Interesting stuff. If we judge who the wins are against as the measure of our team, then the Lakers are the best with Dallas also having a shot because they are second against top 10 teams and first vs. top 16 teams. Dallas is hot right now, and they are one one of the best teams in the league(Houston beat them by the way). But I don't consider the Lakers the best team in the league. They are good but not the best. As was said earlier in the thread by demeaning the wins against inferior teams it provides no alternative. The alternative would be to lose. There is no real debate that can be add with that one. I think simplified the answer is that wins are a positive. Nothing about the Rockets is 100% positive so there is plenty of room for discussion about what needs to be done to keep improving. But wins shouldn't be used as a negative.
I think he'll be back by at least the end of February, but like you said, probably not playing significant minutes (25 a night maybe). He should definitely hit his stride again in March. I'd be surprised if it was any later. I believe the beginning of February will mark the six weeks time frame. His injury wasn't anything significant, and with the shape he is in, I'd say it takes six to 8 weeks for the bone to fully heal. Plus, another week or two of training, which should put him back towards the All-star break. That's all just hypothetical on my part, though.
Well, our next 10 games are against top 16 teams, so if we are still .500 or better after that...without Yao in the line-up, then yeah, we're rocking!
The way I look at it is this, if the Rockets win I am happy no matter who they played, if the Rockets lose, I am pissed off no matter who they play.
Actually the Heat won the championship last year, without beating any quality team in the regular season But I do agree with you that we have to play better against good teams, to be taken seriously.
He did nothing to his cartilage. The MRIs revealed that. Besides, a cartilage injury can be fixed with arhtroscopic surgery and only takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal. I should know, I just had mine done on November 21st...
Who gives a damn about being "taken seriously" during a regular season? You force teams to take you seriously in the playoffs, that's when you make a name for yourself. As someone already pointed out, beating quality teams during a grind-it-out marathon that is the NBA season isn't necessarily an indication of a championship contender. Moreover, the ONLY point of playing those 82 games is to get yourself into the playoffs, and winning games is the key here, it's irrelevant what kind of competition you had or whatever kind of 'rush' you as a fan get when your team beats a good team...it still counts as one game, win or lose. I think some of you guys tend to over-analyze everything instead of just enjoying the positive results we've been getting. Teams like the Spurs and Suns have lost to 'bad' teams, it didn't matter much, because it still counts as only one loss, and the NBA season is long enough to allow some room for these 'pitfalls' without destroying your season. Without Yao, most of you were saying that merely floating around .500 until Yao gets back would be an accomplishment. So far, the team has not only done that, but they've actually improved the team's record since...so what exactly are you guys complaining about? I would submit to you that beating only the 'lesser' teams from now until Yao returns would be sufficient enough to keep us in contention. Winning a game here and there against 'superior' teams would only be a bonus for an already under-manned squad.
What do you mean 6 weeks for it to be usable, and a year for it to grow back? There is no cartilage injury in question, and on top of that, cartilage can't grow back. The cartilage gets no bloodflow, unless you're talking about the outer 1/3 of it. If that were the case, they could try and repair it by stitching it up, and that would take maybe 4 months to heal. Of course, though, Yao didn't injure his cartilage, and therefore, he doesn't have to have surgery on it. In most cases with a tear in the cartilage, they just snip the torn part right out, and let you go on your merry way. That's what they did with me. People function perfectly normal without it. In fact, sometimes, with mild tears, you can function normally even without the surgery.
I think the game tonight vs. the Jazz helps illustrate the point that not every game will be against a top 10 team. Tonight was and we won, but that doesn't mean that the other victories aren't important for getting us there too. Remember if you only beat the top 10 teams that would be at most 40 wins. I am happy to have this streak alive.
We have 7 wins against top 10 teams. The Spurs have only 6 wins against top 10 teams. Does that mean we are better than the Spurs? no. It means the Rockets and Spurs have no quality wins.
that's why i don't get into this lesser team, superior team stuff because you can only beat the team that's scheduled for that night. the sonics are suppose to be a "lesser" team but they gave the rockets more of a game than this "superior" team the jazz.
In addition to the 2001 Rockets previously mentioned: 1983 Kansas City Kings, 45-37 1982 Golden State Warriors, 45-37 The team with the worst record to make the playoffs (post ABA-NBA merger): 1986 Chicago Bulls, 30-52 Incidentally, 3 teams from the Eastern Conference (Washington & New Jersey, both 39-43, and the Bulls) made the playoffs with losing records that season, while San Antonio (35-47) made the Western Conference playoffs.
Ok there is a shuffling in the ratings. After last night's games, Orlando has made it to the top 10 and Chicago has dropped to 11th best record in the league. Here are the new records vs top 10. vs top 10 Pistons 6-2 Jazz 7-3 Lakers 6-5 Dallas 7-5 Rockets 7-6 <other teams between spurs and rockets> Spurs 5-7 <other teams between spurs and phoenix> Phoenix 3-7 Detroit is winning against top 10 teams but losing to crappy teams. Phoenix still sucks against the top 10 teams. Rockets have 5th best record against top 10 teams. Spurs and Phoenix have a losing record against the top 10 teams. I am sure somebody will say all the good teams we beat are in slumps. Even though the Mavericks just beat the Spurs in a 3-game slump.
My biggest question is why do people think we have no quality wins. We have beaten the Wizards twice. The same wizards team that is 19-13 and has beaten the Lakers, Pho, and Dal when all three of those teams were blazing. We have crushed the Mavs. We have crushed the Spurs. We have crushed the Jazz. We have beaten the Cavs who are 20-12, and have two wins over the Spurs. We have beaten the Bulls who are 19-14. More importantly, look at our losses. Not only are we consistently beating teams we are supposed to, but we are not losing to teams we shouldnt lose to. The only losses so far to teams currenlty under .500 are the Hornets, Trailblazers, and Clippers. Even those losses dont seem so bad when you think that the Hornets loss came early when they had Peja, West, Paul and Jackson all playing and were doing great, the blazers loss came without Tmac, and the Clippers loss came without Tmac and with Yao breaking his leg 5 minutes in. In summary, great teams feast on weaker competition, dominate at home, and win close games. The rox so far have been doing all three this season.
