I was looking at the standings today. After losing to the Pacers we are now 9th seeded. What this means is that the next couple of games are crucial for us to make the play offs. Houston seemed to be "turning the corner" with impressive wins over SA and Dallas but seems to have regressed against Memphis and Pacers (I can understand Memphis b/c they are hot but Pacers come on they were in that game till the fourth). I think early on you are going to see both teams run on pure emotion which either means amazing things or everyone is soo tense both teams shoot for a combined 1 for 30. As the game wears down though both teams will go back to there form. Houston will score left and right against Magics poor defense, while the Magic will attempt to run up and down against houston. If T mac goes off and the Rockets play decent D Houston will win, otherwise its the Magic. Also I dont know I have a feeling Yao Ming is going to explode in this game....
A must win for Rockets' season. The game for T-mac and Yao to show their true color as teammates. If Yao keeps being timid, T-mac will not take it anymore and will start to critisize Yao's poor play. How will Yao respond? It will be critical. Win or Loss, doesn't matter, as long as no one gets injured in the game.
I hear Bob Cousy is also being considered by the Rockets. A backcourt of Cousy and Strickland will mean that the team can get senior discounts on their trips. And before long, the Rockets will become a legends team. From retro night to retro players to retro "over."
I hope the Rox could win this one but (1) they are mismatched with Magic in 3 positions: 2 guards and PF; (2) they are older than Magic players; (3) they are more tired than Magic players; (4) their coach is clueless .... I don't want to say it, but they will most probably lose but I hope they play with heart and only lose a close game but ..... Too many buts: it's not easy being a Rox fan nowadays.
It seems Hill had an MRI on his wrist and only played a few minutes of the 4th quarter in last nights game. He plans on playing this game though. The addition of Doug Christie still doesn't help the Magic's D much, so expect even a slumping Rockets to get at least 95 points in this contest. I expect we'll get killed on the boards, I'm sure T-mac will get at least 35 points. The key to winning this game is Yao. If he can put ii 30, we will win for sure. Hmm, if the Magic actually take this guys advice, I expect T-Mac to go for a 100 pts. The Me-Mac Kickback? PR coup by Magic could repay fans for quitter Me-Mac The Magic always talk about wanting to do something for the fans. They talk about wanting to restore the faith of their paying customers. They talk about wanting to make amends for the mediocrity and mismanagement of days gone by. Here is their opportunity. This would be the most magnificent marketing idea since the T-shirt bazooka; the most talked-about promotion since the Cuttino Mobley nutcracker bobblehead that looked like Juwan Howard. I'm talking about a Tracy McGrady retroactive rebate. A financial apology to the fans. Compensation for quitting. Just call it "The Me-Mac Kickback." McGrady will be back in town Thursday when his new team, the Houston Rockets, plays his old team, the Orlando Magic. That means the Magic have three days to turn my brilliant promotional concept into reality. What better way to send a message to fans that this is a new, improved era than by giving them restitution for the old, sorry one? The timing is perfect. Only a week after McGrady told Sports Illustrated that he ripped off Orlando fans last year, the Magic have a chance to make a resounding PR splash. "Some nights I did slack off," McGrady admitted to SI. "I'm not going to sit here and say I played my hardest every night." In other words, the fans didn't get their money's worth last year. So why not give them a little money back this year? It doesn't have to be much. Maybe a coupon for a free ticket to a future game. Or a small rebate check. Something. Anything. Even if it's just a free cola. "How about a free Diet Coke?" says Magic super fan Dennis Salvagio, a k a the Fat Guy. "I'm all for this crazy idea as long as the fans get something. After Tracy's comments admitting he was dogging it last year, I think it would be a tremendous gesture." Why wouldn't the Magic do it -- because they're worried about ridiculing Me-Mac? Two words: Who cares? What did this guy ever do for the franchise except take his $93 million, quit on the team and bolt at the first opportunity? Sure, the promotion would probably offend him, but his actions last year were offensive to every season ticket-holder who paid thousands of dollars with but one expectation: That their team would play hard. Magic fans don't ask all that much. Their demands are really quite reasonable. They don't expect the team to win every night. They don't expect the team to win the championship every year. They don't even expect to make the playoffs all the time. But what they do expect for their good money is a good effort. What is a promotion except a way to win customers? And this one would be the ultimate. This would be bigger than the Horace Grant giveaway goggles. And the beauty of it is it wouldn't even cost that much, but it would earn the Magic tons of respect and publicity. What a blast it would be. Instead of Terrible Towels, the Magic could hand out Teary Towels for fans to wave at McGrady, who whined to Sports Illustrated: "People have no idea what it feels like to be me." Fans could come equipped with signs quoting some of Me-Mac's favorite adages. You know, like: "I came, I saw, I quit." Or: "When the going gets tough -- quit." Or my personal favorite. "Give me liberty or give me $15,000 a game to tank it." In the perfect world, McGrady would compensate the fans himself, but we all know that's not going to happen. That's why the Magic need to get on this ASAP. The Me-Mac Kickback. Do the Magic have the audacity to pull it off? http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...18011805jan18,1,4940633.column?coll=orl-magic
We'll see about that. He helps the Magic's D, but not yet....not familiar enough with the defensive system. Rod Strickland's the kiss of death for any squad...in the standings.
It sounds like you are trying to contradict what I said, but you are basically saying the same thing. BTW, if you guys check out the msn page, the fox sports section has a link to the Hill article title this: Not again! Magic's Hill has MRI How sad is that? Everybody is gonna assume it's about his ankle. Anything to spike their hits for the day.
That Me-Mac kickback dude is taking this a little too seriously. These morons in Orlando keep blaming T-Mac for their bad season last season.....It wasn't all T-Mac that caused them to lose so many freakin games..........
I'm afraid we might lose this one in Orlando. 'Cause the Magic fans are going to give TMac hell. I hope we come together and soundly kick Orland's butt. Finish them off before 4th quarter. Rockets 120 Magics 105
Anybody remember Francis first few games in Vancouver? He seems to be able to dial it up for games like these. Sura et al better bring their zone defense, and Yao better not get in fowl trouble. I think it is a very tight game, should be fun to watch.
He'll surely go for 30 --> but if we can stop Hedo and Grant scoring more than 30 between them then there's every chance we will have blown out the Magic! There's not much O apart from those guys!
My prediction is that the Rockets get routed in both games against the Magic, and the "FIRE GUNDY" thread hits 50 pages.
Now that Strickland is signed, tonight in Orlando the Rockets will unveil their shiny new custom made red and white wheelchairs to celebrate their official entry into the NWCBL - the National Wheel Chair Basketball League...
It depend on which Rocket team shows up tonight. Will we see the hungry, intense team that beat the Spurs and the Mavs or will we see the uninspired team that creeps in far to often. Steve will get his points, I have no doubt about that, he is a good "revenge" type of player, plus he`s one heck of a guard. IMO this game will depend on Yao being able to effectivley post up, T-Mac being able to get his 25-30 points and the role players hitting there shots.
