Was it over when the Germans bombed Peral Harbor?! When the going gets tough......................... ..................................................................... ............................................The tough get going!! Whos with me?? Seriously, I know the Mavs are deadly and most of us would rather not face them in the first round; but We MUST face them and beat them to get through the Western Conference. Lets knock these turd burglers out now rather than later. Respect them yes, FEAR them NO. I'm not saying this as a bandwagon homer-fan, but we can beat ANY team in the NBA and we all know that half-court basketball and punishing "D" wins championships--thank you Rox of 94-95 and every other championship team the NBA has ever had.... I gurantee you that the folks on the Mavs board are watching the standings of the Rox right now and praying that we drop back to the 6th spot.
My strategy: When Dirk is hot, put Tracy McGrady on him. He is a fantastic defensive player and a competitor. So, in crunch time put our best on their best. If Tracy isn't working move to Yao. I have no answers for the less obvious problems that we will surely run into.
I disagree with you here. I think the combo of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis is much tougher for us to handle then Dirk alone. No, we can't guard Dirk, but neither can Dallas guard T-mac. And while Dampier plays good defense against Yao, I don't think Dallas has the toughness to beat us in 7 games. We also have a lot of different weapons to throw are Dallas with Mutombo capable of really causing some interior problems for guys like Josh Howard or Stackhouse. Seattle on the other hand...if you look at the games, they have all been tough to the bitter end.
Seriously, forget about the fact that you're a Rockets fan for a second and just look at this OBJECTIVELY. The BLAZERS' commentary on league pass last night said I quote "NO ONE WANTS TO MEET HOUSTON IN THE FIRST ROUND" And I have to say that I AGREE WITH THAT. Houston is a VERY VERY good ball club. The only reason the ROCKETS are underdogs is because of the simple fact that they didn't come out of the gates blazing at the beginning of the season. Houston is a TOTALLY different team now and aside from the SPURS, I can say this with shear OBJECTIVITY and CONFIDENCE that the ROCKETS are the second best team in the LEAGUE (yes even better than the HEAT) The ROCKETS defense is UNPARALLEL........so with all that being said, if the ROCKETS don't make it far into the playoffs, it's only because of themselves, not because the MAVS or any other team for that matter are better than them.
Not nuff! Tmac always had something to prove, but he has yet to prove anything in the playoffs. Hopefully things change this year.
Dallas is like so well known to the Rockets, they are geographically and culturally "close," almost all the games would be home games. They are a bit streaky, and do not have a sterling playoff history. No doubt they are talented but when the Rockets turn on the "gritty D," Dallas has tended to struggle. I honestly believe the Rockets could win a seven game series, but it wouldn't be easy. Their young guns scare me a bit more than the vets with the exception of Dirk and Finley. If Ming brings his A game every night (unlikely), case closed, the Mavs are history. Plus, JVG definitely has the coaching experience edge.
LOL. Please tell me this is meant as a joke. Anyways, Dallas is tough, no doubt. I only see the Mavs winning if Dirk has a lot of great games during the series, he's their key...a lot of people think Yao is ours but it's really Tmac. What's our record when he scores 30+ again? Something like 19-3.
One word: Coaching Van Gundy will make AVery Johnson want to put the sneakers back on because game to game adjustments are going to favor the Rockets bigtime
WHAT?! How do you guard a 7 footer with a 6'8" guy? Plus, even if it was feasible, it would make T-Mac run out of gas on the offensive end, where we need him the most. The reason Dirk is so tough to guard is his size, not because of his skills alone (T-Mac is just as skilled but he ain't no 7-footer). THAT is why Dirk is a tough assignment for ANY team, not just us.
I agree but I have a feeling Yao will do well this year in the playoffs. Am I the only one here that thinks the MAVS are highly overrated? Nevermind the fact that I just flat out dislike the team......but I know they will NEVER EVER win a championship. Something about Finley that just really annoys me about the Mavs. They think they are SO GOOD just because they are a team built for the regular season....NOT the playoffs and they never will be as long as CUBAN is owner. I don't think the MAVS are as good as they seem. The Rockets are a much better ball club with a coach that actually knows what it takes to win (defense). If Rockets lose to MAVS or anyone else for that matter, it's because they did it to themselves. No credit goes to the MAVS.
This is in reference to the other thread: That's interesting that you would rank the MAVS higher than the Rockets. The Mavs will NEVER EVER EVER win a championship. Not to mention that I just flat out don't like the team...and I really don't respect them to be honest. Something about Finley that just makes me lose respect and dislike the team. The Spurs I have utmost respect for.....they're a great team and they do it the right way. Same goes for the Pistons. This is my opinion of the Mavs: 1) They are a team built for the regular season...and THAT"S ALL FOLKS 2) They are an all offensive-minded team........Defense is what matters in the playoffs. 3) They think they are SO GOOD and that just annoys me.....because they are not. I really think they are really lucky. Unfortunately they have the consistency of the past few seasons to make my point look dull but I just don't respect that team at all and I do not think they will EVER go far. WHat do you think?
the key is YAO and Dampier. and if DEKE can keep his intensity. we are 3-pts team plus yao and deke 's inside defense.
the answer to guardign dirk is ryan bowen. i know howard will be back by then but bowen needs to play about 24 minutes on dirk just so he doesn't score 40ppg. then howard can attack on the offensive end when he is in making dirk play defense. we also need our guards to NOT be in a slump.
He didn't play in the last 2 rockets wins but I think the Rockets can beat the MAVS now regardless of Finley. This is one of the guys in the league that I just can't stand. For some reason he always shows up to play like a star that he's NOT against the ROCKETS. I just don't get it.....
Mav is better right now because they have a defensive coach. (actually even Nash is pushing his teammates to learn D) But we are better than Mav. If we can't beat Mav, how about other teams? So go ahead, beat anyone.
