1997 when we had the 3 hall of famers. High expectaions were put on that team and high expectaions are put on this team. Ofcourse the the top 2 teams that year Utah and Chicago are probbly better than any teams this year, but the depth of this year is much greater. Hopefully Rockets do something special this year.
if u want them to do something special this year, u should compare this team to the 1994-1995 houston rockets
too bad we never got a championship that year though? it is the best team we've had in a long time, and will have in the near future... However I have a nagging worry about our current team chemistry, philosophy and styles of play - I mean, Yao and TMac are definately half-court offense players, but just looking at our new additions and the preseason games, we're looking to run every possession? Head has improved, now he can play point and drive to the basket, not to mention VSpan, who is fast, can pass, has a nice little crossover move and likes to slash - Snyder plays around the rim as well - how will they gel with TMac, Yao and spot-shooter extraordinaire Novak? I miss the simple days of Olajuwon and the Shooters - he attracted so much attention everyone else was open. Not that double teams bothered him much, he could still get a shot off if he wanted, not to mention he could pass out of double teams like they weren't even there. And when The Glide came the following year, he was able to play well with him... Now Yao doesnt quite have these skills, which means everyone else has to step up their game - I just hope JVG can find the best offense for these guys... The last thing I want is for the Rox to become a run and gun team, rather than a defense-first mentality... I hate run and gun, you score I score... I'm worried about our preimeter D as well, going by these preseason games - I think we need taller guys like TMac, Bonz and Battier out there, otherwise we'll be slaughtered from the outside... I don't think Rafer, Lucas, VSpan are great perimeter defenders... not to mention matchup problems at the 4 - guys like Duncan, KG, Bosh etc are going to light up JHo and Bat... If we put Deke and Yao on the floor together to bring the extra defense, we're going to need another backup C, but it looks like we're going to drop Haryasz... The absence of Bonz so far makes me worried, and wonder about what exactly he can bring to the Rockets, whether he's going to have attitude problems, gripes if he doesnt get enough PT (like Yao), and whether his outstanding playoff performance last season was a bloody fluke or not... Having said that, there's potential for us to be a great team, maybe go 81-1 (mandatory blowout home loss to Bobcats), even maybe get a championship! You know the signs are good when Worrell brings out the line: "If the right one don't get ya..." Havent heard that line since...
This is the biggest season since...last season, when Stromile Swift was supposed to be the 3rd wheel behind TMac/Yao and lead us to WCF (and further) glory for the next 4 years...
But "Stro" had potential while Battier and Wells are proven goods. Also, even though Nokav and V-Span only played a few pre-season games, they have shown that they can do a lot more than Swift can even dream of. All this with the improvement of Rafer & Head...I say we have a much better chance than previous season.
That phrase - This is the biggest season since - has been overused every year. Let's make this year a building phase that can lead us into the playoffs...and hey, maybe further.
All this run and gun stuff with young players is nice and will help win some regular season games, but having two great half court players in TMac and Yao is what helps win in the playoffs. Half court offense tends to win in the playoffs.
Its true Hakeem was better than Yao is now but: 1) Rockets team is much better than it was with Hakeem (just TMac (when healthy) who (as much as I love Clyde) is much better than Clyde ever was) Tracy McGrady is too good. 2) This team reminds me alot of 1993-1994 with a two headed monster in Yao/TMac. Battier plays the role of a Thorpe (and a better one at that), Wells plays the role of a Mario Elie/Maxwell (again much better than them, he isn't quite as good at shooting but a much better post up guard), and Rafer is ALOT like Kenny Smith except trade the 3s for assist, but both could run an offense well. 3) Our bench is much deeper than Hakeem days, we had Horry and Cassell those years, but that was about it (I mean you can't actually count Chuckie Brown as depth ). Right now we have good players coming off the bench in Novak, VSpan, Snyder, Howard, Hayes, and Head all of which can play a solid 10-15 minutes (which they won't but every one is capable of playing solid for that much time maybe more). I think this team is DEFINATELY capable of winning championship and my prediction is this team finishes 2nd in West (regular season) after Dallas (UGGGHH) only because Dallas is a much better Season team (as much as it hurts me to admit it), Suns will be there along with Spurs but I think Rockets are better than both. I think once playoff time comes they will win, they are built for playoffs with a great 1/2 court team, and I don't think anyone in east is good enough to beat them (Heat are good but Shaq is getting really old and Cavs have LeBron but not much more and Bulls are OVERRATED Wallace is a very good player but he is NOT making a 1st round loser into a Championship team) 2006-2007 is Rocket's Year to lose (Barring Injury) GO ROCKETS!!
