sniff, sniff, blubber, blubber. You're making me cry. I'm not getting into another political discussion. Not on this board. Go home and dwell sadly on the 2000 election. It won't change anything. So what I'm a Texans fan? I live in Houston. So what I'm an Orioles fan? I grew up in DC. So what I'm not giving the Jazz a seed? I wish God's wrath upon them each and every night.
1. Dallas 2. Sacramento 3. San Antonio 4. Houston 5. Portland 6. Utah 7. Phoenix 8. Seattle 9. Lakers
now, Achebe, that's hilarious as I'm doing my java programs here while reading this! geez... I can't stop laughing...
1. Mavericks 2. Kings 3. Spurs 4. Rockets 5. Suns 6. Blazers 7. Lakers 8. Wolves i hope that malone and stockton dont do it again
You haven't the best of the Rockets yet. They will turn it on after the all-star break with the confidence they gain from having two starters at the all-star game. They will have the best team in the second half of season and will finish with 52-55 wins which will be good enough for the 3rd or 4th seed.
A-Train: i like how "running with scizzors" is your member status? damn funny 1 kings 2 mavs 3 spurs 4 suns 5 jailblazers 6 rockets 7 "elbows & flops" - they shall go un-named 8 wolves lakers miss the playoffs
I will make a wager with anyone on this board that the Rockets will make the playoffs. And I am so sure of this, I will up the stakes, so to speak. If the Rockets make the playoffs, for every game they finish clear of the 9th seed, the loser(that would be the silly person who disagrees with me) pays $5 to the tip jar. If the Rockets somehow fail to make the playoffs, for every game they finish behind the 8th seed, I shall donate $5 to the tip jar.
I said 6th before the season and I still think it looks that way. It amazes me there is potential for more, but I didn't see the depth and breath of Yao's game. The big question is what's Yao's rookie wall going to look like? We may be seeing it now given his unprecedented schedule. If this is it, we could be seeing some amazing things late in the season. The infamous rookie wall is more psychological exhaustion than physical exhaustion and pretty much about displacement. Yao's as displaced as you can get on this planet and even he's not used to this level of constant games and travel. Some rookies really turn on the jets after a prolonged lull a little after midseason because they suddenly find their physical conditioning improved which seems to help with the other stuff. Yao, who knows? If we see his best play late in the season, I'll be scratching my head even though it's not that unusual, but it's hard to see how he just won't grind down. For optimists (A-Train DUCK!!!) here's something to chew on - Eddie Griffin. The history of the NBA is littered with talented players who find themselves late in their second season. He'll still be 20, but that only speaks to his ultimate potential. It usually happens with players who have exceptional talent. Who are we better than now? Hard to say. We're so inconsistent. If, and this is a big if, we hit a winning streak of 7-8 games this year we will be a top 4 team. I'm not sure that will happen and I see this team as a huge headache for the league and for us hardcore fans. I said before the season that this year reminds me a lot of 1984, but it's almost a polar opposite. That year people were bleeding when Dream got a foul, comitted a turnover and screamed at the refs. and there was the same groan Yao gets when he misses a shot and the same euphoria when Yao makes a play now. We lost games we should have won, and won some with an unequaled team athleticism. It was beautiful and painful. The similarities end there. That year the Rockets couldn't come close to competing with Kareem and Magic, and when Moses played Dream, well Dream should have stayed home. That team couldn't even show up against the two best teams in the league with a very talented mature point guard. This year we can beat anyone, anytime. We haven't beaten the Mavs., Nets or Jazz yet, but I don't see anyone conceding anything to those teams. As badly as we play sometimes this team has shown more immediate potential which is hard to guage. The maddening thing about this team is (and has been all season) is that we don't know where this team is now. The "showing up to play" cliche' is the most overused and excuse-ridden in sports, and worse it's "coachspeak" adopted by fans of every sport. Rudy's comments are sometimes worth listening to. His comments this morning are something he could have said after the Knicks loss, but he's not that stupid. This team is learning and the results haven't matched. It's not Rudy's job to be happy, it's making sure the team's doing what he wants them to do. Rudy will never tell us when something isn't working, but he always tells us when something is, and he's probably one of the most honest coaches in any sport I've seen. We're fine. If we get the 8th seed, we're still fine. Hovering above .500 is not to be unexpected for this team even 2 months from now. The NBA ain't the NFL and those looking for a Cinderella playoff run this year have been following too much ball in the East. The Rockets are more of an ugly-duckling team a year or so away from throwing egg on everyon'es faces.
declan32001, would you please summarize your points? So what's your prediction?? I have trouble reading your post.
