Those d@mn Rockets look poised to give us problems this season.
No one can deny that Ming and McGrady are reminiscent of Shaq and Kobe.
The addition of Alston gives them a big-time 3-point shooter to complement the inside-out game.
And I can't believe the Nets missed out on Stromile Swift while messing around with Abdur-Rahim and let my man go to the Rockets.
Don't be surprised if our old rival winds up being our biggest foe.
I don't like the Alston move very much but the Swift pick-up was one of the more quietly impactful moves this off-season. In terms of some of the other top teams in the west like Dallas and Phoenix it's debatable whether or not they got better this off-season, but I think that the Rockets certainly did.
Shaq>Yao
Kobe>Tmac
PJ>Van Gundy
Although I do believe Houston will give us problems, I don't think htey resemble the Lakers dynasty..
I see where you are going GW but IMO, Shaq during those runs was 100x better. TMac-Kobe though is very close.No one can deny that Ming and McGrady are reminiscent of Shaq and Kobe.
The new guys don't have a history of raising their games in the playoffs, but they do have a decent amount of depth. Staying healthy will be very important.
I'll deny it... It remains to be seen how Yao will look after a summer of rest, but he's no Shaq.No one can deny that Ming and McGrady are reminiscent of Shaq and Kobe.
The Rockets are better, I just don't think they've made enough additions where you can honestly say they've improved from a 5 seed to a legitimate Championship contender.
"good" is not enough to beat the Spurs.
capiche?
I'd give the rockets 40 % chance of beatin the spurs. A better percentage then anyother team out there.
I don't know about all of the Rockets moves. They've added some guys whose names carry weight, but I think they're going to struggle a bit to mesh that talent into a workable team.
They have a big-time superstar in McGrady, but around him, they're kind of working without a philosophy. They have a few guys who are suited to transition basketball (Swift and Alston particularly) and might struggle in a slow-down offense; they have a few who are best suited to playing in the half-court (particularly Yao, Mutombo, Anderson, Wesley), which seems to be the style that Van Gundy would rather play. They lack a real distributing PG -- if Parker isn't a distributor, than neither is Alston -- and with the exception of McGrady, their wings are either very old or not very skilled. And the growth of the Rockets from a playoff team into a legitimate contender depends on a big leap forward for Yao, which I don't think is a given.
Like spurm I think the Rockets are better, but I'm not sure that they're that much better.
Houston makes the same kind of moves every summer. BFD.
I'm more worried about the Suns then the Rockets. The only guy on that team that worries me is McGrady. McGrady can take over a game just like he did against us last season. Yao is not the great player people thought he would be, and their role players aren't that impressive. They're either old or career underachievers. Swift is a career underachiever and his move to the Rockets doesn't scare me one bit. He's is not going to give any of our PF problems. He scores one way and one way only, by dunking. Either it's just straight dunking or follow up dunking.
The Suns concern me if they can somehow morph into a postseason defensive stalwart after a season of not being one. Honestly, their acquisition of Raja Bell reminds me of the Mavs' acquisitions of Adrian Griffin and, um, Raja Bell. You don't turn your team into a top defensive unit by acquiring a defensive specialist. You do it by getting a total team commitment and that includes the coaching staff.
The Suns are too wedded to the open court game. Plus their owner is an ass.
The Rockets organization has, I think, figured out what kind of players they need to put around their stars to be successful.
Right now, however, their backcourt is still pretty much a stopgap. And, they don't have experience deep in the playoffs.
I think they're at least a year away from a serious le run. But 55-27 and a semifinal date with the Spurs is a reasonable expectation.
Except that:
1) no one is afraid of Ming the way they are afraid of Shaq
2) Shaq and Kobe actually get out of the 1st round of the playoffs
3) the rockets dont scare anyone
4) Shaq and Kobe have 3 rings
but other than that Ming and McGrady still dont remind me of Shaq and Kobe at all, but I guess you think all all-stars are alike.
You really need to let go of your "cant win championship without multiple all stars" mentality. And I know Manu was an all star last year, but you all but denied him.
Houston gets the same type of players every offseason, either names or guys who are the hot free agent. There's never a rhyme or reason to their acquisitions. Moving James for Alston is a prime and recent example. Sure, if I'm running an And 1 team I want Skip To My Lou wearing my colors. But in the NBA? no.
Once upon a time they landed Clarence Weatherspoon. This summer it was Stromile Swift.
They needed more speed in their backcourt. James is a decent player, but rather plodding. Plus, he did not get along with Tracy McGrady. Alston is a quicker player. With Bob Sura out indefinitely, they figured they needed to do something, since they did not trust James to be their starter.
Despite that, I admit that an Alston/Anderson backcourt is a stopgap. They need further upgrades at both guard positions.
Swift is a great fit as a role player to complement Yao Ming up front.
The Rockets at least have figured out that what they need is speed (and youth) in the backcourt, and athleticism with physicality up front (since Yao is so soft), and are pursuing those kinds of players. That is a marked change from the past, when they threw multimillion-dollar long-term deals at CBA scrubs to whom Rudy Tomjanovich felt loyal.
But executing their roster strategy will take a few years.
Puhleeeeease....Ming does not really dominate us in the paint the way Shaq used to..Ming gets winded way too quick...McGrady stuck it to us last season when he rattled off a bejezus amount of points in like 30 some seconds....The Rockets should not scare us!
But you can't run with Yao on the floor. He's shown no ability to keep up in a running game. Speed and quickness are great, but with Yao around, that the speed and quickness has to be of the sort that can make plays in the halfcourt. I don't believe that Alston is a half-court type of PG. I think he needs to get out and run to be effective, but if they're going to get out and run, they've more or less eliminated Yao except as a filler on the secondary or tertiary break.
Perhaps. But the patttern seems clear to me. Every summer the Rockets make a bunch of moves and then Rockets fans break out their Clutch City shirts (you know, the type that look like someone wiped their ass with them and then a fungus started to grow on it) and proclaim the upcoming season to be their season.
Face it, Rockets fans are to NBA fandom what LL Cool J is to Hip-Hop.
Robert Horry can't save them now, the bas s.
houston has always given the spurs problems and they may be a thorn on the spurs side. still not enought to take them in the WCF, but hey at least there's some pretty decent compe ion out there
I can! Yao is overrated.
Besides that, I agree with you.
Well everytime duncan played against Yao this last season he (duncan) played like a little flustered girl
meanwhile yao just standing there seemed to give duncan problems
Yao is no better than Rasho, he's just bigger, dude for the size that Yao has he should be dominating every game like Wilt did. The dude is as soft as they come, like him and Rasho have the same mama or something.
Yao Ming is a more talented shooting and taller version of Rasho Nesterovic.
Plain and simple.
, I think Rasho might play better D than Ming.
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