That translates to 56 wins in 82 games!!! And in few of the 6 games we lost, Mcgrady had to leave early. Wow!!! Wondering if we can really be that good.
This stat combined with the addition of more players coming off of injuries, is why I like our chances to make a push for the playoffs. We have the talent to do it.
I am amused at these stats of "with Tracy" , "without Tracy" and "with Tracy and Yao" - it should be fairly obvious that these 2 are needed for us to win- heck they combine for 50-60 points! The more important ingredient is how our role players do- that more than anything else will determine if we win or lose.
14-5 if you don't count the Piston game at home in which Mcgrady sat out the entire fourth with back spasms.
From your statistics, it indicates that we potentially can win 42games this season! Does this give us a chance at the playoffs or will we be a lottery team?
I believe this year's 8th seed will be around .500. So rockets have a fair change to make the 8th seed. One thing worries is that if western teams keeping beating the eastern teams then we are in trouble even if we keep winning.
This is BS. Everybody keeps complaining that are role players are insufficient but I'll keep saying otherwise. The Rockets will go as far as TMac and Yao can take us and our record proves it. If we have those two on the court, we have a legit shot of beeting anybody. If TMac isn't healthy and/or Yao doesn't continue to improve, then we won't win a championship. Period. End of story. But with those two at the top of their respective games, our role players are good enough. For example, virtually every game we lost (except to Dallas) while TMac and Yao were out, we had a chance to win in the 4th period. We just didn't have that go to guy to close out the game. We stayed competative which suggests our role players are doing their jobs.
Nearly 50% of our offense goes throught the 2 guys. And another 20% is offense that results because of them- so it does not need much to conclude these two are important. Did you check our FG% ??? Or FTA or 3 PT %, perhaps you will get a clue! If you take the 2 Primary options on ANY NBA team you will not win consistently- not just rockets. We are no exception ( that combined with other injuries)
I like your positive approach but their statistics show that most of our role players just dont have it anymore. This could change of course, especially if we get our leader back [Bob Sura].Without a supporting cast that can make significant contributions , when called upon to do so,the two stars would be burned out by the conclusion of the 82 games.
I kinda agree with this, our pfs are decent compared with anyone, Rafer is a pretty good pg, although he could shoot the ball better, we need another athletic 2/3 combo though, a Bonzi Wells or Flip Murray would be really nice. Other than t-mac, no one on this team can go to the basket strong, that is our biggest weakness.
I'll agree that is one of our weaknesses. But no team is perfect and every team has major weaknesses. That doesn't mean that we can't be a contender. IIRC, the '95 Rockets were one of the worst defensive rounding teams in the league. Only Dream was a great rebounder. Everybody else was below average. Well, Clyde was good but he didn't make up the difference. Great teams learn how to play to their streghtns rather that falling prey to their own weaknesses. Right now, we have to learn how to take better advantage of having Yao. If we can do that, we'll be tough to beat ...regardless of our role players.
You are missing the point. Yao and TMac are potentially "special" players. If they reach their potential, we'll likely vie for a championship. Some teams have good 1-2 options but you know they'll never be contenders. For example: Anytime Juwan Howard is your #1 option, you'll NEVER be a contender. I don't beleive teams like Boston, Sacramento, Orlando, Seattle, etc will be contenders with #1 options like Paul Pierce, Mike Bibby, Steve Francis or Ray Allen. Immensely talented guys but they are just below that "special" title. Players like Kobe, Shaq, AI, Duncan etc. are the special players that you know CAN pull out the stops no matter what defense is thrown at them. And even on a bad day, they'll still find ways to help win. TMac and Yao both COULD become one of those "special" players. And when/if they reach that potential is the day we challenge for a championship. If Yao/TMac never get to that level, we'll likely never vie for a championship regardless of our role players. Why? Because the other team DOES have that special player. Our role players as it stands are good enough. They have weaknesses but what team doesn't? The Bulls never had a decent center. Great teams play to their strenghts instead of cratering to their weaknesses.
I totally agree with you...This team was built around our "Allstars" (sounds good doesn't it ) not the role players....this team will go as far as Yao/Tmac will take them....there is always room for improvement and if the right deal comes along we should jump on it but I think our role players are more than sufficient. ....I look for our chemistry to continue to improve the more Yao-Tmac-Alston play together!
Boy! And I would think they already are. Our Role players are not up to par with San Antonio and Dallas- and I would not worry about others. Bob Sura- debatable after his injury, will need time Derek Andersen- can be deadly if Consistent J Barry- love his energy- but he is nearing his career end. Luther Head- has potential, needs a year or two Stro- Dont know J howard- lousy defender, needs too much of time to warm up- inconsistent The facts are our FG% stinks- last in the Western Conference, Yao and TMAC shoot 40 shots approximately? Nearly 35-40 are taken by others- if we want to win that percentage(FG%) must go up by at least 2-3 percent, plus compared to Dallas and San Antonio- our depth is pretty shallow! In a 5 game play off series- the opponent coach will easily exploit our weakness(es)