Difference being Battier has been proven veteran and Swift was a player that had potential. We also got better shooters, Rafer got better, and we got ALOT better at the 2 with Bonzi Wells.
Would you rather have Stackhouse, Buckner, and Ager or Bonzi, Snyder, and Luther? I'll take our guys. Then would you rather have TMac or Josh Howard? No brainer there. THen would you rather have Yao and Juwan or Damp and Diop??? Then how about Dirk and Croshere vs. Battier and Novak? (Well, Dirk is still the best of those for sure.) Then Terry, Harris, and AJ vs. Rafer, VSpan, and Head/JLIII?? Obviously, Terry and Harris for now. But I think VSpan is gonna give them a lot of trouble. I think we match up extremely well against the reigning WC champs. Can't wait to get it on. 1994-95
I think you should see more half court games in playoffs. So it's not a bad thing for Rockets to have half court experts.
Those are all pretty strong words considering you are saying that non-Champions are much better than Champions. I love T-Mac but before I say he is better than Clyde he has to do it on the court. Clyde took 2 Portland teams to the NBA finals before winning 1 in Houston with Hakeem. T-Mac has yet to win his 1st play off series. Honestly I see a lot of similarities between Clyde and T-Mac. Both had outstanding overall games and both have been the #1 man on their team. Battier better than Thorpe? Once again that is something I would have to see. Thorpe was a 20 / 10 guy before coming to Houston and sacrificed part of his game to fit in with Hakeem. He still averaged double / doubles most of his career here and was a terriffic defender in the post. Strong words.
I was watching some video of the 94-95 championship run with my son the other day. He's 18, a huge Rox fan, and can now truly appreciate what we were all so hyped about back when he was only 6 years old. A lot of memories came back watching those guys. We both commented on how much T-Mac's game reminded us of Clyde's; but as amazing as McGrady can be, injuries aside, I don't see how you can say he was clearly the better of the two. Did you watch Clyde at UH, while he was a Blazer, or during the championship year? He was a beast. Give the guy his due. Did you watch the Rockets that year? Do you realize the kind of chemistry that team had? Did you see what Hakeem did to MVP Robinson that year? Is Battier your Mario? Maybe. But who on this team is your Horry? Juwan? Who is your Sam? Rafer? You got a Kenny coming off the bench behind Rafer? I don't think so. This year's team looks great and we should be pumped; but the team in 95 was way more than Dream and a bunch of role players. I'm the first to be excited this year, but before these guys create magic, they have to develop chemistry; and before they develop chemistry, they need to actually be on the court together. Battier, Bonzi, Novak, Snyder, V-Span . . . let's give them a chance to play a couple of regular season games in a Rox uniform before we decide that their contribution will make this a much better team than the 95 Rockets.
individually, the Rockets are may or may not be better overall. but when you're on the court, it's the team that plays best together that wins and that is Dallas. don't be surprised if we're blown out the 2nd game of the season.
If it wasn't an injury prone season, last year we could have already lifted off DA, JB, wesley, Stro, Deke( 1 yr younger), yao, tmac, sura, rafer On the surface they looked really good
true. every year every team thinks they are going to the finals..i am just hoping and praying we can avoid any injuries. last year was horrible..david wesley couldnt guard anyone..barry was old..sura had like 50 surgeries..deke cant run with young guys..we had no shooters to support yao/tracy. i still dont know if alston can shoot.
