S.I. Writer feels that Rockets are challengers to the Suns/Mavs throne

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/02/06/bosh.notes/2.html

Ian Thomsen

The race in the West


The People's Championship will be determined in May when the league-leading Mavericks and Suns meet in a seven-game Western conference finals that should recall the spirit and flow of the 1980s. The best -- now that I think of it, the only -- real rivalry in the league is between Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, the MVP favorites, best friends and former teammates who are both obsessed with winning a championship.

Fans have been waiting two decades for a reenactment of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, which had the makings of a real argument: White star vs. African-American star, traditional Eastern values vs. Hollywood, etc. But that sort of collision isn't likely to happen again. For one thing, the players all seem too friendly with one another to produce the kind of slow boil that extends beyond the court.

Under these circumstances, Nash vs. Nowitzki is the best we're going to do. It's almost a sibling rivalry, defined not by their differences but by all that they have in common -- their shared background as young players tutoring one another in Dallas to become the best in the league, their shared humility and team-first approach to basketball that will momentarily trump their friendship should they meet this spring.

Which leads to the question: Which of their rivals can come along and screw it all up?

At the top of the list I hereby nominate the Houston Rockets. Through Monday they were just 1½ games behind the Spurs for third place in the West, even though Yao Ming has been out with a broken leg since Dec. 23. In the meantime Houston has established itself as the No. 1 defensive team in the league while bringing out the best in Tracy McGrady as a scorer/playmaker who provides whatever his team desires on the particular evening.

Is McGrady as hungry to go deep in the playoffs as Nowitzki and Nash are to win a championship? He'll have an opportunity to answer that question when Yao's MVP numbers as the NBA's best center are reunited with Houston late next month. Because Yao is such a complementary star, and because McGrady has matured to become one of the league's finest scoring playmakers, there's a strong chance that Yao's return will enable the Rockets to ignite (sorry about that) while building up a head of steam (excuse the rocket imagery) and firing on all cylinders (OK, enough is enough) into the playoffs.

San Antonio obviously could knock either Dallas or Phoenix off stride in the second round. But since late November the Spurs have gone 2-9 against their top five opponents in the West, including recent losses at Utah and Phoenix as they embark on an eight-game, three-week stretch away from home. Can San Antonio hold off Houston for the Nos. 3 or 4 seed? It will be a crucial race for McGrady, who has never won a playoff series mainly because he's never held the homecourt advantage.

The other darkhorse to fear is the Lakers. Kobe Bryant is the most talented player in the league and Lamar Odom is back in the lineup. The good news for the Mavericks and Suns is that they'll probably avoid an opening-round matchup against Kobe's Lakers, who appear unlikely to drop any lower than their current No. 6 seed.

The Mavericks (18 road games, 16 at home) and Lakers (17 of their remaining 33 are on the road) have the toughest schedules coming in among the Western contenders. The easiest? Houston (18 at home among its final 35) and Utah (17 at home among its final 33).

Nice to see that at least some people in the media think the rockets are a pretty good team. Also, t-mac getting some props after being down last year...this can only feed his confidence.

 

i'm thinking around 2-3 games to get comfortable with Yao back in the lineup, and maybe around 5-6 to actually become really good with him back. we'll still win games, but not as many as we could have. i hope i'm wrong and that they re-integrate yao really well into the system...