http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2042250 Don't read if you don't want to be irritated. He ranked the Nuggets, Bulls, and Pacers ahead of us.
Who cares. The great thing about sports is you settle it on the field, court, stadium, etc. Once we win, they'll use revisionist history to explain how we were better from the onset.
I'm not mad. Some things never change. We'll NEVER get respect. Never got any in the chapionship years, why would they give it to us now. We'll let the Rox prove them wrong yet again.
Actually, I'm relieved a bit that not every commentator is picking the Rockets. Call me superstitious, but I don't want Dallas to have any more bulletin board inspiration than they already do.
This team will eventually be the first Rockets team to get respect. In the championship years our superstar was a Nigerian with a heavy accent who didn't get much in way of endorsements and didn't give a very good interview because nobody could understand him. Hakeem was one of the all time greats, but he was never very marketable. We now have two of the most marketable players in the league. That goes a long way towards getting respect. Of course, they have to win, but once they do that they'll get all the respect they deserve.
Good point. Even though Yao is a forreign player, he has a lot more charisma than Dream had. Not to mention billions of loyal fans. It'll be nice when they get the respect they deserve.
Yeah, these were the same guys who were saying that the lakers were going to destroy the Pistons in the Finals last year.
wait hold on now... this is good analysis. sure we're playing well... but the Mavs have won 10 in a row or something, so they're playing equally well. he even said we have an edge at PG... even though most people think the edge goes to Jason Terry. The Mavs have Dirk, who is every bit as good as TMac in scoring, and probably more overall talent and depth than we do... I mean there's a reason they're seeded above us. This next series is definitely no guarantee, we have a good shot, but it's 50-50 at best. Let's not get too excited.
Some of you guys need to quit crying about respect. You do realize the Rockets are playing a team with a 58-24 record, right? This would be the same record that the Rockets finished with in their first championship season. Just because some experts are picking Dallas doesn't mean they don't respect the Rockets. The Mavs are a legit team with players like Finley, Dampier Daniels and Howard. These are all productive players. Notice how I did not mention Stackhouse or Van Horn. As a Rockets fan, I'd like to see them play more, because I don't think these two guys are good playoff players. The more they play, the better the Rockets chances to win.
Wow did I get flamed for posting this. Take a breath guys. I was irritated that Chicago and Denver were placed above us. I think that is malarky. Period. That being said - I could give a s**t less about what ESPN says, but I thought the article was interesting enough to post and strike up some conversation. And for the record, I agree with the assessment on Dallas. This is gonna be a tough (good) series.
The analysis of the matchup itself is accurate. What's upsetting is the overall ranking they have us in the playoffs. Indiana, for one, should definitely not be ranked higher than we are.
chrisjent is right, he's a former Dallas newspaper writer. I never liked Stein and his nba articles. Everytime he writes about the rockets it feels like its sorta forced and not really geniune. I think he finally caved in this time since we're playing against Dallas. ignore this piece of sh*t article!
