http://www.nba.com/features/living_060817.html By Rick Kamla It's a good list, and really got me excited about the upcoming season. Obviously glad to see the inclusion of our boys Tracy and Yao in there, although I'm sure it would have been closer to #1 if we had any say about it To give this thread a little more purpose, how about everybody post the Top 5 Realistic Things they look forward to for the Rockets this year? ***Let's assume that winning season/playoffs/championship would be at the top of everyone's list, so they can be left out. Also leave out the obvious "Yao and Tracy stay healthy".*** I'll start. 5. Vasillis Spanoulis being the next Euro diamond in the rough. 4. Lucas III and Novak making management look smart for their 3 year deals. 3. Kirk Snyder blossoming into and beyond a starting-caliber SG. 2. Rafer Alston having a career year (at least in terms of shooting %) 1. Battier proving to be worth the draft day deal.
5. backcourt rotation is set for a year or 2 4. tracy playing 70+ games 3. 2nd round playoffs 2. yao ming becomes the best big man in the game 1. shane battier provides all the little things that the team needs
1. T-Mac's MVP season to doubt all the haters. 2. The Dominance of Yao Ming 3. Shane Battier, The Ultimate Role Player 4. All games v.s. Dal(?), Mia(Shaq/Yao), LA(T-Mac/Kobe) 5. Blockbuster trade that makes us contenders.
He means the writer, Rick Kamla. He mentions the Suns more than a couple of times in his list, but then again, who doesn't like watching the Suns?
5. Vspan will become another Manu 4. John Lucas will become another Earl, no matter boykins or watson 3. Juwan having a flashback season before he retires 2. Yao and Tmac can play 48 mins every game and healthy 1. We will win a championship
5. Rockets become best in TX at home and on the road 4. Yao Ming dominates the league including Shafat Oneal 3. Battier proving to be worth the trade in the W-L column 2. Novak continues to light it up from the beyond the arc 1. Get through the first round of the playoffs and win a championship* *I had to include that
umm, its top 5 REALISTIC things fellas so if the rockets win the championship, this thread will resurface for me to look like an ass
5. I hope JVG doesn't anymore of his hair. If he still has any left after last season. 4. McGrady becomes the scoring Champion with good FG%. 3. Yao dunks more and show all opponents the post belong to him. 2. The role players pick up their game and one of them become the most improved player of the season. 1. All 29 teams do not win the Championship except the team we support.
1. Strong season and us dominating the division. At least 2nd in the division, 4th in the conference. 2. Tmac having an MVP season and showing that offensive brilliance back in his scoring champ days. 3. Yao being the uncontested and official best center in the league. Through stats and a great showing against shaq in all 3 games. (2 in regular season and one in all-star game) 4. Juwan stepping up, being tougher on the defense and helping out with 2nd chance points. Just play better than last year at least. (I was originally going to write something about Shane, but I'm pretty sure whatever he can bring, he'll make us happy) 5. Vspan being the best 6th man, or better yet, starter at the 1. I know these are things we look forward to, and I really think these are within our grasp. cept for 4.
I stopped reading after #10. It's becoming harder and harder to find NBA-related articles worth their weight these days.
Hawks flying high? Not so much, you're right. But if you really stopped at 10, then you stopped too early. Numbers 9 through 1 are all legit and sensical. I doubt you actually stopped at 10.
5. The Rockets make the playoffs and the Western Finals! 4. Mister Snyder, the dunking machine and a very good back up guard! 3. Shane Battier, the missing link and ultimate teamplayer! 2. Yao Ming, the best and 'only' center in the league! (career high ... again!) 1. T-Mac MVP season 2007 ... the revenge! (just like my signature )
1) Spanoulis starts by game 20. 2) Snyder shoots 39% on 3 pointers. 3) Novak makes clutch shots. 4) Lucas gets 20 points and 10 assists, 8 times... becomes the playoff closer at PG. 5) Hayes averages 12 rebounds.
5. J. howard gets 7+ rpg 4. Yao continues his dominance in the paint drawing 3 defenders on EVERY play. 3. Our perimeter players are able to hit open 3's at a very high %age. 2. Houston Rockets become the #1 3-Pt shooting team in the league. 1. T-Mac, comeback player of the year over Amare Stoudemire.
Out on a limb prediction: Azubuike becomes a BIG factor off the bench. 5. (If completely healed and injury-free) Yao will avg. 26 pts./12 rebs./2 blk. and TMac will avg. 24 pts./8 reb./5 ast. /2 stl. 4. Battier will avg. 16 pts./8 rebs./4 ast./2 stl., Rafer will avg. 12 pts./7 ast./2 stl. 3. Bench shows promise, but not enough to warrant a championship run 2. Two deals bolster depth, especially in the front court. 1. 54 wins, 5 seed, lose in 7 in the second round of the playoffs.
