With Steve back, the Rockets are now one of the most talented teams in the west. With Oscar and Eddie making huge strides in his absence, the Rockets, individually, have actually gotten better since their 7-5 start. With Francis back, the Rockets should become a winning team again. It may be too late for the playoffs, but it is not too late to go above .500 from this point onwards. There are no excuses for losing to teams like the Nuggets, Cavs, Pacers, Knicks, Warriors, Pistons, Heat, or Grizzlies. Moochie should go back to being effective again- he has always been a good backup, not a starter. Oscar and Walt can join Mooch, Kevin, and Rice as a deep second unit. Francis-Norris Mobley-Torres Griffin-Rice (when healthy) Thomas-Williams Cato-Willis If the Rockets continue their losing ways, then something has to change.
They're still weak up front in a Western Conference dominated by big men (Shaq, Duncan, Robinson, Garnett, Webber, etc.) so that still may hurt them in the long run.
I still think when healthy, this team is still avg, anywhere from a 5-10 seed in the west. We just don't go in many nights and say we have the adv at positions. It's not very many teams where we have a clear cut adv at more than 1 position and that pg when Francis comes back. Some nights it might be Mobley too, but not that often and the other positions you can forget it. Thats why early in the season we were struggling too. We have i real good player, 1 pretty good player, and a buch of avg players after that. Griffin is a budding player, but its too early to tell. To be a consistent winner especially in the west, You kind of need 2 players on a all star level and maybe 1 pushing that level unless you have a person of Shaq, Kobe,Garnett, or Duncan status on your squad and we don't have that.
im not expecting too much from francis his first few games back. hes still injured and rusty. Cat was a shadow of his normal self when he was carrying those injuries and so was Kobe. just ease Steve back in
I still say Seattle is the better bandwagon for you ZRB. Or Toronto. I'm sure, if you try, you can find a better team to root for that tries more than the Rockets...How about Orlando? We are rooting for you to find a great team to cheer for. Tell us when you find one. OK.
Yeah, nice Crispee. You really showed me. Thanks for your brilliant contribution to this thread. Truly a classic post.
ZRB are you still banishing yourself if the Rockets fail to make the playoffs!? Just curious what your status is on your transition from Rockets fan to Sonics/Raptors fan. j/k
Sorry, I just c.a.n.n.o.t resist mocking the King of the Bandwagoners who claimed he is looking for a new team trying to tell us about "No excuses now." You know, that was the dumbest post that I have ever seen. I already dislike all your knee-jerk reaction negativity, so you are not living that one down anytime soon.
I tried to forget about the Rockets and become a fan of another team, but I just couldn't do it. I guess I'm a Rockets fan for life, because I just keep on watching and cheering them on, even when they are down by 40. It's a disease, and the only cure would be trading Malone to Houston. I am pretty high on the Sonics, and I have enjoyed cheering them on as my second team, but the Rockets will always come first. I was at the Sonics-Pistons game the other day, and I ended up paying more attention to the "around the NBA" scoreboard than the game itself. When I saw that the Rockets had finally broken their streak, I jumped up and started cheering. I got a few peculiar looks from the fans after that. Oh, and no I will not banish myself if the Rockets fail to make the playoffs, because I made that statement assuming that the Rockets would be a healthy team. Next season, if they stay healthy and still miss the playoffs, then I am gone. Seriously, I am...
