The Rockets match up very well against the Sonics. Wesley has shown he can do an excellent job of sssllooowwwiiiinggg (slowing) down Ray Allen. Lewis would be matchud up with McGrady. And at this point in the careers McGrady is a top 5 player in the league. Now all we need is Yao to be assertive, which I think he will be in the playoffs. The Rockets bench can be so good. Not a Rocket sweep, but a series win for sure. So, in the second round the Rockets get matched up against the winner of Spurs / Nuggets. Now that will be tough without a power forward. Lets not forget the Nuggets have only lost to the suns since the all star break, from what I've read.
Any playoff series will be tough for the Rockets. I agree they CAN win but will they win? The playoffs are a tough place for a hurting team. A team without a marginally good PF; I love Spoon, but lets face he is no shooting threat. Yao, will have to play extremly good basketball and dominate the front line of the Sonics. T-mac will have to punish Lewis and make him play defense. And most important of all the Rocket's bench MUST come to play hard and shoot well out of the double teams. But Im writing what we all already know.
This could be an interesting first round in the WC if Duncan is not healthy. Without him, there are 3 out 4 definite upset possibliities with Denver and Phoenix playing the way that they are. PHoenix, SA, and Seattle are all primed for upsets if the seeds fell just the right way. I think both Houston and Denver could possibly upset Phoenix. I think Houston and Denver, whichever faces Seattle will upset Seattle. I think Memphis will have a good chance of upsetting Seattle. And Denver and Houston would both have a chance to upset SA without Duncan. Denver is a different team with Karl and with the addition of another guard in the offseason, they are going to be a prime contender next season. Seattle is going to go down if they face us or Denver, which is who they will probably face. I am looking for at least one more upset in the first round between SA and Phoenix. The team that I would really not want to face right now is Denver. As long as Duncan is injured, SA doesn't scare me. Denver does. They've got beasts down low especially now with the addition of Najara. They are going to bang whomever they play into the floor.
Karl....Oh, he is a thorn in the flesh of all Rocket lovers. He was one of the best coaches at defensing Dream. Im sure he has reached into his closet and dusted that old play book off getting ready for Yao and T-mac. Shoot he could probably do the same thing to Duncan. I think Denver will surprise us all.
With Karl as coach, the Nuggets have done nothing but win. I still bet that San Antonio wins the series, but heck there is a reason that they play the games. But, Denver can do it if San Antonio is not at its best, no doubt. So, either team will be tough for the Rockets (Denver or San Antonio). The first round seems tough but at least it seems more winable.
Phoenix owned Denver in the regular season, with or without Karl. Their weakness has been teams with good defensive post presense (SA and Houston). SA just needs to hold the fort. For other teams, the quicker they exit, the better. Dallas is the dark horse, but they're a defensive curiosity come playoffs. Houston always has the potential, but it seems like they never play the way you want them to play. Against Phoenix and LA, their best stretches were when Mutumbo clogged the paint and scored on offensive put backs. Getting Yao and TMac to mesh is still an enigma. It would take a lot of luck for the Rockets to advance to the WCF. If we get Seattle, then Denver is probably set for a collision course against Phoenix. A Phoenix/Houston matchup in the WCF is very possible if Duncan is more hurt than originally appeared.
