Heart of a Champion

Clippers 117, Rockets 89

Everyone knew the Rockets early schedule was brutal, but after the close loss against the Lakers Tuesday night, there was still a sense of hope for Houston to go .500 over these first eight games.

And then they faced Lob City and that hope was slimmer than Rick Perry’s chances after the Iowa Caucus.

Things were ugly early on, as the Rockets played one of the worst defensive quarters I’ve ever seen in the first period. After the Clippers third uncontested dunk in the first eight minutes, McHale took a time out at 24-17, it seemed as though the bleeding was over. But when they gave Lowry a breather, all of a sudden the 6’0” Paul was hitting wide open 8-foot jumpers in the lane and things just got worse on the way to a 41-point first quarter. The Clippers had 22 points in the paint in the first quarter alone (only four fewer total points than the Rockets in the quarter) and ended up with 62 overall. The lane might as well have been a Best Buy front door on Black Friday.

Nearly as disgusting were the Clippers 26 points on 19 turnovers in the game and the 68 percent shooting in the first half.

Lowry did everything he could in the first half to keep Houston in the game, hitting his first three three-pointers from probably 30 feet out, as if he was trying to add a few inches every time to one-up himself. My favorite stretch in the first half was toward the end of the second quarter when Kyle was going at Paul like a boxer trying to take away the championship belt. After a Lowry layup, Paul blew by Lowry on the following possession and K-Low followed it up by going coast to coast through DeAndre Jordan for a basket of his own and then mauling Paul on the in-bounds pass. He ended up with decent numbers with a 17/5/2 night.

The second quarter was a little better, overall, but every time Houston got the deficit to single digits, a defensive breakdown would lead to a Clippers run again. A 7-0 run to start the third quarter put it out of reach and the Rockets never looked competitive for the rest of the game. At that point, the Clippers were shooting 70 percent from the floor, and I thought maybe the Houston players were scoring the game like they were playing golf.

THE WORST PART

I can almost forgive all the points in the paint and the highlight dunks. But I can’t forgive Houston’s defenders not even putting a body on Griffin as he drove the lane. If someone is going to drive the lane on you, at some point you have to put a hard foul on them to make them think twice about it. The Rockets were Downy soft in this one.  If McHale is serious about improving the team’s defense, the next time he sees Scola just stand there as an opposing player drives the lane and dunks three feet away from him, McHale needs to pull Scola and sit him the rest of the game. Period.

The Dalembert acquisition and the development of Hill was supposed to make us forget Chuck Hayes because of the shot blocking they provide, but instead it just made us forget how great the Chuckwagon was at taking a charge. In fact, the saddest part about their interior defense was that their most effective defensive unit was probably when they had Patterson and Parsons on the floor at the same time, as those guys were at least willing to take a charge. Which brings me to my next point…

THE ONE POSITIVE

Yeah, Lowry played a pretty good first half, but not spectacular and Paul clearly got the better of him. Scola and Martin had their moments offensively, but were so underwhelming on defense that they deserve no praise whatsoever. Dragic was decent and the Arizona boys were completely forgettable (which is practically a compliment considering how bad this game was).

So what silver lining could there possibly be in this game?

Chandler “Bing” Parsons. (Since CP is taken, how about a “Friends” reference for a nickname? Think about how satisfying it would be to hear “BIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!” after every dunk from the PA announcer or chants of “BING! BING! BING!” when he’s on fire. This needs to happen. )

Sure, most of his points came in garbage time, but he had a couple of nice put back dunks, hit his fair share of open jumpers and was part of the Rockets most effective run in the second quarter. He also played the best defense of anyone on Blake Griffin and led the team in rebounding. It might sound crazy, but don’t be shocked if he ends up challenging Bud for the starting SF spot by the end of the season. He’s already beat out Morris for the team’s best rookie and has proven to be more consistent than T-Will despite so few practices, so imagine how good he’ll be once he really starts getting it.

UP NEXT

The Rockets LA trip was the most disheartening thing out of LA since… well pretty much every Michael Bay movie ever. (Yeah, I’m still bitter about paying for Transformers II. I could have stayed home and watched two and a half hours of Teletubbies and been more intellectually stimulated.)

