I have said we are incapable of beating the Warriors and I have stated I don't think we can beat the Bucks. It is ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD that everything each of us writes is OPINION. This is an internet message board. I happen to have strong opinion. It would make no difference how I stated it. It would still be my opinion. And the responses to my opinion would be the same. Why waste keystrokes saying "I think" and "I don't think" every time? That is what would be unnecessarily hyperbolic. I did take English. I have made exceptions for health. I've been clear that injuries and differences in health between teams is our only chance for a championship. And that would be a tainted championship. Yes, two equally matched teams in a series comes down to teeny tiny differences. Maybe even a blown officiating call. I believe that's happened. And if I believed that was possible then I'd say we are championship capable. I do not believe (since you prefer it this way) that we are championship capable because the matchups do not work out in our favor against the Warriors. So there's no sense in talking about it possibly going our way....other than injuries/health.
10 days before the trade was done.........LOL. I'm talking about while we were still playing games...without Paul....and with Bev/Ariza.
I think the Rockets are not capable of beating the Warriors. I think the Rockets don't have a good chance of beating the Warriors. Both are opinions. The problem isn't "I think", the problem is one is absolute and the other is not. Did your English class cover that?
Rox have no chance against Warriors but if they trade Capela for Thong Maker and Harden for Wicky Wubio straight up we would be a dynasty.
It's not just injuries/health that can swing a series. Matchups are important, and you can focus on that to make your argument that you'd expect the Warriors to win the series without too much trouble. I don't have any issues with that. But there are other things that I think you are underestimating the importance of that can make a difference, even if the "matchups" are in the Warriors or Bucks favor (which is, at the least, debatable). I mentioned team cohesion/chemistry and shot making. Shot making can easily swing a series, especially with the way the Rockets offense is setup. Defense can affect that, to a degree. But if the Rockets offense is hitting on all cylinders and they're able to generate good, open looks -- then the outcome of games will be decided by whether they make or miss. Then there's also the intangible elements of focus and desire, which comes down to the psychology of the players. Now, from an analysis standpoint, those things maybe aren't very interesting to talk about since psychology is so unpredictable. I get that. But that doesn't mean they don't matter. I think you should at least acknowledge the possibility that the Rockets could win against these teams even if they don't matchup well against them in your estimation. It would actually be to your benefit, because as it stands people here aren't going to be very receptive to your analysis when you keep insisting that the Rockets are entirely hopeless "also-rans".
My OPINION is absolute. I'm not vacillating in some form of half my opinion is this and half is that. My opinion is 100%. Now my heart is 100% the opposite. That's the problem with you. You've got your heart crossed up with your opinion. That's why you hedge your words and you want me to hedge my words. I'm very clear. My opinion is 100% we have no chance other than injury to beat the Warriors....whom the Clippers have no chance of beating in a 7-game series either. Now if I inject my heart....than the language goes crazy...and meaningless.
Our 8-6 record against them in the last two years neither disagrees nor agrees. It's a meaningless FACT that your heart wants to twist into some kind of proof.
Even if the Warriors win, which is not ideal, it does not take away the fact that _holic wanted to trade, drums, drums, Thon Maker, drums, drums, for Clint freaking Capela. And he still does, which is, well, hot and wild. I'm here for the making of Thon, not Warriors.
The point is that these are unpredictable. You might expect it go in the Warriors favor, but expectation and certitude are two entirely different things. And take shot making. Yes, the Warriors have better shooters. But our offense generates better expected value shots. So if we can hit them at above a particular rate, we can still outscore the Warriors even if they are shooting better than us on their shots. Now, will we be able to do that? Neither of us know the answer to that question.
They are unpredictable in a series where both teams are evenly matched, yes. The difference between you and I is you believe that we match up with them evenly, that we have advantages that neutralize their advantages and vice versa.
lol. Twisting? You said that we are "incapable of beating the Warriors" -- your exact words -- yet we've beaten them in the majority of the not-small-sample-size games the teams have played over the last two years. You are a
In the instances where I said we were incapable of beating the Warriors I was always writing in regards to a 7-game playoff series with both squads fully healthy. You are parsing my statements. And for that...you are the clown.
I wouldn't even say that. I'm not as deep in the Xs and Os as you to have a strong opinion one way or the other on the matchups. Even if I were to concede that the matchups favor the Warriors, that's not nearly enough to completely count us out, as you're doing. We took them to 7 games last year, and just a little better luck could easily have swung the series in our favor. The teams aren't that different from a year ago. If things go well for us in the first round, we'll actually be in better shape heading into the series. You can make all the arguments and points you want to make. Call us an underdog. I'm just saying that its unnecessary to completely count us out. This team is more than capable of winning it all.