http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/5820544 Preview is out - Rocks picked 3rd in the division. 3. Houston Rockets Steve Francis This the most interesting team in the West because there is so much unknown with the arrival of 7-5 center Yao Ming from China. Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley already form an explosive backcourt capable of laying 60 points on any team on any night. Forward Maurice Taylor will finally play for them after spending all of last season in rehab from a preseason torn Achilles' tendon. Eddie Griffin will be much better as a shot-blocker at power forward too. But that's not all with this team. They have a terrific young forward in Kenny Thomas who defends and rebounds, Glen Rice can still shoot the rock, and out of their sign-and-trade of Hakeem Olajuwon before last season, they earned the draft choice that turned out to be a terrific young swingman out of Yugoslavia named Bostjan Nachbar. Kelvin Cato gives them another big body up front, and Moochie Norris and rookie Tito Maddox will help in the backcourt.
"A powerhouse in the making" that sounds damn good. This guy is pretty smart. I'm just waiting for espn to jump on the bandwagon. Bunch of losers.
I really get the sense that many have taken a note of the depth, although most, except ESPN, have missed the whole Tmo thing. It is only just a matter of time. In fact the bandwagon may not have enough space if Yao continue to turn some heads. Although we play them in early December, we should send them a followup message tonight.
great article. and your right, Slovenia is where he is from and played. but the article is all good...
whats gonna piss me off is that David Alridge and the rest of the espn guys are gonna be jumping on the rockets after they realize what a good team they are gonna be. You know they are all gonna claim that they knew the rockets had the potential and they are showing it now it really pisses me off. man I hope they are gonna have an NBA primetime show with chris berman or something now since they are on espn berman rocks!
Season Preview Strengths The young backcourt of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley is as explosive offensively as any in the game. They are incredibly quick at getting to the glass or shooting from 3-point range. The Rockets now have a deep frontline with Yao Ming, Eddie Griffin, Mo Taylor, Kenny Thomas and Kelvin Cato. Rudy Tomjanovich is one of the special people in the NBA and an exceptional coach. Weaknesses They have gotten into the habit of losing, failing to make the playoffs three years in a row for the first time in 29 years when they were still a fledgling organization that had never finished .500. Francis is a mega-talent who hasn't been consistent yet. Realistically, you say that about everybody on the team. Players to keep an eye on Griffin, Taylor and Thomas must grow up this season. They all have talent and haven't proven to be the kind of players most expected them to be. They are big and have extraordinary skills at the basket and on the perimeter. Now they have to prove they have the mental capacity to do it on a nightly basis against the big and tough frontcourts in the West. Intangibles Having gotten into the habit of losing, it will be up to Tomjanovich to change their mindset. Some of it is just maturity. Some of it is the way these guys don't think. It will be interesting to see how they grow together, because this is a powerhouse in the making. Pivotal player Yao can change everything and some believe he will. At 7-5, with shooting touch and a fearlessness from playing international ball since childhood, if he can handle all the attention he will receive, he could change them into a homecourt advantage contender. Prediction Third place in the Midwest Division (48-34) Season Preview
I'm fine with ESPN jumping on the bandwagon as long as they get more tv coverage. And by that, I mean games not necessarily highlights.
could that be more wrong? well other than the taylor part but he was hurt last year. so there were people who thought that kenny would be better than what he is? yeah right. if anything he's proven everyone wrong. as for griffin he pretty much has shown exactly what we expected him to. anyways thats nitpicking, good writeup. it's nice to see that after some preseason games and training camp that most of these rankings have been updated and put the rockets not only in the playoff hunt but a good seed.
The rockets are not in the habit of losing. We had two losing seasons in 3 years. The first was when Dream and Barkley were injured and they started the season in the crapper. We were playing playoff basketball by the end of that year. The second season, we were the best team not to go to the playoffs. We won 45 games that year which was only 2 games less than our 94-95 championship season. Dream was also injured quite a bit this season also. Last year, besides the time without Francis at the beginning of the year. We played .500 ball. So Francis would have been healthy, I think we would have least won 42 games. This team is not a bunch pansies finding ways to lose. They were just undermanned for 2 out of the three seasons.
People tend forget our less than impressive record when we made our run from the 6th position. Without the injuries we'd have come close to making the playoffs last year. I'm impressed that we're ranked 3rd in this particular article, but i'm thinking 6 or 7 even the 8th position would be more accurate. We've got the talent, with a season (or two) to mesh we will make a serious run...