And now they’ve got a back-to-back series against the Thunder. However, if Houston could pull out one of those games, then 3-5 ain’t so bad considering they started 3-10 with an easier schedule last season and narrowly missed the playoffs. The rest of their January schedule includes Charlotte, Sacramento, Washington twice, Detroit, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Minnesota twice. The other games are against the Knicks (could be without Amare), the Spurs twice (without Manu) and Portland at home.

Every single one of those is a winnable game.  So suppose Houston splits with the Thunder and then goes 9-4 the rest of the month. Then they’re looking at a 12-9 start moving into February. But unless McHale gets them to play better defense, then the real contenders in the NBA will never take them seriously…

The Rockets have had a volatile start to the 2011-2012 season, and I would expect no less from one of the youngest teams in the league under a new coach.  Our season opening game against the Magic was a tough loss (95-104) during which the Rockets were ultimately unable to stop either Dwight Howard or, embarrassingly, Hedo Turkoglu.  Kevin Martin was unable to make any sort of an impact and after the game commented that he can’t play like a Kyle Korver or Jason Kapono (3 point shooters who do little else) and still be effective.  Free agent signing Samuel Dalembert made his debut on the court after Jordan Hill picked up some quick fouls and seemed eager to prove his worth to the Rockets organization.  Dalembert blocked three shots and only missed one of six shots from the field including a couple of jump shots.  The Haitian big man was active, hustling for loose balls, playing good defense, and really making his case for the starting center spot.  Terrance Williams and Jordan Hill have both had good early starts for the Rockets and yet both suffer from a substantial inability to be where they need to be on defense.  Hill has found his rhythm in the rotation as a rebounder (saturday night against Atlanta he pulled down a career high 15 rebounds) and if he keeps up the good work on the glass it may take Dalembert a couple of weeks to work himself into the starting five.  After the Magic, the Rockets made their triumphant return to the Toyota Center where they hosted a worn down Spurs team that for the most part failed to put up a fight (105-85).  Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both played less than 20 minutes and Duncan didn’t even play in the second half.  The win was a nice confidence boost for a home town crowd but should not be touted as any real accomplishment other than defeating Pop’s B-squad.  Kevin Martin was back to his high scoring self.  Hasheem Thabeet and Johnny Flynn connected on a couple of awkwardly exciting pick-and-rolls in garbage time and Chandler Parsons saw his first bit of playing time in the NBA and finished with 5 points.  The boys in red then hit the road again to pay a visit to the Grizzlies, a team Kyle Lowry (11.5 assists per game so far this season) usually single-handedly dismantles.  The Grizzlies exercised their height in a dominant showing of big-man finesse and defeated the Rockets by an easy 20 points (93-113).  On New Year’s Eve the Rockets dismantled the Hawks at home (84-95).  In what might have been a message from a higher power, Kyle Lowry was simply unable to hit a shot and he responded by aggressively setting up his teammates.  With just two points on 0 for 6 shooting, Kyle Lowry might have had his best game of the season.  Lowry finished with a career high 18 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and probably the nastiest block by any point guard so far this season.  Tracy McGrady had a decent game with 13 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter.

Things to note:

Terrance Williams was noticeably perturbed by his lack of minutes on Saturday against the Hawks.  After a couple of good games at the rim Williams must have felt he had earned some constancy and a little of McHale’s attention however I believe he’s done the opposite.  Williams was very poor on defense during the first three games of the season.  He had trouble staying in front of any of the small-forwards he guarded and Chase Budinger was noticeably more effective on the defensive end.  During training camp, McHale praised Terrance for his defensive potential and I don’t think he liked what he saw in that department during the season.

