Great thread. I am really looking forward to what Scola can do, he is much more of a leader on team Argentina and I hope he becomes more vocal on Houston too. I am also happy Yao played in the Olympics to knock the rust off and get him some confidence in his foot. I am PYSCHED about this season.... This is a great team, a championship front runner.......... GO ROCKETS !! DD
On our progress...I think we have the best and most balanced starting lineup in the NBA with the current projection of Rafer, Tmac, Artest, Scola and Yao. Rafer is our weakest link, but even he proved that he has value in running the team last year. I doubt we can get an upgrade to start over Rafer at this point, but even so, I don't see any team in the league with a better or more balanced starting five, offensively or defensively...that's right, I said it: BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL! That being said, no matter how many people say something bad about me for saying it, I think if Steve is healthy, by after the Allstar break, it is very possible that he could end up starting or getting the majority of the minutes at the PG postion. I think it is all or bust for him at this point. Most people forget that Adelman fully went into the season last year expecting Steve to be the starter even though he knew Rafer was the starting the previous seasons, hence why Rafer was somewhat crying about it. But Steve still has to prove himself to earn it now after the injuries causing the poor performances last year. That said, if he does take over that position, meaning that his game becomes better than Rafers, that would be a starting lineup for the ages with him being somewhat back to old form. A team that would blow out over 95 % of the teams in this league on most nights. Last but not least, even after having the best starting lineup, I think we will also have the best bench in the league. Steve, Barry, Battier, Landry and Mutumbo...with Brooks, Head, Harris, Hayes and Dorsey behind them; is as strong as it gets in this league. NO OTHER TEAM has that kind of depth that I have seen. I expect the wizard Morey to make another move or two before training camp, but even if he doesn't, we are set to impact this league like no other Rocket team has ever done before in the past! This is going to be exciting!
Regarding all the V-Span talk, the guy is not a Rocket and there is no winning any argument about him..... Let's just get the players we have in Houston healthy and on the same page. DD
A comment like that hardly deserves a response but here goes. It seems you have failed to put on your glasses while watching the performances. Scola was the 3rd leading scorer across all teams in the Olympics with nearly all his points coming from around the rim. Yao although recovering from recent surgery did most of his scoring around the rim. Rarely do players challenge Yao directly as typically they will run at least two players at the rim and dish. Scola was completely consistent and if you don't think so I suggest you watch his performances again.
I'm not as optimistic on the yao front. i feel he's leg will just get worse from here on. you dont break or fracture the same leg three years straight and call it coincidence. if you're expecting a yao of couple of years ago, i doubt we'll see that kind of dominance again.
Exactly, Yao is recovering slowly but you can already tell that he will be ready for the upcoming season. As I mentioned in the original post, Scola is the real key to success in my opinion. if he becomes a legit threat in the paint the Rockets have an unstoppable force in the front court. I remember the days when teams paid no attention to guys like Hayes and Juwan when they played the PF position for the Rockets. Teams would double up on Yao and take shots at him and often would render him ineffective. The Jazz series a few years ago was a prime example of that, Utah sent Boozer, Millsap and Okur after Yao and our PF on the floor was just ignored. Now with Scola in the lineup, you can't do that anymore cause he will get to the rim and make you pay for doubling Yao.
