Rockets: lack of Respect

[Baller 24]

With that statement you have sinned. You should repent before people actually think you were trying to say that Yao is as good as Hakeem.

No sir, not even close. Personally I don't even think he's close to touching the skill level, but for a player of Yao's sized he's got tools and the skill to dominant in the low post. I'm not saying he's good as Hakeem, but if we can take advantage of it, and he grows some bigger balls down crunch time with some toughness, we can use him as a BIG advantage.

[jhern87]

They weren't giving you guys respect last season either.. Then you guys went on that win streak. I think you guys will be just fine barring any more injuries.

[Miller4ever]

People tend to give the Rockets less respect because they think everything hinges on Yao, T-Mac, and sometimes Artest. The Rockets have been dealing with these injuries and are a playoff mainstay.

[grond]

Yao is nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem was. I do wonder how he would have fared though had they not changed the way you're allowed to play defense. I think he would have thrived more with the old rules. It would have been much easier to just throw the ball into the post and let the shooters spot up than it is now with the way teams are allowed to zone things up.

That's the key thing right there. The illegal defense on zones no longer applies. How tremendous is it? Jordan? Hakeem? It almost strips some respect because the game was way easier for them in that sense..

Prime Shaq too. Without the illegal defense rule I actually think the Kings could have beaten the Lakers in that deciding game 5, 1st playoff round in ... 2000? Vlade behind Shaq and Webber dropping down and helping was killing him, and then in game 5 they started calling the illegal d and the Kings were screwed.

Yao would have had it a lot easier f'sure. No guys sagging then dropping down attacking his dribble - his big weakness in the post.

[Vator]

Yao is nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem was. I do wonder how he would have fared though had they not changed the way you're allowed to play defense. I think he would have thrived more with the old rules. It would have been much easier to just throw the ball into the post and let the shooters spot up than it is now with the way teams are allowed to zone things up.

That's the key thing right there. The illegal defense on zones no longer applies. How tremendous is it? Jordan? Hakeem? It almost strips some respect because the game was way easier for them in that sense..

They both would have adjusted though. Hakeem was just too athletic for that to slow him down much. He had the best blend of inside/outside game I have ever seen. I don't really see the rules hurting guys like Howard, Amare, Duncan and Garnett so I think Hakeem would have been just fine. I think it causes more of a problem for the way you run the offense around those guys. The dump it down and kick it out offense is what the Rockets ran for both titles and the new defensive rules were designed to curtail that slow style along with the selfish isolation offenses. The sad part is, Yao is a player that would have been perfectly suited for that kind of play. Yao would have really thrived with the old rules because he could score one on one against damn near anybody. It takes so much more energy for him just to get open now whereas he would have just had to come down, pick a spot, and read the double team. Teams wouldn't be able to disguise the defenses nearly as much and help on him until he actually got the ball which would also give him more time to react. That is big for slow twitch muscle guy.

I doubt it would have been a problem for Jordan at all. Also, people were allowed to handcheck back then so the game definitely wasn't easier for guards. He would have really thrived with the no hand check rules on offense although it probably would have robbed him a little of his defensive prowess.

[CuttingEdge]

Yao is nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem was. I do wonder how he would have fared though had they not changed the way you're allowed to play defense. I think he would have thrived more with the old rules. It would have been much easier to just throw the ball into the post and let the shooters spot up than it is now with the way teams are allowed to zone things up.

That's the key thing right there. The illegal defense on zones no longer applies. How tremendous is it? Jordan? Hakeem? It almost strips some respect because the game was way easier for them in that sense..

They both would have adjusted though. Hakeem was just too athletic for that to slow him down much. He had the best blend of inside/outside game I have ever seen. I don't really see the rules hurting guys like Howard, Amare, Duncan and Garnett so I think Hakeem would have been just fine. I think it causes more of a problem for the way you run the offense around those guys. The dump it down and kick it out offense is what the Rockets ran for both titles and the new defensive rules were designed to curtail that slow style along with the selfish isolation offenses. The sad part is, Yao is a player that would have been perfectly suited for that kind of play. Yao would have really thrived with the old rules because he could score one on one against damn near anybody. It takes so much more energy for him just to get open now whereas he would have just had to come down, pick a spot, and read the double team. Teams wouldn't be able to disguise the defenses nearly as much and help on him until he actually got the ball which would also give him more time to react. That is big for slow twitch muscle guy.

I doubt it would have been a problem for Jordan at all. Also, people were allowed to handcheck back then so the game definitely wasn't easier for guards. He would have really thrived with the no hand check rules on offense although it probably would have robbed him a little of his defensive prowess.

Well according to the league, it is okay to put two hands on Yao and push as hard as you can. It's okay to foul him as long as it's not obvious like a punch in the face. It's all okay. So if Yao had fair calls what would happen?

[Vator]

Yeah, I read that memo. Damn shame.

[moofs]

What memo? Link?

[King Roosk]

Like Max said, we don't deserve any respect. I like being the underdog. I don't need to see the Rockets all over the media to feel good about our team.

[smapor]

Like Max said, we don't deserve any respect. I like being the underdog. I don't need to see the Rockets all over the media to feel good about our team.

I just want us to get out of the 1st round

[Mike12345]

Its not really a lack of respect. Those who say we will fall out of the playoffs dont know anything, just like last year they said it and we still had homecourt advantage. The bottom line is without homecourt advantage this year were not making it out of hte first round.

This year i think it goes lakers spurs and then the rest is open for grabs. Teams like us and portland are great at home but not so great on the road so it depends on our seeding. Denver is also a darkhorse and new orleans but they have some injury prone players as well. Anything can happen but bottom line is were not a contender,,, those that say we wont make it out of the first round i disagree with because theres not 4 clear cut teams in the west right now. Its all matchups so those who say ohh we beat the lakers or almost beat the lakers without so and so. Doesnt mean anything every team matches up differently and many analysts felt we matched up great with the lakers especially witha healthy tmac.

I can see why were being looked down on though so i dont understand the point of your thread. I mean if i was a betting man id probably take the teams with the strongest leaders at the point other then the lakers. That being parker chris paul and billups or deron williams,, aaron brooks wont be able to run as much in the playoffs its a different tempo i mean who knows though brooks and scola are constantly improving as well as landry and wafer so u never know we could see young guys rise to stardom.

I remember prince came out of nowhere at the end of that pistons orlando series. But its pretty obvious why were being ignored as a top 4 team in the league in the playoffs with brooks as our point guard no offense to him but everyone else has all star caliber point guards leading there team

[moofs]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... A964948260

Home team wining percent NBA history = 60%
Home team wining percent '07-08 = 95%

Home court advantage really isn't that much.
One thing about it is that if you have it, you've also won more of your games, which means that for whatever reason, you're likely to be a better team and more likely to win in the first place. In other words, that 60% is skewed by default, but even with the skewering isn't WE. WILL. NOT. WIN. bad. Not that I expect us to win this year (I see us as having an outside chance at this point), just laughing at home court advantage.