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so is it safe to say everything is going to be okay?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by thacabbage, Mar 4, 2007.

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  1. thacabbage

    thacabbage Contributing Member

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    it's been a rollercoaster ride the last 3 years. we started the '04/'05 season with the thinking that we would have 2 of the top 10 players in the game for the next 7 or 8 years. mcgrady was arguably as talented and explosive as anyone in the game and yao was poised to break through as a superstar.

    to start last year, mcgrady was still great, but the general consensus was that yao was a complete pussjob and probably wasn't going to get much better than he was. he just didn't have it. 6 months later, mcgrady looked like his career might be over and yao looked like the second coming of wilt.

    fast forward to this year where yao continued his dominance and removed any doubt that he had emerged as the game's best big man. mcgrady on the other hand removed any doubt that his career was over as the back problems continued and he looked like a shell of his former self.

    today, on march 4th, on the eve of yao's return, mcgrady is back, averaging 28 ppg with Yao out of the lineup. he's not the old mcgrady, but he might be just as good, and it appears the back problems are a thing of the past with the new treatment.

    here we are, 3 years later, after countless KG for Yao trade threads questioning Yao's capability to emerge as a superstar, and countless threads questioning the original thinking that brought mcgrady to houston, here we are with both superstars in the lineup with their problems behind them.

    is it safe to say that all is once again right in rocket land? that we are right back on the track we envisioned when we made the trade to pair these two great players 3 years ago?
     
    #1 thacabbage, Mar 4, 2007
  2. Northside Moss

    Northside Moss Member

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    The only way everything will be okay in Rocketland is if the duo win a championship.
     
    #2 Northside Moss, Mar 4, 2007
  3. kingkow

    kingkow Member

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    just hope that this is a repeat of what happened in 94
     
    #3 kingkow, Mar 4, 2007
  4. WhoMikeJames

    WhoMikeJames Member

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    Just imagine if McGrady never had any back problems, we drafted the right players, Yao didn't get injured (no toe, no broken foot, no knee) and we didn't trade Boki or Mike James. Where would we be? Come to think of it this Rockets organization has been on a bumpy ride since 98. I just want Yao or McGrady to get a ring. It would be sad to see a player like Yao get drafted and keep getting better but to be plagued by injuries and then get old and retire without a ring.
     
    #4 WhoMikeJames, Mar 4, 2007
  5. jVgOwnsYou

    jVgOwnsYou Member

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    Oh the drama of it all..I guess we will just have to be patient and watch and see.....
     
    #5 jVgOwnsYou, Mar 4, 2007
  6. Northside Moss

    Northside Moss Member

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    Mmm...that would be nice :D.

    But you could play that game with any team...imagine if Cleveland had kept Boozer, Andre Miller and Jamal Crawford, drafted Amare instead of Wagner, drafted Richard Jefferson or Joe Johnson over D.Diop and drafted Maggette or Artest over Langdon...and still sucked enough to get Lebron in 03.

    My god, that would be a dynasty.
     
    #6 Northside Moss, Mar 4, 2007
  7. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    Nothing is going to be great as long as we have Rafer on the team.

    God I hate that guy! :mad:
     
    #7 R0ckets03, Mar 4, 2007
  8. agentkirb

    agentkirb Member

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    In the short run, yes. We have a good chance at making the second round and being competitive against the #1 seed. Tmac doesn't look like he'll get injured any time soon. Yao is questionable, but probably fine. The only question in my mind other than that is Rafer, but other than that, we're good. This year is a success in my mind assuming we make the second round.

    In the long run, yes. San Antonio is a year away from falling apart. They don't really have any young prospects that are looking to be good in a couple of years. Parker is the only bright spot in their future, everyone else is old or injury prone (Ginobli). Dallas will probably be good for as long as we are good, so that will be an interesting rivalry. The Suns are going to suck in a year or two because Nash is getting older. Utah could become a good team. Other than that there doesn't look to be a team that will compete in the west in the next couple of years. In the long run, our team just gets better. Tmac will be the same, but we have yet to have a season where Yao and Tmac are both playing in midseason form. Either one is recovering from an injury, injured, ect or the other is.
     
