trust me, if francis and james pan out, we WILL beat the suns. remember when james was w/ us in 04-05, we beat them BADLY the only time we faced them b/c james destroyed nash when nash was on D and sura did too. that basically negated nash. last 2 yrs, nash didn't do jack on D and we let him coast. to win u gotta make nash play D. francis/james will make him play D and will negate at least nash' point production. also, they can contain barbosa (we can't underestimate barbosa, he killed us too). amare and marion can be contained. it's all about guard play for us v. the suns.
Maybe I should have qualified that with, Chinese fans know that fire would have to fall from the sky before their team won gold in 2008, whereas the Rockets winning it all is much more feasible, so they would gladly sacrifice their performance in the Olympics (in the form of Yao being tired as balls after playing into June) in exchange for an NBA championship.
I wouldn't be so presumptuous. The 2008 Olympics is absolutely huge in China, because of its being held in Beijing. And the amount of hype surrounding it is absolutely mind-boggling here. A casual fan might even take a quarterfinals appearance in the Olympics over the Rockets winning it all. That said, it's all a moot point. It's not as if Yao will pull out of the finals to prepare for the Olympics or anything. The only problem might be the 2009 season, because Yao will be fatigued for after the Olympic grind, both the games and all the stuff that goes along with it.
"Rockets are the team most likely to be holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June." I'm getting goosebumps!!!!
Well, if casual (Chinese) fans are informed that CNT has been to the quarterfinals of Olympics twice ('96, '04) before, they won't be so thrilled the CNT accomplishes a hat trick by merely squeezing into the final 8 the third time. Anything short of a final 4 appearance will be a huge disappointment to Yao.
Are you kidding me? All this talent on the Rockets and you are worring about the Suns. Don't Worry, Be Happy.
lol no It's not about expectations, it's about the ideals. Most people, especially non-americans who aren't completely obsessed with their multibillion dollar leagues, view the Olympics as the pinnacle of sports accomplishments for both the individual and the nation. You will find very few fans outside of the U.S who will take a NBA trophy over an Olympic gold
I find this shocking. JVG leaves the team and suddenly the Rockets go up in Hollinger's view? Next thing you know, Steven A. Smith will be screaming incoherent rants.
*******, this guy just brought my expectation high, if we dont get the championship thing done at the end of this season, im gona blame him!!!
Well, my main point is that Rockets fans are grossly underestimating just how important it is the 08 Olympics are. I used the quarterfinals because if Yao doesn't show up in peak condition, it's likely that China won't even make it to the quarterfinals, let alone have a chance at a medal. That would be extremely disappointing. That disappointment is not something you can simply make up by saying, "Hey, at least Yao got an NBA championship!" They simply don't have a grasp of its importance because... well, they live in China and really have no personal perspective with these matters.
Yes, but the 94 team were major over-achievers. You couldn't expect a single extra win out of them. It was Hakeem, a rookie 6th man (Cassell), a confidence seeking Horry, an erractic Maxwell, a never really very good Kenny Smith, and a pound it out PF Thorpe. It is simply because Hakeem was so dominant that they did what they did. This current team has proven nothing, but on paper they are much better than the team that won 58 games. So, 61 is not that far of a reach. Still I would put the prediction closer to the franchise record of 58 to allow for a bit of a rough start as everyone adjusts (and they have a killer schedule out of the gate).
for once espn doesnt rip on mcgrady. I really do feel that we have a chance at achieving something special this season. On the other hand I dont really wanna be too pumped up, because every season I only feel let down by the rockets' season after all the expectations. However I think this season will be different with all the new players we added
Man Hollinger's article got me all excited about the Rockets this season....the one thing i noticed about that article if not already mentioned, Hollinger was hating on JVG bad, he pretty much blamed the whole postseason on him.....I'm not a big JVG fan but damm he did some amazing coaching when Tracy got hurt for a little bit and Yao was out for while,....................me personally i wanted to see Novak get minutes, he could be the next Matt Bullard, or our Peja Stojakovic, that might be a little far fetched he could be our steve Kerr this year, i want adelman to give novak a chance that JVG did not
Wow, 1st in West? I thought we would be looked at favorably but damn 1st in west by Hollinger is simply amazing. I'm even more excited now.
55-57 wins is a good prediction, I'll surely take that into the postseason and play whoever's scheduled to face the Rockets then confidentally. Things keeping me from thinking 60+: are the distraction elements. Figured it'd get brought up how Adelman doesn't go deep to the bench (not like Van Gundy did either though). So players 9 through 12 or through 15 might make some rumblings & need to get kept happy. I'd like the roster trimmed soon as possible and get guys like Rafer on outta here. I'm not all that confident in Francis at the moment. I loved the addition but to me instead of a sure thing its 75/25 he'll be what we need him to be - probably will but just enough question. Add in Mike James, even though him and Francis are veterans, there's potential drama issues and flare-ups there that hopefully playing time and winning can soothe over. If Francis doesnt start (a possibility), how does he respond? Besides the adjustment period, should be a pretty fun year
I will be happy with 55 ins and 3/4th in the West. Yes, we have improved, that is obvious. However we have alot of gelling to do , and a tough early schedule to get it together. i predict we might only play just over 500 ball for the first month or 2 before ending up with 53-57 wins. Hopefully good enough to get us homecourt for at least round one. these San Antonios, Dallas', Phoenix's etc aren't going anywhere... Jeez it'd sure be nice to be in the leastern conference.
