I for one think the rockets would have at least made the 2nd round had Yao been playing.. WHAT DO U THINK?
if rafer had played all the games, we would have been in the 2nd round. injuries killed us once again
We were the only team in the Western Conference that could have beaten the Lakers. Even without Yao. But definitely with him.
Who cares, I'm fed up with , "If we had..." If we get injury ridden next year as well, and decide not to make some MAJOR changes i will be pissed
I'm probably one of those crazy people on the board, so I don't think what I would say would hold alot of weight....but I see Western Conference Finals. I believe if Yao was healthy we would've finished the Jazz off in 6 and been headed to LA. Hard to say, how the LA series would go? I believe outside of Boston and possibly Detroit...we would've probably been very tough for them. We actually matchup very well with them, unlike Utah and San Antonio. Yao would be matchup against Gasol, Turiaf or Radmanovic.....if he averaged less than 27 ppg and 11 rebs, we should have him on trading block right now. T-Mac would've been on Luke Walton and/or Odom, I can't see either one of them doing alot offensively against T-Mac. At the same time, Kobe would be guarding T-Mac for most of the series, so I think his numbers would fall a bit. Scola would've had it easy against Radmanovic or Odom in post, but he would struggle on the other end against Odom on offense. I think our bench would've let us down for the most part, I think they would've blown some games in series that we could of won and turned the ball over in crucial moments. Still, I think we would've beaten them in 7, the only thing we really had to worry about was Kobe, could we stop him from having such big outburst (or an out burst in 4th quarter)....I believe the Rockets defense would've made the Lakers bench and other starters what they are average players. They wouldn't and still don't have an answer for Yao....
Hate to break it to ya, but Morey's hands are tied in that he will not ever be able to trade Yao as long as he maintains his marketing appeal. We'll have him till he retires, and if that means our foundation will be on the shoulders of a brittle giant then that's what it's going to be. Fun to know that your favorite team does not have a championship as a first priority don't it?
For some odd reason, I don't think we would've gotten past SA. They would've keyed in on us and play just the right style for them.
The playoffs are a different game, and the Lakers would've smoked us in the 2nd round. They've been on fire for the last month.
The same Lakers team that only beat a Utah in 6 games, a team that we are probably better than at full strength.
I definatley think we could have made some noise. We very well could have made it to the finals if we were clicking on all cylinders.
If Yao had been healthy how would a banged-up TMac have been? Might he have given in to the aches or needed to sit or would he have had more energy in the 4th as Yao would have been helping shoulder the load? To me, the TMac piece of the equation is the question.
Is there any chance for the rockets to sign Manu if we are still able to keep Yao and Tmac? The rockets still need a good finisher.
