It's the start of a new year (well almost) and I just wanted to take a step back, look at the season, and share some of my views with you guys. Feel free to comment or disagree! Players: 1. Aaron Brooks - Has not skipped a beat since the playoffs and continues to be a scoring blur on the hardwood. What is surprising however, is that he has bumped his assist average from 3 to 5.2 thus far. His TO rate unfortunately as increased as well from 1.6 to 2.9 keeping his Assist/TO ratio fairly constant. He still continues to struggle on the defensive end with larger PG's who are able to back him down and still struggles with the entry passes due to his small stature. He also still needs to do better at finishing around the rim after contact, though he is much better than before. Look for AB to continue to improve as he learns to juggle scoring responsibilities with playmaking responsibilities as well as more swing passing and penetration passing. 2. Shane Battier - Mr. Intangible is obviously on the decline as his stats are dipping almost all the way across the board. Boards, FT's, steals, almost all numbers are down from his career averages, but not enough to offset the positives he brings as a squeaky clean, cerebal, defensive veteran and leader. Look for his numbers to increase next year (if he is still around) when Yao comes back and he can continue to get wide open shots from downtown. 3. Trevor Ariza - Let's start with the bad stuff and get them out of the way first. Mind you, there are plenty as well. No handles, no dribbles, horrible shot selection, gambles too much for steals, and has had two outburts of unsportsmanship like conduct. At his price range, he is essentially a weaker, but faster and longer Ron Artest with less crazy, worse dribbles, and about the same crappy shot selection. Look for this to become moot once Yao comes back and he can continue to roam around for slashes or wide open 3's. 4. Luis Scola - He has obviously suffered a bit (shooting average is slightly down) this year from a lack of iniside presence to take the D off him, but continues to be effective and efficient. His hustle and hardworking attitude really sets the tone as well as the identity of the team. His FT average and rebounding have improved, but I anticipate it will return to normal once Yao comes back. The biggest question about Scola after this season is, will the Rockets be able to afford him or let him go to get another FA. 5. Chuck Hayes - Doing everything last year, except doing it better due to increased playing time. His increased offensive arsenal is a big surprised as Chuck Hayes has added various of layups and finger rolls to punish the D when they leave him completely alone. His FT woes however, continue to suffer and is now currently at 0.471, making him a easy foul target as the end of the game draws near. While it is confusing that someone as smart as Chuck or that anyone at the NBA level could struggle so much with fundamental shooting skills, the sheer comedy of Chuck Hayes's free throw shooting mostly makes up for it. 6. Carl Landry - Carl continues to be the spark off the bench as well as endear himself to Rockets fans with his courage, hardwork, and explosiveness. With his explosive first step and long range jump shot, Landry has the ability to beat his opponent off the dribble and finish strong at the rim or step back and knock down the J. While his D is still a bit lacking, it is easy to see that he is making a conscious effort to improve it and has been improving. His only downside is that at 6'8, he is considered a midget in the land of bigs. However, for 3 million a year, Landry is a total steal and on track to compete with Crawford as 6th Man in this breakout season. It is also worth noting that prior to Landry (among others) joining our team, I had almost forgot what an alley hoop looked like with this Houston team, so this is a great relief! 7. Kyle Lowry - Fast and tiny PG built like Ron Artest on a minimized scale, Lowry continues to bulldoze his way to the foul line. He continues to put forth a good and consistent effort on the D as he uses his strong body to herd away opposing PG's. I would like to see him focus more on actually finishing when drawing contact as well as exchange his range a bit. In terms of basketball IQ, he appears to be much farther along than Brooks. It is always a pleasure to watch him push the fast break. 8. Chase Budinger - As a 44th pick and selected even after Jermaine Taylor, C-Bud is an absolute steal for us. Prior to a dismal season in his last year playing at college, he was actually projected to be a lottery pick by some. Instead, he slid all the way to the 44th pick and history unfolded. While he has made some obvious rookie mistakes, C-Bud has shown that in addition to being able to stroke it from anywhere, but that he is a cerebal high flyer as well. He is easily able to get above the rim and finish strong as well as punish lax D with his sweet shot. Due to his intelligence, he has proven to be decent on D, despite a less than stellar lateral movement and being a rookie. There are also a lot of moments where he shows great court vision. He has great upside and should pick up where he left off after his injury. 9. David Andersen - It is always great to have an actually big bigman. While he is more finesse than banger, his D has been passable. His offense on the other hand, has greatly improved as he continues to figure out the offense. It really opens up our offense and confuses opposing defense when you can have a bigman pull out opposing D's with his ability to knock down the long ball. Look for him to be a great backup to Yao as he adjusts to life in the NBA. 10. Jermaine Taylor - He has shown flashes of potential, but with better options may benefit more from playing in the D-League.