The paint is still a big question mark for the Rockets defense.  McHale’s influence on the offense can be seen with ease and he likes getting Scola the rock down in the low post but on defense there has been a dramatic lack of intensity.  Dalembert is clearly out of shape and not ready to anchor the defense, Jordan Hill is still learning the basics of a center’s responsibilities and Thabeet is light years away from even seeing any non-garbage minutes.  Patrick Patterson returning to the line-up (he sat out the first three games with an injury but played 17 minutes on Saturday) should help with overall effort on that end but unless we have some sort of call to arms expect teams like the Grizzlies, Lakers, Clippers (just Blake), and Jazz to eat our lunch with two or more offensively skilled seven footers.

The start of a long week:

The Rockets take on the struggling former champion Lakers in Los Angeles and then play the Clippers, Thunder, and Thunder again.  Houston has got a rough stretch ahead of themselves with lots of up and coming big men to cause trouble for the starting line-up.  Andrew Bynum has been exceedingly dominant since his 4 game suspension and will be a tough mark for anyone other than Samuel Dalembert.  Kobe has not been shooting well and the new-look Lakers have yet to decide what to do at the small-forward position.  Kyle Lowry should be able to cause some trouble for Fisher and Steve Blake and Kevin Martin will, at the very least, wear Kobe down with his constant off the ball movement.  If the Rockets can have a solid performance from their offensive players (Martin/Budinger/Scola) and a notable performance from their defensive players (Lowry/Lee/Dalembert) we might be able to pull of an upset during what is going to be a very grueling week.

 

 

Spurs 87 – Rockets 101

While the compressed training camp ticks forward the Houston Rockets find themselves in the familiar conundrum of preparing to start their NBA season without an NBA ready center.  Last year, we had a hobbled Yao Ming and an out of position Chuck Hayes.  This year we have neither.  When David Stern vetoed the trade that would send Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Goran Dragic to the Hornets in return for Pau Gasol Houston was left with it’s two most productive players in a quandary.  Kevin Martin remarked that Daryl Morey had “shown his cards” yet both players kept their cool and remained exceptionally professional; after all, it is just a business.  Since Morey’s latest attempt at reeling in a franchise player backfired the team has essentially made no significant moves.  Other than adding some D-League and undrafted big men and a guard who most likely won’t make the final roster, Morey has left the team the way it had been all lockout long.  Whether or not he is aiming to tank the season has yet to be determined but I feel confident in saying that the 2011/2012 Rockets team as it stands is marginally less talented than the team we fielded for the second half of the season last year.

Saturday night in Houston was head coach Kevin McHale’s first run with our roster when the Rockets took on the Spurs in the first of two preseason exhibition games.  Jordan Hill started at center and the offense was mostly run exactly as it had been run under Rick Adelman.  The Spurs did not play Tim Duncan or Tony Parker and were primarily sticking to their bench players throughout the game.  I was unable to watch any of the first half so I’m unable to really comment on the condition of our starting five but judging from the replays, commentary, and box score Luis Scola remains our most consistent scoring threat.  Luis had 20 points on 9-12 shooting and appeared to be dropping in mid-range buckets with the fluidity of a mid-season vet.  Let us not forget that Scola had a busy summer and his game is the least likely to have deteriorated over the extended summer.  Jordan Hill was pulling down offensive rebounds like they owed him money and finished with an exceptional 17 points and 13 rebounds (8 offensive rebounds).  Most of the commotion before the lockout and after the lockout coming out of the Toyota Center has been about the strides that  Hill has made.  While I will admit that I’m the first person to blow a player’s preseason accomplishments entirely too far out of the water I would like to remind our readers that towards the end of the season last year Jordan Hill was averaging less than 10 minutes per game and less than 4 points per game.  While younger players like Goran Dragic and Chase Budinger shined after the all-star break, Jordan Hill’s stock plummeted.

Terrance Williams reminded us of his potential as well finishing with 14 point and 9 rebounds after a poor showing in the first half.  Daryl Morey even went as far as to label TWill as one the best rebounding wings in the game.  Williams will continue to be nothing more than a tease until he decides to commit himself to defense and stop taking long jump shots.  Kyle Lowry looked like he was in great shape to start the season and for the most part did his job on the floor.  Kevin Martin, Courtney Lee, Goran Dragic and Chase Budinger looked good to go as well.

