This is game now.. Denver got this.. Now, hopefully Utah can knock off Denver tomorrow and New Orleans has a fairly easy schedule : Next Five Games Sat, Mar 7 Oklahoma City 8:00 pm Mon, Mar 9 at Atlanta 7:00 pm Wed, Mar 11 at Washington 7:00 pm Fri, Mar 13 at Milwaukee 8:30 pm Sat, Mar 14 at Chicago 8:30 pm I can see them losing to Atlanta, but nobody else.. unless they slip one like the Rockets did. We have to hope for one those games.
The Blazers have a higher schizo factor between home & road than the Rockets. It's off the charts. Their road record against Western Conference playoff teams is 1-11. Their one win was the game Chris Paul got injured. The difference between their energy level at home vs road is almost a joke. The Blazers are very immature and it shows.
lol.. Immature? Don't you just mean that they inexperienced? But yeah, I see what you're saying. We are with them record-wise though.
Yao's actual salary is a big difference then the one you posted. 4 million dollars difference is not the same as a 10 million dollar difference that you posted. Plus Jefferson has stated he turned down a max contract, so if he would have accepted that then your rebuttal would really not mean much. He's a budding star, it's not like Yao is the only one getting outplayed by him. I'm just pointing out that you using the Yao/Jefferson comparison to lay claim to your Scola/West/Boozer argument was weak. Jefferson is the cornerstone to the Pups just as Yao is to Houston. Scola isn't even the 2nd option like West and Boozer are to their respective teams (who are also All-Stars, I might add). So, going to your original discussion, of course West and Boozer should outperform Scola. To continue my salary tangent, they are getting paid as such (West makes triple the salary of Scola) and their roles on their respective team are much larger then Scola's. My original post that you replied to was that the Boozer argument is not a good one IMO since Yao guards him, and IMO Boozer's stats wouldn't be as good if someone stuck to him closer like Scola would. Scola's defense is not the greatest, but he can put a body on someone and guard them more closely on the perimeter then Yao would. That was the argument, H2H performance, as in players stats compared to the one they are guarding against, since each player can affect the other's stats directly. Otherwise, you might as well do a H2H comparison to Deron Williams and Shane Battier. But about West, I might add, Scola has played well against West and has frustrated him. Sure West still gets his since he's basically number 2 behind CP3 in terms of their roles on the Hornets, but Scola has been making him work for it. And the rebounding difference between the 2 is only about 1.
Let me just say this, about the Scola and the Hornets matchup, This Rockets team matches up very well with the Hornets and we shouldn't have problems beating them, now or in the playoffs.. The teams we will have trouble with are the Jazz and the Lakers... This team has a potential against the Spurs, Mavs, Suns, Hornets, Blazers, and Nuggets.
Both. They have the youngest playing rotation in the NBA and their lack of collective maturity is plain as day from game to game. Believe me, they are far more frustrating to watch than even the Rockets. The way Rudy, Oden, Batum, Sergio and Outlaw go from feast to famine so often makes your hair turn gray.
Good points. One thing is for sure, I don't care who wins any individual battles as long as the Rockets beat the Hornets in our last two meetings with them.
What is the latest on Oden's knee? When is he coming back? And what kind of deal(s) do you see the Blazers making this offseason, if any?
I don't know how they are going to keep all the players they have now unless the players want some cheap money for their talent. Oden just got the go for Jogging and then will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days.. It's probably frustrating for him.
Someone already commented on Oden. His injury is not serious, just frustrating. They must get a real starting PG in the offseason. The Blake/Sergio/Bayless thing just doesn't cut it. I think Sergio is a definite goner along with one of the other two. They also need a real starting SF. They are stuck with Martell. Batum could end up being a very good player but he's too young to be in the rotation of a contender. Outlaw might be good trade bait. He has no longterm future in Portland. Bottom line: Roy, Rudy, Aldridge, Oden, Pryzbilla are the untouchables. They need a new starting PG & SF to take another step. What moves they make depends on how much money Paul Allen is willing to spend in these hard economic times (he's lost a gigantic amount of money in the stock market). LaFrenz's expiring contract along with trade bait on their team should give Kevin Pritchard plenty of room to do whatever Allen's purse-strings dictate. FWIW, I think this summer is going to be a bust for most free agents. 2010 might be worse.
