Maybe for a team like say, the Wizard's, no, and probably Golden State since we can match their speed now, but against most West team, Yao is actually our only advantage.
May be we don't need T-Mac either, if our goal is to beat the Washington Wizards of the world. He played like crap today.
LOL its the wizards (and without butler or arenas 2nd game of a back to back), everyone needs to see what this team can do without jumping to hasty conclusions, dont get your hopes up too high this was a nice win, but I expected them to win with or without Yao.
A Yao 3 week injury might have actually been a blessing by surprise, as T-Mac's was earlier in the season. But with him not coming back at all, it's quite a blow. That said, maybe I am wrong about T-Mac. Getting over that hump is hard for everybody. A favorable first round matchup, and getting over that first hump, could this team win more than one playoff series? Maybe. With the way Denver and GS have stumbled, NO playing bad, etc., I think the team will definitely make the playoffs, though.
I think bigger centers might give the Rockets some probelms but maybe we dont need Yao poprocks if mount Mutombo can deliver consistently like last year!
defensively, we won't miss yao. even if we don't have deke, if we put in scola/hayes/landry, we can switch on ANYBODY and thus negate the pick and roll. offensively, we need scola and landry to play better than they have been. we need 17-18 pts from scola and 13-14 from landry every night or around there. tmac has to shoot better than he was tonight (and take it to the rack if his shot is not there) but i like his fire and intensity ever since the all-star break. he's really increased his willingness to encourage his teammates and be a leader. we're still in a good state. if we face ANY team but the lakers, we have a very decent chance. hell, i really like our chances v. utah. so it's best if we can get a 5th seed somehow.
If you look at the 3rd quarter, we were struggling to score, while the Wizards were playing with more energy which cut into our lead. Yao would've provided us with stability during those periods. (When in doubt, dump it into Yao.) Not having that luxury will become more evident against good teams and what, in my opinion, separates us from being a bubble team to being contenders. With that said, I'll pull for the Rockets what. Heart of a champion, lets bring it home!
maybe we don't need water we have juice maybe we don't need bread we have rice maybe we don't need rocket we have spaceship
well,we can win some games without yao,we played tough game today,but that's not the point,i dont think we can win championship without him,god bless him,it's your turn Tracy
Yao was the worst defensive player on the Rockets, bar none. Possibly the worst defensive starter in the NBA at any position. The fact that he was 7'5" and could match up with Shaq, Bynum, etc., is irrelevant because he is ineffective against big men anyways (see: Carlos Boozer, 2007 playoffs). In an odd way, I think his loss will have a zero sum effect on the Rockets. His lost offense will be substituted with an equal or better gain in defense. With the right opponent, this team is still very capable of winning a playoff series. In fact, crazy and unlikely as it may be, I think we're better without him. Defense wins championships. If Mutombo can stay healthy and play 20-30 minutes a game, I truly believe a championship is still possible, and as or more likely than if Yao were playing. Note: This is surely to get flamed but this is my personal point of view. If you look back, despite my support of Yao, I have always insisted that we play better without him. The next 2 months will surely tell.
Dear poprocks, Please try to eat some food and drink lots of fluids so that you can stop hallucinating. Dear TheHangover, You're an utter idiot. That's all.
Rockets won some games without Tracy, people start threads about why we don't need Tracy. Rockets won a game without Yao, people start threads about why we don't need Yao. Jesus Christ... do we need any player on this team?
you gotta be kidding me,Man,well,Yao is not a good defender im sure,try to think,is there anybody who is 7'6'' can guard like Carlos Boozer,or Harrinton?but,who can defense TIM DUNCAN?the answer is the best defender against Tim Duncan is YAO in Rockets! NOTE:match up with shaq or Bynum now?let's see
I think that the game with the Lakers coming up on Sunday, March 16th should tell us everything. If Bynum and Gasol should both be in the lineup at that time, then I think that should tell us for sure whether or not Yao is really missed.
