NOT!!!! The apathy... nay lethargy coming from the Rockets front office is mirrored by the total lack of optimism and excitement for the coming season that is manifested by the posts on this board And I don't blame most of you for being so uninspired!! I am too This team has as much chance of making the playoffs as Lee Brown does of becoming President of Marketing Come to think of it, as weak as this off-season has been, they might actually hire Brown when he leaves the Mayor's office in November!! Those of you eternal optimists who think the Rox are going to somehow magically make it past Dallas, San Antonio, L.A. Sacramento, Minnesota, Portland, Phoenix, Golden State, and Seattle are like the proverbial guy who whistles while he walks past the graveyard ! I know that I'm going to be flamed as somebody who's not a "real" fan, (probably by the same people who think the Dixie Chicks are members of Al Qaeda... ), but I was in denial last year too.
Sorry, but my opinion of you is that you are quite dumb. We are light years ahead of Golden State and Seattle, there is no debate about it! We are better than Phoenix, no question. The only reason they had a better record than us last year (1 game) is because we had an insufficient coach who couldn't get us past the subpar teams. I also BELIEVE we are capable of the fifth seed this year. Just because the Rockets didn't make a lot of moves doesn't mean they're not keepin up with all the other teams or we shouldn't feel good/optimistic about them - THEY DON'T NEED TO MAKE BIG SPLASH FREE AGENT ACQUISITIONS!!!!! We got the main pieces in place, we just needed a few role players, so please shut up with your worthless rant, the organization has good reason to be enthusiastic.
The rockets will definately make the playoffs this year .the only question is how far will they go after that?
I expect the Rockets to win at least 50 games this year. I think many of us want to see how Steve and Cat are going to play for JVG. If they accept coaching, this team could click. Both guys have great talents, but listening to the coach has not been their best asset. If those two buy in and perform this team will shine. If they're brats, it's gonna be a long season.
Golden State and Seattle are simply not our calibre. Only way they'd reach us is if we had an unfortunate injury to a main cog. Talent vs talent and coach vs coach, we beat the pants off those teams. Phoenix and Houston will take the last 2 spots IMO, with Blazers taking #6. However, I think #6 can open up if the Blazers deal Wallace to clean up their image and clear cap space. If they trade him to us, we could even jump as high as #5, but that's a pipe dream. Lakers Spurs Mavs Kings Wolves Will all make the playoffs, and will capture the top 5 spots. Contedners for the least 3 spots: Houston Golden State Seattle Phoenix Blazers I think that Houston, Portland and Phoenix are clear favourites over the other 2, only question is, who gets which spot? Our offense is bound to improve. Look at our offense numbers and compare them with all the firepower and offense we have on our team. It's unbelievable that we were not one of the better scoring teams in the league. Assuming we STAY PUT on offense (which I consider impossible), then the simple fact that JVG will improve our defense and defensive schemes and mentality will give us 1 or 2 more wins, automatically giving us a playoff berth. Basically, it depends on offense, on taking advantage of open jumpers, on taking high % shots. The problem stems from our PF rotation, who both averaged horrible FG% numbers for their position and number of open looks. I think it's a given that MoT will return to his close to 50% FG%, much like he did 3 out of the last 4 months of last season. For Eddie Griffin, the improvement will come from actually becoming bigger and actually buying into JVG, who will almost undoubtedly count on him being a putback, rebounds, defense, hustle, and high % guy. Basically, MoT and Griffin's performance will decide which seed we will be, and anything from 6 to 8 is easily possible.
Our team has the potential to beat any team any given night, but potential is only good for lottery teams. We should not be a team hoping to just make the playoffs like the last few years. Hoping doesn't get you there. We need to change(upgrade) this team in one of our foward spots to be considered foreal. It's nothing to brag about just making the playoffs, it just like being in the lotto but with no pick(noone thinks you can win not even yourselves). We need a vet with playoff exsperience to keep the boat steady and keeping us laget. We are considered dangerous but not taken seriously like LAC or GS. If we added that one more piece we would be considered a team that would do something in the playoffs.
I agree with #1 Fan Rockets-R-US - I will give you some credit for properly equating your feelings with the left side icons.... NOT!!!
I doubt anyone will bash you for not being a real fan, but maybe for this statement. Has there been a legit poster who has suggested we'd beat Dallas, San Antionio, LA, or Sacramento? Even the optimists are aiming at the bottom half of the playoff ladder.
