you could see us becoming the 2001 lakers. thanks to 7 west teams winning 50 that year, they actually played a 50 win portland team in round 1 to match our feat. of course we actually beat 4 57+ win teams, while they beat 1, not just 4 50+ win teams. so we'd have to be the 3rd to do it. i voted 2nd round exit but if we end up drawing SA in the first round and SA has homecourt, then it's going to be hard to say i expect us to beat the spurs in the playoffs. considering what tmac has done to bowen of late, what our D does to their O, and hopefully yao and deke affecting duncan a little, we could win that series. but to expect to beat a team like the spurs would isn't realistic. now if we luckily get the jazz or lakers, then we better win that series. the mavs will beat us and the suns will kill us. we aren't there yet.
In a perfect world we can beat anybody. I don't think there's any question about it that if everybody can get healthy NOBODY will want to face us in the playoffs. Nobody. Not with T-Mac playing MVP caliber ball with Yao having his coming out party and solid players like Battier, Head, Howard, Deke and Alston all playing at a high level. Add to that a game changing x-factor like Bonzi coming off the bench. That being said, the bare minimum answer is anything less than the second round. The reality is we haven't won a playoff series in 10 years while being led by two superstars that haven't accomplished that very feat either. We clearly need to shed that stigma. I do think think though with the way our team is built (excellent defense/two superstar mold offense) that we're built for a deep playoff run. We're physical, aggressive and intimidating -- three characteristics that defined the success the Spurs have had in recent years. For all those that say we can't matchup with a team like the Suns or Mavs, I say take a look at the way the Spurs have remained elite despite not being the flashy light-up-the-scoreboard team that the Mavs or Suns are. The Mavs and Suns are soft as angel food cake and in my opinion that will be their undoing. Can you name a "soft" team in recent years to win a championship? I really think with our grind-it-out play we can legitimately challenge even the best of them, the question is will the injuries allow it?
I voted for getting to the finals. I know the Mavs are good, but I seriously think the Rockets have enough to come out of the West.....so......they should ! DD
After years of disappointment, I will be happy with nothing less than an NBA title. I'm a little disappointed with the results of this poll... Everyone should expect this team to go all the way. Maybe I'm being a homer, but when your team is playing this amazingly (you are a LIAR if you tell me you thought we'd be 1 game behind the 3rd seed two months after Yao went out), a little bit of the inherent bias that comes with being a diehard fan should make you expect nothing less than the best... I will be extremely disappointed if we lose to anyone other than the Suns, though.
Losing in the first round again is absolutely unacceptable, but I wouldn't hold it against them if they lost a hard-fought series in the second round. I think they still need to address the problems at the PG position before I start realistically expecting them to go all the way.
The "getting to the finals" option should not even be there. If you think we're good enough to get to the finals, then you also think we're good enough to win the championship. The NBA Title Series is the Western Conference Finals.
we're 5th in the nba in 3 pt % and that includes tmac dragging it down by shooting about 5 per game at a 34% clip. when you add in juwan being money on the 18 foot and in jumper, it's hard to say we don't have consistent outside shooting around our stars. now as for pg, yeah it's not going to be pretty, especially when luther head is the backup to an already unspectacular starting pg. but even the trade i never understood (james for alston) isn't hurting at pg in terms of outside shooting with alston at 37.3% and james at 36.0% (james would probably get better looks here but the point is we're not being killed in this aspect). teardrop-wise it's killing us, but not outside shooting-wise.
Wow, majority of ppl don't show much confidence in Rox winning a championship this year, even in a Rox bbs poll. It is funny because I see "if healthy we can beat everyone" almost everyday. Come on, guys, you guys chicken out? Anything less than a Championship will be a disappointment.
I honestly feel that our team is confident that they can hands down beat San Antonio, Dallas and any other team in the league with the exception of Phoenix. We just match up so well with San Antonio, and Bonzi rounding (no pun intended) into shape he is a wrecking ball against them. They also have no answer for McGrady and Yao. I think Yao and McGrady can overcome the advantage they have with Duncan and Parker and Bonzi can push us over the edge along with better role players. Dallas is a team that I truly feel we can beat in the playoffs if we're at full strength. They just don't have an answer to McGrady or Yao and just try to throw fresh new bodies at them. They got Buckner and George to ware down guys like Wade and McGrady, but with Yao inside, the help defense and automatic doubles on McGrady cannot happen. I think the key will be slowing Terry and not allowing Howard/Stackhouse to go off as we've done a good job limiting Nowitzki against us and I trust Van Gundy to put us in a position. Utah, LA, Denver etc? Please. Phoenix is the X-factor and the team that we just match up horrendously with. But I remember what Van Gundy said on his finals run with New York. Charlotte had won 3 out of 4 against NY by a wide margin so positioned themselves to play NY in the first round. Charlotte was swept. Just as we were beaten pretty badly by Dallas two years ago in the regular season, we took them to Seven games and every game was damn close (except game 7). I trust Van Gundy to come up with a strategy to beat them similar to his Bowen/McGrady on Nowitzki in 04/05. He has a way of creating a defense to take a player out of their game. Hopefully though, someone else will take them out for us. If the seeding goes like this: 1. Dallas 2. Phoenix 3. San Antonio 4. Houston 5. Utah 6. Los Angeles 7. Denver 8. Minnesota Then I think we can handle Utah (especially if they cut down on the flopping with the proposed rule). Then we would have to go through Dallas and then San Antonio if they take LA then Phoenix. That is our title run. Expectations? I would honestly be dissapointed not to get to the Western Conference Championship because I think our moves of getting Battier, Tracy's Back and Yao's sturdiness makes this our best opportunity. We only have Bonzi for a year probably as well, so my expectations are high.
all this core of players needs is one playoff series victory for them to get really hungry. then if they get swept in the second round, so be it. but at least those guys come into next year knowing what it takes to win and knowing they CAN win in the playoffs. but if they got to the WCF they'd do REALLY WELL next year....
yeah, how can anyone lack faith? we haven't won a series in 10 years and yao and tracy have never won a series in their careers. a run to the nba finals is a given!
If we get swept in the second round -- by anyone -- we better be making some significant changes in the offseason to players not named Yao, Tracy and Shane.
We have a chance against any team in the league. But realistically, the Mavs or Suns would be heavily favored against us. We can't get past the second round without beating the Mavs or Suns. So putting up a fight and losing in the second round would be 'acceptable progress'. But if we put together two upsets, we would have to be favorites in the Finals.
TMac's chronicle back problem is always a concern to me. There is no assurance he will be able to sustain the level of performance we saw in the last couple of months in next season and beyond. His humongous contract doesn't expire until 2010. Unless Yao turns up another notch or two to become a super-ironman, the Rockets can't win with TMac being only a shell of his old (well actually current) self. The window of both superstars being healthy is not expanding, but dwindling. Since we are in "win now" mode, anything short of "win it all" is an ultimate disappointment. That said, I'll grudgingly settle for a WC Finals appearance.
Hell no!!!! Being swept is an embarrassment. We better not pull off an 05 Wizards and throw confetti after a first round vic and then get swiftly swept.
If this team is healthy and we have Yao returning to pre-injury form and Tmac continuing his play, I think we could go all the way. However I'm curbing my enthusiasm until that time comes.
