Absolutely, he's the type of high ceiling player we should covet, to hell with playing it safe, especially if the safe pick doesn't have superstar potential. Or http://www.nbadraft.net/players/nerlens-noel
honestly this is a pretty accurate assessment although i do feel parsons wil be more efficient than league avg and 32-50 is wt i think our record will be but honestly with low expectations its more fun to watch the rockets for now no disappointments
We do have a bunch of young guys but our main rotation is not as unproven as the experts are projecting. Asik is a first time starter but he comes from a 60 win and high caliber team w great coaching. I dont think anyone doubts that he is an above average center in the league. Parsons is a second year pro but he started as a rookie on a pretty good team last year. Plus his M.O. Was that he didnt make a lot of mistakes on the floor. Martin is martin, he will have a bounce back year. Lin and Ppat are the only unprovens and our season liew on how well these guys pay. I am absolutely certain that one of the two will pan out, more likely Lin. We have a good mix of youth and vet presence in the 2nd unit, w delfino and livingston. If we are in the playoff hunt, i guarantee Morey will shop for a serviceable backup center to propel us in the second half of the season
27 is spot on. Vegas has 30.5 I think. I'm gonna be taking the under on 30.5 (assuming KMart is traded quickly).
Overlooking the Rockets Defensive Potential A 27-55 record......... For most teams as young and raw as the Rockets, it would seem like even an optimistic prediction........ BUT.......... I contend this is no ordinary young NBA team......... I will go out on a limb here........ If both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik remain healthy, and no more than one other starter is out for any significant portion of the season, this team will be a 5 or 6 seed post season team. Perhaps 50 wins. I don’t know how much Hollinger watched Lin these past two seasons or Asik this pre-season...... The biggest surprise of this preseason is Asik finding open players. (Some have speculated he’d be nothing more than a dunking/shot blocking/rebounding/turnover/missed FT machine, who might be in foul trouble half the time.) The fact Chandler Parsons and others will also find open players, Lin’s numbers will be down this season. Almost guaranteed. Unlike the Knicks, Lin is now playing with players who can also see the floor. And unlike the Knicks, the Rockets won't necessarily need good statistical numbers from Lin in order to win. There is also one aspect of Lin’s play this preseason that hardly anyone has noticed……… Lin was already a well-above-average defensive player. (In spite of all the presumptions to the contrary- People who made these comments have NOT watched him play.) And strangely, this preseason, this part of Lin's game may have improved the most. In spite of his recovering from injury. Sure opposing teams have been shutting Lin down offensively. But Lin’s defense, especially the last three games, has been off the charts. If Lin has a problem, it’s that a major part of his defensive play does not show up statistically. But it does and will result in lopsided scoring stretches favoring the Rockets. Even with Lin's awful offensive numbers so far. In this past game in New Orleans, for example, Lin had only two steals, but was responsible for causing about 8 other Hornets turnovers. (Including recovering from an open man on an in-bounds pay, resulting in a five-second violation.) He also blocked two shots. (Lin had three blocked shots in a game last season in Chicago. Two of them on Derrick Rose. To give you an idea, Steve Nash never had three blocked shots in a game in his entire career.) But this team defensively might end up being in the same zip code as the Miami Heat….. Toss aside Lin and Asik for a minute….. This team has quite a few other players who make plays on the defensive side of the floor. (Parsons and Kevin Martin also get a lot of steals. The Rockets could potentially lead the NBA in that stat.) The defense alone will make the Rockets better than a 27-win team. Most sub-30 win teams have deep deficiencies in critical parts of the game. Weak rebounding, weak perimeter shooting, poor defense, a shallow bench, lack of players who can break down an opposing defense, settling for jacking up outside shots, significant decline in play if a key player is in foul trouble....... Now let’s look at the Rockets: Rebounding? Check. Perimeter shooting? Check. Defense? Check. Bench? Maybe the question mark. But a lot of talent there. (The only real lapses defensively have occurred here.) Players breaking down the opposing defense? Check. Settling for jacking outside shots? They only did this in the Mavs game this preseason. But then again, Lin didn’t play in that game. He doesn’t let his team go into this mode. Foul Trouble? Aside from Lin and Asik, foul trouble shouldn’t be an issue. Sounds like a 27-win team? Not to me....... Even with the lack of experience. And if Lin’s offense becomes solid, if not reaching “Linsanity” levels, this could even be a 54-win team. I’ve followed teams over the past 35 years....... But I don’t recall following a team with so much potential defensively. Fans should not go crazy if Lin’s numbers are down. Especially if the team is winning. The Rockets have other players who can rack up assists and create their own shots. So Lin's numbers should go down somewhat. The one thing Lin will do, good stats or bad, is enable the other four Rockets players on the floor to excel, because the opposing defense will be so focused on him. And as I stated before, Lin's defensive play. Remember this post....... Laugh at me now......... But this is one fan who loves defense and players who’d rather win ugly than lose flashy........ The Houston Rockets will be the surprise team of the NBA, provided Lin and Asik stay healthy. (Could be a tall order because Lin gets knocked to the floor too often.) Not bad for the least-experienced team in the league. But if Lin or Asik go down for a major portion of the season, then Hollinger's prediction of a 27-55 record will be close to accurate.
Are you saying you're picking 50-54 wins? Or that if EVERYTHING breaks our way, 54 is the ceiling for this team?
My only hope for this season is that Lin lives up to the AI/Nash/GP hybrid he has been made out to be.
Solid post. The direction of the team really depends on two players: Lin and Asik. If Lin and Asik can prove they can play at a constant high level(star level), Rockets could go all in for Lin. Waiting for that moment to happen.
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His outlook is slightly worse than mine. After looking at all of our matchups individually, I think we'll be 41-41. We'll be competitive but in the West and with McHale as our coach of mostly rookies, I think it would be crazy for us to be over .500
Surprised so many people agreed with Hollinger's assessment when he's basically predicting Lin's gonna be good, Asik so so, the rest of the team suck, exact the opposite of what the preseason is telling us, according to many folks here at Clutchfans. :lol:
28-32 wins I can't see us being any better than that. We are so young and young teams are usually exploited at the defensive end and we weren't good with the vets we got rid of.
