San Antonio is more talented than us. That does not mean we could not beat them in a 5 game series. I do not know about 7 games- injuries, coaching and mental toughness take over. Could Van Gundy out coach Pockovich and the choked Italian? TD is clutch - he was hurt last year. Parker is not clutch. The Refs will side with SA. We will be the under dog. Yes we can!
Not this year they got better not worse and they were NBA champions last year. Signing 2 former all stars, Finley and Van Exel makes them the prohibitive favorite again this year. Only thing that derails their chances is if TD AND Mano go down with a season ending injury. This team is so deep that they played pretty good when TD was out with his ankle injuries last year and they whipped our butts with TD sitting on the bench last year. Their key is they are the best defensive team in the league, not flashy shot blockers but teriffic man on man defenders that smother you.
In the playoffs it is not about stopping someone, it is about wearing them out and making them less effective. The Rockets still are a little lite in the alternative offensive options.
i consider yao, howard, anderson, sura, swift and wesley offensive options. some more than others, but they still provide offense.
The key to beat SA: 1. Force them to make jumpshots from the outside. 2. Box out Ginobili, no offensive rebounds. 3. Protect the ball at all times, minimize TO.
I think I started this thread a month ago. I do believe we still have the upper hand on our front court like someone said earlier. What really concerns me is our back court. If DA stays healthy this season, I think the Rockets are going to be just as deadly or even more so than the Spurs. We have a bunch of players that are winding down in their careers. They all most likely want a ring. I know Jon Barry is just itching for one. I know our players especially Tmac will be wanting to get one ASAP. These guys are probably going to give 300% with total nothing to lose attitudes. I hope they come out like that every game this year in the playoffs and show the world that we have Heart. I want the Spurs to taste defeat in our hands. I'd give three of my fingers up for it. Maybe even an arm and a leg. We better crush the Spurs and ruin that team's heart and soul for years to come.I definitely think we have the talent to keep up with them. The Rockets may not have the big names in the back court like SA does but we do have a nice bench of above average role players that were once big names like the ones SA have. We've also stacked each position in the back court three deep. At the two if DA gets tired we have Wesley and then Jon Barry. At the one we have Sura, Mike James, and Derek Anderson. Each one of those players can give 300% of their effort and energy each minute they are out on the court. Each one of our guys have something to prove. I think each one of them want to prove it now too. They are going to play each game as if it where their last and it's going to be awesome. I think we have the brains and the talent to match up SA. It is now down to who is hungrier and who wants it more. WEE CAN DO ITTT!!!
I don't agree with this premise. The Lakers and their 3 recent titles had two offensive weapons. There is no reason the Rockets can't send 90%+ of their possesions through Tmac or Yao as the Lakers would with Shaq and Kobe. Two keys: 1) Does Yao keep getting better, and 2) do the role players stay healthy and play like we hope (particularly I would say do Swift and DA fit like we hope). If Yao does more damage to the Spurs C's than TD does to Swift/Howard we definetly can win. Yao should have a significant height and strength advantage over anyone except Shaq, if Yao gets more consistent and more dominant as well hope putting TD in at Center instead of Nazr or Rasha isn't going to help much, TD won't be able to handle him at all one on one either, and there are still going to have to send help quickly from their wings or their PF. There is no way the win the title if TD goes down, ZERO. And unless Finley plays like he is 3 years younger, they need Manu as well. They needed EVERYBODY healthy and playing to form just to beat the Pistons and probably the Sonics as well. A couple extra role players in Finley or NVE protects them if they lose a role player (Barry, maybe Parker or Bowen) but NOT if they lose TD or Manu.
KEYS TO BEATING SPURS: 1.) Limit our turnovers to 10 or less. 2.) Rebound better than them. 3.) Keep their guards out the lane.
All rise for our reading from The Book of Clutchcity, chapter 3, verse 1, in the words of the prophet BMoney:
The Lakers beat'em some.......lets see, they did with, cluch luck.... all we need is dumb f'n luck... Then we'll kill'em
Shaq and Kobe were both MVP canidates when they were winning titles. Yao is not at that level and suggesting he will be this season is pie in the sky. Remember the 1st time the Lakers won, Glenn Rice was their third option...the Rockets don't have anyone with that pedigree on their roster. Also, Manu was injured vs. Detroit and Duncan was hurt the entire playoffs last season.
