It still remains to be seen how this will all work out on the court but this is a most encouraging step even if it's only for 1 year...For the first time in 8 years, I have a real reason to feel optimistic about their (Rockets) chances in the West and it's a good feeling.
Can you imagine the trouble the Lebrons and Kobes of the NBA will have with the defensive presences of T-mac, Battier, and Bonzi with Yao in the post, no one will score more than 25 points on us, any single player wont
I am with you on that observation and "feeling." This has been a long, long road. I went bald during the Francis-Mobley era from pulling my hair out. Ming's slow development was agonizing and last year was just as bad as it gets. The 04-05 Rockets were a fun but brief ride. I see real contender potential in this group. There are still many "ifs," but the Wells addition tipped the "talent" scales in our favor. Surely somebody is going to surprise out of the crop of newcomers and the flexiblity of the current roster is beyond what I expected. If this team stays healthy and jells, they are legit contenders and maybe more. They are going to be tough to score on and shooting should be vastly improved. If one or more of the young players step up their game like VSpan, Head, or Lucas, my dream of seeing Alston on the bench for most of the game will come true. I am hungry for some in your face basketball with attitude. Who wants to try out the Texas triangle? I bet most teams will go 0-3.
Put the bong down and back slowly away rookie! This is the NBA. On any given night, even the best defender can get lit up.
Come on now man thats a little extreme, but i do agree with the point that we have a solid D but like he said this is the NBA and certain players it really doesn't matter what kind of defense you put on them they can get a shot off that they have a chance of making at any time and as a defender u just gotta hope they will miss.
The guys that are going to light us up the most are quick smalls like Iverson and Mike James and crafty smalls like Sam and Damon. The weakest link in our defense is at the point. We will also get lit up by Brand and Garnett if he chooses to take a lot of shots.
The Rockets' team D has been solid for the past few years. Even in the past injury-plagued season, They were 2nd in opponent FG% and 4th in opponent points per game (http://www.nba.com/statistics/sortable_team_statistics/sortable1.html?cnf=1&prd=1#top). Kobe, AI, LeBron, Arenas, and other players are just gonna go off at times, it happens. The new additions can definitely help with stops late in games and might be able to annoy the superstars enough, but the biggest difference that I hope they can make is on the offensive end. I know it sounds simple, but if they play similar defense and can score a few mire points per game, they're in good shape.
I couldn't help but thinking, if everyone does well, there is a chance we're going to see 4 allstars this season. Tmac at guard, Wells and Shane at forwards, and Yao at center.
No offense, but who cares? Question is whether their teams will win or not. With our team defense and scoring threats, I'm not scared of any team this season.
That definitely is true but now we don't have to use t-mac as our primary defensive stopper as much anymore. Roles are a bit better defined now. t-mac can focus on offense. Though battier will still get lit up at times and t-mac may have to slide over, it won't be as often as before or it won't have to be bowen out there on the floor.
I 100% agree our defense is going to be better. At times, it could be Detroit (under Brown) suffocating. But to say the Lebrons of the world won't see 25 was a little extreme.
Ride On King Jesus Ride On! Thank God... I bought my Tickets just in time... We need to spread the word that a championship has come to town...
I wish!!! think about how much publicity Houston Rockets will get if that happens even with only 3 players and Yao and TMaC are already booked for Allstar we just need Bonzi and shane. Yao will once again have more votes than any other player in the league.
