I have been saying 30-40 since early summer. About the same time, I said that this team will struggle to score 80 points. KD in another thread was just quoted as saying the same thing in "ball don't lie." When you look at the team on paper, it is not that hard to figure out. You just have to hope the team will surprise us. It is not a matter of having no faith in the team or not being optimistic, it is about being realistic. At present, the Rockets are a group of role players. I think they will play hard and be fun to watch, but they just don't match up well with most teams in the West.
You're so right; if his history with the team has proven anything, it's that he makes our win totals worse.
I Think they win 36 games and get the 1st pick in the nba draft and draft the 6'4 point guard out of kentucky........and we woudn't have to worry about t-mac and Yao anymore b/c we would have our new Franchise Player..... <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V6AR1LUxhZo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V6AR1LUxhZo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
I doubt 36 wins will be low enough to get the first pick, I think the Rockets will be competing for atleast 7th or 8th by the end of the season. The beginning of the year seems like its going to be a bit bumpy without T-mac, we play some quality teams. But we tend to overachieve and I don't see why we wont this year, I expect big years from Landry and Scola
Why are people still surprised by this? We're down 2 all-stars, although one will be returning at some point. I would bet under tbh. I know we'll look a lot better once the team gets more comfortable but right now we look sluggish. Besides Scola the entire team looks like they're going to have on/off nights with no real structure. Maybe when Tracy (not Brooks) is running the offense and Ariza begins to jell, but right now we look like a team that will finish top 5...in the lottery.
One thing Vegas odds makers can't measure is a team's heart and desire to win. The Rockets are a team that will surprise the league, book it! Go Rockets!! I predict 52 wins this season.
These vegas dudes are very accurate. I bet on many games and the lines are more often that not, right. If T-Mac can come back better than last year, bet over. If not, its going under.
But, they still can be wrong! Otherwise, no one would bet. This business cannot be continued. In addition, I think they always change the numbers during the season.
That would have put us 9th or 10th in either conference last year which is more than I would expect from a team lacking any superstars. I'd say 35 1/2 is accurate, maybe even generous.
If I'm not mistaken, I recall that the Rox went 34-48 during one season when JVG was coach. During that time, Tracy and Yao were both out for significant amounts of time. 35 wins is a plausible outcome, but I think we have more talent than what the "experts" are considering.
You can put 'heart' into your shot but when your center is 6'6, that 'heart' will come right back into your face. Also, 52 wins, lol.
Key differences: JVG vs. Adelman '09 rosters sans Yao/TMac vs '05 roster sans Yao/TMac.... the difference almost makes you cry while laughing.
I don't think there is any doubt that we win at least 30 games. Despite the injuries, this team is too well coached and this group is far too relentless for a lesser output. However, I am beginning to wonder, am I the only person here who is hoping for the under? I really don't think there's anything that could be more beneficial to the long term prospects of this franchise, save Tracy McGrady miraculously finding the fountain of youth, than acquiring a blue chip lottery pick.
I absolutely agree, this would be a great time to come up with a high lotto pick. Maybe we should bring Steve back just to send him to represent the Rockets in the Lottery. Last time he got the number one pick and we got Yao. With our star's contracts expiring this would be perfect timing, because we have an excellent supporting cast. We need a premier player.
Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know, odds makers place the line at where they think the casino will get equal action on both sides so that the Casino will enjoy a small margin of winnings whatever the result is. For example, I think for a normal basketball game, if the odds makers have the Lakers at -9 against the Rockets, it's not necessarily because they think the Lakers will win by 9, but that's a number at which they think they'll get 50% of betters on the Lakers side, and 50% on the Rockets side. I believe typically the house takes a -110 margin on those, so if you win after betting $100, you only get $91 back. So, if they got $100K of total bets on each sides, the house is guarangeed to win about $9K whether the Lakers win by 9 or not. If this is correct, this info doesn't mean the oddsmakers think the Rockets will win 36 games, but that they think they'll get 50% of people to bet over and 50% to bet under when they set the line at 36.
We'll float around .500, could be good enough to make playoffs. Depends on How well teams are playing. We will be in the playoff mix all season. We have too much talent and heart.
