Not only that but the Rockets can't give away games like they have been doing. You need to win as many games as you can right now. This team needs to make sure they have home court advantage come playoff time. Not only that, like I said before, playoff seating is going to be very important this year. Winning your division is not only important but making sure that you're in the top three seeds is very important. The Rockets are not going to want to face the Lakers or anyone in the first round that's in the top 4 seeds.
Exactly. I don't understand why guys keep saying its early in the season, so automatically it means we can drop games as if the losses won't affect us towards the end of the season. What bothers me most are these games are given away to the other team. It's not like we are struggling and can't maintain leads; we can maintain leads, its the way we close quarters (esp. 4th quarters) with the exception of the last Spurs game that really annoys me. We lack that killer instinct that gets you that hard fought win in a Game 7. I honestly do not see this team playing any better in the playoffs then past years unless we get a legit starting PG or if Ron snaps out of his funk and becomes that consistent third option. Health of course is always the primary concern. Let's just hope somehow someway this team gets it together quickly, too much time is being wasted with excuses like its early in the season.
Does this mean SF3 will finally have a chance to prove he can still contribute to the team. I hope he gets to play at least some minutes.
I couldn't agree more. Health is going to be key for us in the playoffs as well. Ron, I believe, will be able to get out of his funk when he is able to come off the bench. He'll get starter's minutes but he'll be able to post up and do the things that make him better. Right now, he's pressing soo hard to do soo much because of all the injuries. He keeps getting in double to triple teams. The refs this year are not calling fouls for him. The West is struggling this year. It's good in a sense for the Rockets but its bad when the Lakers are off to the races. Games are soo important right now. We have 64 games to go this season and half of them are against winning teams. This month is kinda a soft month but it won't make a damn difference if this team can't pull together some winning streaks.
I don't understand why folks here really believe Francis is going to be able to play for this team. Management has no intentions of playing him at all. You're not going to get more from him than what you get from Rafer. And he can't shoot worth a damn to even beat Head. Francis is not the same person.
Brent Barry's injuries are an old man's injuries. At this point he's here to be a voice of experience and a veteran presence more than anything else. Hopefully he can contribute a little in the playoffs, but I expect very little from him during the season. As for TMac, it's good to know that the Rockets doctors aren't completely incompetent. But alot of people were looking at this as purely black and white (meaning--you're on McGrady's "side," or the Rockets docs "side.") ,but I think that is an oversimplification. I think about it like this: 1. McGrady has surgery, expected to be fit for the season. No one knows (including you DaDa) how much rehab he did or did not do--I remember reading his rehab was "limited," but I also remember the thread where he was running on the track in Stafford. 2. McGrady comes into camp still having pain in the knee--fans are told he'll be okay in 8-10 games. 3. He has good games and bad games, but even during his good games he looks pretty limited. 4. For McGrady doubt starts to creep in, "My first surgery, timetable not as expected, still hurting, etc." 5. ~15 games go by, and McGrady has played worse than ever the last 2. The knee is sore, it's not getting better, and even limiting his minutes haven't helped. McGrady thinks it's time for a second opinion. 6. Dr. Andrews sees him and says, the team docs are right, you'll have to keep playing on it, but your minutes will need to be limited for the time being. So hopefully this helps TMac get his mind right, now that he knows the definitive answer. The best news about this is that no further surgery is involved. That would have been a season killer.
Phenomenal post. I am not hating or Steve or anything. But I've aleadr heard a lot of fans saying the same things. Steve IS NOT GONNA BE READY anytime soon. It has been said. Even if he comes back, as Bullards said (I listened to show with him on 610 radio) he is not gonna be the same player. He had a MAJOR surgery and that injury was really bad. So he is not gonna attack the rim, or anything like that. He is not highflyier ANYMORE. And the bad news is he is not a good shooter. He needs to improve his release and range because if he is gonna come back it will be the biggest part of his game. People, I love Steve but he is not gonna be a 15 ppg / 25 mpg player ANYMORE.
I feel the main reason they are not calling fouls for Ron is mainly because he is pressing the issue like you mentioned earlier and forcing shots up while he throws his body into people. What the refs need to understand is he is a big guy and will go into the lane like a klutz, but just because he is throwing his body around does not mean he isn't getting fouled. It makes me feel like the NBA wants Ron to blow up once again so they can get rid of him, possibly eliminating any real threat to the Lakers in the West. But conspiracies aside, I do feel like the only team in the West that can beat the Lakers is the Rockets. We are just as deep as them and arguably equate in talent. I think Denver and SA may make a good run, but I do not think those two teams can beat this Laker team in 7 games. Anyways, let's just hope we can all be healthy post all-star break.
The one thing that really upset me was in that Nuggets game before half time. Artest was really hit hard and was held and nothing was called. I'm really shocked Artest didn't pop anyone in that game. The Lakers are better as of right now. I'm not saying we can't get where we can beat them but they have our number right now. There's two things we don't have that they do. One is height. Andrew B., Gasol, and Odom are really big compared to our folks. Two is Trevor Ariza. That guy is something else man. I've seen like most of the Lakers games and he's just all over the floor. He can drive, play defense, and he gets a lot of offensive put backs. I really like that kid.
You are probably right. Tracy's gonna take off as long as he wants to, no matter what both doctors say. Let's see what he does now that the finger is pointed squarely back at him. Is he going to suck it up, shut up and give it his best in limited minutes or will he continue whining? I wish someone would tell him to shut up and quit being so moody out loud. He spends more time talking about his injuries than any player I remember.