    #8 agentkirb, Mar 4, 2007
  9. Patience

    Patience Member

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    Even if the Rockets win a championship??
     
    #9 Patience, Mar 4, 2007
  10. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    Crap. I misread the first choice and voted for it. Now it looks like I'm the only one on this board who's not yet convinced that Yao is great big man. And I can't change my vote! Damn. Damn. Damn. :(

    Let there be no doubt: Yao is a BEAST!
     
    #10 topfive, Mar 4, 2007
  11. JaWindex

    JaWindex Member

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    You've always got to be wary of Mcgrady's back. It seems like he always gets injured on the most routine of plays. Yao, on the other hand, has no more to prove to me.
     
    #11 JaWindex, Mar 5, 2007
  12. ShadyMcGrady

    ShadyMcGrady Member

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    McGrady is on the way to proving his reliability health-wise, as he hasn't had a back related incident since earlier this season, but he's not there yet. It would be nice for him to finish out this season and the post season healthy before I get my hopes up for next season.

    What more does Yao have to do other than stay off the injured list? I think he's proven himself fine as a big man and knowing him he'll probably only get better and better.

    Actually both Yao and McGrady have been kind of injury prone, but Yao's problem is more bad luck than a bad back.

    Anyways, barring any setbacks injury wise until the end of the season, yeah I think everything will be OK. But it's not safe to say it yet.
     
    #12 ShadyMcGrady, Mar 5, 2007
  13. BigM

    BigM Member

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    i don't know if there will ever be a time when ifeel 100% about t-mac's health but considering his play this year and yao's clear emergence as the most dominant post player in the game, i voted option 4.

    the key will be to keep these guys in a dominant mindset together for entire seasons, not just weeks at a time. the window for championships isn't huge but if we have health it can be more than a few years.
     
    #13 BigM, Mar 5, 2007
  14. JamesC

    JamesC Member

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    I think we have a lot to look forward to but its never safe to say everything is going to be ok.
     
    #14 JamesC, Mar 5, 2007
  15. SoccerFan

    SoccerFan Member

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    knock on wood!
     
    #15 SoccerFan, Mar 5, 2007
  16. Blue Beluga

    Blue Beluga Member

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    Okay, the following guys need to be exectued or kick off the board :D

    Barkley, high5, MacGreat, topfive, bob718, erying007, MSrockets, T-macming
     
    #16 Blue Beluga, Mar 5, 2007
  17. dradhzn

    dradhzn New Member

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    knock again .

    [​IMG]
     
    #17 dradhzn, Mar 5, 2007
  18. OddsOn

    OddsOn Member

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    I hope that brotha is getting razzed about that to this day! :D
     
    #18 OddsOn, Mar 5, 2007
  19. thacabbage

    thacabbage Contributing Member

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    -Utah is not going away but they don't scare me as a threat in the playoffs with the lack of a premiere go-to player.
    -All of Dallas' core players are under 30 and they're only getting better. This core should be competitive for the next 5 years. Despite the record disparity, I still would put us at the same odds to win a title in the next few years.
    -San Antonio should not be dismissed but it really is hard not to. They've looked awfully slow and old.
    -It depends how long Nash's health can hold up, but Phoenix should be elite for 3 more years.
    -Noone else worries me, Lakers and Denver included.

    With McGrady at 27 and Yao only getting better from here on out, it is tough to gauge how big our window is. Yao's improvement can offset McGrady's continued decline, but it remains to be seen how sharp that decline is from year to year. We should have 3 more good years with a real shot but it remains to be seen if management can continue to add solid players around them. Battier is a start, but we will need more as these other teams reload.
     
    #19 thacabbage, Mar 5, 2007
  20. eaglewu

    eaglewu Member

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    I am not worry their talent, I worry the injury. As long as they are healthy, I am glad.
     
    #20 eaglewu, Mar 5, 2007
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