All of the sudden basketball in Houston has gotten interesting again. It seems to me that three teams from the Midwest Division are going to make the playoffs. San Antonio is a lock. IMHO, that leaves Utah, Minnesota, and Houston competing for the remaining two spots. It seems to me that if the Rockets can start hitting their free throws and continue keeping their turnovers down, they could take one of those two playoff positions. It seems to me that the Rockets' decline started when they brought Barkley onto the team. (This isn't a negative Barkley post.) All of the sudden, they had two dominant post men and they didn't know how to use these players. Now the Rockets are back to a single dominant post player and the team is playing well. Our guards right now are probably better then our guards when we won the two championships.
Whoa there, buddy! You may have a case for our guards being better now than they were in '94, since Sam was a rookie and didn't play all that much and we didn't have Clyde. But in '95: Sam Cassell, Kenny Smith, Clyde Drexler, and Mario Elie were all playing at or near their peak. Clyde alone was way more dominant than anyone on our team right now, and in my mind makes that crew better than this one by himself. I agree though, this team is incredibly exciting, even without Francis. Anderson is playing like one of the absolute best players in the league at his position right now.
I'll agree with that post... for a little while. By the end of the year, I expect that this guard rotation would be superior to the 95 edition. PG- By the end of the year, Smith and Drew will be a wash. I actually think Drew might have more potential, as he can drive better. Cassell wasn't as good as Francis is now... by the end of the year, Stevie will be better than Cassell is NOW... much better than Cassell was then. SG- Shandon Anderson, imo, is currently better than Ellie ever was. Elie benefited enormously from having a big man, and a good 3point shot. Anderson is better in the post, one on one, and on defense. Drexler, admittedly, was significantly better than Mobley will ever be. Still... 2 advantages for our modern Rockets, while only one advantage for the 95 team.
I'll have to agree that with Clyde at this peak, not many backcourts can say they are as good or better. But what I really wanted to say is that Steve will be a better player than Cassell without a doubt, but look at what Sam's been doing..man! unbelievable last night! the guy had 18 ASSISTS!. and the night before that he had 15 assist along with 25 or so points. Sam could be on my team ANYDAY... ------------------ -Peace to the Believers
