacity", "we've got a great team that can contend with the best of them".

Wait till the season actually starts and when we start winning games to do your judgement.

 

RocketMania speaking the cold hard truth. He's right

 

I think some people can't seperate what a person thinks will happen, with what they hope will happen. I hope the Rockets win the championship, but I think that it is unrealistic to expect it to happen at this point. That doesn't mean I won't watch every game, cheer every win, and hope I am wrong. It doesn't mean I think we should just tank from game one. It doesn't mean a trade won't change everything. It has nothing to do with one preseason performance.

It just means that as of right now if some one offered to bet $1000 straight up on whether the Rockets were going to win a title this year or not, then betting no would be the unbiased smart bet, even if you want them to win with all your heart. It's called being objective.

 

I wish I could be as optimistic as you but we have no shot at winning at championship the sooner you realize that the better.

Sure we took the lakers to 7 games but we never came close to beating them on their home court when it mattered. We lost almost every game by 20 plus points. The lakers just didn't take us seriously after Yao went down. With Yao playing 24 minutes a game even if he was back to his old form the Rockets will not have home court advantage.

I actually think the team we had 2 years ago was a better team. Because Defense wins championships and we were a much better defensive team that could give the Lakers fits. This year we have to try to outscore our opponents and you can ask the Suns how that's worked for them in the past.

We use to match up perfectly against the lakers by rotating Battier and Artest on Kobe and wearing him down making him a volume scorer instead of a play maker. But Battier's lost a step and Artest is now on LA so I'm not sure how you think we can beat them.

2years ago Today

Brooks > Brooks
Martin = Artest Martin is a better offensive player but Artest is way better on defense so we call it a wash.
Battier < Battier He's clearly lost a step
Scola = Scola He just has more opportunities now. Plus he's well over 30 and no one peaks this late.
Yao < Yao simply cuz he's injured.

So where did we get better? Sure we have a better bench and we are deeper but you win a championship with your starters.

 

Some of you guys are just acting like little b****es!

Just believe! Or rather, Be-cleve!

 

Why do people keep using the Lakers series, from 2 years ago, as a measuring stick for success?? Okay we took them to 7 games and we've gotten better this year but that doesn't translate into success against them this year..... Cuz if y'all haven't noticed that Lakers team then and now is a different beast......

 

LOL - people who give up before the task at hand is even attempted are off their rocker.

So many things could happen to the Rockets and to other teams...injuries, chemistry, contracts etc.

You don't know if they are contenders or not, but giving up before even discovering that is just stupid.

The Rockets won game 1 on the Lakers home court.

Kobe is coming off of surgery, Bynum too, Gasol has been injured a lot, Artest still can't keep decent players in front of him, they are getting old in a hurry, all those games add up.

And, newsflash, why are you focused on just the Lakers? Lots can happen and they might not even be in the mix at the end of the year, remember Seattle losing to Denver in the Rox first championship run?

Don't give up on "IF" scenarios.....just enjoy the ride.

Agreed and BY A BOATLOAD.

Disagree, Artest is slower than dirt these days, go look up his playoff averages, he can still beat an opponent up, but his days of being an elite player are long gone, I think Martin is better than him and the gap will only get bigger as the year goes on.

Not true, Battier funnels people to the middle, last year, there was no one there, this year with Yao and Miller, expect to see a better or equal Battier.

Scola is also better because he knows his role, he is in his prime.

A much better bench.

DD

 

Rockets fans just love mediocrity.

 

I know we won game 1 I don't need a history lesson but what I was saying is that when it mattered. Meaning every chance we had to either take control of the series or close it out. The Lakers immediately took game 3 back and regained homecourt. When their backs are against the wall they play a lot better.

I'll bet you anything the Lakers make the finals out of the west this year. Every other team got worse or just as old. Sun lost amare, jazz lost boozer. I don't care how injured Kobe is, Mr Stern wants to see a Kobe Lebron finals for once.

