We had a great season considering our injuries, burnouts, and out of bounds opponents, and ofcourse we expect to build on last season and finish top four, if not then at least top six. But are we assuming too much? I believe we will make the playoffs, there's no doubt in my mind, but will we fair any better than the 5th seed considering who missed out last season and who crept in? -Denver finished on a tear and certainly didn't look like an 8th seed going into the playoffs, they'll have voshon lenard back next season and Karl will have had a complete off season to get them into his system. -Baron Davis turned the Warriors into a strong team the second he arrived, he'll definately lead them to a much better season... What was their record once he came on board? - as i remember they it was pretty damn good. -Minnesota? These guys were WCFists only a season before last, KG will be healthy, definately in MVP form. They should have their chemistry sorted out, they'll be younger, hungry to play for their new coach, and to regain respect. -Portland could become a standings threat, depending on what they do with their pick, they still have some talent on that team -Kobe and Phil will look to bring the Lakers back to respectability. -The jazz will have AK-47 healthy-which is a nightmare for any apposing wing player The Rox are really going to have to improve just to stay in the race, because alot went their way last season, fate will have to play a part for us once again. Being in the west sux, it makes basketball life just that much harder. Good luck guys, we're in your corner, here's hoping you make the right moves, Yao has his rest, Tmac shakes his demons - and the refs do their damn job.
The Lakers, Warriors, and Blazers will NOT finish ahead of the Rockets so they don't matter. Denver could pose a threat, as well as Utah, but I don't think Sacramento will finish as high as they did this past season, so there's really only a total of 1 extra playoff seed that might get filled ahead of us. I'm not worried. EDIT: I forgot Minnesota. I know they have KG, but the rest of that team has either been in disharmony or is aging and slowing down. I don't expect them to threaten the Rockets for a spot.
But you could say that because the conf is so packed and with so many improved clubs, we might not win against those teams the way we did last season? Affecting our % ? we'd really have to beat up on the east and not slip up at all during the season - those mini slides we had last season would cost us much more this time around.
None of us have a crystal ball. But I don't think winning teams build based on whether or not they might make the playoffs. Any 50-win team expects to make it. GM's just want to build the strongest team possible.
Every hack journalist I've read has at least acknowledged that the Rockets are one of the top 5 contenders to dethrone Detroit or San Antonia. If we're considered a top 7 team on paper, it will be one helluva disappointing season if the Rocks miss the playoffs. All we need is a few young pieces to last the season grind and Jeff's willingness to adapt.
the rockets are just as likely to improve as any of the teams you mentioned. considering they finished fifth last season i expect them to do at least as well next year with yao and t-mac having a whole season together under their belts. we haven't seen close to what these guys can look like at their peak. expect that pick n roll they thrived on in the first round to be refined and unstoppable next season.
I expect considerable improvements this off-season. The biggest one will be with Yao himself, just because he has the summer off, and can work on his game. I expect him to do better than 20/10 this next year, have some unstoppable moves, and be better with his fouls and time on the court. I expect a new veteran PG, whether that's Daniels, Duhon, Kidd, Payton, Stoudamire or Van Exel. I expect a new PF, such as Swift, Brown, SAR or Marshall. I anticipate another SG, such as Wells, Murray, Anderson, or Sprewell. I hope we just get the best intelligent athlete available in the draft for youthful depth, perhaps 2 (Memphis), such as May, Diogu, Petro, Simien, Blatche, Taft, Jack or Ukic. That would be a definite improvement from last year...
In a conference where only the Hornets seem likely to return to the Lottery, and the Clips are young, energetic and talented, anything can happen. Any team could have an injury, locker room issues, a big trade, or catch fire and move from 1st to worst (sorta like Minny did) or worst to first (at least record, sorta like W's did after getting BD).
As of early stage of YaoMac PnR showned a few games in Dallas series, it's already very unstoppable IMHO.
Even though the Clips are due for a year in the playoffs, the Elton Brand era has been great for $terling but a tease for the fans. This thread is 2 months too early.
Every year we get the doomsday reports on this BBS about how every other team has improved except the Rox and that we'll be fighting for the last 2 playoff spots...at best. On paper, whatever. Every season, some teams do better than expected while others do worse. If the Rox can acquire a couple more key peices this offseason, they should be contending. Period. (barring injuries or basketbrawls). They've got two of the most pheoniminal talents in the league now with a year of experience with each other. I have faith JVG won't let the team under perform.
