I dont understand the reason for all the pessimistic post on this board? We were good enough last year to win it all before Yao went down, if im not mistaken? We got rid of Rafer, heck we have a thread on this board where the same people who call Artest better than Mcgrady think we can't win it all. Well, that confuses me? Artest plays far superior defense than Mcgrady, shoots the 3 pointer at a way better percentage, and plays more within the offense. Heck, Ron(Our leader) Artest has made this team tough. Does Chuck Hayes "Superman dive" not get people wondering what this team is really made of? I feel like im starting a rally-cry to unite the optimistic with the pessimistic posters on this subject. Dont say this team can't win a championship. If you dont believe, then go join the Lakers bandwaggon.
You are too optimistic. You are not comparing to last year's team (which didn't achieve anything in the playoffs) to judge if we can win a Champ. You should compare to teams like Lakers, Celtics to see if we have the depth to beat them.
Well, considering the Lakers aren't that much better than they were last year, and im saying right now were a better team now than we could have been last year, id say im comparing them to supposively the best team in the league.
Need more chemistry and confidence, but I have been saying that once Tmac went out, they are better than most people think.. Why not us, why not now? DD
Wafer has to be dynamic in the playoffs, and shane has to give us atleast a decent offensive performance..
winning championships takes a lot of things. talent-wise, we are a shade below the elite teams, namely boston and the lakers. grit and smarts - this we do have (if yao never has a foul like his 6th today). refs' favoritism - we obviously don't have it. luck - something we've been lacking for quite some time. had boston lost either game 7 last year, their big 3 experiment wouldn't have been successful. and come playoff time, a team needs a lot of luck, and that includes match-ups. a toss up here. maybe we are due for some breaks for good. but all in all, i agree with the op. sometimes it just gets a bit too pessimistic.
Thats the point im trying to make. People look past Artest's defense, efficiency, and leadership. They forget about Tracy's lack of efficiency, high volume of shots, and mediocre defense, and lack of leadership. Id say that the improvement of Scola, Landry, and the pick up of Wafer will pay dividends.
I think the stretch this week of facing the Lakers, a hot Bobcats team and the Spurs will reflect where the team is when compared to the contenders.
I think that hoping for a championship Rockets team is unrealistic at this point. I do feel like we can get past the first round with this group of guys, though.
champion? come on, we have't achevied anything at all in past 5,6 years with yao and Tmac. first , let's focus on past the first round, in west , it's all about the matches. hopefully, we can get the opponet who we want
I'm with the OP on this one. * We are 42-23, most of our 23 losses were due to TMac and his knee problem + lack of desire to play defense or play within the offense. * If we played all 65 games without TMac this year, we'd definitely have the #2 seed in the West right now and probably battling the Lakers for the #1 seed. * You have to be a very damn good team to have #3 seed in the West.....it's fine that we're flying under the radar, I like it that way. * Scola + Battier + Artest, very active players that play with a lot of heart = success in the playoffs.
I actually just started asking this question to myself. Why not? Why can't Scola be a big contributor in the playoffs? Why can't Artest and Yao carry the team? Why? If we finish 3rd or 2nd in the west...than maybe the nation should ask that question also...in fact when we are playing in the conference finals the slogan needs to be "Why not?" This team is only getting better and tougher, and if we survive our schedule for a top half seed in the west, we deserve a ton a credit.
The thing is...those past 5 or 6 years mean nothing man compared to this year. Those were different teams, we didn't have guys who could start on other teams coming off the bench like Landry and Lowry. We had a guy that wanted it to be on him instead of the team, Tmac had a lot of 4th qtr meltdowns in the playoffs...i'll just leave it at that. Why can't Yao put this team on his shoulders and carry them to be contenders? Just why not? He's playing much better than the last time he played in the playoffs which was like two seasons ago. I'd argue that he's a MUCH better player now than before...why not? Why can't Yao pull a Hakeem and show the entire nation that he's for real... I'm also saying to myself...why not? If we beat the Lakers two more times that means we've split with the Cavs, i'm sure we'll sweep the Magic. We've split the Cavs and Celts... We play on equal footing with those teams, why can't we be a contender?
This is the best Rockets team since 1997, yet for some reason people here think we have a worse chance at winning a championship than in previous years. I agree with you OP. I havn't felt this confident heading in the playoffs in forever.
I never said that we would win, I am just confused on why we cant? People say Artest is better than Mcgrady, and then they think we cant win it all. What is up with that? I am optimistic to, very optimistic. I dont see any reason why Von Wafer cant be big in the playoffs. I dont see a reason why Yao can't dominate in the playoffs. I dont see a reason why a team that plays good defense can't win a championship. I dont see a reason why a team led by Artest can't make noise in the playoffs. I dont see why we can't beat a soft Lakers team. Why even root for a team if your going to count them out. Some people are just a little to grumpy for the Rockets.
Remember, never doubt the heart of a champion. Maybe that was the lowest(6th) in a while...and that was by OUR team.... So why not? We can still finish 2nd btw...and if we do finish in the top half...just why not?