I was comparing Artest 2 years ago to Martin now because you said we are better than 2 years ago. Sure he's slower now but 2 years ago he was the reason we were good. He carried us in game 6 vs portland and he just brings mental toughness and a physical brand of basketball to an otherwise finesse team. If you disagree with his defense just wait til you see KMart trying to cover Kobe this year. 81 pts here we come!

I know we won game 1 I don't need a history lesson but what I was saying is that when it mattered. Meaning every chance we had to either take control of the series or close it out. The Lakers immediately took game 3 back and regained homecourt. When their backs are against the wall they play a lot better.

I'll bet you anything the Lakers make the finals out of the west this year. Every other team got worse or just as old. Sun lost amare, jazz lost boozer. I don't care how injured Kobe is, Mr Stern wants to see a Kobe Lebron finals for once.

Great! we can play our bench in the playoffs when other teams still have their starters on the court that'll work.

I'm just saying 2 years when we acquired Artest to go with Yao and TMAC everyone was so excited we all believed we had a chance to win it all.

I have to say I don't have that excitement this year. This is the first year in a while I am really down maybe because we didn't do anything this off season and I spent an entire summer getting sick of hearing about the Decision. Sure Yao comeback but all I got out of the first preseason game was he can still fall down just as much as he use to.

All this hype about Melo, CP3, Bosh, or maybe moving up in the draft and then nothing happened at all.

 

Fixed.

You're right, DD! I'm so glad our best player never gets injured or isn't coming off major surgery or anything like that............

 

Developmental season.

 

I agree with you in large part, except to say that I am thoroughly convinced that we are a healthy Yao Ming away from a title as otherwise constructed. Yao won't be a major figure this year, although if we used him differently we could have a Six Man of the Year candidate.

I'm in the camp of fans desperate to get Carmelo. It would be a Barkley era-ish gamble, but in my view you have to gamble. I truly appreciate Morey, but we need him to do a little gambling.

 

Wrong.

Melo is not enough, getting Barkley made sense because the team WAS a legitimate contender, now they are a "Maybe" contender if things break right.

Making a decision before you find out what you have is what causes teams to constantly fail....find out FIRST then make an informed decision.

Melo is no Barkley either...Barkley was a true superstar player, someone who did more than just score the ball....

It is funny how people downplay our team and then pump up overated players like Carmelo.

DD

 

Trust Morey!

Trust a world champ, Scola!

lastly, Believe.

Oh, one more thing, the customary, stop smoking pot.

 

While certainly we have a lot of homers going on, like most team i'd imagine, and we're certainly overrated on this board.

There's very few teams, in any sport, in any country, that play the first game of the pre-season well and their last game of the post season well, in a sport like basketball where the season is so long, it's even less likely.

 

DD,

Melo now is as good or better than Barkley then, IMHO, although I respect your apparent view to the contrary.

I want to be wrong, BTW, about our chances with what we have now. I really don't think that we are appreciably better now than we were in the last 41 games of the 2009-2010 season. We'll get into the playoffs, and get to the second round with some luck, but making the WCF is the only chance we have to win a ring, and I honestly think that the WCF is a pipe dream.

-P1st, S2nd

 

Damn, we have terrible fans.

 

P1S2,

You are one of my favorite posters on this board, always knowledgeable, always understanding the team concept.

You might be right, the team might struggle, I have said for more than 2 years that Yao's contract is the issue and that it is not about this year, but NEXT year.

So, to me, they have to find out if Yao can play, and exactly how well, and how much they can rely on him before making any decisions, because any decision at this point is pissing into the wind, IMO.

As for this year, they are not the favorites, but having a full camp together, and adding in a healthy Yao Ming, they are a decent team.

Especially when you look around the WC, other than the Lakers, there is no one else that is favored to win, or even beat the Rockets in any given game.

So, I am hoping that Yao gets healthy enough to give us 30 minutes at the end of the year, and that Kmart gets comfortable with AB, and that Rick Adelman can somehow manage all these quality players (My biggest fear) and the team gels.

Because if that happens, the team will be right there....as contenders.....

DD

 

It is rather amazing you guys seem to have the season on a crystal ball, after just the 1st pre-season game.

Nostradamus has nothing on you guys.

 

Judging by his resume' we're screwed