R-R-U - Juan Valdez has hit the nail right on the head so it's worth reading again. As for beating: Dallas...a 19-31 team as recently as the strike shortened 98-99 season (40-42 in 99-00)...had nearly a 10 year gap between playoff appeareances...has no low post presence and is a serious Dirk Nowitski injury from mediocrity. San Antonio...has (arguably) one of the best players on the planet but the two hardest positions to fill on an NBA team are C & PG. How much difference is there between Yao/Cato & Nesterovic/Rose? How much between Francis/Norris & Parker/A.Carter? What if Mark Jackson signed a 1 year deal as SF's backup? Who has the PG advantage then? SAC Kings...4th city in the franchises history...not an historical NBA powerhouse... 34-48 in 96-97...27-55 in 97-98...27-23 in 98-99... LAL...What if the Malone/Payton experiment backfires? What if Shaq is in his declining years? The team lacks depth...George is good but is the Rox second unit better than George, Slavo, Pargo, Rush and Ho Grant? I'm not saying the Rockets are a Top Tier WC team...not now..not yet. But I am saying that I expect them to be competitive and I expect them to be better than last years 3-10 in games decided by 3 points or less. I also suspect that if we all keep whistlin' and keep walkin' (or runnin' in the teams' case), the graveyard will be behind us sooner than you think.
I think the Rox, the suns, and the blazers are going to fight for the final 3 playoff spots... I think that maybe the three will end up with the same recors or at least two of the teams... So i think this year it is important to win at least 3 games against the blazers and the suns... ENOUGH SAID
It's all about Yao. If he becomes a dominating, superstar player, then the Rockets will have no problems. If he is the same Yao we saw last year, then the Rockets will be lucky to get the 9th spot again. But I'm betting on Yao taking a big step forward, and the Rockets with him.
You're right RRU. I'm thinking our record next year will be -1 and 83. You know, we weren't a bad team last year, I just don't understand all the doomsday posts. And don't say because we lost Posey. He was the 4th best starter in our starting lineup.
i dont think that goldenstate or seattle will finish ahead of us,goldenstate has decent size to compete in west but they lost there starting pg in arenasso they have gotten weaker last year. seattle has nice perimiter team with lewis ray allen and b. barry but we all know in order to win in the west you need size! i think we will be battling phoenix for the 7 or 8 spot in west again
unfortunately, we must all be patient. what we needed most was a change in coaching philosophy and discipline. van will deliver. he took mediocre talent in new york and made it to the finals. his team always played hard- nobody wanted to go play them. if he manages to get everyone on the same page, we will be very difficult to beat. we didn't need to go out and get new players- we need the ones we have to play better and more as a team. everyone will be held accountable under van. i love rudy and all he did for us, but it was just time for a change.
Well, and why not be fourths for example. Be optimist. Our roster is better than San Antonio, maybe = than Sacramento or Lakers and Timberwolves. Remember: We have YAO MING. Maybe he do BOOM! this season. And he can be dominant. But we have also FRancis, yes francis, the best PG, Mobley, Taylor, Griffin improved, Van Gundy's defense... If we don´t have injuries, then we will be in playoffs. And why behind Dallas, for example? We have an inside game 10 times better than Dallas, and a backcourt 10 times better than S.A. Maybe we can be in the FIRST place of the Midwest. Why not? Is evident that we have defects, but like all teams.
Hmm... Maybe becuz much like last year we could beat the Spurs, the Kings, Lakers, and The Wolves... but why couldnt we get past the Mavs.. hmm... becuz when we played them we couldnt retaliate.. their offense is extremely good... and we didnt have the answer.. i mean sure we would maybe stop them inside sometimes.. but they shoot all around... if we put them on the perimeter they would kill us.. if put them in the mid range game they would kill us... so pretty much the rockets just needs offense... defense doesnt completely win you the game.. offense is what wins you the game cuz when you think about let me say this... If we were just running up and down the court not playing defense but only playing offense we would lose basically cuz we suck at shooting... DEFENSE WILL HELP BUT ONLY SO MUCH... remember that...
last season in the West ... San Sac Dal Min Lak Por Uta Pho Hou we are matched up fairly well with the Suns, and we have passed the Jazz. the Blazers are looking weaker. we can climb as high as 6th, but no higher this season. I expect us to get the 6th seed.
I'll comment on the front office woes felt by R-R-U.. Alexander said in the Chron that with the new unis, new stadium, & new coach that he wanted to make a splash in the free agent market and that the luxury tax wouldn't be a deterrent.. What a F*ing LIAR! Alexander should put his money where his mouth is. come to think about it, it probably was just a ploy to sell luxury boxes... as for playoffs, utah will definitely be out of it as long as they don't pull off the sweetest deal ever... i'm all for yao to 'do BOOM', but jodete is on crack if he thinks our roster alone is good enough to lift (no pun intended) the rox the the top of the midwest. playoffs are realistic, that's obvious w/ utah out of the picture and arenas going to the wiz. seattle might be closer if they gel as a team with ray allen (just see how they do w/o payton for the entire season, who knows?). the sonics were bad at the end of the season, but that's sort of expected when you got players getting to know each other. phoenix's roster could develop some too... you never know. i think the Rox will come in front of those two teams though, but the 6th seed is going to be one of those things where a team or multiple teams suffer major injuries and the Rox players stay healthy all season long. R-R-U, you got a problem with whistling?
