This is what I am expecting from our Players next year. Realistic or not, I think its possible. 1. Steve-he's the captain he our leader, he's our hope. I'd like to see Steve to average 19 pts 7 assits and >3 to's per game. I'd also like to reduce his minutes to about 36 minutes per game. Hopefully with extra rest he can D up a little bit more and raise his shooting to around .440. 2. Yao- After his successful rooke campaign, I'm expecting to see leaps and bounds of improvement. I want to see him dunk 2 more times per game like the Theo Ratiliff Technical Dunk. Stop shooting that fadeway and bang way more down low. He's gotta start acting faster with the ball or hang on to it higher and tigheter to keep from Steals. Hopefully with increased stamina, up his mins per game to around 33. With more time he can average atleast 9 boards and 2.5 blocks a game. 3. Cat- I want Cat to shoot all he wants, but he has to come off the bench. Hopefully around the 6 minute mark in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Then he can shoots all he wants. I'd also like to sit him down and talk to him about a little pguarding cause that's what he came in as. 30mins a game, and I think he could score 20ppg. 4. Hawkins- I'd like to start him in place of Cat. Just tell him to play 12 minutes of harda$$ D on all the SGs we face. It's better to have someone miss in the beginning than try to cool him down in the end. 5. Posey-At the end of the season he was stroking it really nice from downtown. He's gotta hit .440 and take all the open threes that Yao pass to him when he's doubled. As always he's gotta D up and thats automatic. 6. Taylor-I'd like to start mo for about 7 mins per quarter (28 minutes and I'd like for him to get about 15 ppg. He's gotta hit the boards atleast a little bit. I'm talkin like 6 rebounds. He's also gotta box out. 7. Griffin-He can share the rest of Taylor's minutes (20mins). I dunno what to say about his abilities. I'd like for him to develop and shoot, but I cringe everytime he's near the ball unless he's blocking it or grabbing it for a board. But I'd like for him to just start dunking it hard. Throw some alley oops to him and see if that could give him a little confidence. If he does develop some low post moves ( a big IF) he could share the ball with Cat while we have the 2nd squad on the floor. I also think that we can build Griff's confidence by letting him play with the other team's second squad scrubs. 8. Cato-he just needs to play with heart and desire. He will never be a good shooter. He needs to bring his wingspan and ups for 15 minutes a game and play some D and hit the boards hard. He needs to use his fouls hard too. He can also tone it down with his Temper. 9. Boki-just play the guy. 10 minutes a game even, just let him play 10. Mooch-lose some weight and give the ball to Cat or Griff when he's in their with the second squad. In fact I'd like it for cat to bring the ball up and dump it into Griffin first then let cat does his thing.
I expect to see Moochie Madness, Boki Breakout, and van Greatness from van Gundy. Sorry, couldn't help myself. (All names are trademarked.)
What do I expect from the Rockets next year? They WILL make the playoffs AND go to the second round, at least, after getting 50+ wins. It's gonna happen.
What do I expect? Definitely our first playoff appearence in nearly 4 years. However, I do not want to see Rockets management pull off any extreme trades for another superstar. We are very capable of winning with the players we currently have. JVG will bring us to the playoffs, and I expect Cat(if he's not traded) to really show how much of a valuable commodity he is to this team. Cod
Its hard to tell, cuz the Rockets are kind of handcuffed at the PF spot- getting rid of Mo Taylor would be difficult- and I don't want to give up on Eddie Griffin, we should atleast wait until he's old enough to drink- and then we need a different PF- I don't really want to get rid of either player, cuz Griff is still developing, and sometimes last year, it seemed like Mo Taylor won games for us down the stretch, being the only capable offensive weapon...
...and cows will jump over the moon. (I have to do this in every single one of these threads 38 wins +/- 5. A very tough early adjustment period. A hole dug before the ASB, improvement in the second half, but likely not enough...
38? Thirty freaking eight? Oh that's right, in another thread you have us going 0-16 vs. the top four west teams, as opposed to 5 wins last year, so I guess that nets out. Unless Steve or Yao gets injured, there is no way in hell they go under 500. Shoot, Rudy and his free form stand around offense could win 38 games.
15 things I expect to see 1. A playoff appearance 2. The team goes from a guard oriented offense to centered around Yao 3. Franchise to be known not only as a great player leaguewide but a great pointguard for the first time in his career 4. More shots for Yao 5. Yao being more agressive on both ends of the court 6. A repeat peformace of last year for Kelvin Cato 7. Eddie matures and grows into a respectable player on both ends of the court 8. Eddie playing an inside game on offense 9. Nachbar getting playing time and being a solid contributer 10. Moochie Norris only plays in garbage time 11. JVG making a scene 12. Mobley being more consistent and less shots 13. Yao and Steve are both all stars 14. The new arena to have a similar buzz at the games that we had in the mid 90's 15. Yao goes crazy against the suns and against his revenge for not winning ROY
I expect us to play harder and smarter this year. Foolishness won't be tolerated. I expect our team to not lose as many close games or games against teams with poor records because our team will play smarter and harder this year. There will be some transition time but I expect most of the kinks to be worked out early. I think we will make the playoffs but don't rule out a possible trade before the trading deadline if we dont make one this offseason and our record is just ho-hum during the trading deadline.
Team as is: MAYBE 8th in the West. First Round exit. Team w/ changes: Depends on the changes, but a bruising, traditional PF, a backup shooter off the bench, and a backup PG that knows what the words pass & assist mean would greatly improve our chances.
