Rockets Preview by a Sports Nerd I thought this preview was done fairly well. He thinks Yao is primed for an MVP-caliber season. He's predicting 52 wins (same as last year), but says he wouldn't be surprised if they end up with the best record in the league.
nothing new here except he got some stuff wrong. rafer and james will be playing the bulk of PG, and hayes will probably be starting over scola.
Based on the first preseason game, that's how it looks. But let's wait to see how things shake out over the next couple weeks. It's not set in stone yet.
Just because it happened in one preseason game does not mean that is what is going to happen in the regular season.
I don't know whether 55+% FG is unattainable or not for Yao, but he has to shoot much better than low 40% from the field to have a chance to be rated the best in the business. It may be just one pre-season game, however, last night's 4-11 shooting seems to suggest he hasn't thrown the monkey off his back since that painful NBA playoff series in early May.
I thought he looked very good in the first game. I'm not concerned at all about the 4-11 shooting. He got great shots that he'll usually hit a higher percentage on. That said, his FG% could very well dip under 50%. If he's shooting more midrange jumpers, the FG% will naturally go down. So will the free throw attempts. On the flip side, since he doesn't have to fight for position around the basket so often, I think he'll be fresher in the fourth quarter. Last year, that's when his efficiency dropped the most. Hopefully this season, that won't be the case.
I just don't understand why you say you believe in a team and then predict them to win 52 games. Go on a limb and say what you believe. If you believe they could challenge the Spurs then say they will win 58 or something exciting. Still, I appreciate how he views the Rockets, but he undercuts with the 52 wins business. It isn't that 52 wins is bad, but it's just that it is exactly what we won last year and we should be healthier and have a ton more talent. A reasonable increase in wins would be +6, tying the Rockets for their most ever.
I couldn't care less what % Yao shoots in the regular season, so long as Adelman's system keeps him healthy and prepped to go off in the playoffs. And, good news is, it looks like he might be able to get his cake and eat it too. As Clutch said, extrapolate last night's numbers to the 34MPG he's averaged the past two years and you have yourself an MVP-candidate. I think Adelman realizes the necessity of Yao in the low post, and when the time comes for Yao to go down low and bang the other team to death, well, he can do it. Just not night in and night out.
Maybe he feels that while the Rockets have a lot of promise to be a great team, there's also a ton of uncertainty (healthy, chemistry, adjusting to a new system). So, the most likely result, for him, is 52 wins. But he wouldn't be surprised if we won around 60 either. I can see where he's coming from with that. Though I expect better than 52 wins -- maybe 55.
With a new system and a lot of new players it's more than reasonable to see a few bad games and possible end up with the same record as last year, but come playoff time I see the Rockets being much better than they where last year. I would rather only win 52 games and end up in the finals than end up like Dallas last year.
JVGs rockets or not...the starting 5 from last year was dang good, despite obvious limitations by players. Although people have high hopes for scola...chuck is a proven nba player and he's played well.
I hope that he started with the 55 or more wins, then said "if they end up with the best record, which would be more logical because we know Mav. Suns won more than the 60 games last year. "I believe in this team. Don't ask me why, it's just a feeling. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they end up with the best record in the league next year. All the pieces are there, they just need to stay healthy."
60 and 22 will be the rockets record. They will be in the conference championship. not sure if they will win second only to the mavericks who will go 62-20 and choke in the first round of the playoffs again.
Chron article already stated that Adelman won't solidify the starting line up until Game 3 of the preseason.
