I'm not joking, Rockets should be determined to be CHAMPION this season

However, we still need to solve PF problem first. This will be our priority and also a tough one. BTW, Mo got his second DNP in a row. Anyone knows what's going on? I know he is not too happy about Rudy though. I hope Eddie can get better ASAP 'cause Kenny still not hitting those wide open jump sohts.

 

I think the Rockets can be a championship team, but not at this moment in time because the Rockets still have players on the team that basically only hamper the Rockets development no matter how well they play.

You know who I think these players are if you have been reading my posts lately.

Yao Ming and Steve Francis and the Rockets team needs to find role players that can be effective for 48 minutes, not just the first 36.

Example, the best thing the Lakers did was getting rid of J.R. Reid. He could not do anything right in the 1999 playoffs for them even though he tried his best.

Another example, I wonder how much better the 1997 Rockets could have been if Kevin Willis wasn't on that team. In my opinion there is no doubt the Rockets would have been a better team.
His crappyness killed the Rockets against the Jazz. No matter how hard he tried, he only hurt the Rockets.

Finals teams normally do not have these types of players.

 

Well, since KT completely disappeared in the 2nd half against the Kings, I'd be shocked if Mo did not get any playing time next game. Mo should be mad, but his chance will come, and the Rockets will be better off when he plays.

 

Eddie Griffin has been improving statistically. I'm not sure about his real on court games because I'm in Austin and get no Rockets games pretty much. Griffin looks to me to be improving.

 

I'm pumped up about the season, just not to the point of imagining things. For one, none of the players on the team went to the playoffs except Rice, with Mobley and Cato to much less extent. Playoffs are different. We are bound to get sliced apart by the playoff savvy teams.

 

rockets would definitely win the championship if they can get by all the other teams in the west. the eastern conference is so weak.

 

We've taken the first step, which is to win difficult games at home. However, the Rockets have yet to show that they can win on the road. Also, we must start to get better production out of both forward spots.

 

The east is not as weak as it was last year. Before yesterday's games, the West was 56-51 against the East. The gap is closing.

 

Usually teams have to go through a couple of dissapointing seasons in the playoffs before they reach the finals.
Rockets did this in the playoffs in 93
The Great Bulls teams did this
The Spurs did this
The Lakers Did this
I dont see this Rockets teams being any differnt, a compative 2nd round exit, should be considered a great considering given the last couple of years. I'm not down on the Rockets I have know doubt that they will be eventually championship quality team but they gotta go through the stages just like other great teams

 

BINGO Shi, BINGO.

It is great to have additional believers; for a while there it was very lonely. Like when I said we should not let the Kings get Clarke and everybody said we are 2-3 years away, we just need to make the playoffs. People said those things even when they had the example of the Nets. It just goes to show that most people cannot see beyond their nose.

 

The question we face is that every team in the NBA faces: Can we stop Shaq?

Well, maybe not now, but who would think that we would even be asking this question only a few months ago?

 

Samaki Walker

You don't really have to "stop" Shaq, you just need to slow him down, and make him work on both ends. The team that does the best are the Kings with Vlade Divac. However, the problem for the Kings is always those 12-15 minutes that Vlade goes out, and Pollard guards Shaq, and Shaq eats him alive.

We might be better off here. While Cato's no Yao, he is more physical than Pollard to fill in off the bench. Also, I think the gap is still pretty big between the West and the East. The Lakers and Spurs are both struggling (against a lot of Eastern teams), but I doubt we can count on that come the second half of the season. imo, the teams in the bottom 10 in the East are catching up to the bottom 10 in the West, but in terms of championship caliber teams there is still a large gap.

 

I agree about Walker. But the Lakers can get away with his bad play because Phil Jackson knows not to play him in the clutch.

 

[
Another example, I wonder how much better the 1997 Rockets could have been if Kevin Willis wasn't on that team. In my opinion there is no doubt the Rockets would have been a better team.
His crappyness killed the Rockets against the Jazz. No matter how hard he tried, he only hurt the Rockets.

Finals teams normally do not have these types of players. [/B][/QUOTE]


OUCH! I always loved having Kevin Willis! I wish we'd have gotten him a few years younger, maybe the year we traded Otis Thorpe for example, but I liked having him when we did have him. At times he was inconsistent but I felt like he always came out and played hard and I find it hard to believe that it can ever hurt your team to have a hard working veteran out there. Also, I don't like how you threw that statement out there with none of the reasons you felt he hurt the team. I'd be interested in hearing WHY you felt he hurt the Rockets...

