Didn't last year's Rockets clown the Grizzlies last year, beating them by 25 and dropping 121 on them? And in a head to head matchup, the Grizzlies' biggest weakness, the lack of a perimeter scorer will be exposed. Most of their offense relies on Zbo and Gasol or people getting open because of the need to double those guys. Asik and Howard can easily neutralize those two and keep the Grizzlies' score below 80.
I'll give you my objective analysis. Barring injuries, I still have OKC coming out of the West. I have the Rockets as a 3 or 4 seed being eliminated in a tough 6 or 7 game series in the 2nd round of the playoffs with a small, outside chance of making the WCF. The Grizzlies are looking at a 5, but more likely a 6 seed and a 1st round elimination with a small, outside chance of making the 2nd round of the playoffs. All those people on Clutchfans who praised the Grizzlies new ownership and management for their cost cutting moves look silly now. So many people were blinded by that fool's gold WCF run during the playoffs, which occurred as a result of the other team's best player(s) being injured/hurt in rounds 1 and 2. As soon as they played against their first fully healthy team in the post-season, the Griz were swept. Now they're a lower tier playoff team in the West as other teams have leapfrogged them in terms of talent. Their ownership and by extension their management cares more about money than winning. The unfortunate part for the Grizzlies is that they could be legitimately competing for championships now if they had kept this group of players together: Conley/Vasquez Allen/Mayo Gay/Mayo Z-Bo/Arthur Gasol/Speights You're looking at one of, if not, the best 9 man rotation in all of basketball. That team has no real weaknesses or flaws. It's a team with great wing play, two extremely talented bigs down low, two serviceable backup bigs who can hit mid-range jumpers, two really good pgs, and an excellent 6th man in Mayo. It would be a team that combines good offense and defense...dynamic wing play with punishing post play...a team that would control the glass, have a lock-down wing defender, and a bonafide closer. That team would create matchup problems for anybody it faced and that's a team that could compete against anyone for a title. Over half of those players, however, are gone and that window is closed. Anyone who wants can bump this thread after the playoffs next season to see who was right and who was wrong, but I think you'll be able to bump it earlier than June 2014. Delusional
you're far more delusional thinking a team that barely made it to an 8th seed is somehow going to leapfrog 4 spots because they got dwight howard. This is the epitome of delusional. you guys have no chance at a 4th seed. Not even 1 percent chance at it.
I guess no way to know until we see at the end of the season. See you in April 'what'. Good luck to your Grizzlies/Spurs/Hawks/Pacers/Raptors/whoever you are a "fan" of.
Your projection for the Grizzlies next year seems pretty safe. I don't think anyone would challenge you on that. The more debatable point is how good the Grizzlies would have been without their trade (last year, and also looking ahead). I suppose 'what' agrees with you on that part.
Let me ask ya'll rockets fans something: How did Tmac and Yao work out for ya? Ironically, my opinion is that tmac and yao were a better duo than dwight and harden. And yet, yall are going to get the 3rd seed and be a game from the wcf!!! Holy crap that's pretty freakin ambitious. hell, you'd think yall have kobe and shaq instead of harden and dwight.
James Harden and Dwight Howard are, individually, better than any player on the Grizzlies. That being said, Grizzlies are going to have a great year this year. So are the Rockets.
It's always a good reminder to see this and remember that Rockets' fans aren't the only delusional biased ones out there.
Even money bet on which team(Rockets or Grizz) has the better regular season record? Or advance further in the playoffs? Side note: I should thank this thread for reminding me to actually sign up for a paypal account so I can donate to clutchfans.
if you're willing to make such a bold prediction then bet over it. CxBBy gave you some really favorable odds. No though. You actually don't believe half the crap you spew, otherwise you'd have the balls to back it up. If the rockets (barring injury) don't make it to a top 4 seed, you'll win CxBBy's bet and I'll stop posting here until they do (10 yrs however long it takes.) You lose, you put how much of an idiot you are in your sig until the Grizzlies become anything other than fools gold.
Simple answer to your question: injuries and crappy supporting cast. By the time Morey came on board to fix the past poor personnel decisions, the careers of both stars were over. If you don't think our role players now are far superior than the ones in the TMac-Yao era, then you don't really know the Rockets.
If we are using the past to predict the future, then a Grizzlies fan ought to keep quiet considering the really, really modest accomplishments of your team.
So much hilarity in this thread. Back on point, if the Rockets play the Grizzlies in the playoffs, I could see them starting both Howard and Asik, and the defensive presence of those two will tear apart the Grizzlies' post game in Gasol and Randolph. Much of the Grizzlies' core is aging IIRC (Tony, Randolph, Miller, Prince)?
I wish people would quit buying into ESPN and think rationally about what Dwight Howard does for James Harden. There is no major adjustment that Harden needs to make to his game now we have Dwight. Harden will jump by leaps and bounds this year. I honestly don't understand why that is so hard to realise? Good at driving to the rack last year. Every team knew he'd do it. Every team doubled off of Asik to do it. Yet he still did it. That becomes so much easier to do now. Throw an alley to Dwight. Take your man one on one. Pass to Dwight who will have a better chance at catching and finishing then Asik did. I love Omer. But it is getting incredibly frustrating to have all these people downplay Dwight 'he is injury prone he sucks now [insert whatever other headline ESPN has said about him' - yet in that 'terrible' season he was better then nearly every other C. It's going to be a fun ride having ESPN fan boys and delusional people like what hide once they realise just how good this pairing of James Harden and Dwight Howard is.
Based on points differential the Rockets underperformed and should have had +5 wins because of their youthful inexperience in the league. A couple of key weaknesses were not having an interior presence for ~18 minutes a game when Asik would sit and another one was his stone hands and a lack of a post scorer. Those issues have now been sorted.
Both teams have a chance for good seeding, but the lack of perimeter talent for the Grizzlies will hurt them in both the regular season and the playoffs (the latter moreso than the former). MANAGEMENT WILL REGRET THE RUDY GAY TRADE. He was a good talent on the perimeter.
