IF Yao is healthy and returns to form, are the Rox .....

[Vader]

Yao is done playing basketball.

Rockets will be doing OK without Yao.

[Gus McCrae]

not title contenders. definitely a playoff team. maybe 5-8 seed team. but not a title contender.

If the Rockets had landed Bosh for Scola/Battier even Ariza included, I'd put them #2 in the West. If they add another 2nd tier player they'll be #2 in the West. Currently, I'd probably put them at 4-5.

[blackjays1]

Brooks/Lowry/Taylor
Martin/Battier
Ariza/Budinger/Jefferies
Scola/Hill/Hayes
Ming/Miller/Anderson

In the regular seasons the rockets are deep enough to play Yao for like 20 mins and still be okay, the big if is can he ever be able to play at a high level again playing 30+ minutes for a string of 15 games in the playoffs.

[DavidSterned]

Enough of the Rockets/Jazz crap. Neither of these teams is going to be a contender next year, 50-55 wins and a 1st round win are their ceilings as their rosters stand now. Dallas, Denver, Portland, and LAL all have more firepower.

Utah is better than all those teams besides LA.

Not really.

[BB Chrome]

I know what I want to see in the conference finals:

Houston VS LA

Boston VS Miami

Winner takes all.....

Enough with all this Utah nonsense....It is more likely that Yao will be productive/healthy than Al Jefferson and Sloan getting on the same page. AK47 hasn't been the same since Baron Davis beasted him with that top ten all time nba poster in the playoffs. Utah fans underestimate Aaron Brooks, but true Laker fans respect his game. M.I.P.

Houston VS LA in the conference finals would make for some damn good playoff basketball.

[ock]

not title contenders.

Playoffs, for sure. But as many have already posted, Yao healthy? I doubt it.

[LApwnd]

Yao is the least of their problems, Martin is even less durable hard to believe but he is. Guy is built like a stick but likes play draw contact every chance he gets thats why he gets to the line so much.

[DMorey]

Rockets just need to make one thing happen that's on-court related:

1) Stay injury free.

And that's the biggest task, and without a doubt the most vital.


Now, for me, off the court I need to acquire us a 2nd star. At PG, at the wings or at PF. Really it doesn't matter where provided they fit in with what we do and most players do, so we'll look for that. You can DMoney Guarantee I'll get someone by the deadline bitches. We have a ton of expirings and overall assets; Battier/Jefferies/Anderson, Knicks pick, Hill, Budinger, and even Jermaine Taylor.

We're just that 2nd star away and I think we're a top a team out West. We have the depth to cash out a lot because say we give up Chase, well we have Jermaine, whose a very solid player in his own right. Jordan? Please, we got Pat Patty, Chuck Wagon, Ice Cream Man, Yao, and BMilla. The only concern I have from the visual aspect of this team is the lack of athleticism in the front court and that's why perhaps Jordan and even Pat Patty are so valuable to us. Ice Cream Man, Yao, BMilla are 3 of the league's most unathletic players in the NBA.

Chuck Wagon though is a premiere 1 on 1 defender.

DMorey

[indiegrind]

over 7'4" genetic freaks tend to always have severe foot and knee issues. Especially when they have some weight on their frame.. It was another asian 8 ft basketball player, Zhao something....but he had a foot injury and never was able to recover from it.
Gheorge Muresan, same thing.
rik smits, mark eaton, shawn bradley
I dunno, i dont think yao will be right again or stay healthy for long.