From preseason, did the rockets exceed your expectations at this point and time?

Hi. They are exceeding my expectations.

Without Yao, the Rockets would be like the Golden State Warriors. The Rocks' were very lucky to get him.

Why is Eddie not a good player? I think he is doing a fabulous job. Yesterday's game proved that we need Eddie Griffin with Yao to protect the boards. Usually we dominate in rebounding. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity to put Cato and Yao in at the same time. Anyways, we still won!

Before the season started, most people weren't even sure if we were going to make the playoffs. They said it would take a couple of years.

But now...look at Yao.

 

I went through the schedule one game at a time and marked down wins and losses before the season. So far I have us at 17-8, so we're pretty much where I expected us to be.
The nice thing about that is that I have us winning 54 games this year!

 

I predicted 50-52 wins which is where they are headed. I love the Rocks.

 

Before the season started I thought it would take us after the All-star break to pretty much get things together, but they have proved me wrong. Rockets look like a team who is determine to shut critics up about Yao Ming being a bust or Steve Francis being selfish yeah we are 15-10 thats all I have to say.

 

If you had told me that the Rox were gonna be no.4 in the West at this point of the season, beating teams like SAC, IND, or SAS, I would've told you that you were nuts. (In fact, I think I did call some people that. Especially that guy who kept repeating that "Rox for West Top 4!" campaign. )

I was a fool. I underestimated fellow Chinese Yao Ming. However, who would have predicted that among last year's Western top 4, the Fakers would be so horrenous this season? And that Portland would be replaced by Phoenix at the no.5 spot??? This season will only get weirder.

 

I believe in this team so much; I told everyone I know before the preseason had even started and before I saw them that they'd have 50-57 wins and would be top 4. I'm not suprised 1 bit. As long as we stay relatively uninjured, not much will get in our way.

 

Ming is way way beyond what I expected, but Griffin and Taylor are way way below. Francis, Mobley, and Morris--no surprises. I expected Cato to get fired up because of Ming. I am amazed that Rice can run and jump (a little). He is still soooo slow, can't defend, and his shot comes and goes. Thomas was a also a disappointment, but he is gone. I really wanted to see more of Boki; I still don't understand that one.

 

The team's record is where I expected them to be. The fact that they are currently 4th is a big surprise to me. Of course, that's because I expected the big 4 to be in their usual place. And also 1 or 2 losses can easily drop us 6-8. The great thing about others struggling is that we get to work on OUR chemistry and philosophy while we stay in the hunt for a top 4 spot.

Yao is the biggest surprise only because of his accelerated learning curve. Yao baby!

Steve's improvement was expected and we're grateful for his health.

Cato's attitude and production is an awesome bonus.

Griffin has not lived up to what WE might have expected but dude is only 20 and I think we expect too much too soon from this youngster. Thanks to Yao being up front, Eddie can take his time without so much pressure.

MoT has been a real downer....hopefully it's only residuals from his injury...hopefully.

All in all, I'm enjoying the heck out of this dawning of a new Rocket era!