Rockets Preview - NBADraft.net

Didn't see this posted yet, so I thought I would drop it in. If I am blind, and missed it. please lock it up.

Link: http://www.nbadraft.net/2005-06rockets001.asp

"Many around the league are pinpointing this season as the year the Houston Rockets make the transition from "dangerous first round playoff matchup" to "legitimate title threat." Tracy McGrady has had a full year to become acclimated to the Rockets' philosophy, Yao Ming is entering his fourth season and will be playing for a contract extension, and Stromile Swift and Rafer Alston were brought in to shore up Houston's weaker positions. Can Jeff Van Gundy take these promising developments and turn them into a deep playoff run?

Obviously, the key to Houston's success lies in the T-Mac/Yao tandem. Arguably the best inside-outside combination in the NBA, they need to learn how to make each other's lives easier instead of struggling to co-exist, like they did at the start of last season. McGrady is on the shortlist of preseason MVP candidates, but he has a maddening habit of occasionally turning Houston's offensive sets into one-on-five isolation plays. Yao's towering height and diverse skill-set have made him the best NBA center not named Shaq, but his penchant for ticky-tack fouls have decreased his playing time and his defensive aggressiveness. On top of that, nobody has had the foresight to put Yao in the high post and allow him to pick defenses apart with his exemplary shooting/passing skills for an entire game. Hopefully, Yao and T-Mac have spent this off-season figuring out how to bring the best out of one another, because there's not a team in the league that can defend that pick-and-roll.

Last season, Houston's biggest weakness was athleticism at the power forward spot. Juwon Howard is a very nice player, but his weaknesses (rebounding and defense) were the same as Yao's. Stromile Swift was brought in from Memphis to help rectify the situation. The Grizzlies inexplicably never gave him consistent minutes, so his numbers weren't as good as they should've been. In Houston, he's guaranteed to play starter's minutes. He won't be asked to do anything other than rebound, block shots, fill the lane on fast breaks, and dunk on people, all of which he does exceptionally well. He's one of the most athletically gifted post players in the league and he gives Houston everything they were lacking last season. Right guy, right place, right time. Watch out.

Another issue Houston faced last season was inconsistent point guard play. Bob Sura was shifted to point guard for most of the season, but he's a natural 2-guard playing point out of necessity. At last year's trading deadline, Houston acquired the constantly underrated Mike James, who helped them immensely during the stretch run. This off-season, James was dealt to Toronto straight-up for the enigmatic Rafer Alston. The former streetball legend is as talented as any point guard in the league, but his career has been littered with various behavioral issues. If Jeff Van Gundy can keep him in line, Alston will successfully execute countless fast-breaks with T-Mac and Swift. He'll also knock down dozens of big perimeter jumpers and figure out how to effectively utilize Yao in the half-court sets. If Alston flies off the handle, they'll have a potentially malignant distraction that could derail a promising season. There's no in-between.

The shooting guard spot is Houston's deepest position, with David Wesley likely getting the start. Nobody ever talks about him, but the undersized Wesley has been putting up very nice scoring numbers during his 12 year career. He's a big-time shooter who will be asked to stretch defenses and open up room for Yao and McGrady. Backing him up will be Derek Anderson, Bob Sura, Jon Barry, Luther Head, Dion Glover, and Keith Langford. Anderson was acquired on the cheap after Portland waived him under the amnesty clause. He's injury prone, but with limited minutes, he can be a highly productive bench scorer. Sura is another injury prone guard, but his versatility will come in handy this season, especially if Alston doesn't work out. Barry plays like the ultimate YMCA pickup player, tipping loose balls and knocking down big threes. Head, the rookie out of Illinois, Langford (undrafted Kansas star), and Glover are three more scorers Houston can utilize. Some of these guys might not get the minutes they would on other teams, but all of them will figure into various lineup configurations and will serve as solid insurance policies in case of injury.

Rounding out the playing rotation will be Juwon Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, Ryan Bowen, Lonny Baxter, and Moochie Norris. At this point, Howard is an ideal sixth man who can exploit the right matchups with his scoring ability. His game is a terrific complement to Swift's. The ageless Mutombo filled in admirably last season when Yao was stricken with foul trouble. He's not a 30-minute-a-night center anymore, but he can still block shots and finger-wag with the best of them. Bowen is one of those pesky hustle guys with extremely limited skills, but does enough of the little things to secure limited amounts of playing time. Baxter wowed the Rockets during summer league, and they rewarded him with a roster spot. Norris and his various hairstyles will see some time behind Alston.

It's entirely possible that the Rockets put everything together this season and emerge as one of the challengers to San Antonio's Western Conference supremacy. Unfortunately, they also play in the same division as the Spurs, which means they'd have to finish with a better regular season than them to secure anything higher than the 4-seed. Unless Tim Duncan gets hurt, that doesn't seem very likely. Regardless, this is a dangerous team that is inching closer to truly contending for an NBA title."



Well, unlike a lot of the outfits out there, NBADraft.net always seems to give a good fair shake to the Rockets. I don't honestly disagree with anything they said here. Looks about right to me.

And it's nice to know that there are others out there who believe Yao would be well-utlilized by playing the high post more.