 

Im not going to put a limit to how far we can go. The way Yao has improved, I am not going to put anything past him. Also, it seems as our team chemistry is quickly improving. Honestly, I think that every team in the west would fear playing us. They are SCARED to play the Rockets. Anything could happen.

 

Also, in regards to the gap between the east and west closing...

I don't see that. The only two teams in the East I have any respect for at this point are the Pacers and possibly the Nets.

The Pacers look great and they're young. That's probably going to be the team to beat in the East for a long time. I love how Brad Miller fits with Jermaine O'neal. I absolutely covet Ron Artest. I would kill to see him play in a Rockets jersey. Reggie Miller is still knocking down game winning shots.

The Nets still look pretty good but I'm not sure that Mutumbo trade improved them. RJ doesn't seem so consistent yet, and of course now Mutumbo is injured, but perhaps by playoff time I'll think better of this trade.

The Celtics are worse for having traded Kenny Anderson for Vin Baker. Moochie looks like Jason Kidd compared to their point guards. Hell, Tito Maddox doesn't look so bad compared to their point guards.

The Pistons got slightly weaker in the Stack/Rip Hamilton trade (for now anyway) but are still playing pretty great defense. I don't suppose they're too bad. I like Ben Wallace, but I think unless they can bring in a big name free agent this team is doomed to mediocrity. They're good enough that they'll avoid the lottery but they don't have the talent to ever contend for a championship. I don't even think they have the talent to get out of the first round of the playoffs in the West.

I don't have much respect for the Sixers. That has to be the slowest front court in NBA history (MacCullough, Coleman and Van Horn) and I don't think Iverson has too many years of being a superstar left in him. Unlike players like Jordan or Magic, Iverson doesn't seem to be willing to adjust his game as he ages. He's tough as nails and he's the quickest player in the league, but he hasn't added anything to his game at all and at 29, he can't possibly be the quickest player in the league for much longer. That team dies with Iverson.

The Wizards? Four shooting guards doesn't make a team and Kwame Brown is still a bust. Jeffries looks pretty good though.

I suppose the Magic look improved with the return of Grant Hill, but I honestly don't think they're any better than a team like Phoenix or Minnesota at this point.

New Orleans plays pretty lousy defense but I suppose their team isn't awful. I love Baron Davis and Jamal Magliorre.

Milwaukee- Getting rid of Glenn Robinson didn't help and I think so much less of Ray Allen after what he said about Glenn Robinson after he was traded. His words already look foolish because Milwaukee still isn't playing .500 ball and Big Dog has helped improve the Hawks to right at .500 so far.

Atlanta- This team is much improved, BUT SO ARE THE CLIPPERS! hahaha. No seriously, I like this team with a healthy Theo Ratliff. I don't much care for Jason Terry though. If this team got say a TJ Ford in the draft I think they'll be ready to compete in the east next year. I'm still not sure they could compete in the west though.

Toronto- It's about time they just publicly acknowledge they stuck with the wrong guy. Vince Carter isn't half the player Tracy McGrady is. I like Alvin Williams, but basically I think the rest of their team is worthless and nobody in the league is weaker on big men. They've got no center and the 6'9 Antonio Davis, who happens to be like 35 or 36 years old is by far their best big man. They didn't sign anybody worth a damn in the offseason and they let Keon Clark go with out much a fight. I'm starting to wonder if the brass there even care about winning or if they're just stupid.

New York, Miami, Cleveland, Chicago? hahahahahahaha

 

The Kings needed two years to get to the top (almost). The Mavs needed two years to get to what they are this season. The Nets just got to the top in one year. But that's the East. I believe that Rockets will take more time than the Nets and less time than the Kings and Mavs.

This year is the last years for the Californians (Lakers and Kings) to have a chance for the championship. Both Shaq and Divac are on the decline. After this, the power will be shifted to Texas where the Rox and the Mavs will slug it out.

 

Dont let that Sixers team that showed up in Houston fool you. Iverson had one of the worst games he's had in the last few years. Plus, he is 27, not 29. Still young and still a huge threat.