I disagree, they will be a much better team from last year. But one thing that might slow them down is Yao. Rockets were forced to do run and gun basketball last year when Yao went down and they were pretty good at it. Now with Yao back, pretty much all their going to do is half-court basketball. So we don't know for sure which style of play will be more effective for the Rockets.
Take this in the right way, but I don't think the Rockets are a "team" yet. There are a good many "pieces" but how they all comes together is quite uncertain. On paper, the Rockets have talent, probably the most guard talent they have had in years. If Yao comes back, they have size. With Hill, Jeffries, Miller they can play big. They have speed. They have shooting, not something that has been plentiful around here. They have cleverness and veteran smarts; Battier, Scola, Miller, Yao, and even Martin, etc. have been around the block a few times. The Rockets "B" team might be as good or better than several starting lineups in the NBA. Lowry, Lee, Miller, Hayes, C-Bud, not bad. All in all, they have the dreaded "P" word....potential. If they jell, play at a max. level, and stay healthy, I see a deep playoff run.
I agree we have a fringe all star in yao (assuming he doesnt come back 100%) a good scoring backcourt, which lacks the defensive intensity needed at playoff level and a aging sf. we are not contenders nor are we lottery teams, unfortunatly we are stuck in the intermediate pack that will probaly make the playoffs but with no real chance of lifting the trophy.
agree all rox players either stay same or worse what about our young players? what about yao? he should be better than last year :grin: who is ther starting c? heywood or chandler? dampier is moron. completely agree but he is not bad at defense. dampier has a little bit offense, a couple of moves around basket. chandler has no offense except alley hoops. if chandler is a backup, he won't play alot along kidds. chandler's offense will be limited. c'mon, you know what you are taking about. their core players are getting old and old. do you want to me say more? haven't pay much attention on nuggets. but anthony's contract extension could play huge impact on nuggets performance. i guess amare is no body but a regular roster filler. spending max on a just good player says more than you can understand. memphis has no better player to spend their money. a solid defense player, posey + a young talented pg <<< ariza?
I think we are good team but not a great team... Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, are clearly better than us on paper and talent I think. I think we are more in the same class as the Blazers, Thunder, Jazz, Nuggets.. Even the hornets might be pretty good
How-to lose in 15 years: 1) feeling good every summer: "On paper, Rockets should have won 20 championships per season." 2) wait&see, pray&hope endless ifs. 3) back in reality, celebrate every mediocrity. 4) lay out excuses.
Tough to say. Morey thought the Rockets were a Bosh away from being too moderate. DaDakota thinks the Rockets are already radicalized with Brooks being the floor general. So I dunno.
ppl tend to mix contender with champion :grin: not only that, they also mix the playoff seeding with champion.
Let's say for the sake of argument I partially agree with your post. All of the above teams have improved. The part you fail to get is not one of them has improved as much as the Rockets. We added YAO MING! All of those teams upgrades together do not equal Yao Ming! we have added Brad Miller and YAO MING to replace chuck hayes. Need I say more. YAO MING and Brad Miller to replace Chuck Hayes. Chuck Hayes is 6'6".. YAO MING is 7'6". All of those teams wish they improved as much as a 7'6" center. All of those team would gladly give up the improvement they made this offseaon if they could instead have YAO MING. ALL OF THEM. Every last one would take YAO MING over any improvement they made this off season. We have improved more than any team you listed just with the addition of Yao Ming. I haven't even started to mention how brooks will be better, how Martin will improve and fit in evenbetter with an off season under his belt. How Scola will improve from another year in the NBA and a new contract under his belt. How Budinger will have a solid year. How Lee is going to be the best backup 2 in the league. How Chuck Hayes will be one of the best defenders off the bench in the league at his natural position. Oh and we added a great draft pick and Hill is working his butt off this off season. Wow after typing that I have to wonder how you can actually think those teams are even close to improving as much as us. Are you serious or r****doboi. Even without Yao it is almost like we are adding martin back. Brooks is so much better than the start of last season and we got a great draft pick better than the stupid pick the Jazz got who drafted much higher than us.
what he said ^^^^ greatest post of this off-season, how do you rep someone? i'd like to add- last seasons squad also had to deal with a patchwork line-up due to slew of injuries and a disruptive mid-season trade, now with the guys having the opertunity to spend a LOT more time together, chemistry shouldn't be much of an issue either
Pretty much the way i feel. Cautious optimism. Lots of (dirty word incoming) ifs still to be answered through the course of the season. If we get close to jelling as a team as good as we look on paper, i expect us to make it to the WCF and give whomever we meet there a good run for their money. If it's not the Lakers (their core is just too seasoned playing together), we actually can make a legit run at the finals.
No, this is an extreme team. -Martin is extremely efficient. -Battier is an extreme +/- guy. -Brooks is extremely fast. -Yao is extremely tall. -Lowry gets to the line an extreme amount of time. -Scola was an extreme steal. -Chuck Hayes is extremely strong. -Jordan Hill has extreme dreadlocks. -Courtney Lee is extremely new. -Patpat is extremely phat. And so on.
I don't see how this team can be moderate if Yao is back to where he used to be. Every position has been upgraded or improved since Yao injury. Brooks improved more than anybody on the team Martin is way better than Artest (although defense decrease) Battier will be the same with his tenacious D Scola is also improved with his inside move and consistent outside shot Budinger (wasn't there when Yao last played) LEE (Another great shooter and defender) Miller (At least a legit Center to back up Yao) Patterson (looks like a defensive force) Lowry,the same. So how can this team be moderate...they're better than the lineups that took the Lakers to 7.
