02/03 loose in 2nd round. 03/04 loose in W/C Final. 04/05 NBA CHAMPS. Yao Ming 25yrs. of age Griffin 23yrs.
sacramento 1 <60-22> lakers 2 <59-23> dallas 3 <59-23> spurs 4 <55-27> rockets 5 <51-31> portland 6 <49-33> minnesota 7 <47-35> seattle 8 <45-37> sac def. seattle 3-0 lakers def. minnesota 3-0 dallas def. portland 3-1 spurs def. rockets 3-2 lakers def dallas 4-2 kings def. spurs 4-2 lakers def kings 4-3 lakers def. nets 4-1 rookie of the year: Amare Stoudemire (Yao 2nd) MVP: Kobe Bryant (T-Mac 2nd)
Record: 49-33 Make the Playoffs in the 7th seed(go on to win that series with San Antonio) knocked out in the 6th game of the second round. Earn much respect around the League.
We'll start out slow because of injuries and lack of chemistry but we should come together bit by bit and end up at the 6th seed with about 48 wins.
Rockets will be in the LOTTERY again after this season. (Will they draft a guard?) The Las Vegas over/under wins for this season is 45 wins. I take the under. My estimate is they will go 40-42 and miss the play-offs. Why? Because of the "good old boy network" within the organization. Moochie is Steve's boy, so he got big bucks and a three year contract last year. But his actual play does not measure up. I figgure that he will cost the team 5-6 games this season, due to excessive dribbling, bad clock management, innappropriate shots taken, lack of passing to the open man, and minutes demanded (which keeps a better player out of the game.) Also contributing to poor performance is RT's "deer in the headlights" game managing (just like in the past.) Sorry folks, just being realistic.
Final Prediction!!!!!! I am going to be very optimistic here. Ming: ROY (2nd best center in the L) Francis: Allstar Starter Mobley and Ming: Backups in the allstar game Griffin: Leading candidate for most improved player/ Blocks shots/ and all defensive team Rudy: Coach of the year Rockets: 4th in the West 56-26 Most improved team by far in the west Give me your thoughts on all of my statements!!!!!!!
I think the Rockets will be improved on last year's record, but they will be a 6th seed at best, but they still may not make the playoffs. (Hey, cut me some slack, at least I'm not making a definite prediction of LOTTERY this year like I have the last three years). In the West, that means they're going to have to win close to 45 games. I think that Ming is going to get VERY tired towards the end of the year, as he has never played a season longer than 40 games. The Rockets still won't be able to contend with the Spurs, Mavericks, Lakers, or Kings. I think the Blazers are going to be better than expected also, and will definitely have a better record than the Rockets. But, after those 5 teams, I think it's anyone's guess as to who will be next.
Anon, Right on the head! No playoffs. Rudy is lost. No coaches to help him. Les needs the guts to fire him. Rox need a teacher and hard nose coach. Steve&Cuttino run the team and they lack basketball smarts. I like that you went against the sheep with your prediction. I predict that Rudy is fired by All-Star Break.
Hey, if it's the worst game of the year it can only get better. We lost by less than ten, too. OK, if we look this bad versus Denver, I expect to see plenty of Rudy bashing threads.
47 wins And Indiana was only one game and the first. It's funny to watch so many get bent out-of-shape after 1 game.
It appears that you all seem to know a thing or two about basketball, but I think that because all of us are pretty excited Rocket fans, we tend to let our emotions interfere with what we know as real. Reality is that the Rockets have an extremely large amount of improvement to embark and they are about from where they were during the championship years as Yao is from home. I really want them to prove me wrong because I think they have much potential. If they stay healthy, unsuspended, and all bust tail ( and I mean really work hard) in practices, they might be able to get 40 games, but more likely just short of that at around 38. Who knows...maybe that will get them in the play-offs which would be a blessing and a change.