The Spurs duo of Dejuan Blair and Tiago Splitter in the middle caused all sorts of problems for the Rockets that Kevin McHale could not have been too happy about.  Those are the type of players that Chuck Hayes took responsibility for last year and I fear that Saturday night was a preview of things to come.  Jordan Hill and Hasheem Thabeet bring height and some shot blocking bet little else on the defensive end.  Neither guy is going to anchor a defense and with Scola’s own glaring deficiencies Houston is going to have a lot of problems keeping guys out of the paint this year.

At 2:00 PM tomorrow morning expect the Houston Rockets to ship off starting shooting guard Kevin Martin, starting forward Luis Scola, and promising bench guard Goran Dragic in a three way trade that will land Houston seven foot PF/C Pau Gasol from the Los Angeles.  The trade will be a three team trade that will earn the Lakers, a conference rival, the best point guard in the league: Chris Paul.  The Rockets will also ship out the Knicks top 5 protected 2012 first round pick.  The Lakers will also send Lamar Odom to the Hornets, the rest of the details are foggy.  New Orleans will have to send out more salary to make the deal work – the obvious target is Emeka Okafor who would be the icing on the cake if he were to come to Houston.  Regardless, with the extra cap space cleared in the trade expect the Rockets to make a run at free agent center Nene in an attempt to recreate the twin-towers of Houston.  Unfortunately, Nene’s contract demands are boarding on ludicrous and if Houston were to sign him, the Rockets would be committed to two 28+ big men for the foreseeable future.  In order to even make room for the sort of contract Nene is pushing for, Houston will likely have to use the amnesty clause on 2nd round pick Hasheem Thabeet.  No real loss there.

As a back-up plan, there’s always Sammy Dalembert to fill the five spot, but I’m hoping that just doesn’t happen.  With Dalembert and Gasol clogging the paint our interior defense and rebounding would skyrocket, but the Adelman-inspired fast paced offense would be a thing of the past.  With the extra cap-room, Houston executives have been blowing up Chuck Hayes’ agent telling him to hold off on signing that loaded contract with the Kings.  We might have lost Scola, but we might be able to retain the wagon.

Houston Rockets just facilitated the trade that could put the Lakers back as the championship favorites for the next few seasons.  This is not a good thing.  We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but consider the following: Houston just cleared cap room, gained a top-15 player, and became more defense oriented.

UPDATE: The NBA owners are going to fight hard against a league-owned team making a game changing trade and sending CP3 to LA.  I understand the argument completely, but CP3 was going to be traded regardless – would we be hearing such an uproar if he was going to the Knicks tomorrow?  I doubt it.

UPDATE #2: The deal is dead.  Chirs Paul is irate.

More details will follow.

Predicted depth chart (without any FA signings):

Kyle Lowry / Johny Flynn
Courtney Lee / Terrance Williams
Chase Budinger / Marcus Morris / Chandler Parsons
Patrick Patterson / Jordan Hill
Pau Gasol / Hasheem Thabeet

The details of the new CBA have yet to be released and have not been voted on, but for the first time in what has been an increasingly discouraging summer and fall it’s starting to look like we’re going to have an NBA season.  The threat of litigation appears to have been the straw that broke the owner’s back although right now nobody can say that with certainty.  Regardless of who “won” the lockout, it’s clear the owners caved on some key issues and that’s important for the egos and reputations of the players.  Starting December 9th, we’re going to see possibly the most action packed off-season in years with less than a month to have the free-agency, make trades, and have training camp.  The new CBA will most likely have an amnesty clause that allows teams to remove one overpaid player from their books (although they will still have to pay them) – that means that guys like Rashard Lewis, Brandon Roy, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Mike Miller and Mehmet Okur might become unplanned free agents looking for a second chance.

Richard Justice believes that the Rockets will make a run for free-agent center Nene who put up his best numbers of all time last season in Denver and could be looking at a near-max level contract.  Nene would have a team built around an offensive 5-man in Houston but I’m not convinced he would put us anywhere close to championship contention.  Nene is not a defensive stopper and he has never been the type of player to consistently take over the game.  Rockets head coach Kevin McHale, on the other hand, would love to see such a powder-keg of offensive prowess in his locker-room.

