With all these aqusitions and trades we became very optimistic about next season.I'm wondering do you think with these new players and new coach A are we're going after something BIG?If not why?And do you think this is one of the best offseason we had in past deceny or even team history? ReD
Red_1, its been a good offseason. not ragging at yah, but a space after the punctuation marks makes a post soo much more readable.
Let's consider individual players: Bonzi Wells- this year is a turnaround year for him personally from last season's conflicts with the coaching staff, "injuries", and lack of playing time. Now under Coack Adelman, with whom he played admirably under in Sacramento, he has a chance to redeem himself and try to live up to the expectations from the playoffs two seasons ago. Mike James- after declining to rejoin the Rockets a season ago and offering sub-par contributions for the Timberwolves, he should see this upcoming season as a chance to redeem himself as well. Just like Wells, he had his best season two seasons ago when he was with the Toronto Raptors, and has been a disappointment since. He seems to be in a better situation now, returning to a team that he is familiar with and staying in the city that he calls his home. Steve Francis- this guy, like the last two, has had his fall from glory. He never played well in Orlando or New York, as this previous All-Star was consistently benched. Now he decides to return to the team in which he had his best years. Is this a turnaround season for Stevie? To him, it obviously is. Jackie Butler- this guy was a sought-after free agent during the 2006 offseason after being one of the few bright spots on a terrible Knicks team. But since, he has played sparingly while with the Spurs. Again, here's another player who will try to take adventage of this upcoming season to establish himself again, now on a team thats getting thinner in the frontcourt. Rafer Alston- I don't know if I should include this guy, considering that he's most likely gonna be gone soon. But disregarding his arrests, he would see this season as a turnaround season. Rafer was the player blamed for most of our losses last year and therefore wasn't a heavy fan favorite in Houston. After being the most "hated" last year for his erratic shooting and inconsistent play, he has the opportunity to improve himself under Adelman who seems to better fit Rafer's up-tempto style. Steve Novak/Kirk Snyder- these two are both seen as players who should've gotten more playing time last year. Both had strong preseasons, and Kirk started off the regular season very well. Or couse, we know how things ultimately turned out. They landed in Van Gundy's doghouse, and will seek a chance to earn more playing time under Adelman's more offensive-minded cooaching, which complements these two players' skills. Tracy McGrady/Yao Ming- I put these two together because they both still carry the label as "stars who haven't been past the first round of the playoffs". After being an early favorite to be MVP (remember that?), Yao Ming came down with an injury and struggled in last year's playoffs, therefore he has worked in this offseason to be "tougher" and more dominant. McGrady, who was also a candidate for MVP, got a lot of criticism during the playoffs when he said, "It's on me" and then failed to advance. Once again, Tracy will have to prove himself. I just hope that the many years of failure and frustration in the playoffs haven't numbed his passion for the game. Most of these players are in the same situation. They've all had high hopes in some form or another in the past and some have lived up to those hopes, although only temporarily. All are coming off disappointing seasons, and this upcoming year should be a major opportunity to redeem themselves. Despite all these different individual goals to get better, the team as a whole nevertheless has their sights set on a championship.
This is silly.. what Rockets fan wouldn't be optimistic in the beginning of every season? We all know the Rockets are going to the world series.
I didn't like the last 2 off-seasons. But, last season, we did add a piece with Battier. I still believe we would have been better off with Gay and someone we traded for Swift. Ironically, it looks like the most valuable thing we did was obtain VSpan, who enabled us to obtain Scola this summer. But, I'm thrilled we were able to get Brooks and Scola. If any of Francis, James, Bonzi, Alston, Landry, Butler, Reed, Snyder, Novak or Harris have a good year, we'll be even better. There are a lot of variables for us this year. But, with Scola alone, we significantly improved, and Brooks looks like the real deal. Our biggest weakness last year was depth. It has now become one of our greatest strengths.
Definitely. The Rox will not only win the NBA Finals, but also the World Series, the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup, and possibly a Nobel prize or two.
forget about James, turn-around year for Bonzi, Francis has something to prove.. WAKE UP!!!! Big Scolar is here to take us to the Finals. Argentian BB players rock!!!
I hate it when our hopes get crushed in the playoffs. So I better not say anything until mid-season then we can say if it is a turnaround season.
Turnaround from what? A 52 win season? Are the Rockets going to turn around and have 52 losses instead?
No I meant turnaround season for our players and "turnaround" in playoffs.We didn't pass first round 11 years.
