It will all be about chemistry. Hopefully the team will gell early. Last years team never did gell. DD
It will all be about chemistry but i don't think it will come that easy for the rockets a everybody think i hope so ,but i pit the rockets as a seed.
Im not sure how next seasons playoffs will work. I know were' going to be in the midwest division, but is it like baseball where the best record in the division wins the midwest title and the best team not to win a division gets a wildcard? Im only 13 so I get a little confused with these things. P.S. The Rockets WILL finish better than the Memphis Girlies. Maybe not regular season record cuase all the Rockets new players have to mesh and get used to playing together. But The girlies will get swept in the first round AGAIN, of coures if they even make the playoffs MEMPHISX!
To be fair, no one thought the Wolves would be the top team in the West last year (they finished #1 right?). We're in a similar situation. We overhauled everyone except our star player, made some major additions, added experience and pieces that fit. Basically, we brought everything that we need to succeed. Now people were saying Minnesota is so much better and that they were definitely going to make it out of the first round.. But did anyone expect them to be #1 seed and go to the WC Finals? It's going to be TOUGH beating the Spurs. We'll be top 4, I'm sure of that. If we don't beat out the Spurs, we'll still be better than all the non-division-winners. I'm predicting either #1 or #4 if we deal Pike for Mutombo.
San Antonio- Great coach, best player, everywhere else solid Minn.- KG and the rest depends on injuries Sac- If they have Peja (happy) Houston, Denver, Memphis, LA - The order depends upon how well each team gels- Utah Houston- If TMac and Yao make sweet music - it is gonna be serious around here Denver- Melo is stud, KMart stays healthy, a little outside shooting Memphis- I don't understand - they could be 6-8 or lottery- a bunch of good players, no superstar, they all must perform at their best. LA- Kobe can step up his game, if he does they will be fine, expect them to be ready for the playoffs (Rudy will get them there) Utah- could get higher Bottom line is There wasn't alot of difference between Houston, Denver and Utah last season and they have all improved. I just think the Rockets have improved the most if they can show it.
The three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 and the five teams in each conference with the best record other than the division winners will pick up spots 4-8.
We could possibly be a top 3 team as far as pure rankings, but chances of our getting a top 3 seeding in the West (playoffs) are slim. Evan
Mutombo is done. It will be like getting Adrian Griffin all over again - he'll do little to improve their level of play and then he'll get hurt. They might as well suit up Ewing. 6th seed sounds more realistic - you may be overvaluing Ward & Howard's impact. They'll be OK but not enough of a factor to separate the Rockets from Denver, Memphis, Utah, Phoenix & Portland.
That's crazy. Mutombo played productive minutes just last season. His injury was a FINGER injury I believe before that. You are being your usual pessimistic self, and you know it. Top 3 SG and top 3 C... When was the last time these two combined for less than homecourt? Never, that's when.
Playoff "seeding" isn't as important as playoff record anyway--as the latter determines home court. So when someones says the Rockets will be a top 3 team in the West, I interpret that as top 3 record, whether technically a 4 seed or not. Based on record Solid 1-2 Minny SA A lot of people are putting SA a slam dunk ahead of Minny, I am not so sure. 1)I think KG is the better player than TD--certainly more impactfull in the regular season. 2) Minny did have a lot of injuries last year (3 guys missed more than half the games--THud, Wally and Kandi), and still finished ahead of the Spurs. Also, KG has been more injury free than TD over his career and I would say is less likely to go down himself. 3) Minny did so well even without a lot of time to develop chemistry. No reason they should not be at least as good if not better based on players further getting familair with the system. 4) I think the Barry signing is overblown. He replaced Hedo, who shot 42% from 3 land in the regular season--hard to improve on that too much. Barry is also one of the few guys probably a worse defender than Hedo. I don't believe the Spurs can play Parker and Barry much at the same time--talk about chopped liver defensively. Perhaps Barry will be better in the post season than Hedo though--but that isn't the debate and we will have to wait to see for that (If I recall Barry was awefull for Seattle the last time he went to the playoffs). Next 3-4 Sac Houston These teams could knock out one of the top 2 teams, or move down. But I put them here for now. On paper among the top 4 teams in the West--just see have to see how things shake out once the new guys hit the floor. wild