Yeah, and uh, other than last year, every year the rox were fighting for the last 2 playoff spots, usually coming up short. The playoffs are a valid concern, because the rox are a thin team and injuries could really put them in a bind(esp if its TMac). The rox should be improved, but nothing has happened yet. The draft and fagency might end up being a bust(not like that hasn't happened before). The rox probly wont win the division, so they will be fighting for 4-8, and there are a lot of teams that could come up and surprise, as the thread starter pointed out. I think it is more likely than not that the rox make the playoffs, but it certainly isn't the given that some make it out to be.
The Rockets are in a conference where they simply can't afford a serious injury to T-Mac or Yao, I think everyone can agree with that. I would bet that at least 12 teams from the West finish with 40 or more wins next season, maybe even 9 with at least 50! Last season there was 9 with more than 40 wins, 7 with 50 or more, it was pretty rough last year and I expect it to get even rougher next season. That's why this offseason is so important, the Rockets have to play catch up in terms of athleticism with most of the teams in the West, catch up on talent with a handful as well. Sure there will be a couple of teams that step back, like the Kings and Grizzlies but they'll still be tough and will be replaced by the Jazz, Warriors, Lakers, Clippers, and Wolves. There will be some teams left out of the playoffs that feel they should be there, and teams in the playoffs that feel they should be a much higher seed. To me it just sucks to be in the Western Conference while building your team like the Rockets are doing, I don't expect the Rockets to fall back because of T-Mac, Yao and JVG, but they can't afford a slow start or slow finish in this conference.
the spurs, suns, and mavs will still be the top 3 IMO. i think we will have the 4th or 5th best record (between us or the nuggets). there are as many teams moving down as there are moving up. here is my offseason rank of western teams: 1. spurs 2. suns 3. mavs 4. ROX 5. nuggets 6. sonics - only if they keep most of thier players. 7. kings - slow decline 8. lakers - pj won't miss playoffs 9. warriors - good, but west is too deep. 10. grizz - cleaning house means small step back 11. wolves - this high because of KG only 12. jazz - not enough talent 13. clippers - other teams past them 14. blazers - other teams past them 15. hornets - still bad the bad part is as long as the spurs win our division we will allways face dallas in the first round since both us and the mavs will be better than 6th, 7th, 8th for many years. if we want to get out of the first round we have to be able to defend big guards and small post players.
I'm not conceding anything to the Mavs yet. There's no way we start as slowly as we did last year, so a mid fifties win count should be well within our reach. The Mavs will miss Finley, and I wouldn't be surprised if we pass them. Suns might have problems too- their advantage last year was that they were quicker than everyone at each position, but if they get KThomas and he plays center, the Amare and Marion go to positions where they won't have a quickness advantage every night. They are still a thin team who could be bothered by injuries. So I'd just put San Antonio ahead of us. Every other team has question marks.
A lot of these Western Conference teams are very young and likely to get better with an added year of experience. As of right now, the Rockets are a very old team likely to get worse over time. So the Rockets cannot just stand pat and assume they'll be just as good as they were last season. Phoenix and Seattle both seemed to come out of nowhere last season. I suspect we'll see at least one or two teams make monster leaps up in the standings next season (Warriors, Clippers, Nuggets, etc.). The only Western Conference team that I would completely rule out of the playoffs are the Hornets.
So what are we supposed to do? What, exactly, are you suggesting? Yeah, there's a chance that we might miss the playoffs. Which is why we should make improvements to the team. No one's saying we should stand pat. Everyone thinks we need to address our aging role players and inconsistent PG and PF play. I'm sorry, I just really don't get the point of what you're saying
So are we comparing SF3 teams to this team? This argument is basically true with every team in the league. SA probably won't make the playoffs either if they lose TD for the season. What if Dallas loses Dirk or Miami loses Shaq? Exactly, it's a little too soon to paint a doomsday picture. Lets wait until after the draft and after a few key fA signings. The Rox record starting in January was as good as any team in the league, including Dallas. With a couple key aquisitions this summer, its a little too early to concede the top spot. They have the talent. I can't disagree with that. But what's the point of being so pessimistic right now. The whole NBA landscape will likely change between now and November, as it does every offseason. A couple blockbuster trades, (such as Shaq to Miamia and TMac to Houston) changes all the dynamics.