The free agency has options at center other than our own beloved Chuck Hayes.  Tyson Chandler has earned a raise and promotion and restricted free-agent Marc Gasol will certainly be a hot topic with his beastly playoff performance.  If I had my pick of the litter, I would throw Marc Gasol a near-max contract and see what happens.  Gasol is younger than the rest, bigger, and has more of a two way game.  Unfortunately, I see Memphis matching anything thrown at their coveted big-man and I see them putting more value on Gasol than they will with OJ Mayo (and rightfully so).  There are other options that may entice the Rockets in the free agency.  Andris Biedriņš from Latvia may be one of the unfortunate few who gets the amnesty cut and while he had a miserable season last year, his size, defense, and rebounding are hard to ignore at center.

The bottom line is more likely than not, we’re going to have a season.  It will be shorter and potentially worse for a young team like Houston with a new coach but let’s all not forget to be thankful that there is a season at all.

In case you missed it last night, Luis Scola stored 32 points against Brazil in an international battle of swag.  The aging Argentinian team held it together in the fourth quarter when things mattered most despite a third quarter revival fueled by a simple demonstration of youth that Argentina was initially unable to counter.  In defiance of a regrettable showing on the defensive end, Luis had a very sound offensive game; the ten foot jump shot, the Argentinian tango, and the scoop all made an appearance during championship game.   Brazil, with or without Nene, was no match for a team with so many years of experience together.  Scola was the leading scorer in the FIBA Americas tournament and a shoe-in for the most valuable player for the third year straight.  During a time of the year where basketball has to take a back seat, it’s always nice to have some televised Rocket’s dominance.

Fair warning: this is a long read.

20.  Because lockouts are boring.

Although I have this reason listed at #20, it could really go a lot closer to the top.  The closest thing to interesting basketball news I’ve heard the past two months has been player A is thinking of signing with European team B.  Throw in a couple of stories about Kobe swatting people’s cell phones away at church, Gilbert Arenas planking, Yao Ming retiring and stalled CBA negotiations and you’ve got a pretty complete summary of the offseason thus far.  Earlier this week I found myself thoroughly engaged in a discussion on a message board about which house NBA players would join if they went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter novels.  The general consensus was LeBron would be a Slytherin.  That is just how slow things have gotten.

 

19.  Because Houston needs to get over Yao.

The city of Houston has had a hard 10 years of basketball.  There was so much promise in pairing Yao Ming with Steve Francis or more recently Tracy McGrady, but it never worked out. Injuries and inadequate rosters kept Yao from ever getting beyond the second round.  Every season for the past three years the media has hyped Yao’s return from injury as though it was just a matter of time before the little giant would be back to 100%.  Then he retired.  And good for him.  It’s the end of an era and now it’s time to move on.

 

18.  Because Steve Francis is looking to return to the pros.

Rockets fans, buckle your seatbelts – the NBA is about to get a little more explosive.  Stevie Franchise just can’t get enough.  You’d think limping around in China for a season or two would be enough for him to hang his hat for good, but not Franchise.  This is the way I imagine Stevie’s line of thought must have worked, “Ok, I got balled from the NBA, then got laughed out of China, now it’s time to make my triumphant return.”  I can’t blame the guy for trying to do what he loves to do, and really Stevie had the heart of a champion – unfortunately he also had the knees of a 90 year old man.

 

17.  Because Hakeem Olajuwon keeps teaching anyone who will listen how to be good.

First Hakeem teaches Dwight Howard how to play in the post and now Lebron James too?  This is treason.  Those moves are the trademarked property of the city of Houston and their disbursement must be regulated to Clutch City.  C’mon Hakeem, what about Hasheem Thabeet or Patrick Patterson?  I guess this is payback for us trading you to the Raptors, huh?   Let’s end this lockout before Hakeem has the entire Eastern conference dream shaking.

