(How much) Are we better than the 2009 Playoff (2nd Round) Team?

YAO MING FG%54.82 RBs.9.99 blk1.88 pts19.40

RON ARTEST 3pt%37.77 RBs.5.06 stl.1.45 pts.16.88

LUIS SCOLA Rb.8.73 blk.0.15 pts.12.96

AARON BROOKS ast.3.03 stls0.55 pts 11.94

VON WAFER pts9.55

CARL LANDRY rbs4.79 ast.0.51 pts.8.96

SHANE BATTIER rebs.4.78 stl.0.85 blk.0.86 pts.7.41

KYLE LOWRY ast.3.15 stl.0.80 Pts.6.90 =points 96.77 from players
used in playoffs run
DIKEMBE MUTOMBO blk.1.18 pts.1.45 Good defense
Good rebounding
CHUCK HAYES rbs.3.44 stl.0.56 pts.1.32 players not developed


VS

Yao Ming????

Kevin Martin #12 SG
2009-10 STATS
PPG APG 3P%
20.6 2.4 .333

Aaron Brooks #0 PG
2009-10 STATS =109 points minus Yao and two players
PPG APG SPG
19.6 5.3 0.8 defense??
Good shooting
Luis Scola #4 Pf
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG BPG
16.2 8.6 0.3

Kyle Lowry #7 PG
2009-10 STATS
PPG APG SPG
9.1 4.5 0.9

Chase Budinger #10 SF
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG APG
8.9 3 1.2

Shane Battier #31 SF
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG APG
8 4.7 2.4

Courtney Lee #5 SG
2009-10 STATS
PPG APG 3P%
12.5 1.7 .338

Brad Miller #52 C
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG BPG
8.8 4.9 0.4

Jordan Hill #27 F
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG BPG
5.2 3.7 0.4

Jared Jeffries #20 PF
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG BPG
5.3 4.1 1

Chuck Hayes #44 C
2009-10 STATS
PPG RPG BPG
4.4 5.7 0.5

Alot of passing, shooting stats improved and player development in Brooks, Lowry, Hayes, and Scola. Better stats offensively conclusive in this years squad. Better stats defensively not decisive but almost conclusive in earlier squad. Better passing in this years squad. Better freethrow shooting projected in this years squad, better three point shooting and field goal percentage projected, more assists in this years squad.

Conclusion=Draw...Another way to look at it.

 

Yes, just cuz u said so... WTF man, this is a rockets blog, chill out with the negativity!

 

There's no way we're better than that 2008-9 team.

Yao has serious health concerns.
Artest is gone.

That 2008 team was Championship caliber team. If Yao didn't get injured in the second round, the Houston Rockets would be champions.

 

Not having any faith in yourself huh Mr. Yao?

 

This year's team is much deeper, the individual players are more improved, and there are no distractions unlike in the past. There also seems to be better chemistry, as reported in the training camp in Austin, plus, Adelman and the many of the players have been together much longer so they should know about each other better.

Let me stick my neck out to project this team to go to the Western Conference Finals, at least, this year. The only caveat here is that Brooks must be replaced as the starting pg in the course of the season.

 

Interesting. Why would you say that?

 

I think people will be pleasantly surprised. We all predicted around 36 games won to 42 last year. I think we are gonna be safe to predict around 52 to 56 games won this year. 56 games actually being low for the high end because I included the likelihood of games missed by Battier, Martin, and Yao and we still got to that amount if a few are missed. Hopefully their injuries are minor and its a few games missed here and there and they come to the playoffs at full strength and getting back healthy all of their peices this time around that time. They have a bigger chance of that with how deep they are now.

 

Luis, Aaron and Kyle will be better in 2011 than they were in 2009.
2009 LUIS SCOLA < 2011 Luis Scola
2009 AARON BROOKS < 2011 Aaron Brooks
2009 KYLE LOWRY > 2011 Kyle Lowry

Yao and Shane are getting older. They could be better in 2011, but
I'll be happy if what they loose in youth they make up for in saavy.
2009 YAO MING > 2011 Yao Ming
2009 SHANE BATTIER > 2011 Shane Battier

This is the interesting group. The question is, do you prefer loose cannons or intelligent grounded basketball players. Myself, I have a good feeling about 2011. Think of how many errand shots Artest put up, or how confusing it must be to be his team mate. Or how confusing it was we didn't see more Wafer until we heard about his getting kicked off the bench due to talking back to coach. Really? In a playoff game. Sounds significant to me. After Wafer and Artest, no doubt Rockets staff went to replace them with guys like Lee and Budinger.
2009 RON ARTEST < 2011 Courtney Lee + sanity
2009 VON WAFER < 2011 Chase Budinger + sanity

This is a tough one, because Landry was incredible for us. But you have to trust that Martin is the better pairing with Yao. I think its obvious to anyone who has been watching games. Landry was amazing, but, again, not because he was paired with Yao. Landry was just amazing. Will definitely miss him. Martin has big shoes to fill.
2009 CARL LANDRY < 2011 Kevin Martin (b/c pairing with Yao)


2009 DIKEMBE MUTOMBO < 2011 Brad Miller (better running the offense)
2009 CHUCK HAYES < 2011 Chuck Hayes (OFFENSIVE MACHINE!!!)

 

*correction for typo above
2009 KYLE LOWRY < 2011 Kyle Lowry

 

I think the OP as well as everyone else here is underestimating Patrick Patterson. I'm going to go on record and say that he will be our obvious back-up PF by the All-Star Break (except for situations where Hayes needs to lock down guys like Lamarcus Aldridge, same as when Landry was here) and even push Scola for the starting job by next season.

 

I'm all on board with that. I have been saying all along that we got a steal in the draft. If he has good enough defensive skills, he would be perfect.

 

Gotta wait and see

 

From the limited play i've seen of Patterson, i just don't see this. But i hope i'm very wrong. He is not great or even above average at anything at this point in terms of NBA level skills. So i don't know how he gets on the floor.

Regarding the OP's question, on paper i'm excited about this year's squad. But what i don't like is in every single interview thus far from the coach to the GM to several players, the team's stated goal is simply to make the playoffs. Maybe they see this as a development/recovery year or maybe it's just that they see other teams in the west (ie Sac, Clipps) competing for playoff seeds now. But i don't like it.

 

Clutch FANS, durvasa, Clutch FANS.

 

I don't think so.
当时姚明不要太牛逼哦
BUT NOW WE HAVE NOT D.

 

The Lakers will be old/weaker. The West is weaker, with the exception of OKC. The East is stronger. So a finals appearance is not out of the realm of possibility with this squad.

 

The 2010 team is the team you go with if you flat out need to out score some one.

Now if you need a defensive stop the 2008 team had it on lock.

I will never forget the game we STRAIT Punked Lebron in the toyota center. He did not even have one assist.

When Artest decieded he mentally he wanted to show up that team kicked ass and took names.

We beat a Healthy very talented Portland team. They where at full strength they even had a healthy Oden and Pryzbila and we still beat them in six games.

 

Spot on!

 

i find this post offencive.

 

I think the team is better except for the uncertainty of Yao. I don't miss Ron that much. Even the loss of Landry doesn't bother me too much as Scola is a beast and we have plenty of backup at that position. I miss Wafer but Chase is an adequate replacement.

The big determining factor is obviously Yao. And as someone said, the West as a whole is a little weaker than it was 2 years ago, especially if Mello goes East.