for this coming season, it would not surprise me if the Celts' crafty veterans will make it to the Finals instead of Miami.
From my point of view, the 96-97 Rockets with Olajuwon-Barkley-Drexler were highly entertaining in ending up with 57 regular season wins. They came within 2 wins of facing the Bulls/Jordan in the finals (ahh, we wanted to see that!). The Jazz team they lost to in the conference finals had a franchise record 64 regular season wins and had peaked with the Stockton-Malone duo and a strong supporting cast. This was the closest I can recall that the Rockets came to a realistic shot at the Bulls and Jordan. The Rockets came up just a bit short, but had a heck of a season, putting a real move on making the finals again. It was a bold move bringing in Barkley, and it came close to the ultimate payoff, the way I see it. And that 96-97 season realistically marked Olajuwon's last truly effective year of play. (All three superstars were on the verge of their declining years as players between that season and the next couple.)
Good points. People have forgetten both Wade and Lebron were winning even thou, that didn't have a lot of help. Now that they have help, not only will it win them more games, but it will prolong their careers by 2-3 more years. No longer will Wade, Bron, Bosh need to try to score 30+ every game etc to win games, and for Wade, this is the key. He was getting worn out, trying to eveything to win games for Miami with no help. Together they will be able to help each other out, and over the next 2-3 years they will get the role players they need. They have 6 years to work this out.
The Lakers might beat the Heat if they can stay healthy (for a third straight year, knock on wood), but there's no way in hell the Celtics have a chance. Both Wade and Lebron destroyed them in the playoffs. Who is supposed to guard them?
I don't see how they can make this work. Their roster will have NO BENCH, Lebron, Wade and Bosh will eventually have minor injuries and major fatigue which will come with carrying the team Wade's body can easily break down at any point The Big 3 all need the ball to be effective, and their games don't suit their teammates. When Boston bought in their big 3, the had a main ball handler and scorer in Peirce, an awesome 3 point shooter in Allen and a Defensive big No Defensive Big, look at the past championship winning teams, Lakers (Gasol, Bynam) Celtics (Perkins, Garnett) Miami (Shaq) Spurs (Tim Duncan) and Detroit (Wallace, and R.Wallace) They will have a red hot chance at the title but its not a lock or guarantee. They need to improve their roster more to become the favorites IMO
Excellent Point... Who are they going to get for the Vet minimum that will prevent the layup drill that will happen on a regular basis?
Hey, no team anywhere or any time has a guarantee to win a championship, more so these days than ever. Each team tries to position itself to do so, and this is just another variation. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but it's should be a heck of an interesting experiment. My guess is that they'll get plenty of interested players for various rolls on the team (we're a LONG way from seeing what the roster will be entering the season) -- and I bet that every arena they play will sell out. If I had a chance to see them here, I'd damn sure attend just to see the show and be entertained for a couple of hours. It looks to me like the team is being formed within the framework of the accepted rules of the NBA, so I don't hold it against any of the parties for wanting to give it a try. Maybe the fans AND the NBA need something like this to shake things up a bit and bring up the interest level.
All they need to do is throw a big guy and tell him to jump in and out of the key for three seconds. Maybe it'll be a name guy like Shaq, maybe an upgrade like Brad Miller, or maybe they'll just use that fat rookie they have. It doesn't really matter. There will be no layup drill because the big 3 all have length and athleticism at their positions.
Exactly, i mean imagine Yao going up against the vet min player, or Bynum and Gasol!! Also, bosh is not that great on defense either. I believe they will have some chemistry issues as well. Pat Riley's job is far from over
Yeah good point, they will be fun to watch that's for sure.. I also love the way D-wade plays and i think he deserves some further success.
I think the real value in this team is STAR POWER they will get ridiculous amount of STAR CALLS More fouls calls in their favor Less Palming, Traveling and offensive foul calls. Getting those rondo type 'handisapartoftheball' steals. I think this is what will make it sickening to watch Rocket River
No. Yao is not a very social guy. He's not a great PR guy like Wade. Plus Houston? This city gets ZERO respect from the media.
I'm trying to move on and not feel any twinges or sour grapes about not getting Bosh. I'm one of those who would have liked to have him here, but at the same time didn't want to lose what we'd lose in sign-and-trade. Getting my mindset into one of "Hey, I'll just watch and hope for some good general entertainment" (in terms of the Miami team) is one way of keeping my head straight with what the Rockets can and will do this coming season. Given that likely nothing we could have done would have changed the current situation with the Bosh/LeBron/Wade Miami thing, I'm kind of happy about where we Rockets fans presently stand (regardless of whether the big experiment in Miami works or fails).
I could see the opposite. Next year Yao could sign with the heat for mle due to health concerns. He won't even need to be that healthy except for the playoffs.
If the super team fails to win the Championship this year? Gave up 30 million dollars for Lebron and Bosh. Huge failure and nobody wants to do it again for a while. Lot of variables here. They could end up laughing sticks or totally right. Definately laughing stocks if anything but a ring happens this year. Could redeem it next year but that will be enough to make people think twice of super teams. Yes other teams as of now are probably still ahead of them until we see how they work out.
The Heat will fail. Isn't this the same exact reason they put the salary cap in place? So one team won't monopolize the whole league? They won't be able to sign enough quality role players. All three said it's not about the money, obviously it's not about the fans, and it sure as hell isn't about their own personal legacies. They just want what all ladies around their age want, a ring.
