You know I've been a fan for a few years now and for some reason we have always had high expectations put on us. Ever since we have gotten Yao people called us the "Sleeper in the West" or definate playoff team etc etc. we havent really lived up to any of those expectations.. now that we have Tmac we are considered by some as automatic contenders. visiting around at different forums I can see people calling us the most overrated Team in the NBA. too be honest it seems true.. Its nice there is such a buzz about our team and that people are talking about us but I thought it was interesting.. Suns seem to have the most talent on paper (Amare/Nash/JJohnson/SMarion and QRich) but they dont have the same amount of buzz as we do. To call us contenders is very premature and I just hope we make the playoffs. (or advance in the playoffs) well back to my main point.. Are we the most overrated team in the NBA? if not who is and why? My opinion is that we are. Yao is probably one of the most overrated players in the league.. I love the guy and hes my fav. player but people have put so much emphasis on his potential. He is still a good BB player and hopefully soon he becomes great. TMac scoring champion on a lottery team.. I know I know he carried a crappy team but now three of those crappy players are in Houston. I dont know why he had to carry the scoring for the team if he decided to get his teammates involved more maybe they would have had a better record? Im worried Tmac is a great scorer but not a difference maker *such as SAR/EBrand people who put up nice stats on losing teams. what do you think? J
Because our star players have better name recognition, whether in the States or the world. It's not mainly because of their play on court, especailly for Yao. There are better or equal players around the league but they never got the same amount of publicity. Hell, even the greatest Rockets of all-time was far behind of Yao or TMac in terms of popularity.
A simple answer....Its just part of the business. The media and the NBA hype our team to be the next Shaq/Kobe or more specifically the Lakers, so we could give them our money through games,comercial,endorsment products..etc. Yes, I do think we are overatted, but we're not going to be a pushover either.
I don't think we were seen as a "definite playoff team" until last year. Even Yao's rookie year they were contending for the playoffs until Rudy went down and Larry Smith had to take over with 6 weeks left. I think that up until now, we were a bit underrated as a result of the poor decision making exhibited by some of our star players. Finals contenders? I am EXTREMELY optimistic about this season and even I don't think we are going to the Finals this year, much less winning them. We are a solid pick to go to the WC semis or WC finals, but that is a far cry from the Finals, just ask CWebb. Honestly, I don't think the Suns are even CLOSE to most talented on paper, that title probably goes to Minnesota in the WC at this point. How can we possibly be "overrated" when we haven't even made it out of the first round yet? People are certainly expecting better things from the Rox, and deservedly so, but I haven't heard anyone but homers try to claim that we are going to win the Finals this year. That would be overrated. Yao Ming, after two years and at 23 years of age, already demands the focus of opposing game plans. He draws constant double teams and still scores, rebounds, and blocks shots. Nobody has proclaimed him the greatest ever, but he IS the second best center in the league, and as Max Kellerman says, it ain't even close. He was the primary scorer when the Magic were going to the playoffs, how could it possibly be his fault that Grant Hill came up lame and saddled the Magic's cap space with an albatross? I think you are overrating the overratedness of the Rox.
first off. i dont understand what you mean by saying when we got yao, we were automatically "a sleeper pick" half the people on this board didnt think we should draft the guy, the other half admitted he would be a project that would take years to develope. thanks not even taking into account the "experts" around the country who have egg on their faces after saying things like "yao is the next larue martin" or "yao makes bradley look like bill russell" as for the suns having more talent. i disagree. the suns have no one who can duplicate the impact of either Yao or Mcgrady. if you just look at teams on paper, the clippers in previous years should have won a title. the suns have talent, but there is a huge difference between a group of really talented guys (portland, dallas, sacto) and teams with superstars that can make average talent around them better. as for yao being overrated because people can see his "potential". i dont know what to say. if you want to take him at face value, you would have taken him with the 2nd overall pick, because at face value jay williams was 100x the player yao was in terms of production. Yao can do things at 7'6" that very few 7+ footers have ever been able to do, let alone high up in the 7s. as for most overrated teams. i think the Jazz and Nuggets take top honors. over night with the signings of decent-good east bigman signings, they have projected themselves to what some experts call conteder status. and boards all over the net in the top 5-6 area. blah.
bottomline... TMac is simply one of the best, if not, the best, scorers in the game. He can light it up from anywhere against anybody, and does so consistently. He'll continue to score at a high rate and a high percentage on this team. Yao is a force, albeit it incosistent in his output, but still a force at all times...meaning he commands the full attention of at least 2 defenders whenever he touches the ball. He distorts the game, not on Shaq in his prime level, but still, he distorts the game plan for the opposition, like few other players do, the minute you pencil his name into the lineup. CD and JVG have assembled a smart, tough-minded, veteran group of players that know their roles, and are secure in their place in the NBA...they have no illusions of how 'great' they are, and will simply do what is asked of them and play a team-oriented game. Sure, other teams have improved as well, but to say we are not in the thick of things, IMO, is selling us short.
This Rockets team looks like the 20 win Magic team + Yao + JVG. Let's see if Yao+JVG can bring 30 more wins in the west.
No kidding. If Shaq decides to get in shape and play to his potential (including working on that horrendous foul shot), he could bring a title to Florida... ...finally.
Shaq's been in the league 12 years. He isn't going to improve his foul shooting. His game "is what it is". He can't improve over what he's done in the past, he can only recapture a part of his former dominance.
hype can kill a good team. we'd better remind everyone else that half of this year's rox come from the worst teams (magic and hawks) in the east and the other half there are only two starters.. then by the time they realise what's happening the rox will already be nba champions
Dont think so. It just so happens that we have two of the most popular players in the game today thats why we're closely being scrutinized by the media and the fans. Fortunately for us, yao is no shaq. Yao is a mini hakeem (no pun intended). A low profile superstar who doesnt want the limelight all by himself. In tmac, we have a dynamic superstar regarded by many as a top five player in the game not unlike a self proclaimed star in francis. I really do hope that this team will jell before the all star break, hopefully in mid december the team will soon peak. Becoz once they are, were looking for a 52-55 win-loss season.
Wre not hyped to win anything other than a plaoff round. It's just afte we signed T-Mac we became the most marketable team in the NBA. We had alot more prime time games on tnt or tbs last year only because of Yao. They were always showing Majic games on TV because only because of T-Mac Combine the 2 of the most popular players in the league and people are gonna talk about you.
