Good to be back here.....I've forgotten all about this place. But i see I've dropped in a bad time for Rocket fans, three straight loses since beating the Lakers! I think Yao's great, or will be....but the problem with you people from what i read is that you expect too much from your team. they're still adapting into fitting Yao in the offence. Francis and Mobley never had a solid Big man controlling the offence before, so it's pretty normal that your team would be struggling at this point. Still a 23-18 record ain't that bad, just a couple of games away from the 4th seed i think, so 1 week of good basketball could make a world of difference. That being said, i expect the Rockets to miss the playoffs, not because theyre not good, but because of the fact that they've proven they can't win consistently. By the way, do you guys still think the Blazers are "too old", "too much talent is trouble"???? theyre half a game away from 3rd seed in the west, and have been playing very consistent basketball. No more Laker threat, Blazers can beat BOTH the Mavs and Kings, IMO. Thanks......be nice
BlazerGal, the Blazers have so many players. They are all athletic. Your team is great. They won't win the championship, but they have a very good team. They have just finally begun to play well together. Good team...
BlazerGal, the Blazers are a great team and will win the championship this year because the Lakers are no longer a threat to them. The Kings do worry me a tad bit but I'm sure the Blazers will defeat them in the playoffs. They've pulled together and are playing extremely well, despite that incredibly harsh 7 game suspension of Wallace. The Rockets will also most likely make the playoffs, hopefully they can gain some good experience, dependent upon who they face in the 1st round.
Don't you mean "As long as you're winning and your talent and salary doesn't win you a championship, it's all good baby". The Blazers always seem loaded with talent throughout their roster, but as always... come up short.
You know, I was just hanging out last night with a guy who lives in Portland and has had Blazer season tickets for years. He told me that he hasn't been to a game in 2 years. He just sells the tickets because he can't bring himself to cheer for those guys. Now, I agree with most of what Blazergal has to say. The Rockets' inconsistency is their Achilles heel, and the Blazers do have a very talented team, although I can't really ever see them going very far in the playoffs. Championship teams generally have to develop a team character that allows the individual players to use their talents as part of a unit. Even star players have fairly specific roles on championship teams. I just don't see the guys on the Blazers ever getting that. As for the Rockets, the last few games have been frustrating. But I still think we are really lucky to have the group we have. Steve and Cuttino may not be executing well right now, but if you read their quotes, it is at least clear that they understand what the team is lacking. They know they need to play better team basketball. Thankfully, you don't see them ripping into each other in the media or demanding more playing time, like some teams would in a similar situation. And as for Yao, I don't think there is anyone more enjoyable to cheer for in the NBA, even when Ben Wallace is embarrassing the both of us. He is humble, hardworking, and seems generally grateful to be able to play basketball. Blazergal, you can keep Rasheed and Ruben and even the playoff spot if that is what they earn you. Personally, I wouldn't be able to cheer for them even if I had lived in Portland my whole life, and they were the champs. Sooner or later the Rockets will develop into a championship caliber team. As for this year, playoffs or not, I'll still feel lucky to be a Rockets fan.
No, but I think that the Blazers' talent is too much trouble. You guys must have a full-time administrator to coordinate the road trips with all those parole officers! Anyway, congrats on the nice showing so far this year. Much better than I would've expected. And think about this: If the Blazers and Rockets were in the East, we'd have already clinched playoff spots.
I think the Blazers will be watching someone else win a championship yet again this year, just like the Rockets--and the forcast for the near future doesn't look much more promising.
VDM :- Its nearly all TALK by Cat and Steve. They only make a token effort at Team Basketball. Someday this will be resolved by either Rudy T or Les the Owner.( Soon we hope)
That's a euphemism for "Francis and Mobley aren't used to sharing the ball." Sharing isn't good when you are trying to look good for the "honeys."
Not sure about that. Francis and Mobley had effective big man before. It's garbage to say they haven't played with a solid big man. In an unlikely case in which you think Pippen is the greatest player ever, fyi "solid big men" Dream and Sir Charles made Pippen carry their bags every day in his Rocket rookie year. Go enjoy your Blazers game gal. Especially when Bonzi says "I don't care about the fans" and Ruben Patterson goes hard for the hole, if ya know what I mean.
I am really surprised how the Blazers are doing so far. I think it is a testament to how good of a job Mo Cheeks has done and also how far things deteriorated under Dunleavy. However, it is sad to say that Cheeks has done a good job considering the talent he has...IOW, he has done a good job in massaging egos. Yet I don't ever see Portland winning an NBA title, let alone get to the Western Finals with this current cast of characters.
BlazerGal, your team has the most talent in the NBA! That may be their problem. They don't have enough, if any, role players who know their roles and contribute to team basketball. Now don't get upset with a Rockets fan talking about the lack of team backetball. Just realize that we know what we're talking about on that point. The Blazers have too many egos & off court player problems to concentrate on winning it all. I really think they can make it to the WCF, but at that point, they'll also have to overcome the choke lable they encurred against the Fakers. Good luck though!
Portland will never, ever win a championship as long as they have losers like Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire on that team. One is bad enough, the group makes all of them even more of a group of degenerates. They will win some games in the regular season, but if they make it past the 2nd round i'd be shocked. All I can say is that I bet they are sure regretting dealing Jermaine O'Neal. Bonzi Wells is the biggest NBA cancer. I don't know why any team would want him on their roster. What a loser.
Also, I saw a post that said they have the most talent in the NBA. Totally not true. Kings and Mavs both have more talent. No question. Same with the Pacers.
blazergal, Interesting that weren't you here 3 games ago when the Rockets and Blazers had identical records, and right after we beat the awakening Lakers. Did you intentionally wait 3 games, where we were scheduled to play Spurs, Mavs and Pistons and the Blazers played Grizs, Hawks and Hornets? So, in effect, based on the last 3 games, we are that much more inconsistent the Blazers? Hey, we'll certainly give you credit for overtime wins against the Hawks and Hornets but...that's not really that impressive, is it? FWIW, there are no indications at all that Portland will cruise through the playoffs. Ya'll have done well against the Sonics and Spurs, taking all 4 of those games. You split the series so far with the ('unthreatening') Lakers, ('inconsistent') Rockets, Wolves. You've only taken 1 of 3 against the ('beatable') Kings, 0 of 2 against the ('beatable') Mavs (damn, thats 1 of 5....), and 0 of 2 against the (unmentioned) Suns. I think the writing's on the wall. Portland won't go anywhere this year (except jail...again ). The inconsistent Rockets will continue to improve. Getting 'older' is actually a good thing...for a young team, that is. A shame about your Blazers. Always fun...
