Ouch keep it G-Rated, not G-Unit. Seriously though, igotask8tboard, we do love our Rockets, but we can't make accusations until the season starts, wouldn't you say? AllNet has been here quite a while, he knows his basketball. I don't even think he's THAT big of a Pistons fan, which is quite amazing as he knows a lot about them (PS .. That was a comlement, don't wanna start a flame war here). I would say that both of you have some huge bias in both of your arguements, saying the Pistons are comparable to the Hawks is giving Larry Brown too much credit (). <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Don't make excuses about chemistry. Facts are facts. The Rockets struggle with the Pistons and the way they play defense.</div> This is where I got lost. Excuses about Chemistry? That's one of the main factors of playing basketball! Injuries mess with Chemistry, new coaches, new players, without Chemistry you have Nothing! Hell, even the last year of the Shaq-Kobe Era had chemistry (well maybe not, but there was SOME love there, somewhere..). Then you use struggle in the present progressive, which cannot be proven, just as igotask8tboard uses it. The Season hasn't started; (God Forbid) the Rockets and Pistons could be watching the Hornets and Hawks duking it out for the Championship.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This is where I got lost. Excuses about Chemistry? That's one of the main factors of playing basketball! Injuries mess with Chemistry, new coaches, new players, without Chemistry you have Nothing! Hell, even the last year of the Shaq-Kobe Era had chemistry (well maybe not, but there was SOME love there, somewhere..). Then you use struggle in the present progressive, which cannot be proven, just as igotask8tboard uses it. The Season hasn't started; (God Forbid) the Rockets and Pistons could be watching the Hornets and Hawks duking it out for the Championship.</div> It's still an excuse. Many years ago Portland had chemistry issues and because of that failed to win the title or get close after losing to L.A. Many blamed chemistry why they didn't get there. If thats not an excuse I don't know what is. Houston did struggle with the Pistons last year due to the fact that the Pistons have the big bodies to control Yao inside and the defenders to at least contend T-mac and hold him to a low %. The Houston point guards struggle as they aren't really up to standard and can't really handle the Pistons pressure defense. Maybe things could be different this year but last year the Rockets just struggled with Detroit and would of done so no matter what form they were in.
the thing i like about this rockets team is they have added alot and alot of depth. Moving howard (which will probably happen) to the bench is a big upgrade. Stromile is a better defender and yao has seemed to got better in the china games. I have high hopes for them to beat them at least once this season
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">the thing i like about this rockets team is they have added alot and alot of depth. Moving howard (which will probably happen) to the bench is a big upgrade. Stromile is a better defender and yao has seemed to got better in the china games. </div> I agree...I like how we've added players without losing anyone significant...adding Swift means Howard and Bowen wont see as many actives, and thats a plus since they both have their limits...adding DA means Barry and Wesley can cut down on their minutes too...all this means is a more rested Rockets squad once playoffs roll around...
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Only very biased Rockets fans would ever think that the Rockets are better than the Pistons. The Pistons are an elite team and a championship contender. NBA champions two years ago. The Rockets still have a long way to go to be called a contender. So how you actually think other people would rank the Rockets ahead of Detroit is beyond me.</div> Now if I had to put money on a Pistons/Rockets series, I'd go with Detroit, but I think you're kind of downplaying the Rockets....I honestly think that they are contenders this year and this is coming from non-biased Rockets fan.
I'll concede that the Rockets will likely be the third best team in the West this season behind SA and PHoenix (who has actually not had too bad and offseason adding Thomas who is a great post defender, Raja Bell who is a good perimeter defender and Boris Diaw. Q was vastly overrated for them last year, and the loss of JJ doesn't sting THAT bad with Bell coming in, they still dominated last year when he was injured). However, I don't know why everyone is just assuming Yao will improve so much next season. To me, for his size and talent level, Yao is a bust. His stats should be WAY better, and if he hasn't improved the past three summers, why should he this summer? Every player trains hard during the offseason, so just because Yao is training, does'nt mean he will improve at all. To put it bluntly, Yao is soft, and that's what separates him from the great bigmen like Shaq, Ben, KG, TD and JO.
sure yao is soft. The other players have what he doesnt have. They have experience playing here and didnt come from yao did. yao is improving every year. He is younger than every1 makes him out to be
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">However, I don't know why everyone is just assuming Yao will improve so much next season. To me, for his size and talent level, Yao is a bust. His stats should be WAY better, and if he hasn't improved the past three summers, why should he this summer? Every player trains hard during the offseason, so just because Yao is training, does'nt mean he will improve at all. To put it bluntly, Yao is soft, and that's what separates him from the great bigmen like Shaq, Ben, KG, TD and JO.</div> He has improved every year he's been in the NBA and is one of the most efficient players as well. The only thing holding him back is his mentality, conditioning, and foul proneness. I expect his conditioning and fouling to improve a bit, that's why I think he'll up his stats next season. The reason? He hasn't been really given an offseason to work on his conditioning or muscle for the past three seasons. Instead, he has been playing stenuous games for China which is partly why he seems so tired during the year. And, we now have a slightly better defender in Swift compared to Howard as well as a slightly faster player in Andersen which should stop guards from coming in and drawing charges on Yao. I'll admit that he's soft, but thats not necessarily a bad thing. You can make the same case for Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He wasn't exactly the greatest player at banging down low and relied on some finesse and of course the sky hook.
I think that list is just ranking teams offseason's vs. their needs, thats why SA is at the top, not their projected ranking next season since the breakdown talks mostly about their offseason and the list says NBA.com Power Rankings: Offseason Edition but i could be wrong. with that said i wont argue where I think the Rockets are at in terms of rankings next season but I hope they will astound everyone. That being said I think this list is garbage.... since some of those teams offseason's were nonexistent. What the hell is this list measuring anyways???
