they formed a formidable defensive tandem. we beat portland with defense, not offense. if kevin martin does not regain his scoring prowess, its going to be a struggle b/c martn will eventually play 38+ mpg.
Well now we have more than just Yao and a star. When it was Yao and Tmac there was no one else, until last year, and then there were injury issues again. It could have been great, we had more than just 3 stars, we had a lot of young, ambitious, and hungry talent. Before that with Yao, Francis, and Mobley there wasn't alot besides those three, and Yao was still developing. Had his biggest jump his first two years with Tmac, from 18.3 - 25.0. Now, barring Yao is healthy, we have a wing scorer in Martin, two wing defenders in Battier and Ariza, and young stud point guard in Brooks, great defenders and hustlers all around the team, much more athletic and balanced. Martin is not as good as McGrady was, but he is a good player and he, in my opinion, completes this team as far as major parts go. Once the organization made its mind up about him we had a gaping hole at that position and we had to have Ariza fill in. With Yao and Martin everyone can shift into their position. Brooks can work off Martin, Martin can work off Brooks, we have quickness, a mix of youth and veterans. We should really look forward to next year, and pray Yao recovers fully.
Without a doubt, the Yao/Martin combo will bring another championship to Houston as long as we have Scola/Brooks/Landr.... errr, nevermind.
I voted no but with the caveat that it will work if they add another star like another poster stated. But in all likelihood, either Martin or Yao (or both) get re-injured therefore voiding the question entirely.
It doesn't matter if our finals opponent is LerBon/Wade or LerBon/Bosh... as long as we have the Yao/Stern combo, we will win. Or even Yao/Refs. Yao will provide us with the smooth shooting touch offense while Refs provide the impenetrable defense.
Honestly, the team right now is not about two main guys anymore. we have more than capable scorers in Brooks. The entire supporting roster is whats going to make this good when Yao Ming comes back. IMO its a lot better if yao averages like 17-19 a game but the scoring is really evened out thorughout the team, than on just Yao and Martin
Everyone knew after we made this trade, that we are playing for next year. With yao back and martin having half a season to get ajusted to the rockets schemes. We will be better defensively because yao with come back. Having him makes up for the fact that our backcourt takes alot of chances on defence. Our starting 5 will be pretty good. 1.Brooks/Lowry 2.Martin/taylor 3.ariza,/Batman 4.scola/hayes 5.yao/anderson. All we need is a backup Center who can run the floor, and a decent wing. We should be knocking down one of the top 3 spots for the western Conference
C-Bud is more of a 3 then a 2. He isnt nearly quick enough to guard 2's but tall enough to defend 3's. taylor, is quicker and more athletic.
very soft team imo but very balanced and will have superb teamwork. If everything works out the Rockets team next year will be like the 04 Pistons with less defense but more offense.
I think Lowry starts quarters to put opponents in penalty earlier, while Brooks finishes as he is the better FT shooter. Crunch time line-up would be: Brooks Martin Battier Scola Yao
Yao+K-mart+role players will not be enough talent for a ring, if you compare them with recent championship teams: LA's Kobe+Gasol/Boston's big three/SA's GDP/Miami's Wade+Shaq, etc. We need another hard-nosed star, either Bosh or Boozer, or CP3, if that's possible. But not A. Stoudamire or J. Johnson.
I think we can give up Battier. What's more, if we can get Bosh/Stoudemire/Boozer, we can give up Scola. If we can get CP3, we can give up Brooks.
