I hate to make a thread about this but did anyone catch the chat? I know there were some Rockets talk. If so... Can anyone post it?
[rquoter] Gabriel (Bristol, CT): Any predictions for the rest of the Rockets' season? Will they make the playoffs? How about the second round? SportsNation John Hollinger: They're pretty solid on the playoffs after winning the first three without Yao, including one over Denver. By my estimate they only need to go 9-14 the rest of the way -- they should do that easily. As for winning a round, it's possible, but they'll need to get a favorable matchup, and probably home court too. = Brandon, Midland, TX: In your opinion, how much of the Rocket's winning is attributable to their soft schedule and how much to the emergence of Scola, Landry, and Alston? SportsNation John Hollinger: I'd go about half to each. They played a brutal early schedule, which made their struggles seem worse than they really were. But at the same time, adding Scola and Landry to the mix was huge because they had so many non-producers in the rotation a year ago. One other thing -- they had a lot of ineffective players (James, Francis, etc.) taking up minutes early in the season, and that hurt too. = Joe (Kent, OH): John, how can you be puzzeled that the early 90s Suns didn't win a title? One word....Michael SportsNation John Hollinger: Doesn't explain the losses to Houston in '94 and '95. Most puzzling moment: They had a chance to knock the Rockets out in the final seconds of Game 5 and Westphal called a play for Wesley Person. = Jared D. (Las Vegas): John, I would agree that a healthy Lakers team would have to be the favorite, but what are the chances they get upset in the first round by the Warriors/Nuggets/Rockets? SportsNation John Hollinger: I wouldn't want to see Denver if I were them ... not if Nene and Chucky are back. I think they can handle the others. Actually, I'd also be leery of Dallas -- the Mavs are tied with GST in the loss column, so they aren't out of the woods just yet.[/rquoter] http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=19554
Mostly Kobe vs LeBron talk, but there were a few Rockets-related questions: [rquoter] Gabriel (Bristol, CT): Any predictions for the rest of the Rockets' season? Will they make the playoffs? How about the second round? SportsNation John Hollinger: They're pretty solid on the playoffs after winning the first three without Yao, including one over Denver. By my estimate they only need to go 9-14 the rest of the way -- they should do that easily. As for winning a round, it's possible, but they'll need to get a favorable matchup, and probably home court too. Jake (Palo Alto, Ca): With James, Pargo, Wells, Andersen and Ely/Armstrong, has the Hornets bench gotten strong enough to help come playoff time? SportsNation John Hollinger: James and Ely/Armstrong should never be mentioned as positives. The real difference maker would be Birdman, provided he comes back and plays the way he did the year before he was suspended. Hornets are getting nothing from their backup bigs right now (Ryan Bowen? Seriously?), so he's be a huge, huge improvement, IF he's in game shape. Brandon, Midland, TX: In your opinion, how much of the Rocket's winning is attributable to their soft schedule and how much to the emergence of Scola, Landry, and Alston? SportsNation John Hollinger: I'd go about half to each. They played a brutal early schedule, which made their struggles seem worse than they really were. But at the same time, adding Scola and Landry to the mix was huge because they had so many non-producers in the rotation a year ago. One other thing -- they had a lot of ineffective players (James, Francis, etc.) taking up minutes early in the season, and that hurt too. Joe (Kent, OH): John, how can you be puzzeled that the early 90s Suns didn't win a title? One word....Michael SportsNation John Hollinger: Doesn't explain the losses to Houston in '94 and '95. Most puzzling moment: They had a chance to knock the Rockets out in the final seconds of Game 5 and Westphal called a play for Wesley Person. Jared D. (Las Vegas): John, I would agree that a healthy Lakers team would have to be the favorite, but what are the chances they get upset in the first round by the Warriors/Nuggets/Rockets? SportsNation John Hollinger: I wouldn't want to see Denver if I were them ... not if Nene and Chucky are back. I think they can handle the others. Actually, I'd also be leery of Dallas -- the Mavs are tied with GST in the loss column, so they aren't out of the woods just yet. JC (denver): Yes, the Wes Person miss still haunts Auburn fans as bad as Suns fans. SportsNation John Hollinger: I take it we have some bitter Suns fans in here. [/rquoter]
