Yea... because we just blew our bestest shot at winning it all ever... and we'll never get another chance w/ these two guys and their amazing supporting cast. Jesus... some of you guys are acting exactly like the short-sighted fans of the Memphis', Dallas', Denver's, Orlando's, Sacramento's, and to a large extent Phoenix's of the world. Olajuwon failed in his first playoff series. When the team was rebuilt, he techinically failed again in 92-93 by losing to a Seattle team that never won a championship (much like the current Mavs team). Regardless of who we have on our team (because I'm a rockets fan for life) I just can't see any other team out there w/ two players who could potentially accomplish more in their careers on one single team. I never said that they're the greatest right now at this given moment... but seeing what all they were able to do w/ Scott Freaking Padgett and Ryan Bowen getting big-time minutes in the playoffs... the future doesn't look bad to me.
Maybe not the 30-something MVP-Hakeem in his prime... but the 20 something Akeem DID have a dominant player at his side and had no championships to show for it. Ralph Sampson had better skills than Yao, and was more of a dominant mis-match than T-Mac. The 85 team lost in the first round, and it had a young rookie in Olajuwon averaging 21 ppg, and the second-year Sampson averaging 22 ppg. That team did make it to the finals in 86... their SECOND full year together... but then Sampson's career started to take a dive. It is possible that this trek may take more than just ONE year... even for the best combos out there. If you think this team already had its best shot, I seriously question your b-ball IQ.
I maybe wrong but didn't a Lenny Wilkens coached, Seattle Supersonics win it all in the late 70s? I see what you're saying though, just messing with ya.
I was referring to that specific Sonics team... with Kemp, Payton and Karl coaching. The closest they got was in 96 vs. the Bulls. I know that the Sonics franchise has one championship... and I'm pretty sure Wilkens was a player-coach for them.
You're right, Akeem lost to the best team of all-time in 6 games in his second season, thus depriving him of a championship. Sampson was finished after that. You are aware that McGrady's been in the league 8 years now, right?
Hey... I'm very aware of that genius... and if the same thing happened again, you'd have half the bbs complaining that the Rockets are garbage because they couldn't beat the almighty Celtics. I was mainly pointing out that they failed THE YEAR BEFORE, and lost to a pre-Malone, pre-Stockton Utah Jazz team. That was their first year together. Are you not willing to give them more than one year?!? And if you're just going to play the black and white argument that "Tracy has arleady been in this league so long..." without looking at the context of it (he was a High schooler... takes them longer to do anything. he didn't have Grant Hill, or anybody else of real value, w/ him in Orlando).... then this discussion is really pointless.
I'm definitely willing to give them more than one year, but the situations just aren't comparable. Akeem was a rookie then, Sampson 2nd year, while Yao was in his 3rd year, McGrady his 8th. To add to that, McGrady was playing the best ball of his career, while Akeem was just getting started. Completely different situations. Also, Malone and Stockton were both on that team.
Actually, its pretty damn similiar. Both Yao and Tracy just finished their first year in playing together. They're both 20-something year olds who needed extra time to develop (and thus that's why the rookie-veteran disparity exists between them and Akeem-Ralph... the latter was NBA ready as soon as they left college). Also, a lot of the reason why McGrady was playing the best ball of his career was that he was finally put on a team that enabled him to do that... and the chances are (with him being only 25) that he will have more than one good year in him left. Finally, only Stockton was on that 84-85 Jazz team. He was a rookie who only averaged 5 points a game. Malone only came in the following year.
You can't have a thread saying how overrated Dirk is, get pimped by the team he is the best player on then say its comparable to Akeem/Ralph getting beat by the greatest team of all time. My whole point was it is stupid to have an entire thread devoted to thrashing Dirk when the team he was on just beat the bejesus out of you.
