Seeing the new unis got me all excited yesterday, as visions of future dynasties danced in my head....I kept thinking " THIS is what we'll be wearing when we're going to the Finals for years on end!' Then, as it's wont to do, the euphoria wore off, and I was left with a bittersweet feeling, basically a hollow sense of optimism. On the one hand, it seems pretty simple: The Rockets have the best young center and, if not the best young point guard, pretty damn close. Historically speaking, that spells years of being a contender. On the other hand, there are uncomfortable questions...Are we really a contender in light of the fact that the best team last year is also very young (San Antonio), and other teams which finished better than us are almost as young. And then there's the Lakers scenario; for one thing there is the sense that we won't be the best until Shaq retires...and how confident can you be when your future success is dependant on external factors? For another, what's to stop the Lakers from pulling off other free agency coups like they did to bring Shaq here in the first place, or again this year whenever they need to? And then there are the internal questions...will Steve and Yao ever mesh? Can Steve lead a team? Will Yao re-up when time comes and he becomes what will likely be the most sought after free agent in the history of major sports? etc. etc. Will we ever be capable of spending in the manner it would appear necessary to be a legitimate repeat contender, let alone dynasty? Will Les ever run with the Cubans, Allens, etc. of the NBA world? If not, do we have realistic hope? All is not doom and gloom when you have the historical formula for a dynasty in Yao and Steve...if Griff develops, better still. But there is also no denying the fact that the rules have changed with a capital $, and that we stand on thin ice. We're probably not a contender this year....maybe not next year... ...but the point is, when/if our internal issues are resolved, even assuming they are all resolved for the better, will there always be external factors which keep us year ofter year on the outside looking in? Either way...considering external and internal questions, how long do you think ( not hope) it will be before the Rockets are legitimate contenders year after year? By that I mean one of the top two or three teams expected to take a run at the championship following 55+ win seasons year in and year out? What do you feel are the external and internal factors which will effect this, and how do you see them falling? Who will be ourr competition, and why will we be better?
It depends. Steve and Yao can mesh fine. Both can develop into killer options, unstoppable in combo. Can they stop anyone else? Steve can't. Yao can, sometimes. That's the big problem. Good luck, JVG. I don't think any team scheme will ultimately matter so much as the individual "stopper" skills of these stars.
I know it is a big if, but if we turn out like we all hope, I think we can contend as soon as we mature. I understnand your external soures comment, but I disagree. Again, I know these are all based on if... but if Yao can turn into a 30-35 minute a game player... if Steve will sacrifice to win... everything else falls into place. Yea Griffin develops would be nice, Moochie returns to form etc, but these are all roles. If Yao and Steve do it, everything else falls into place. And I doin't see why they shouldn't meet their potential. The Spurs aren't world champs (Congrats to SA) because Steve Kerr got hot at the right time. They are champs because they put themselves into a position where a vetran role player could do what he was supposed to. Teams to beat. SA and LA are tough. On the other hand, if they are our competition, we are competing. I see LA getting old as soon as Shaq gets bored. SA, I see as good for a long time. Dallas and Sac are very talented and deep, but fundamentally flawed. Sac has no true go to player and Dallas lacks everything but the breathtaking ability to score. I see catching them as soon as we get our heads on straight. Portland, on the way down. Phoenix, I love Amare, but I just don't think they have our talent - maybe I'm kidding myself, but their two best players had breakout years and they just barely beat us. Utah officially sucks now. Minnesota looks strong, but, going back to that big if, I really think Yao and Frances will be better than Kevin and Peanut. Clippers arn't going to move. Golden State, Denver... Please. To me, it is just a matter of stop stopping ourselves. I think Van Gundy is that man. My best case scenario, we could be losing in the conference finals in two years. Worse case, we just don't harness our talent and we never compete.
1 to 3 years away from a bonafide championship contender. once yao, steve and co, fully gell, griffen matuers, i think houstonians are in for some happy times. lets not forget steve and cat are now entering there prime. i think there backcourt is ready to compete with anyones, but is there frontcourt battel worthy yet?. thats million dollar question?
