"There are little pockets of resistance." JVG Comments

SF is not close to the level AI at.

Even AI starts to pick up the "Team Play"! You can tell it from his recent games and comments.

By the way, AI is dreaming to have Yao on his team (he said something...)


A Yao-only fan from Philly.

 

--AI has to do what he does on his team bc there is not much help around him, Steve has plenty, right now steve is our best player, huge Yao fan but in a one on one situation or even in double teams steve can break them down, its now time for him to use those skilss when absolute necessary and not bail a play or an offensive set when there is still time to throw it in the paint for an easy 2

 

Please....

I won't argue about HUGE telents on your team if you are a Blazers, lakers, spurs, kings or even Pacers fan.

But, Houston.... Please. SF and Yao are only ones you can name as a "STAR". and they are not finished products..

Rockets fans here do like saying"we have enough talents".... Please, this is NBA, every team is basically loaded with talents...

76ers won't want anyone from Rockets except Yao.

Wake up, Rockets, you don't have the talents which will gurantee a playoff-spot. If you don't play the right way, you better stop dreaming postseason and BETTER LET YAO GO.

 

What can I say, like most of my predictions, I am usually RIGHT! Sort of like my prediction of two months ago that Francis and JVG are not on the same basketball page. This will become more obvious as time goes on. HOWEVER, if they get on the same page, the Rockets could become very good. We will know in a month or two.

 

You only have over 1,500 more posts in this thread to go before your prediction becomes reality.

 

EXACTLY!




whats up with Francis thinking he's a Rocket lifer by saying, "whatever, I'm not going anywhere?"

dude may need a serious kick in the ass...back to Vancouver.

 

Come on DavidS, this is laughable. Why are you even teasing yourself with this thought? You know better than this. A person would have to be out of their mind to trade Melo. Especially for this pair.

 

Man, if you guys are this pumped over these useless preseason games I can't wait for the regular season to begin.

Thank goodness Houston is as flat as can be, can you imagine if we had a few cliffs around this town

 

There was a thread with 1700+ posts??!! If so, it was longer than the Bible! You're kidding aren't you?

 

bobfinns fantasy bball draft - 2200+ posts

Smeggys footy league - 1000

a few others around 800 in the fantasy forum.

in hangout:

1000 signs you're an obsessed rox fan(500 posts)

MacB's pornstar thread(480)

others around 450

in GARM:

733

617

581

etc, etc ...

cmon, brush up on your bbs history nostradamus.

 

I feel so small! This thread feels so small! I am awash with humility!

 

PHOENIX -- Frank Johnson is fuming. The Suns' second-year coach has just concluded a morning practice and doesn't have many nice things to say about his young, upstart squad.

"We are struggling, when we should be flourishing," Johnson says as he shakes his head.

Johnson keeps his players in practice an extra hour after an embarrassing loss to the Nuggets the night before in Denver. In that game, the Suns gave up 113 points to Denver -- a team that many thought would struggle to score this year. Phoenix petered out in the second half and was outscored 57-42.

"Fatigue. Lack of discipline. No sense of urgency. Lack of depth," Johnson said. "All of those things are coming into play."

Johnson makes his players run a suicide. After a few drills, he runs them again. He's pushing, imploring his team to regain the attitude that carried them into the playoffs last season. At one point Amare Stoudemire appears on the verge of beating Cezary Trybanski to a pulp. Johnson doesn't mind.

"We had a high level of defensive intensity at the end of last season," Johnson said. "We have seven, eight guys who played in the Spurs (playoff) series last season. They know how to play at a certain level defensively. We haven't exhibited that so far.

"I told our guys, last year we were picked as the 28th-best team in the league. Now we're picked anywhere from seven to 15. Are we complacent? I don't know. Are we playing with a sense of urgency? No. Last year when we went to training camp, everyone had a chip on their shoulder because it was embarrassing how low we were picked. Now we're picked a littler higher and some guys think we've made it."

The perils of success.

Ask just about any general manager in the league and they'll tell you that the Suns are the best young team in the NBA. They ooze athleticism, size, talent and attitude. Last spring, they played the world champion Spurs better than anyone in the playoffs. The Suns were supposed to be at the beginning of a rebuilding project, but they shocked the league with their poise and rapid development.

Just a few weeks into last season, it was clear they were going to be much better than anyone expected.

Stephon Marbury played unselfishly and with a newfound passion. Shawn Marion put up All-Star numbers. Penny Hardaway bought into his role as a complementary player. And the rookie Stoudemire looked nothing like the raw, just-out-of-high-school kid he was supposed to be.

This year, the team has nine returning players.

But did too much early success spoiled the Suns?

