They speculated on whether or not the Rockets are now a legitimate threat to contend with the emergence of Yao. They said that Cuttino and Steve have bought into the system and that the turning point in this NBA season was when Yao humiliated O'Neal in their second meeting. They think Houston needs to get into the playoffs to know the feeling and could possibly pull off an upset. They feel like Houston is the "tough out" in this year's playoffs.
It's the dude in baseball who keeps fouling off pitches, over and over again, seemingly everytime you face him... hence, "a tough out". thacabbage, if Yao can keep playing at this level, a big if, granted, then no one is going to want to face the Rockets. That, and if the backcourt can keep things together. Maybe they've turned a corner. It's been so long since they've been in the playoffs, that you have to wonder how they will react.
which means we are going to be the world champs every year from now on as long as they are good enough to make it into playoffs. I am lovin' it.
Only the curse of the Wolves could get the Rox to the 2nd round this year. I find it strange that people are being so optomistic after a game in which we turned the ball over 30 times. I guess it's better to win a game when you turn the ball over 30 times than to lose it, but it still screams that we have the exact same problem we've had for years. No can pass worth a crizzap. On the bright side, if Hubie Brown can turn Jason Williams into one of the best assist to turnover guys in the league, Stevie should be able to make progress in that department to. YUNG SING!
There are nothing but "tough outs" in the WC playoffs right now. Denver, well they're not playing now and have a rough schedule, but I still wouldn't bet on a Sac. sweep. The trendy "tough out" is Memphis and whoever the 3rd seed ends up being is going to have a tough time. If it is Dallas, right now I'd pick Memphis to win that series. Us? Well it all comes down to Yao. If he plays like he has the last three games no one wants to play us. Analysts will pick against us, but with a Yao caveat. Sac. may breeze through the first round but no one else will. The second round is hell on earth for everybody. The NBA may be pathetic now in many ways - but if you love basketball how could you not watch all the upcoming mayhem? And if you're a betting man: good luck. Regarding the Rockets, I don't know. I can see Yao getting brutalized even more than usual because the playoffs are always more physical on the one hand. On the other hand these playoffs in the WC are going to be much more brutal in the first round than usual. And I can see the NBA having to tell the refs to "keep it under control" before half the teams have even played a game. And Yao, the NBA's most worldwide marketable player, so him getting carved up in front of the world is just a lump in the throat, bowels and wallet of every NBA front office executive. Worse for Stern et al, the reasons most people like Yao outside of Houston and China is the beauty of his game and the fact he's not a thug or a trash-talking ignorant punk. What are the reasons the NBA is usually trashed now? Hmm... So I see one of two things happening: 1) Yao suddenly starts getting "all-star calls" he's damn sure not getting now - I'd enjoy that. Or 2) Yao gets so battered that the NBA hears the catcalls of the world about the tawdry state of the current NBA game and Stern's think tank goes into overdrive in the off-season. That might be better than the first possibility. I hate the politics of sports period. But it exists in every multi-billion dollar sport extant and always will. And I wan't Yao to have the will to dominate and to figure out how to do it the way Dream did. But I'd like to have seen Dream get 1/3 of the calls Jordan did. Because it was justified. Yao at 7'6" isn't going to get Jordanesque treatment - it goes against the actual play on the court in the history of the NBA. But at the same time the clobbering of Shaq isn't going to be viewed in the same way watching Yao get pulverized will be. By the league or the world. Sorry I'm rambling on, but one real just hope long-winded thought. JVG's recent comments about this team's confidence versus ego do echo arguments that have been made here specifically about Steve/Cat long before I arrived (I read back-threads). Steve and Cat still make me cringe occasionally with their mouths and their play. But yesterday's game both those guys looked a little different to me. I started watching at the beginning of the 3rd quarter and as horrendous as it was their passion didn't seem to be coming from their egos. Turnover, after turnover, after turnover but they seemed focused like a laser beam and they were playing horribly, but both still made plays on both ends. Yesterday was the Yao/JJ show but I was more impressed really with Steve and Cat. I'd grade them out a straight D minus, but true hunger and passion is what I saw from them. And this season I'd given up on them at the same time really thinking they were trying harder than ever to make this team work, but just couldn't do it. So yesterday interests me. The win was big, but the playoffs I thought were going to happen if we lost to every higher-seeded WC team we played thereafter, which wasn't likely. For Yao the playoffs are a baptism of fire he needs at this point in his development. Steve or Cat still can beat anybody almost single handedly on any given night. But I've got to admit if they play as hard as they did yesterday and have a great game I'll enjoy it far more than I ever have. And that has deep ramifications for this team.
Its no doubt the league wants a Yao-Shaq matchup for at least one round of the playoffs. I look for it to be round one...
I dont want to sound like a homer but they basically said what i have been feeling since the Shaq-Yao game before the AS break. We are going to cause serious problems in the first round for anyone other than the Kings (best in NBA). I think we will take the Wolve's or Laker's if we meet in the first round.
Great post! I agree wholeheartedly. The handle is gonna come around for Yao because it has to. The Shaq era of banging is soon to be over in favor of a more finesse game with more fouls being called and the defense pulling back a little bit in favor of saving the fouls for the 4th quarter at crunch time. All this will do is benefit Yao and the Rockets because Yao is the up and coming league main attraction and it's happening right now. Yao is either gonna get more calls in the playoffs or we are gonna come back next year with the refs blowing the whistle much more frequently in Yao's favor. Don't wanna see Spurs or Kings until conference finals.
I thought a tough 'out' was when you are trying to emit flatulence but there simply is not enough pressure built up inside to release one.
