Although we have to keep our fingers crossed on the health of T-mac (his back) and Yao (7'6's and such are always at a higher risk), I think that this year, Year 3 of the "new dynasty" is the year that we have the most potential, and I believe that are twosome are finally ready to dominate. Three Reasons: Reason 1- We seem to have reverted to the thinking of right before Year 1 started. That is, Yao Ming is our number 1 player. We put too much on Yao too soon, to even assume he could man a Lakers model championship team in his 3rd year. However, after that year, of playing alongside T-mac, and last year, learning how to dominate and be a "great" center as opposed to a "good" center. We need to focus the offense around Yao, and make sure that McGrady and Battier are the 2nd-4th passes out of the double teams. This has to be Yao's team. Anyone who watches Rockets games consistently, saw an entirely different player the second half of last year, that ever before. 2. We now have an ideal compliment to our two superstars. Battier may not be our 3rd scorer/creator. But as far as manning a 3rd guy, (with a 2 superstar tandem who we want to take a lot of shots) Battier is the guy. Smart enough to throw a good entry pass and then back off and using his height and touch to consistently hit the 3 or long J. Also Battier is smart enough to know when to fade back and play off of McGrady, when he does penetrate. I, unlike a lot of the board, expect Battier and his scoring average the improve. Battier should make it easier for both of them. 3. There is no I here. Yao knows he needs Tracy (besides being the most humble athlete I have ever seen) and Tracy knows that to win, which is what he wants to do, he is going to need Yao Ming. Shaq and Kobe had would still be effective, except there egos got in the way. I dont see that happening here. We may need something (someone) else to put us over the top, but we do have: A proven superstar with something to prove, a fledgling superstar who came into his own last year and a smart player who should magnify the abilities of the forementioned individuals This duo is ready to explode.
With so many and so much happened in the past three years, the Yao & T-Mac duo is the most interesting to watch in the coming season.
Yeah I don't know why the league doesn't hype the Yao + McGrady duo more when we have the best duo in the NBA. Plus its damn nice marketing. Yao brings Chinese fans like crazy and McGrady is the general American player. Anyways, I guess we will have to prove it next season that Yao and T-Mac are the big thing.
i agreed, i think the rockets management still think with a healthy Yao and Tmac is all we ever needed for a championship run. I seriously doubt those two guys are all we ever needed. not to knock them or anything but this is a team sport. we will need good enough role players to support our stars. I think Heat championship run is a good indication. Wade is as good as you can get for a superstar, but without his team chipping in at the right mention, i doubt wade will still win.
anytime you have yao and tmac, you have potential. Thats it, potential. to convert potential into success you need to perform and with these two, you also need a supporting cast. Unfortunately besides battier we don't have anybody else. the majority of the championship teams have had proven role players, we don't... now they might prove themselves this year but it won't make us a champion. but of course, i am excited about the season as i am with every
call me hopelessly optimistic, but i can't wait for next offseason, when FA veterans chasing a ring realize how talented we are and how we're just a piece or two from winning it all, and decide to take less money to play for us.
That happened two years ago...We pretty much pushed Dallas to their limits in the playoffs and Derek Anderson and Stromile Swift took paycuts to win, which didn't quite work out.
I guess the point I was trying to make was that, if Yao plays like he did in the second half of last year, we might be better than any of us are guessing. The rest of the league is moving away from the tall traditional center..... Yao will be the only superstar center in the weakest position in the league in 2 years. Shaq says he has 4 years left in him, but I dont know about that.
I guess the point I was trying to make was that, if Yao plays like he did in the second half of last year, we might be better than any of us are guessing. The rest of the league is moving away from the tall traditional center..... Yao will be the only superstar center in the weakest position in the league in 2 years. Shaq says he has 4 years left in him, but I dont know about that.
I dont think Battier will become a better scorer for the Rockets. Battier is a high percentage shooter but not a high volumn shooter or high scorer. 1st, Battier always waits for the most makable shoot ow Battier passes the ball. Battier's job is in defense. I bet if Battier attempts to score more points by taking more shoots, his FG% will drop. Noone knows how this will work out for the team. 2nd, JVG rule: JVG will ask Battier to play defense and defense only and only take shoots if it's WIDE OPEN (most playas scoring drop when play for JVG). 3rd, if Battier is going to play PF (when he plays together with T-Mac), Battier cant stand around the perimeter to wait for the WIDE OPEN shoots. Battier needs to position himself for the rebounds. Otherwise, the Rockets will only have Yao to man the offensive boards.
