I think they will make the playoffs and I also think their lineup will look a lot like this: C Cato PF Thomas SF Rogers SG Anderson PG Francis Bench: Mobley Walt Hakeem Pig Bullard Drew Gray Gray will make it as 12th man because he works hard and does what is told to do and is effective. This team would be good enough for an 8th seed upset, but its hard to tell from now. If we do make the playoffs they will be super exciting to watch! --Rocketman From way down town! BOOM NAJERA!
Dream on the bench, nope. Cato to the bench, you need 2 offensive threats to be succesful, and dream can still score. Just ask yourself one question. Who would you rather be getting a Francis pass to score, Dream or Cato? DaDakota
Just ask yourself one question. Who would you rather be getting a Francis pass to score, Dream or Cato? Cato, without hesitation. Cato, Thomas, Miller, and even Hamilton all have ways of getting open right underneath the rim, resulting in dunks, layups, and 3pt plays. This has been the staple of the 10-assist Francis games... Dream, on the other hand, doesn't bang anymore, and instead tries to do all these fancy moves that just don't work all that often (this was the case before the injury too). His strength now is the 10-18ft jumper , and I'd take a Cato 4-6ft shot (or dunk) over a Dream 18ft jumper...
Given Kenny Thomas' recent surge in playing, Id still rather see a playoff lineup of Hakeem Cato Rogers Anderson Francis That team would have 2 bonafied scoring threats. 3 defensive minded players, an all around good player in Anderson, and a Junk yard type player in Rogers? Who could defend a team like that, short of maybe the Spurs or Blazers?
Rocketman: Are we giving up on TMass so quickly? You don't have him on the team. I really like Dreamshake's line-up, with Mobley/Thomas playing tag team with Walt/Dream or Shandon/Dream depending on who's having the better 1st q between Walt/SA. Anyhow, the big line-up is something we'll need against, Portland and SA for sure. I also like the fast line-up for 2nd and 3rd quarter bursts of: Cato Rogers/Thomas Mobley Anderson Francis We definitely can be a great bench team.
Hey shanna, This just in, Thomas Hamilton was waived by the Rockets on January 12th. I would still rather have Dream in there for offense instead of any of those except maybe Thomas. Miller, has a hardtime with wide open layups. Don't get me wrong though, I love his energy and rebounding. Cato has a hard time with anything outside of 2 feet. Thomas can hit the jumper and force his way inside. Hakeem is still the best center we've got, offensively and defensively. Even though I'm still waiting for him to play above the rim like he suggested, I really believe once he gets his stamina back, he'll be a force again. As for his poor start, he had probably been hampered by that injury all season long. I'm pretty sure hernias don't just pop up on one play. ------------------ Is it any coincidence that we are the only team mentioned in the national anthem? I didn't think so!
Does anyone think that Charles Barkley would want a spot on the Rockets playoff roster even if he is never gonna play? Weren't the Knicks the first 8th seed to reach the finals last year? I mean the Rockets have just as good of a chance as anyone to reach the Finals. Wouldn't Charles want to play in an NBA Finals? If I'm Barkley I quietly ask Rudy for the 12th man spot over Gray even though Gray will be more useful. If the Rockets make it to the Finals, Barkley can get in some minutes, and maybe even win a ring.
I think that's wishful thinking. The Knicks played in the Eastern Conference... notoriously weak. I'm not sure if any of them besides Indiana and Miami would make the playoffs in the West... maybe nto Indiana. Once the Knicks had beaten Miami... it was a coin flip. Besides, their playoffs coincided with the emergence of Marcus Camby... I don't think we have any players to surprise like that. Could you imagine the Knicks of last year in the West? They'd have lost in the first round. I do think we're good enough to be a playoff team... but this record is so restricting. If the season started anew today... we would make it. I just have difficulty believing we're going to win 66% of our games the rest of the way... which may be necessary to make it in the west. I'm really afraid Houston may end up in the worst of possible situations: too many wins for a good lottery pick, too few wins for the playoffs. That said... I'm hoping Francis can carry Houston to the playoffs.
I'm pretty sure that, if we make the playoffs, Barkley will be on the roster. Not because he'd be expected to play or to give him the opportunity to play if we somehow made the Finals, but just as a show of respect. After all, they could cut him from the roster right now and put a healthy body in his spot, but they won't do it.