Within 4 years! We can contend...hopefully. Eddie Griffin should improve. Maybe we can get another #1 pick.
the rockets are a lock for the playoffs next year. our days of having lottery picks have ended. In 3 years once Yao and Eddie have matured and teams like LA and Sacramento are on the decline the Rockets will rise up to the top.
We'll be a contender when Yao develops into a consistant, dominant big man. til then, playoffs or no, we're just a pretender. bam.
In all seriousness, RIGHT NOW! All the Rockets gotta do is go and play ball. They have just as much talent as anyone else. I'd put our starting five up against anyone. I KNOW we will get to the playoffs this year and believe we can go to the second round or western conference finals. After this season, we'll definitely have as good of shot as anyone of going all the way.
Steve and Yao still aren't top tier superstars. Steve is at best a second tier star, and Yao at this point is just a pretty good player. If we're really placing all of our hopes on those two, they better develop into top tier talents for us to contend. If they don't, we'll be looking at first round eliminations year after year. Steve and Yao don't just have to mesh together, they have to grow together. Fortunately, I believe they will, in about three years time. If by that time there's a decent supporting cast around them, and given our cap situation I somewhat doubt there will be, we should contend for a title.
What do we definitely have? 1. An excellent PG who can't quite carry a team on his own. 2. An extremely effective center who isn't quite a dominating player. Add to that, we've got a good SG, a great back-up C, and about 3 other "useful" players. That spells "playoff contender..." but hardly championship contender. Now, if Yao develops into the elite C he could be... and Steve learns to defer... that's a true contender. But I don't pretend to knwo if it it will. An unanswerable question.
It will be interesting to see how Yao does with more touches and an offense more built around him. If he is as good as everybody thinks he is than I say 2-3 years is about when the Rockets will be playing deep into the playoffs.
Team Basketball is the answer. Do we have the right players that will make the sacrifice for the sake of the Team. JVG will attempt to turn our roster into a the best defencive team, in doing so he will demand sacrifice and will quickly weed out the malcontents, if there are any! If JVG is a success and resolves the obvious deficiencies he could have them ready to contend in two seasons.
If Van Gundy is able to get Steve, Cat, and the rest of the guards to D up then we are into the second round of the playoffs this year barring injury. If Van Gundy is able to get more toughness out of our 4 and if we get just an adequate small forward who can shoot the 3 and D up, and if Yao continues to blossom we will be title contenders in 2 years. I think we will know a lot more in about 2 months. It's all gonna depend on the players buying into Van Gundy. If they do, then this team will gel. If they don't, then we won't ever be playoff contenders until one of 2 things happen, either the players change or the coach changes. I am rooting for the players to buy into Van Gundy. If they play his defensive game, they will frustrate the whole league and will be fast breaking their way to the 2nd round this year. If there are ripples between Van Gundy and specifically Steve and Cat, then we might not even make the playoffs this year. The whole key is how the players react to Van Gundy early.
I'm all for being a better defensive team because defense wins games but I'll really like to see steve run the break more. We should of done that last season when we had posey but griffin seems to run the floor pretty good(i.e the last dallas game), but I think we'll play big this season with yao getting more touches...which is good though.
I think we are still a few years (2-3) away from being TITLE contenders. Francis has to mature. Yao has to learn. But those are our building blocks. In the next few years I still would love to add a 3rd STAR player to this team to compliment Yao and Francis. Then add in a few role players, some veterans and we are there. But the key of course is Francis and Yao. Both have to take their games to the next level. Hopefully with JVG's disciplined style both will learn more quickly through this process. Typically the toughest positions to fill in the NBA is PG and C and we have both of those so we have a leg up. We just need to learn and fill out the roster.
As soon as we get Artest suited up in a red, white, and silver Rockets jersey with the number 23 on it. At that point, imo, we will have the players to content in the west.
Worry away, mi amigo. Even if there is no friction, missing the playoffs for another year is a very strong possibility. IMHO, even with his deal, the order of "push comes to shove, who goes first" is: Cat JVG Steve Yao.
edc i think you are wrong. I think we will make the playoffs this year. And the year after next we will be in the MIX of all the things.
