completely agree on point 1. that's why i said i'd need time to think about it when DD asked me if i would call them a competitor assuming yao stays healthy. stays healthy and plays 30+ mins/game? maybe less than that? hell, no We're already talking about limited minutes going in. We're pretending like we're getting this guy back at his prime...it's silly.
I completely agree if it doesn't happen we are not competitors.....and honestly, I only have hope....no belief in it, just hope. DD
History shows that if a Rockets big man stays healthy and dominates the paint, the Rockets will be in the Finals. :grin:
Only Joel Osteen is more optimistic than DD We are not near in the mix for the NBA title and there are several teams clearly above us- Lakers, Celtics, Nuggets, Spurs, Heat, Magic to start with If Yao had a dominant season we could compete with the Mavs, Jazz, Thunder, Trailblazers level teams I do like Yao and Brooks- Martin hasn't played any defense for 3-4 years Scola is a really nice piece as is Lowery if they stay Other than that we need more defense and another go to scorer. Badly. We can certainly compete for a play off spot with a healthy Yao, but no ring yet. (although if they won it all next season it would be the biggest story in Houston sports history )
Sorry guys but you just don't seem to have much faith in your Rockets. Personally I believe in Yao, and with his work ethnic he will make a full recovery. A healthy Yao IMO is the best C in the league. Your defense will be better protecting the paint, you make other teams shape their defense around defending Yao leaving others open, then you add his shooting touch and passing. He has one year left on his contract, if he has a successful year we resign him. If he has injuries and can't stay on the court the ROXS move on. Les IMO never let's Yao walk due to all the $$$ they make in China and is part of the reason Les has no problem going over the cap and go for players like Bosh. All the things you guys wanted Bosh for, well Yao can fulfill most of those needs. Did Morey sell me on wanting Bosh? Yes. But not at the cost of gutting our roster, or even losing Scola OR even with a contract so large it straps us down for years. That being said, I still feel this team can compete with anyone even without Yao. Would we be true contenders? No. Do I still want Morey to try and upgrade the team? Yes. But I have no problem going forward with this core group. Love the position Morey has put this team in going forward. Brooks is a great point guard and will be one of the best in the league. Would I upgrade for C.Paul, why hell yeah. But losing him would not make for a good day. I prefer the underdog role anyways.
Assuming a 'dominant' season is one similar to his last full season, the Rockets could have had the 2-seed by winning their last game of the season that year. That was with Rafer being in the starting lineup almost the entire year, and no Lowry. You also have Ariza/Martin/Budinger in and Artest/Wafer out. Another thing missing is McGrady - the Rockets blew several winnable games that year with him loafing out there and killing the team's energy. A big chunk of the first half of the season was wasted by that.
The team is better,but Yao has had more injuries since then. A backup C,who can share minutes adequately with him is a must. Hill,Andersen and Chuck won't cut it.
So the collective team is better, much better if you ask me, but Yao is a big if. So if that team nearly had the 2-seed that year the only thing that keeps us from being at that level is Yao. If he comes back and is 75% of what he was that year, I say we're better than that team. Which would make us the 2-seed. And that's the point. IF Yao comes back to anywhere near his old level, we're contenders. If not and he gets hurt, oh well that's the last year on his contract and we move on. Plus we have all the assets in the world to make a huge trade at the deadline next year. Never before have we had such rich assets in the form of expirings, picks, and young high-upside pieces. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if we see this team challenging the Lakers at years end.
Better to be optimistic about your team than to downplay everything...seems like too many of you in here think that the rockets have zero chance at anything and yao is going to break every bone in his body the first time he gets off the bench this preseason. Oh and Martin, AB, Bud, Scola, Kyle, Shane, Ariza and everyone else on this team is just a scrub, right? No way we even sniff the playoffs...
If you look at the history of NBA Champions - there's no set formula for their success. Some teams were made from home grown stars - the Rockets, Spurs, the Bulls, the old Pistons - and some were built through major free agent acquisitions: The Heat acquiring Shaq, the Lakers acquiring Shaq, the Rockets acquiring Drexler, Pistons getting R. Wallace, and the Celtics getting Allen / Garnett of course. So it's not always one way or the other. What happened with Miami was all D. Wade's doing. He orchestrated that working with Pat Riley. Bosh - Lebron - Wade all planned on entering free agency at the same time so they could potentially join the same team. And there's no doubt that the Miami Heat right now are going to be the team to beat out of the east with Boston fading. I think for our Rockets - you have to do what gives you the best shot. You can let our young guys develop and see how far it goes. But that worked for the Spurs because they had Duncan in the middle, for the Rockets when they had Hakeem. This team doesn't have that. And getting the superstar talent you need to be a legit contender doesn't come easy. Look at how hard the Knicks, the Nets, and Chicago all tried this summer to clear cap space and pull it off and all ended up nearly empty-handed with the Knicks picking up someone to help sell seats. The other route - developing internally has it's own risks. Just ask Cleveland. Just ask us about Yao. Or the Bobcats or the Clippers. Even if our players become stars - there's no guarantee they'll stay. And for every star there are many busts. Developing internally is what Utah has done for the most part for the last 20 years. And they have always made the playoffs. And rarely been a contender except for 2 years they got taken down by MJ. What you have to do with our team is what morey has done - collected valueable assets to use to build a better team. You can trade those assets for the right big piece. Morey has to know that our best hope lies with Yao versus without. There's no replacing him. Without him, we're in rebuilding mode. We say that this past year. SO how do you maximize your opportunity with Yao? Wait and see if Ariza can develop? Wait 2 years to see if Chase will blossom or perhaps hit a sophmore wall? No. That's too risky. I say, you go out there and get Anthony. He's the only way you have any chance of competing with L.A., Boston, or Miami. Anthony + Yao + Brooks gives you a shot against Lebron + Wade + Bosh. Because likely our role players will be much much better. You offer up Kmart, Ariza, and one of our promising Power Forwards for Anthony at the trade deadline to Denver if they don't agree to an extension and if Yao is healthy and back to form. You do it in a heartbeat.
^this i'm also gonna go out on a limb and say WITHOUT Yao the rockets would still be a playoff team. Bud is gonna be back as productive as ever, it sounds like pat& taylor will be contributors, martin WILL learn defence! (book it) AND for every1 who was clamoring for Bosh, i'l point 2 J-Hill, he's gonna explode n show every1 why he was picked 8th last yr, he has all the tools AND the willingness 2 develop them. also it seems like everyone's 4getting about the t-mac turmoil, the plague of injuries, and personel turnover that was last season, wern't we all proclaiming last season a lost/rebuilding season? so here's some more enthusiasm, summer league games are just a few hours away, love your posts DD GO ROCKETS!!! :grin:
DaDakota you are so right with all you said. Usually I like to read and comment every once in awhile. This is a young good team whom almost made the playoffs without Yao. Now I remember two yrs. ago in the playoffs the Rockets beat the hell out the Blazers. Then in round 2 took the Fakers to Game 7 without their best player(Yao) and backup center(Mutumbo). These team is ready now if Yao can stay healthy. We got a good starting five, a deep bench and first round picks. Only thing Rockets need is a backup C to keep Yao fresh. JHill can fill that role but just in case bring one in. I'm sick of the Bosh, LeBron, Amare talk. Big names mean nothing!!! Remember Barkley, Pippen and TMac to name a few!!! How many championships did we win with any of these guys???
Why do all the posts supporting DD look like they're written by 12 year olds updating a twitter account? Hmm.....
