I love the current roster the Rockets have assembled and I hope they don't change anything at this point. I see nothing but extreme potential to go deep into the playoffs if this group stays reasonably healthy and the younger players continue to develop. The Rockets might be devoid of any true super stars, but they now have one of the deepest benches in the league and a coaching staff that knows how to use them. Remember, the core of this current team took the Lakers to seven games two years ago and they did it without having nearly the depth or experience this year's team offers. The Brad Miller acquisition was something Rick Adelman has wanted since he arrived in Houston and offers Yao a legitimate backup who can give quality minutes and who is a great team player. Brad is in the twilight of his career, but he knows Adelman's system better than many of the current Rockets and his presence will add much needed leadership on the court and in the locker room. There is much uncertainty about what kind of player Yao Ming will be after his surgery. Know this...he will be a force once again if his foot holds up. The rotation of Yao (if healthy), Miller, Hill and Hayes gives more options at center than last year thus gaining flexibility to match up with anyone. Trading Anderson opens up another slot on the Rocket bench to be filled by a deserving newcomer, be it Mike Harris, Ish Smith, or some other player who is acquired or emerges strong at camp. Luis Scola, the iron man, showed the kind of play we can expect from him after Landry was traded for Kevin Martin. Scola had some huge games and could really break out this year. I love Carl Landry and will always lament his leaving, but the emergence of Scola as a possible premier player is exciting to watch. Patrick Patterson looks like a great pick who will be vying for minutes in the PF slot behind Luis. He looked almost NBA ready in Vegas and I believe he will be ready after training camp is done. I love the fact that he can shoot the three and that will be an effective weapon when he learns to use it with discretion. He can be a real banger in the paint. The Rockets must regain their defensive mind set this year and I believe a healthy Battier and Ariza can infuse the team with a stifling defensive combination that can shut other teams down. Let's hope their style of defense is infectious and that Budinger and Taylor strive to follow suit at the forward positions. Last year's rookies from Arizona are two of the brightest spots for potential gains this year. They both flashed incredible moments and their up side is huge. Jeffries is another quality veteran who brings defensive expertise and is a cagey player who never backs down or slacks off. Signing Lowry was a great move and gives Brooks a backup who brings intensity and toughness into the game. He and Kevin Martin have the amazing ability to draw fouls and make free throws. Don't be surprised to see them add fifteen points from the charity stripe to any box score in the games they appear in. This qualitative, gutsy skill also puts the opponents into foul trouble much more quickly. Brooks, the most improved player in the league last year, could possibly develop into all star status this year. He and Martin both could average twenty or more ppg giving the Rockets one of the best guard tandems in the league. Jermaine Taylor's development seems to be right on schedule as he is showing flashes of offense that might just land him some meaningful minutes in this rotation. Rick Adelman is in the enviable position of having fifteen players who can play really good basketball. He can keep fresh legs on the floor for every minute of every game without losing quality. He can swap his rotations to handle any line ups the opponents bring. He's got great guys that are willing to play as much or as little as it takes to win games. He can fill in for any starter who's injured with back ups that can get the job done. Don't be surprised when the Rockets knock the Lakers out of the play offs and face the Heat in the Finals. What will happen then? Well, it wouldn't be the first time Cinderella came to a dance.
First, welcome. Second, depth is overrated. In the playoffs, the Rockets will need a second star. This doesn't mean a solid bench is unimportant, it just means having two legit stars is the price of admission if you want to be taken seriously as a championship contender. Hopefully, Morey can acquire a second star at the deadline. He certainly has the chips. PS, you used paragraphs. Well done!
i agree with most of what you said, good post. as for depth being overrated, that may be true at the beginning of the season, but surely not towards the season's end; injuries are inevitable, and no one is more familiar with that fact than we are. plus, depth becomes increasingly important throughout the playoffs.
Neither the Lakers nor the Celtics had any depth and they beat the Magic and Suns who had tons of depth. I have no idea how you can say depth becomes increasingly important. Yao has to really come back to a star level if we wanna contend. If he does, I don't see why we aren't a contendor. Especially if you consider Yao close to Dwight and look at the Magic roster who are a championship contender, you have to like the Rockets' chances.
It depends on what your goal is as a team. I see potential for this current squad to get to the second round, maybe even the Conference finals. But not enough to go past the Lakers. That may be deep into the playoffs, but in the grand scheme of things it still did not achieve our goal of a championship. For that, I believe we need one more upgrade. Rockets are strong enough to compete, but need to get stronger to contend. Good post nonetheless.
First, depth is NEVER overrated. When you're a team that's been plagued by injuries much of this decade(from Francis's migraines to T-Mac's back to Yao's foot), you don't ever take depth for granted. Two, we are one move on getting a true 2nd/1st star away from being a complete team.
a solid post as a new member. there are two keys for rox to be success although you already mentioned in your post but i would like to dig them out and say again. YAO"S HEALTH and ROX DEFENCE, YAO"S HEALTH and ROX DEFENCE, YAO"S HEALTH and ROX DEFENCE, YAO"S HEALTH and ROX DEFENCE. you can say all good things about RA but if he can't bring rox defence back to what was when he first took over rox. i would be very very very mad and he won't get my vote. i don't care how many fans here praise him.
I have said many times that i think with Yao and Miller addd to the team, they are championship contenders. Great first post BTW.
This team is good not great and isn't capable of winning it all.. I'm waiting for bigger moves because that is what it's going to take to reach the finals let a lone hold up the trophy. I'm a realists and will wait patiently till this team is a contender..
Talk about a solid first post... good post, good Clutchfans debut. I don't think depth is overrated, in fact it is sometimes underrated. Because we do NEED a star, but the depth around him you need to have is just as much as we have (minus prolly 2 to get that star ), because you can't rely too much on a star and not worry about depth because if he gets injured your screwed, we out of everyone should know that, contenders with Yao AND Tmac but little depth, they go out and we're screwed, (4/5 years ago). Still hope we get that star without losing too much depth. In my mind your bench should be able to be a winning team (barely) as starters. We're good to go! Lowry Bud/JT Battier/Bud Pat/Hill Miller/Chuck behind AB Martin Ariza Scola Yao sounds great to me...
He's no hater. He's an English appreciater. Correct form makes your posts immeasurably easier to comprehend. That, I'm sure, was a genuine "thank you" for not sounding like a 4th grader.
Our starting lineup + bench is the best in the NBA for sure BUT isn't everyone incredibly nervous about Yao? If he goes down again than it will be another wasted season with the best role players in the league without a superstar.
The Spurs had a big 3 and the Pistons had 4 very very solid players leading them. The one thing they had that we don't is ......health. Sounds too familiar if you ask me
Pop is very good at managing TD and Manu's times partially because he had the depth to rest them. Hopefully our depth can give Yao/Martin some rests and keep them fresh in the PO.
I'm holding my judgement until I see this team play for a month or so. I know we dont have the 'star names' on paper, but chemistry and team balance go a long way IMO (see Rockets 93-94). Having everyone available for training camp will really help this team. It will allow them to establish their roles and for Adelman to really see how the pieces will fit together. Martin and Hill joined the team halfway through and had to build chemistry on the fly. None of those guys have ever played with a C like Yao on the floor who commands a double team (can Martin and Ariza benefit greatly from this?). Having B Miller as backup C, a guy who knows the offense very well, will be a real help this year. There are just so many unknowns (on the good side) with this roster that we wont get a real picture of this team until a month in.
