http://www.clublakers.com/nba-discussion/don-sleep-houston-t125346-20.html i know, who cares about laker fans but they are giving us some credit about our team this year. a few quotes from the purple n yellow faithful
I disagree. I think many people here give the Lakers the credit they're due. You can hate a team and still respect them. I have nothing but respect for the Lakers. I just hope they die in a fiery plane crash. :grin:
That "abeer" character really doesn't understand the notion of humility at all, eh? A lot of people on there are trying to be respectful and realistic and he constantly comes in and "corrects" them by basically belittling all of the Rockets' assets and advantages. Wow... alliteration galore up in this post.
Nice to hear fans of other teams showing us some respect. Honestly the one knock that most peripheral fans (as well as most sports channel commentators who wouldn't be able to predict the apocalypse if four horsemen flew by and threw down molten lava on their front lawn) have regarding our team is that we lack the "star" SG who gets on the highlight reel. But the more you think about Rick Adelman and how successful he's been with his past teams, you realize how absurd such an argument is. It's just a redux of the Eyeball Test, which the Rockets obviously fail at. How do most other teams generate their offense? With stars and superstars "doing their thing" of course. How have Adelman teams done so and done so better than most other NBA teams in the past? By running his damn system that's how. You don't need star perimeter players, the system turns them into "stars" because it makes them look good when the ball is moving and they are getting easy shots. Yeah it helps to have the speed to get by your man like Brooks/Bibby. Yeah it helps to have deadeye shooting like Martin/Peja. Yeah it really helps to have big men who can pass like Yao/Miller/Vlade/Webber. But do you need a superstar? Heck no! If the refs hadn't jobbed him against the Lakers, Adelman would have had a championship by now. And that to me is really going to be what seals our fate come playoff time. I honestly think, the way the Rockets are currently constructed, we could beat any team in the regular season and do so with enough regularity to surpass 55 wins. But come playoff time, the refs start blowing their whistles any time someone puts a finger into the six-inch "personal space" surrounding their moneymakers, Kobe Lebron Wade et al. To win on the court you need first to win the propaganda war. Who's the "biggest star"? It's disgusting but unfortunately it's true. Thankfully, Morey's got an eye out to apprehend him one of those "superstars", and when that happens look out. This team really is on the cusp, poised to pounce, ready for the primetime, stealing as many colloquialisms as I can now.
i think the lakers are the only team worrying about houston. they're really the only team that knows what we are capable of...when healthy.
One thing that seems to be a constant by the people over there is "Yao's great, the best, but he's never healthy. Martin's an elite scorer, but he's never healthy. Brooks can score, but that's it." Makes you wonder what might happen if Yao and Martin stay healthy, and Brooks improves as a point. Also comments about Battier losing a step. Heck, I've said the same thing here before, but what if he's really healthy himself this season? A lot of folks aren't aware that he was battling injuries for most of last season. After all, Shane isn't as old as Mr. Bryant. Perhaps someone might point that out to them, along with the fact that Bryant isn't as healthy as Battier at the moment. Saw some props for Luis, which is unsurprising. Scola is really getting a great rep in the league after a stellar season last year and an MVP worthy stint in the World Games. Add that we have one of the, if not THE deepest bench in the league, and the Rocks simply need to catch a break, finally, in the health department. I've got my appendages crossed.
We are the only team to dominate them by 20 plus points in a playoff (before garbage time of course) game with Artest as our only ex all-star. Not to mention, that was two years ago. Now we are two years more experienced than the last Rockets playoff team. I'm still skeptical with our chances in contention. We can argue our team is comparative to RA's kings, but he had Chris Webber, Miller and Divac to anchor the frontcourt. All three guys are easily top tier big men passers.
I agree, accept for the fiery plane crash. The Lakers are the team to beat. I would only add I think we can beat them. We are so much better than the team that took them to 7 games. They are better too. But the key is they are older and a little more tired. The Championship takes it's toll. We are young and rested. Even are older guys will hget rest. Yao's playing time will be limmited and monitored, Scola has Hayes Patterson and Jeffries all ready to take minutes from him. And Battier might get beat out by Budinger by the end of the season. Martinn can play 48 minutes a game and so can Brooks. But neither have too as our 2 best backups are at their spots. Come playoff time only one team will have more energy in the west and that will be the Thunder. But the Rockets have enough experience to take them out. So I see a Laker Rocket WCF on the Horizon.
That Kings team you mentioned didn't have a bench, IIRC they were mostly a 7 man rotation with Bobby Jackson and one other dude. OUtside of Webber, that Kings team wasn't really that good, Divac, Bibby, Christie and Peja are just one-dimensional role-players who happen to be really good at what they do. I think a front court of (healthy) Yao and Scola is better than Webber-Divac, Christie and Battier pretty much cancel each other out, Brooks could be better than Bibby and Martin is much better than Peja. I'd definitely argue that the Rockets at least on paper look much better than the Kings during RA's time. We just need to get the experience and chemistry that Kings team had and we're set.
Out of that group, only Miller is a really good passing big. Yao is not a particularly great passer and has a slow reaction time. Yao is far more effective as a scoring target, receiving the ball in good post position and making a play to the basket shortly thereafter. Hayes is an elite defender, a good passer (not great), and an offensive liability as he has yet to develop a mid range jump shot or a go-to move.
Disagree strongly. Have you seen the man pass? He can thread the needle with the best of them. Also don't sleep on Yao. Last time I checked, any quality winning in the playoffs that we had in our last trip came from Yao distributing the ball. I say we have the best passing-big combo in the league.
Everything looks great but we do lack that one put back guy. Carl Landry would have put back many loose balls but against the tall Lakers in the paint he might not be able to. Do any of our bigs have an above the rim game on a consistent basis?
