I want to know who still thinks we cannot be top 4 in the West.

tru tru... but those are all bonafide players that will give u consistent #'s all year. and come playoffs. we need a player like that. and i hope it is steve

 

I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves. Yes we are 3rd in the West, but we still have a LONG way to go before we make it to the playoffs, let alone claim a top 4 seed. I still think the top 4 will be the teams that everyone predicted to start the season.

Sac
Dallas
SA
LA

San Antonio is showing problems, but they have only improved since last season. The Laker are, well, still the Lakers.

Much to my regret, Utah is playing great. We clearly can still have problems with Seattle. Minnesota does not have the talent and depth we have, but they have at least made the playoffs in the last 3 years. Portland is not looking good, but you never know. I guess if I had to pick the bottom 4 right now, I would say:

Seattle
Minnesota
Houston
Utah

 

Your post seems more like a pre season one ,,not current.
The Spurs have problems, I visited their forum after the Rocket game and they were talking about needing help..
The Lakers have been exposed, if Shaq goes back on the injury list they may not make the playoffs. Lots of teams are struggling with the new zones this year, whoever solves them best is going to make the playoffs. Past success isnt going to be as big a factor as in the past.

 

Obviously, people are underestimating the Lakers. All the Lakers needed was motivation. Being out of the playoffs right now, they are going to put together a HISTORIC winning streak (mark it down).


The West is much easier this year. Minnesota is not what it was. They are playing OK, but I feel they're very very shaky. Lakers will, despite their brilliant play, ultimately end up in 4th. Sacramento and Dallas are 1 and 2. That's 3 teams out of the top 4. That leaves Houston, Minnesotta, and San Antonio fighting for the 4th.

It's not looking good for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili hasn't excelled as the "most NBA ready" foreign rookie ever. He may or may not be great, but it's not this year. His ankle situation got worse too. As for Minny, like I said, very shaky. Wally's return, I feel, will cause problems. Wally, Hudson, Strickland and Marc Jackson are all former "cancers". That can't be good. Regardless, we're a better team because they don't have Brandon. That guy destroyed us when we played them.

We'll be either 3rd or 5th. 3rd if we stay ahead of the Spurs, 5th if we don't. 4th is the Lakers'.

 

In the west #3-#6 are going to be the four teams: Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, and W-Wolves. In exactly what order will not matter much. But the Lakers and Rockets are going to come out ahead, if they don't meet in the first round. I would rather see Rockets be #6 to play #3 Spurs, than us at #3 to play #6 Lakers.

 

The Rockets sre gonna beat the Lakers......unless the Rocks crash and burn suddenly......Dont see it happenin so We should beat em out....The Lakers have no chemistry this year.....They need to take a good look at themselves and see wuts wrong.

I see the Rockets finishing 4th or 5th in the West. behind Dallas, Sacramento, San Antonio, and maybe Minnesota

 

Why do ppl regret that Jazz do well?! If anything you should be happy. They will never beat the top tier teams in playoffs. I do not want them to be able to do that bad and get a lottery pick and be back in contention. Wouldn't it be that much worse to forever be mediocre than suffer a season then become a good team (ie Rockets).

 

It really doesnt matter how much we practive getting Yao the ball.

In the Dallas game, it wasnt just a matter of Najera fronting him. Yes he did do that. However, more importantly, with the way Dallas' zone was setup, they often had Nowitzki covering the lob pass near the basket.

So when Yao has a player fronting him and a player covering the counter to the front, then it will be hard to get him the ball consistantly (without turning it over alot).

 

codell,


If they have Najera and Nowitzki covering Ming, doesn't that give MoT, Cat, or Francis to dominate offensively?

We can't go wrong. If they over-do it, we have tons of other ofensive options. If they don't, he will destroy them. You can't go wrong. All we need is for Rice to stay consistent from 3-pt range.

 

Technically, the bet was who will finish with the better record. Ill back off the 5 game edge, im still confident.

I was talking about the 2nd half, not the whole game. In the game, Yao did the majority of his damage in the 1st half and early in the 3rd. Once Dallas started to front him with Najera and have Nowitzki guard the back door via the zone, Yao was virtually shut down.

 

Sane,

Thats the problem this team will face. If teams choose to zone us in order to limit the damage that Yao will do, then that will leave us open shots and yes, players like the ones you mentioned have the opportunity to do some damage. However, many times this season, we have struggled with our outside shooting that the zones have allowed us. We are VERY inconsistent right now.

This team just doesnt appear to be completely comfortable taking wide open jump shots. Players like Francis, Mobley, KT and Moochie seem to be much more effective going one on one once they receive a pass. We lack good catch and shoot guys. However, hopefully well see more players slashing and setting back picks to utilize Yao's passing skills.

Thats why Im not entirely convinced that we can play with the big boys and be a top 4 team. Once we are more consistant, just like you said with regards to Rice, I feel we have a much better shot to be one of the best teams in the West.

 

The way I see it is, at some point, 2 of the 6 forwards HAVE to start producing. It's going to happen sooner rather than later.

With our F's working, I feel we have a top 4 team. A Center that has been ranked as high as 2nd in the league, and not mentioned anymore as ANYTHING below average, with what could very well be the best backcourt in the league.

Worst case scenario? 5th best C in the league, and 3rd best backcourt in the league. If T-Mo and Griffin can get their shots to fall, that's enough for us to be 4th in the West.

 

Even if the Rockets are currently in third place now in the Western Conference, it's still too early to tell.

Maybe when we have about 40 wins, that s when we start thinking of playoff appearance or position.

Besides, with roster full of inconsistent forwards, it's gonna be tough playing Sacramento or Dallas or the LA Lakers.

 

There you go. All you guys who counted the Lakers out, think again. Like I said earlier, its way to early in the season for that.

Lakers beat Dallas. They will now go on a huge run. They will finish as the 3rd seed.

 

Nobody want to meet the Lakers in playoff first round. But I don't think they will be #3 seed in the west. Dallas really goofed it off. They stopped playing in the fourth quarter and went for celebration a bit early.

 

So what? The Lakers just gained lots of momentum. Thats all they needed. Besides, the Mavs stopped goofin around when their lead was cut to 10. They still couldnt hold off Kobe.

 

if we can play more consitent then we can make 4th or 5th

 

True, its all about consistancy.