This thread is approaching comical levels, as some of you are talking only in absolutes, and refusing to read entire posts. First of all, I said TMac/Yao losing was comparable to UTAH beating Akeem/Ralph in 85... not 86. In fact, 1986 would merely support my contention to stay patient, and wait and see what this team can do in year 2. Secondly, take off the "player x's team won, so player x is great" glasses. His TEAM beat us. His TEAM lost to Phoenix in that second round. In both series, he didn't play as well as he did in the regular season... can you at least admit that? When you don't play as well in the playoffs as you do in the regular season (and you compound the situation by calling out players both on and off the court)... YOU DESERVE CRITICISM. If you honestly think Dirk played well this entire playoffs, you really need to start watching more playoff games (I know you don't get many in Memphis). Also, I already defended the reason why I can criticize Nowitski's performance. I've seen greatness... I've seen championships... and I've seen hall of famers rise above and beyond to lead their teams (all in Houston)... and Dirk is most definitely not at that level. FINALLY... if you think its stupid of Rockets fans to criticize Dirk... what position does that put you in? You're a Grizzlies fan... your team was worse than both Houston and Dallas. By your logic, doesn't that mean that you shouldn't be talking since your team got the BEJESUS kicked out of them both in regular season performance and playoff performance by the Rockets?
my goodness. i think some of y'all that DO appreciate Dirk needs to come with some valid points besides rehashing: -that he was successful in the playoffs other years. if that's the case, then i guess the 3rd leading MVP vote getter this year must have been just another overrated player -that Pau does not have good players around him. It's not our fault, nor Pau's, that Hubie, and now the Czar, thought playing each playing 20 minutes per game was a great idea. It's a nice plan for the season, but when playoff time hits, it's one of the worst plans out there. You can see that teams will have to shorten their lineup to better maximize a chance to win. If Hubie/Fratello had more faith in the BETTER players they have (Swift, Gasol, Wells, Miller, Williams) maybe they would advance more. To me, paying a guy top dollar and capping his minutes at around 38 minutes and never telling him that we expect him to be the franchise player will backfire. as for McGrady being in the league for 8 seasons, when did he come into the league again? when he was 18? how about Garnett? He's been in the league for a decade now and still has nothing. Kobe probly is counting his blessings that he had Shaq by his side or else he would have been with the same mediocre team he was with this year every year for the rest of his life. You know what, I am not afraid to admit that Dirk is a good player. He's an all star and he's one of the top forwards in the NBA. But like Kenny Smith said: The season is where you make your game, and the playoffs is where you make your name. He can lead the league in points per game for all I care, but if he does that and still puts up mediocre performances game after game, he's not worth building around. Heck, even Yao leveled up in the playoffs to a certain extent. These playoffs didn't show that Dirk is a bad player, it just showed the holes in his game and these holes are glaring AND potentially disruptive.
Not only can you not say that Pau definitely has a better supporting cast because you can't ignore that Yao is part of Tracy's supporting cast and Tracy is a part of Yao's, but you guys are ignoring the fact that Tracy and Yao were no lock for the playoffs before they got their supporting cast. Anyone remember 6-11? So even ignoring the fact they are each a part of each's supporting cast, they still needed a major roster overhaul to get this team on track. I'm not arguing that the Rockets aren't better than Memphis or their future isn't brighter than the Mavericks, I'm just saying this team is still more potential contender than it is real. So Rockets fans thumbing their nose at the rest of the league is still premature.
Not quite as funny as you pulling your disappearing act after every single Memphis loss to the Rockets. You have to be the biggest weasel I have ever seen. You talk smack before games then when your team gets slapped down you are no where to be found. I really don't have anything bad to say about Dirk except I thought it was lame when he stuck out his tongue on a put back over Yao, considering how badly he played in the first round series. But you have a lot of nerve coming in here lecturing other fans on talking smack about a player on a team that beat you. The season before, when Memphis was winning and beating the Rockets you were beating your chest. Instead of calling out Rocket fans, why don't you come in here and take your medicine after a Memphis loss to the Rockets. Even schwa does when Utah loses and he talks more smack than you, but at least he has some guts.
To be fair when we won the last game he did come in and had a few words and took some too, but that still doesnt take away from the fact that he is very jaded.. SEE MY SIG.. also if many of you have problmes with him just add to the old blocklist, but I rather like to see him eat his own words..
When do I ever talk smack. I put the same prediction in my thread every year. I can bet you won't find any posts of me going over the top bragging about Memphis last season because it didn't happen. The only time you can remotely say I talked smack is when Pau embarrassed Yao in the summer (that was more for humour), other than that I am pretty a pretty sedate poster. So nice try on the talking smack thing but just because you type it doesn't make it so....
So that's you call a 7 game series defeat? Thats exactly the point his team beat us but he was clearly not the best player on that team when they beat us. He is the best flopper though just like your spanish idol. What do you call when Spurs and Suns swept Greaselys 4-0 two consecutive years..
