i dont think we're including the bench, if we are then that would mean deke would come into play for the 05 squad...which means it would turn into a block party..and that 05-05 team wasn't exactly thin...james was playing decently then and Barry was a solid bench guy as well, and well deke too.
Current team, of course. TMac is still rusty, Yao is still hurt. Juwan is old. Sura and Wesley are retired now, as are most of the rest of that team. The current team is much younger.
Ariza and Battier on TMAC with Battier coming to help chuck on Yao. The would be pretty awesome defense. He was fond of using Deke and Yao at the same time so if that happened the current team would have no chance of taking anything to the basket and Ryan bowen + TMAC would shut down our wings. ScoLandry would have to find a way to either burn past or shoot over the centers and Brooks/Kyle would have to burn Sura and James. It might come down to a 3 point shooting contest in which case the current team loses.
Not quite, let's remember individual D and team D are different... and Yao's absence has hurt Battier's D and i'm sure Ariza's D has been affect too since he had two 7 footers behind him in LA. Perimeter defenders are always less effective without a wall behind them and more effective with it.
I'd take 04-05 Rockets over the current Rockets any day of the week! Without a doubt that we don't have that kinda young talents in Kyle and Aaron, but at that point where we did have veterans like Bob Sura and David Wesley, who both are effective on the court. Not to mention at that moment, T-Mac was still his old self and able to do whatever he'd imposed his will to do, and Yao was pretty good too despite lacking of strength.
Regular season, maybe, which was 4 games. The '05 playoffs, 7 games at higher stakes, Yao KILLED the Mavs.
Najera wasn't with the mavs that year, he was with GS, which is why i was wondering why he brought Najera into the conversation to begin with...
easy, 04-05, yao and tmac played amazing that year, in this scenario would we have howard? he was out with a heart condition that year (i think) wesley had some left that year, so did jb and bs, but they all died after that season...except howard who seems to have found magic youth in the water over in oregon
How great is that? Yao not playing for a year people quickly forget how good he was... last time I checked almost every team fronted Yao not named Spurs and Hornets(Tyson Chandler anyone?), Yao still managed to average 20pts a game. Remember when Yao was fronted in Portland series last year, they had to bring a second defender which opened the game up for everyone else, Thats why we won. This team now or the 04-05 Rockets? Its not even remotely close.
04-05 team by 20 points. Yao would destroy the front line and when the doubles start coming, T-Mac would get in the lane and create havoc (or just throw in some crazy jumpshots). Either way, the current squad would get destroyed.
When I first read the thread I thought i had misread it but after reading it for a second time I realized I hadn't. I don't see how it is even debatable that this years team would beat the 04-05 team unless you are talking about one regular season game in which case almost any NBA team could beat another. 04-05 is clearly the better team and I don't even think it is close. A better question might be who would win between this years team and the 03-04 team.
That was the only year I didn't get NBA league pass so I'm basing this on what I remember from highlights and the Dallas series with the '05 Rockets. Shane is my absolute favorite Rocket since Dream and Horry, but '05 TMac would go straight up Kobe on him. He was just as quick as Kobe is today, his jumper was just as automatic, but the kicker is Shane is stronger or as strong as Kobe. '05 TMac was a lot stronger than Shane is today, so you would see a lot of And 1's or even facias. The OP said don't forget about Chuck Hayes', Battier, and Ariza's defense. I say don't forget about Chuck Hayes', Battier, and Ariza's Offense. Playing against a defensive minded coach and a team that would try to force the tempo into a half court game, it would be tough for them to score points. Yao would dominate the Chuck Wagon. Not Shaq style but he would be good for 25 and 15 easy. Scola would give a young Juwon Howard trouble but Howard was absolutely automatic back then with that 15 footer. So Scola couldn't give much help on Yao. Also, the Rockets had shooters back then. Reliable shooters. Aaron Brooks would be in the paint at will, but Yao would be waiting for him. AB probably wouldn't get many calls. The current Rockets bench would make it interesting, with '05 having no answers for Lowry or Landry and the up-tempo play. In a single game, i'd say '05 wins 84-71. Seven game series, I say 4-1 '05 wins.
I think the following year was when J Howard had the heart condition. I think that was the year we played the whole season with the '98 Knicks roster and won like 25 games.
Leaving TMac back then would be like saying leave Kobe or DWade to help. It wouldn't last long. TMac back then was still capable of 50 any given night. Not only could they not leave him, he commanded a double or triple team back then.
LOL thats a good one.. Clearly the 06-07 Rockets would win. Yoa Ming vs. 6-6 Chuck Hayes? That's a no doubter... David Wesley's Defense was strong back then. So all he needs to do is partly guard Ariza. With Ariza..just leave him by himself and he'll miss 80% of his shots anway..lol, and if he dares to drive in...just foul him, he missed 85% of his free-throws..lol TMac back in 06-07 was THE MAN. So clearly, who ever guards him will have a tough time..even Battier and his "pornstache"..lol 06-07 NO Doubt! Man I miss those Rockets..
