Taken from : http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/rice_pressconf_010817.html?nav=ArticleList ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q: What did it feel like waiting for the trade to be finalized? Rice: "I was fine. I understand what the process of the owner (Leslie Alexander) was. He wanted to find out the extent of the injury. I didn't have any problem with that at all. Once I found out that Houston really wanted me to come there, I figured that it was just a matter of time for the deal to get done." Q: What does your rehabilitation consist of and when do you expect to be in game-playing shape? Rice: "I'm doing a lot of stretching and workouts to get the strength back into my foot and my ankle. As far as when I'll be back on the floor, that depends on how well the rehab goes. It could be two or three weeks, but I'm pretty optimistic about being there when training camp starts." Q: Did the trade delay surprise you? Rice: "When you bring in a guy with any type of injury, you have to understand that if a team wants to do their homework (on that injury), then you have to give them room to do so. That didn't bother me at all. I was pretty sure that the deal was going to go through. Plantar fasciitis is an injury that will go away with hard rehab and patience. I'm doing both of those things, and I feel pretty good about bouncing back off of it." Q: Do you look forward to being one of the focal points of the offense with the Rockets? Rice: "I think it's going to be good. It's a role that I'm very familiar with. I feel that my talent has not diminished in any way. The last couple of years have been a role reversal for me, where I had to be more of a complementary player than the one out in front. But we have a lot of talent here (with the Rockets) and there's no way in the world that I can come in here and carry the load myself. But at the same time, I definitely feel like I will be a lot more involved than I was with my past two teams." Q: How much did your injury hurt your offense last year? Rice: "It affected it a great deal. Being a shooter, you have to get your legs up under you and you have to be able to get that lift. I wasn't able to do that but, at the same time, told my team that I would try to give them whatever I could. It was an unfortunate situation with the injury, but I still went out there trying to give my best performance." Q: Do you expect to return to scoring 20 points per game? Rice: "I definitely think that I can do that. There's no question about that. I just think that, in order to have such a high performance, you have the opportunity. I think that in Houston I'll be put in a situation where I'll have that chance and I'll do my best to take advantage of it." Q: What are your thoughts on coming to a younger team? Rice: "I look forward to that. I think that, with my experience of being in the league for so long and my playoff experience of winning a championship, I can help these guys. I think I can point each guy in the right direction and give my advice on what's needed to get to that next level. I'm sure the guys on the team are going to respect what I say." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some interesting stuff said in here.