"I think that's just coach trying to pump up his players," Marbury said. "It's the preseason, man. We don't have all of our offensive sets in yet. No pick and rolls. We spend all of our time talking defense. But everyone knows the Suns play offense."

“ We think we're good and we're not that good. If you're good, you compete. Tonight we were a lot closer to what you all predicted last year than to what we're supposed to be this year. ” — Frank Johnson

That's the type of thinking that makes Johnson's blood boil. Johnson and GM Brian Colangelo know this team has the talent to compete with anyone in the West. But the fact that the players know it can be a problem, not a strength.

When asked whether the Suns were the best young team in the league, Marbury smiled. "That's a fair assessment," he said. "That's our mindset. We feel that we can play with anyone."

Even the Lakers, Kings, Mavericks, Spurs and Timberwolves -- the pride of the NBA?

"Those teams are good," Marbury said. "But if you watched the playoffs, you know we're just as good. Plus, those teams made changes. We've got everyone back. We're just getting better and growing together."

Stoudemire disagreed with Johnson's critique, too.

"I think we're still hungry," he said. "I think things are going well. We're working hard. We're focused. I'm not going to panic after two preseason games."

Neither is Colangelo, because there is some good news in Phoenix.

Though Stoudemire spent the first half of the summer fixing his vision (he was almost blind in one eye) and having some minor surgery on his toe, the 20-year-old also began working this summer on a lethal 15-foot jumper. In two preseason games, Stoudemire's jumper has been falling with scary regularity. Adding an outside game to his inside game may make him unstoppable.

The Suns are also counting on third-year swingman Joe Johnson. His steady play in the summer league and in the preseason has Colangelo finally believing he's found a replacement for the aging Hardaway.

"Joe has lacked consistency in the past," Colengelo said. "But he's maturing. I don't think you can name 10 guys his size in the league that are capable of doing what he can do. If this is his year, I like our chances."

Alas, another game against the Nuggets, this time at home on Saturday, ends in defeat. For the third straight game, the Suns give up over a hundred points. Stoudemire and Johnson shine, but the rest of the team (Marbury goes 2-for-13 from the field) can't pick up the slack.

Moreover, the Suns are consistently outhustled the entire game. Johnson emerges from the locker room after the game with some more tough love for his team.

"We think we're good and we're not that good," he said. "If you're good, you compete. Tonight we were a lot closer to what you all predicted last year than to what we're supposed to be this year."

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN.com's ESPN Insider.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=1637182


Interesting article by Chad Ford, seems like they are going through the same thing we are. Outhustled, bad defense, No sense of urgency.

 

Yay!! There ARE intelligent people on this bbs!!!!

 

It looked to me that Steve decided to run JVG's offense against the Kings. And he still managed nearly 30 points. Let's hope he learns- staying within the system doesn't mean he won't score.

It's a start, let's hope it continues.

 

The Myth behind Steve playing the same way for five years quote has already been debunked... Or rather the truth behind it has been exposed.

 

Steve is still our best player no matter how much you guys hate it. His play for the last 5yrs really hasn't been that bad.

Rookie Year - He was a rookie, Barkley was injured, and Hakeem was done. Oh and the rest of the starting lineup was completed w/ Shandon Anderson & Walt Williams.

2nd Yr - the team won 45 games and had the best record of a team to not make the playoffs EVER!

3rd Yr - He got injured and the team won only TWO of the games he didn't play in.

Last Yr - Team is poised to make playoffs w/ a 5gm win streak but Rudy gets ill and Larry Smith sucks as a coach and we loose out by 1 game.

His comment was stubborn, but I think he's just trying too hard and that is where the mistakes in his game come from. But please don't forget w/o him we'd still have Dickerson, Mahoney, Massenburg and co and we would be absolute garbage.

 

This is exactly the trade I was thinking about.

Mello is the real deal and I believe he will be the best player out of this draft. Plus I think your SF is the most important position next to the center in a center oriented offense.

Not that it would happen but... I would do it.

 

It has?
What is the truth now?

 

Rox99... please get your story straight before you come on bbs posting some subjective POV about how the Rox don't have talent. The 76ers got their 2nd best player KT from us...
remember that... and another point, if the ROX were in the East
they would definitely be better than the 76ers.

The Rox won't want anyone from the 76ers except AI...
You better understand that the only reason 76ers are even in the playoffs is because they are in the LEASTERN CONFERENCE

 

Is it just me or is this TROLL gettin on your nerves. "Better LET YAO GO" WTF is this guy talking about. He's a real 76ers fan with a ROX99 name attached to it. I hate to call anyone an idiot, but this TROLL obviously is.