Are the Rockets insured against injuries next season?

more than last year, we don't have any senior citizens trying to play anymore(barry, wesley, Anderson). We have younger guys that are more athletic, Lucas, Novak, Syder, and Head.

 

The Rockets weren't mediocre when they were missing Yao and/or McGrady, they were flat out terrible. I can't remember the record but it was something like 2-18 when Yao and/or McGrady missed a game.

And to answer your question, it is a resounding no. The biggest weakness we had last season was the lack of a 3rd scoring option. When mgmt failed to include a trade kicker to Mike James, we lost that 3rd scoring option. Shane Battier, nice player that he is, is not capable of being that 3rd scoring option.

So we as fans have to pray and hope that Yao and T-Mac don't get hurt and play the majority of the games this season or we are screwed like we were last season.

 

Good question.

I think we're more insured if TMac goes down than if Yao goes down. If TMac goes down, Battier slides to the 3 with Novak backing him up and maybe some Kirk Snyder. Howard starts at 4 (this assumes Battier was going to start at 4) with Hayes backing him up. The rest of the rotation is unaffected. I think this line-up can play .500 ball; it's still a strong defensively and has good shooting. If Yao goes, Deke and Howard are the only guys who can play center, and they will be out-manned on most nights. We'll end up playing small ball for 32 mins a night, as Deke can probably only play 16 effective mins at his age. Playing small ball may not be a bad thing - but the result just seems riskier. We may not enough shot creators to be successful at it.

 

Well thats obvious. Every team that loses its top 2 players will play average at best. Where would Dallas be without Dirk and Terry/Howard? Miami without Shaq and Wade? S A without Duncan and Parker/Ginobili? Obviously, we need Tracy and Yao to be both healthy for us to have a successful season. If one is out....we have a chance to beat teams at or under .500 and it stops there.

 

Perhaps we should wait and answer this after we get a PF/C.

 

The biggest thing that will keep us competitive if Tracy misses games? Battier, obviously. I really believe he's going to make a major impact on the Rocks, and filling in for injuries to Tracy at the 3, and the whoever starts at the 2 & 4 spots (clearly, if Battier is our starting 4, he can't fill in for himself! ), will be one of them.

Unless Deke regains some of his form from the season before last, we have no depth behind Yao. That's a major concern, and where losing Swift actually hurts. I don't like to even think about Howard as the backup 5. Getting a backup for Yao, someone with some young legs who can swing between the 4 & 5, is a major, major need. If he was a starting quality 4, so much the better. Get busy, CD, and trade Howard while you're doing it!

Hopefully, KillBill and Lucas will give us depth at the 1, but it's another case of not knowing what we have, and Rafer needs to step up, showing he deserves to start, instead of being a backup, which was how he played last season, IMO.

Damn, we have uncertainty all over the place! Don't know if I made any sense, having just got back from a day at the lake, fried and blown. Oh well!

 

and houston will be flat out terrible..

 

Geico

 

Manny didn't say top 2 players though. He said when missing Yao and/or McGrady and he's absolutely right. This team is flat out garbage when missing even one of the two.

Management failed to add a 3rd scorer AGAIN, so AGAIN we have to count on the health of both of these guys to even sniff the playoffs.

 

If Ming and/or TMac don't hold up physically, you can kiss the season goodby. The "scrub club" may be younger, but they are yet to prove they are better than last year's absolutely pathetic group. Battier will help, but he has never been the "go to" guy in the NBA. The Heat without Shaq and Wade won't be very good, but they won't be as awful as the Rockets would be without Ming and TMac. Walker would be firing up threes from the cheap seats. The Mavs would still be formitable without Dirk and Terry. As I said during the playoffs, the supporting cast of the Rockets is miles behind the supporting casts of the elite teams. Miles and miles behind.

 

I am more concerned that one to two of Snyder, Alston, and Head play erratic, and that JL3 and VS proove not ready for the NBA.

In otherwords I am more concerned of the quality in starters/key role players outside of Yao-Batt-Tmac, than depth per se.

I would sure like to have a more proven guard in the mix.

 

i think we can win a lot of games with battier, and memphis is going to lottery.

 

15 minutes can give you 15 more points?

 

Thank you cabbage. I'm glad that there at least a couple of people in this forum that can read.

 

Rockets were 7-18 without Yao and 7-28 without McGrady. This year, the Rockets seem more capable without McGrady, but still would struggle with trying to play .500 ball.

If Yao goes down, it would be conceivable to see a lineup (not starting) Battier-Mcgrady-Snyder-Head-Alston playing at times.

 

When Yao and/or McGrady were out, it wasn't just them. Sura was out for the season. Barry was out for the season. Alston missed 20 games. Swift missed 15 games. Derek Anderson missed most of the season. Wesley missed 10 games. Mutumbo missed games. The team never had a complete lineup, and even when McGrady was playing, he wasn't 100% the 2nd half of the season.

No team is going to win when they are having to constantly pick up players like Rick Brunson or John Lucas or Richie Frahm on the waiver wire and having to play them real minutes just to field a functional team.

 

No,

They are not insured, and neither is most every team in the league.....injuries do not happen all that often in basketball......especially like last year.

Chalk it up to an aberation and strap it up.

DD

 

No team is insured against injuries but hopefully the Rockets will be healthy throughout next year