IF HOUSTON IS GOING TO MAKE IT THIS YEAR OR THE NEXT THEY HAVE TO PLAY THEIR HEARTS OUT OR MOVE TO THE EAST ONE THING THAT CAN DEFINITELY HELP THEM OUT IS GETTIN A LOTTERY PICK OTHERWISE THEY AINT GONNA MAKE IT THIS YEAR OR THE NEXT
hold on, let my eyes adjust... I'll always believe in the Rockets, but this year is a lottery year, unfortunately (rocks if you could just stun me and prove me wrong!). Hopefully, we can snag a big man in the lottery or draft a talented small-forward.
I think they have the nucleus they need to win. They need time together. A lottery pick should be traded for a veteran big man. The Rockets remaining will be: Francis/Brown(or other backup PG) Mobley/Torres Rice/Morris Taylor/Griffin Cato/? I think Kenny Thomas and Moochie Norris will be the odd men out.
They are what 14 and 30, right? That means there are 38 games left, right? Am I missing something here. If they were to keep the same winning percentage over the next 38 games they would end up at 31 wins - 51 losses. If they went .500 from here on they would be 33-49. If they went .750 (that's winning 3 out of every 4 contests, without fail) they would end up at 42 and 40. We couldn't get in last year's playoffs with that kinda win/loss. I am as optimistic as anyone on this board folks, but a playoff berth is out of the picture. Heads up Trifle And, as far as this "play their hearts out" BS goes, you want to tell me what they have been doing for the last twenty - thirty games if it wasn't "playing their hearts" out? PS: Remember substance and not VOLUME will get you a more eloquent respoonse. Please turn down the caps. Thx.
If they finished at 42-40, they definitely would make the playoffs this year. The last three spots are .500 teams. The Rockets could make the playoffs with the easy schedule they have coming up, but that likely won't happen because they will lose to teams like the Cavs and Nuggets.
While the current #8 seed is at .500, I am pretty sure as the season goes along, the playoff and almost playoff teams start to distance themselves from the lesser teams. I would predict a 45-47 win season for the #8 seed in the west.
I doubt it. Why would Utah, Phoenix or the Clips suddenly start playing 45 win basketball? They are .500 quality teams now, and they will likely stay that way all season. If Rudy decided to make a playoff push, and play for wins rather than development, then I think this team could make a decent run for the postseason. But that won't happen. The organization is FAR to patient. A sense of urgency is something that this team could really benefit from.
The Rockets have next to no chance at making the playoff this year, but I'm looking at next season and I see a hell of a lot of hope for them. Not only will they still be individually talented, they'll have experience working together. Rockets already have one of the best backcourts in the league (at least in my opinion), and if Cato keeps playing as well (hopefully better) than he's been doing these past few games the Rockets will have a good chance at the title. Griffin will start developing into a fantastic player next year and he'll help a lot up front. Add in another good player up front like Thomas or Taylor and the Rockets are set to have a fantastic year (barring injuries like this year).
Whether or not the Rockets can make the playoffs this year, that should still be their goal until they are mathematically eliminated. They could easily win seven of the next eight games if they bring defensive effort to each contest, but what are the odds of that?
