I forgot to add "toughness" when I was listing our front court assets, but that might be getting a little redundant.
I guess you havent seen Gasol play defense. Yao's biggest weakness isnt his lateral quickness, but his problem in guarding those much smaller pfs that can shoot outside. Heck, even TD has trouble guarding guys like Boozer. What Yao needs to do is have the mentality to dominate smaller/less opponents night in and night out. When he is able to that consistently, he will foul out or out score the smaller players he has to guard.
Im still yet to see how our front court can deal with quick and fast PF's with a jump shot (Boozer, West)
i don't know what you call his inability to guard perimeter players if it isn't lack of lateral speed....
a little of column a, a little of column b. i dont think we're the most talented, per se, but i do think we are the deepest.
Scola and Landry have obviously provided an offensive upgrade at power forward. Props to Morey for bringing these guys to Houston. In order to be among the best frontcourts, though, I would like to see Scola play more like the 6'10" PF that he is next season. If he can become a consistent rebounding force and improve his mid-range shooting, he will give us exactly what we need out of our starting PF. Scola has the potential to become an all-star-caliber PF with his size, skills and most importantly, relentless determination. Yes, I said all-star. A healthy Yao along with Landry and Hayes as options off the bench behind Scola will, at the least, give the Rockets a dangerous and versatile frontcourt. Scola, Landry and Hayes are truly a three-headed monster.
I would definently consider us in the top 3 somewhere..i think it is premature to say the best...right now i would give that to possibly PHX simply because with Shaq, Amare is almost unstopable! But Houston might take over that number one spot within the year or so
Well you guys did remind me about one or two teams I forgot to consider properly. I still think we have the best for the reasons I described in my last post, though. ... But maybe the word "unequivocally" was a little too strong for now.
At the very least, it's nice to know we have options at PF other than Juwan Howard, Stromile Swift, Scott Padgett, Mo Taylor, etc... It's also nice to finally let Chuck play his ideal role on this team. I couldn't be happier with having Chuck as a reserve but he wasn't fit to be a regular starter.
We all know, in nba history, the teams with 19+ winning streak all win the title. I know it seems that won't happen for this season because Yao is out. But, I still cannot stop thinking... maybe, the 22 winning streak means something.
Ya i'm with you...just something about this team...i don't think its being a homer...i just really beleive they will do something special in the playoffs
True. The position that was once our biggest weakness for so many years is now a major asset. ... Still have a bit of a PG issue to deal with, though.
Heh, my above post was addressed to BB, but I agree with you guys, too. I believe this team can do something special... ... That's not really what this thread is about, though, haha. I don't think abc actually read past my thread title.
Sorry to play the cynic here, but all three of those other teams (70-71 Bucks, 71-72 Lakers, 99-00 Lakers) were dominant before and after the streak, as well. I am hoping for the best, too, but it's tough to draw any fair comparisons between the 07-08 Rockets and those teams, especially when you consider the fact that none of them lost one of their best players down the stretch.
I actually read your thread title. I agree we have the best frontcourt rotation if Yao is healthy. I remember when the suns traded Shaq, Kerr mentioned they did it because of Yao, Duncan, and Bynum. He mentioned Yao's name first!
