In regular season it won't matter that much as long as T-Mac is healthy. We need Yao ready to dominate going into playoffs, that is where we NEED him. 1-2 Punch ftw
Thanks for posting this article here and upgrading me to a member. I did write this article, and as you guys have got it, it's primarily inspired by U2's With or Without You.
your right..who caress..lets just get the 7th or 8th seed and play the suns or mavs in the first round.
I agree with Clutch's point that even with Yao's return, the winning percentage may be at the same level as now. But I think the primary reason is not Yao's slowness. Instead, there is still an issue as to how Yao and TMac can feed off each other, in other words, in their case, 1+1<2, not >2... If they can start to feed off each other, (like they did a couple of times in the Dallas series two years ago), and do it consistently , then Rockets will have a much better winning percentage.
To have Yao back would give us more options. It's a no brainer that more options is better than only one option. We could run with the likes of the Suns if we choose to or we can slow it down and play a half court game if need to throw the other team off. I hope JVG can exploit and use the options we have available. Bottom line, is yes .. having Yao back will make the Rockets better than what they currently are and that is a scary thought for the rest of the league
IMHO it's pretty simple. early in the season we had a very tough schedule. yao went down at the best possible time (during a pretty easy stretch). we're just beating teams that we should beat, even w/o yao. with yao i would imagine that we could've had a massive win streak during this stretch.
In order to beat the really good teams in the league we MUST have Yao. Without him the Rockets are only good. The greatness is only a possibility if the intended power is on the court together. The Rockets will never beat SA or Dallas or even Phoenix for that matter in a playoff series without the total package. Damn good but not championship caliber.
I'm comparing this again to '91 when Olajuwon was injured and the team did well without him. And when he came back they had a 14-15 game winning streak or something - at least I HOPE thats how it plays out . The team is doing well without him sure, but will the team CONTINUE to do well for a sustained period of time, this season and next without Yao? Mutombo's holding up now but can't figure that to keep happening. Juwan's playing well but no telling if his play will tail off or not...Just need Yao to be the big insurance coverage Still, Yao needs to come in and keep the current way flowing, fill in where he's needed and let the current success continue on instead of being THE centerpiece of the success. Yao's absense does show how teams play ball in the league now...I say he should try to emulate the best he can what Mutombo does on defense. Then chip in on offense when he is needed, which should be plenty. Rockets would get 80% of Deke's D with 500% more scoring. Basically instead of an MVP, a very solid All-Star contributor. Don't think that's gonna happen though but it's what I'd do.
I think we'll certainly be even better with yao, with a healthy Yao this team can unquestionably win it all. Though I think when Yao comes back, T-mac should remain the team leader and number one option. Tracy just excels at that role and until he can't serve as that guy anymore, Yao should remain the dominating second option.
With all due respect, pryuen, I am yet to see a single poster who -- with a straight face -- can argue that we're better without Yao. I haven't seen it as of yet. It's not a topic for 'debate and discussion' when there is no disagreement on the following statement: the Rockets are a better team with Yao Ming on the roster.
Right now T-Mac is in the best shape in years and hopefully Yao will too after the break. Then U will see the difference of having both of them and the rest of the guys healthy. Saying that the team is better without Yao is saying that the suns were better without Stoudemire just because they had a great season last year.
On paper, the team should be better. Lets see how the role players react to being on the court with two superstars. Will they still step up and put fourth the effort they are putting now? I do believe our defense/rebounding suffers a little with yao on the floor, but with time, i have to believe the rockets are a team that no one will want to meet in the playoffs.
You're right. Whether or not we are better w/o Yao is not even a debate. What is a debate, is what type of system we should run to best utilize our two stars.
Pryuen is freakin' me out with all the "with or without Yao"-themed threads. It's WITH - got it? - WITH Yao...this is not a multiple choice exam because there is only one option.
I probably shouldn't feed a troll, but I would like to know who in your opinion are the "true playmaker Point Guards" in the whole league if you don't count Rafer Alston as one? Could you also give us a plan how to get those "true playmaker Point Guards" without severely handicapping us financially as you clearly think he isn't good enough, based on this and your other posts. The truth is that point guards with better vision and overall ability than Rafer make more money than we can afford. And what's the point anyways when we have Tracy, who might just have the best vision not including point guards since Magic Johnson. I understand people dissing him for his shooting but this is getting beyond ridiculous.
i hope all the YOFs read this thread. not because yao isn't the best center on the planet right now, but that the houston rockets' team rest solely upon the shoulders of tracy mcgrady. it's true. and while yao has been AMAZING, this isn't even "his" team just quite yet...
With a healthy Yao and McGrady heading into the playoffs, we have 2 players who create mismatches for the opposition and force double teaming and special defensive rotations. In the playoffs, when NBA players actually play defense and block out instead of feigning interest before their next shot, it is fairly easy to defend a team that has only 1 superstar (see LBJ, Kevin Garnett, Charles Barkley w/76ers, Clyde Drexler w/Portland, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins). Having 2 superstars poses a much greater challenge for the opposition in the playoffs, especially when the role players do their thing. If Yao isn't double-teamed in the playoffs (like that's going to happen), it's 2. But when 3 defenders come at him, Yao will have to make the right pass and count on his teammates to come through. I like our chances come May with an open McGrady or Head (or Battier) at the 3 point line, or a dump off to Snyder cutting down the lane.