For good rebounders waiting around the three point line do not hinder rebounding. See Troy Murphy- that guy averages 3 offensive boards per game. Long distance shots mean long rebounds, and if you can catch your own miss, its all the same.
Awsome handle. (see my sig for details) But yeah, the X factor to this season, besides health, is chemistry. How do we bottle the chemistry we had two years ago and use it this year. Chemistry is the ingredient that makes you play harder. Not for yourself, but for your team mates. You push yourself above and beyond because you care about your team mates and don't want to let them down. Years ago I was on a highschool track team, and ran both relays as well as the 300 hurdles. On that relay team, I found that I ran harder then in my individual events. During practice, we would all push eachother to work harder. If the rockets can do that. Watchout! With T-mac and Yao as our ACES. Beware of the pocket rockets.
Ditto. HAHA. Let me see... I think he dumped it in for the Dream then sat around the 3 point line as the opposing team doubled down low. As the bouble approched dream would send a pass back out to Horry who was sitting pretty all alone with nothing to do but hit freak'n wide open threes. My memory wasn't what it used to be. Or did Horry cut to the basket on the opposite side of the double team strait to the basket for a wide open dunk. I can't seem to remember. HIHIHI.
I'm sure with the addition of Battier will help our best 2 players. I'm more excited now with this lineup but we still need a backup PF.
Yup, everybody thinks we are "2-3 peices away" from contending. Peice #1 is Yao playing like the end of last season? Peice #2 is TMac healthy? Peice #3 is there ANYBODY that can play their role and hit open shots? You always look to improve but I like the guys we have even though they are unknowns. Before '94, nobody ever heard of Sam Cassel, Robert Horry or Mario Elie (remember to boo's when we drafted Horry?). Vernon Maxwell was somebody else's trash. Kenny Smith was to that team that Juwan Howard is to this team ...everybody loved to hate him. The current team doesn't need proven guys to be successful. We need guys that know their role, are confident/smart players and can hit open shots ...IF IF IF TMac/Yao finally live up to their "potential." If they don't reach their potential, we'll forever be 1st round fodder just like Memphis and Minnisota regardless of how many other "peices" we get. Peices don't win championships ...star players win championships and peices fill in blanks. the only exception to that rule is the recent Pistons team. Other than that, championship teams were won on the backs of the star player(s). Dallas has never won because they have too many peices. Until Dirk learns how to be a superstar in crunch time, Dallas may come close but they won't win.
Elie was a proven player in the nba...played for a number of teams before landing with the rockets....he even played on portlands team with drexler and porter when they went to the playoffs. horry had a brilliant rookie campaign which led us to the 2nd round defeat of the sonics. that is where he got his experience kenny smith, otis thorpe, dream, and maxwell had played with each other for a few seasons to develop that chemistry together... cassell was the only rookie on the team...but what a gutsy rookie! so unfortunately i do disagree, we do need some kind of proven talent other than our 3 players....which we do not have however they could develop their abilities this year and lead us to the playoffs but we do not have the ability to make it extremely far this year. maybe next year?
Elie was brought to the Rockets via the CBA. He was not considered a solid NBA player ...or he wouldn't have been in the CBA, right? Horry had 10/5 his 1st year and is a career finishing as a 7/5 guy. I wouldn't call that brilliant. Horry's brilliance came with his clutch shooting in the playoffs starting in '94 ...not '92. His regular season play was ALWAYS a pile of dung. Everybody loved to hate Kenny Smith and Otis Thorpe prior to our 1st championship. Thorpe was considered an inconsistent guy that would sometimes simply disappear from games. Kenny Smith never did anything particularly well. Maxwell was an NBA cast-off who had troubles everywhere he went. Other than Dream in 1993, NOBODY NOBODY NOBODY NOBODY called our team "stacked with talent." We were not considered favorites to win a championship by anybody. That team won because Dream was absa-freaking-lutely playing unbeleived and our role players gelled in a really special way. Think of our 2004 team ...that was not considered a "talented" team but the chemistry came together and suddenly we were playing really well. Difference being, the '94 team played really well much further than 2004. Your opinion is noted. My opinion: If Yao/TMac play well enough and our role players gel, we can contend.
