Ive seen many a thread about not being contenders etc. etc. What are some of you guys honest expectations? To be honest my expectations are getting past the 1st round. I hate to say it and as much as I want it ...I dont see nor have I ever seen us getting a ring this season. I take solace in the fact that I was there for our back 2 backs.
4th or 5th seed, likely first round exit, maybe a 2nd round exit....wildest dreams WC finals. That is with moderate health and the same level of committment. DD
Ring or bust. I dont care about the first or second round, that isn't progress for a team like this with this much talent. My expectations are still the WC finals, but we should still have more than enough to get past the first and second round.
i'm still optimistic. it's obvious our defense isn't at the same level b/c clearly shane and artest aren't healthy enough. i would be shocked if jamison even sniffs 20 ifboth were health, hell even 10. furthermore, tracy might never be 100% healthy, but he should at least be as healthy as last yr v. the jazz right (hell if desperate, give him inflammatory injections and he should be ok to go for the playoffs). but he will play much better than this (the recovery is just slow and frustrating). we'll be fine. fans are fickle and simply stay in the moment. sure it's frustrating, buti'm not panicking. we'll be at least a 2nd round team, but if we get healthy soon and push for that 2nd seed (only 1 game out), we should go to the WCF to face the lakers. unless we face the lakers/spurs in the first round, i like our chances.
My EXPECTATION is that we will probably finish with the 4th or 5th seed and play either either NO or SA with the other one having won the division, and home court being a toss up. Assuming we have our main contributors mostly healthy I think we get out of the 1st round in 6 games if we have home court. If we don't have home court I think it goes 7 but I think we find a way to win. We then face LA in the second round...and lose probably in 5. 1.LA 2.SA/NO 3.Den 4.Hou/NO/SA 5.Hou/NO/SA 6.Dal 7.Utah 8.Por/Phx My HOPES are that we win our division and finish with the 2 seed. We get either Utah in the first round and win in 6. In the 2nd round we are up against SA and with homecourt win in 6 again. In the 3rd round we are up against LA and we win 2...hopefully. 1.LA 2.Hou 3.Den 4.SA 5.NO 6.Dal 7.Utah 8.Por/Phx
When I first heard we acquired Ron I knew right then and there were going to get past the 1st round. I still believe that. Championship? Its a little far fetched right now. However, things could change. I have the utmost confidence that this team will come together. When is another question.
I see another 1st round exit if a sense of desperation doesn't grip this squad and fire everybody up. For a team that hasn't done zip in ages, the Rockets seem incredibly complacent to me. They have no business taking any game for granted, including the stupid, unimaginative coach with the idiotic distribution of minutes at PG and the moronic play-calling. He needs to move outside of his comfort zone and take a fresh look at things. I've concluded the Yao/Tracy combo is a failure. Neither guy is a superstar capable of carrying a team to a championship run. Tracy's prime-time is past and Yao was never at that level. Without a significant shakeup via trade, I think the Rockets are a big tease. Their current upside is making the 2nd round of the playoffs. I don't have any player in mind, but the Rockets have to think seriously about trading a wing player for an upgrade at PG. I'm talking Landry and/or Battier packaged with Luther and a 1st rounder for [name someone who would fit]. Depth is good, but the lack of chemistry is killing this team (along with injuries). I think Morey has to realize that the Rafer/AB (or AB/Rafer) combo just isn't good enough.
Like they are entitled. The Celtics are entitled, but they are still crushing opponents. This team haven't done squat since the nineties, but pile up a few regular season wins, and that has only really been recently. I don't know what it is going to take for them to realize that they are not as good as they think they are (without effort) and that losing in the first round is not a reason to feel entitled to take games off.
Everybody thinks we need to upgrade at PG. Unless you somehow manage to get an all star point guard we can't upgrade. And to get an all-star or Mike Bibby you are going to have to give up too much. We are 20-12 sitting pretty despite injuries and questionable desire at times by coach and players. We need a legitimate 2nd 7 footer to spell Yao and I personally don't think Deke is the answer.
the reason this team is a big tease is becuase you don't know what the hell T-Mac and Yao are going to give you every game. We need consistent superstars who get buckets every game, not every other game.
Rockets always turn it up later on in the season. These past seasons have shown that. IF we can stay healthy, we will make the Finals. By the way, I'll be bumping this thread come June. I want to be the "i told you so" guy for once.
if we can grab the 2 seed, i expect us to reach the WC finals, probably losing to the Lakers. Anything less than the 2 seed and it'll be a struggle. my personal wish -- Rockets get either the 2 or 3 seed, and are paired vs the jazz (6 or 7 seed), and get some vengence.
My expectations have declined considerably from last summer. The team limped out of the gate, is still limping, has demonstrated an annoying pattern of laziness, lack of passion, and lack of discipline. They apparently lack coherent coaching, appear to lack motivation, make sloppy passes, seem to have little grasp of basketball basics, play a largely uninteresting and uninspiring brand of basketball, and are going nowhere but to a finish including an "acceptable" number of regular season wins. Any other questions? This may be the most frustrating team to wear Rockets uniforms since I have been following the team. The Francis/Mobley era, well, they were real, real frustrating, but this group's lack of passion makes them worse.
I have been watching the Rockets since the 1972-73 season, this is by far the most frustrating team I have ever seen. I just can not stand teams that do not compete, I mean a game every now and then is expected over an 82 game season. But this team has generally just slacked their way through, as a fan of the organization, I hope that Morey and Les are paying attention because fans demand more in this economy for their hard earned money. I would not pay a nickle to see this team play until they actually decide to show up and compete on a nightly basis. I hope the fans of Houston turn the Toyota center into an empty venue to send a message.....maybe a one game boycott? DD
I completely agree. These Rockets and many of their fans think that the playoffs are a given. They aren't. Especially given the performances in about half a dozen games so far. A team can afford probably at most 35 losses or so to make it but we seem to not care about that number.
The lack of competitive fire just irks me to no end; it sucks the air out of the game. I know Yao cares BUT he has a "dutiful" approach to the game. For TMac, his little pilot light is just about out. When your two main players have a hard time getting going, seem to lack a passion for the game, and take nights off often while playing, the rest of the team has no leadership. Ron was a nice addition, but he is being extra careful about what he does and says. He is one of the Rockets who actually "looks" like he cares about winning. He almost bailed them out again last night.
