Rockets aren't even close to being the best team next year. They probably won't be the best in Texas. If Dallas can pull out a shaq trade while keeping Dirk, they will still probably be the the worst team in Texas still. I know we got Tmac, but the Rox still look like swiss cheese until they get some good free agents signed.
step1: Draft Yao -- complete step2: hire Van Gundy - complete step3: acquire T-Mac - complete step4: acquire supporting cast -- in progress I think they will be a premiere team in 2 years. Yao will be peaking, the team will be gelling and T-Mac will still only be 27
No way I would put two eastern teams 1 and 2. Pistons just peaked at the right time. They're not really #1 team in the NBA.
Did you Watch the playoffs?. as soon as they got sheed, they just went beserk. i mean they were keeping teams under 70 left and right during the Regular season. and in the playoffs they were awesom.
That's my point. They peak at the right time. They also did not have to fight through Spurs, Kings, Timberwolves to get to the Finals. They almost lost to the lowly Heat.
The Rox aren't as good as SA, but now that Cuban let Nash get away, it's hard to see how the Mavs are ahead of the Rockets. And I seriously doubt Cuban will trade Dirk for Shaq.
Yes, the Rockets might very well be the best team in the league now. I fully agree with everything Sane said. Even if don't get all the neccesary free agents and role players for the upcoming season, having a dominant scorer in McGrady and the second best center will be enough to win close games.
I can't believe you listed two eastern conference teams as number 1 and 2 in the league, Blazer Ben. Both of those teams are solid but I don't know if either of them would have even made it to the conference finals if they were in the West. Detroit went to 7 with the Miami Heat! A seven game series with the friggin' Miami Heat! Part of winning the championship is just the war of attrition. The Pistons made it to the Finals healthy. The Lakers had an injured Malone. The Nets had an injured Kidd. The Timberwolves had an injured Cassell and an injured Hudson. The Kings had an injured Bobby Jackson. Etc etc etc. If I had to guess how the teams are going to stack up now and I'm assuming the teams with free agents or holes due to trades make decent moves to fill in the holes.... 1. The Timberwolves 2. The Spurs 3. The Pistons 4. The Rockets 5. Maybe the Mavs or the Pacers. Depending on what offseason moves they make. And if the Rockets do exceptionally well in signing free agents and making the most of our assets in trade, we could move all the way up to number 2 or even 1. Though honestly I don't think we can be number one with out a very strong veteran leadership presence. Yao and McGrady are talented as hell but I can't imagine either of them are on a level of Garnett or Duncan as far as just being ready to carry a team.
Pacers went to six with the Miami Heat. Pistons played the T.J. Ford-less Bucks, Nets with Kidd hobbled and Pacers with O'Neal hobbled.
People are counting out the Lakers too soon. They'll still have Kobe. And they'll also have either Webber, Dirk, or whatever beef they get from Indiana. Kobe + All-Star Power Forward is a team that still has a chance to be top-4 in the West. Ditto for Sacrameno. If Webber stays, and he's healthy, they're still a dangerous, dangerous team. They remind me of the Spurs two years ago when Duncan was hurt and barely played in the playoffs. That offseason, everyone kind of forgot about the Spurs and the next year Duncan came back strong. Anyways, I like our chances, and Sane, I love the optomism, but as of right now, I'd still slate us behind the Wolves, Spurs, Kings, and right in the mix with the Mavs and Lakers.
Oh, and while we're at it, Jermaine O'Neal is the most overrated big man in the league. He needed 18 shots per game to average 20ppg. He needed 35 minutes per game to grab less than 10 boards a game (his average is rounded up). When Yao took 18 shots or more? He averaged 27ppg. When Yao played 35mpg? 11.6rpg. O'Neal's shooting percentages? .434 FG%(!!!) and .747 FT% Yao's? .522 FG% and .809 FT%
Agreed. I don't understand why people are so high on Jermaine O'Neal either. If you watch him play, he has very few post moves and usually shoots jump shots. And, oh, he's not a center!
No right now. We give chances to every rookie to prove themseleves. (Yeah, YM have not proved himself yet). After two years, if he is still SMits-like, we will definitely trade him.
Then Why we traded away Francis then?? If he had taken as many shots as McGrady (25 shots per game), he would have been the same scorer (28ppg) if you just want to do math calculations.