cards, 5-6 for now Dallas LAL I think Dallas demise is premature. They still have Dirk, they still have Finley. Terry can't set the table like Nash, but he isn't as far as drop off as people think. Booth is a decent defensive addition. If Daniels and Howard grow or if Stack can show flashes--they could still be a mid-seed in the West. I think the Lakers are worse off. The Lakers have not been successful w/o Shaq healthy in recent years. Their interior defense and shot blocking will probably be worse than the Mavs even. We will see how much guys like Kobe jacking up a lot more shots, I think Rudy will have a chemistry, and team defense, nightmare on his hands. Of these two teams, I think the Lakers are more likely to completely fall apart, maybe out of the playoffs. likely lower seeds, 7-8 Denver Memphis KMart is a better player than many give him credit for. With him Camby and Nene they could improve defensively in a hurry. Anthony with more maturity will help them offensively. They would be smart by keeping Barry for veteran steadyness and outside shooting though. I would not be that shocked to see Denver overtake Dallas, Lakers and Memphis--but not us or Sac. Memphis has not hurt themselves, assuming they keep Swift (sure think they will). But the West is tougher. If they can get the 8th seed they have to call it a success. other playoff contenders Utah Phx Port NO I am not as high on Utah as most people. Neither Boozer nor Okur are go-to-guys and neither help their defense as much as losing Ostertag hurts it. I also think they overachieved last year and caught a lot of people by suprise that won't happen agaun. I suspect they are about a 500 team and that is not enough to get in the playoffs unless 2 or 3 other teams implode (Dall, LAL, Memp). NO I don't think is a serious contender for even the 8th spot in the West. They were only 500 as an East team, and still did not address their Mash/Davis problem. Port I don't think they have helped themselves either and the West is tougher. Ratliff would have to have a fantastic season, defensive player of the year caliber, because with Sheed and Davis gone the rest of that team doesn't play it. I don't see it. PHX. I think they are the non-playoff team most likely to knock one of last years team out. Nash and QR are nice additions, I think they have more firepower than Utah, and will fight Mem for the last playoff spot.
I AM being pessimistic because I am dismayed that it's come to the point where we're hoping that a has been like Mutumbo can make this team competative. If things this bad and the talent pool is so empty then why not just suit up Ewing and just be done with it. T-Mac & Yao will be good maybe even great but they will need more help than this cast of rejects can provide. I am prepared to watch a lot of 2 on 5 basketball this year.
JVG plays an 8 man rotation. 1. We know Yao can punish people from start to finish (if he doesn't tire out) 2. We know TMac can do the same and hit critical crunch time shots. 3. We know MoT can score on anybody when he is on. 4. We know JJ will be a rock of consistency. 5. We know JHow will be productive. After that, you just need people out there that won't hurt you. They don't need to do anything special...just play their position with fundamentals and don't make mistakes. (Look at the frikin Lakers or Bulls...talk about scrubs...who is Luc Longly?). Scoring points won't be a problem. Defense will be where its at on this team...and I ain't worried about JVG instilling that.
It's 2 on 5 basketball with rejects that has won 12 of the last 13 championships. Jordan/Pippen Hakeem (1 on 5) Hakeem/Clyde Duncan/Robinson Duncan/Parker Shaq/Kobe Look at the cast of "rejects" these teams have trotted out: a 39 yr old Horace Grant, AC Green, Malik Rose, Avery Johnson, Sedale Threat, Matt Maloney, Luc Longley, Brian Shaw, etc.... These "rejects" you speak of turn into solid role players when they are placed around two studs like Yao and T-Mac... What was JJ before he came here? A sad career where he was never able to establish himself or carry a team to any wins... What did he become? Captain of this team, 40% from 3-pt range, 2nd best rebounding SF in the league, excellent leadership, great defense, solid scoring... You can't argue with that. Look at Mobley, he became a lockdown defenders... The important thing is to find people who will FIND their roles around the star players... JJ fits in perfectly... Juwan Howard has always been a smart guy, I'm sure he'll find his role hitting that midrange J and trying a bit harder on the board, getting 8 reboudns... Jury's still out on Sura, but Ward is solid as long as he can handle the minutes - great asst/to ratio, great 3-pt shooting, stays calm during pressure... Now Mutombo just adds to that.... A good bench needs specialist, and Mutombo is just that a defensive specialist that may put us over the top.... Not many backups for franchise players play 15 minutes whis is why it's a big deal that we could have possibly the best backup C in the league.