 

16.  Because NBA 2k12 is going to be awesome and it’s more fun to play as the season progresses.

In case you missed it, 2K sports have given their rabid fans the first detailed look into what they have added to the greatest sports game franchise of the past decade.  Two words: Hakeem Olajuwon.  NBA 2k12 will be released regardless of the lockout, so don’t get your panties in a wad, but in my humble opinion NBA 2K is meant to be played alongside an actual basketball season.  They spent a lot of time and money making the game flow with the dynamics of a legitimate NBA season.  The trades, skill changes, injuries, and roles are updated on a daily basis throughout the season.  If there is a lockout going on, your Patrick Patterson is going to play the same way he did when you bought the game all year long.  He’s not going to develop that unguardable hookshot that he would have in the ’11-’12 season.  In case you’re to lazy to click the link, Hakeem’s cameo as an NBA legend in 2K12 will have him in his prime going up against the Dikembe Mutumbo anchored Nuggets.

 

15.  Shortened season means less cohesion.

There are a lot of variables for the Rockets next season.  The formula of new players + new coaches – all stars = playoffs leaves a lot of room for failure.  We need time, practices, and as many games as we can get to get this group on the right track.  It took last season’s squad up until the all-star break to hit full stride and that was with a seasoned winner as coach.  If the lockout carries over through part of the season, the Rockets have a lot less time to get their act together.

 

14.  Because of the exciting changing dynamics in the league.

Every year there is a development that brings fans to the attention of a new team or player.  Last year it was Blake Griffin who took the Clippers from laughs to gasps.    When I bought NBA league pass broadband last season, you can bet the Clippers were one of my 10 or so teams I selected to watch.  This season, we’ve got the potential for a lot more of that.  Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio will be joining forces with the newly established monster on the glass Kevin Love, number two pick Derrick Williams, and constant dope smoking scoring threat Michael Beasley.  This group will be interesting, to say the least, and they have serious potential to compete with last year’s Clippers as the best team on TV.  Rubio is a one-man circus all by himself.  His play style is suave and calculated and his court vision is unparalleled.  Then there are the Cavs whose two top 5 picks could go either way next season.  Irving will be a great point guard, there is little doubt about that but Tristan Thompson was considered by most to be a reach at the 4^th pick and has a lot to prove. Portland is loaded with talent and finally got the all around PG they had been after for a while.  The championship Mavs may have acquired a legitimate starting 2 guard in Rudy Fernandez for peanuts and John Wall and his Wizards team drafted two athletic, young wings defenders and fast break monsters.  The longer the lockout, the longer we have to wait to see who’s going to be the next big thing.

 

13.  Because Chuck Hayes is temporarily not under contract.

Without Chuck Hayes inked up as a Houston Rocket, I feel completely naked.  Right now Hayes is the fat kid standing by the bleachers at a kickball game waiting for his name to be called by the cool kids.  They’ll need him eventually, but for the time being they are going to let him play Pokemon by himself.  And they can’t bring him in right now if they wanted to.  The lockout does not allow for the teams to speak with the players directly.   I miss you Chuck.  Don’t ever leave me again.

 

12.  Because I don’t want to see Terrance Williams ripping his shirt off again.

I’m always up and down on Terrance Williams.  He’s got skill but he’s also less likely to do what he’s told than Charles Barkley at a strip club.  And even if it’s just in a pick up game, I can’t stand seeing a Houston Rocket act like he is God’s gift to the world.  Somebody needs to beat some humility into this guy, and I hope it’s Kevin McHale.

 

11.  Because Kevin Martin is in his prime.

Kevin Martin is 28.  He’s in shape.  His efficiency is at its apex.  Now is the time to utilize Kevin Martin’s game.  Let’s get the most out of this guy before it’s too late.

 

10.  Because we’re young and underpaid.

The Rockets have one of the younger teams in the league and they need time to develop.  Aside from growing good players, the Rockets front office needs to consider their financial situation.  Courtney Lee, Patrick Patterson, Goran Dragic, Johnny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, Terrance Williams, Chase Budinger, Chandler Parsons, Jordan Hill, Marcus Morris and Donatas Motiejunas are all on their rookie scale contracts.  In case you can’t count, that’s the majority of the team.  A lot of these guys are worth more than they are paid.  There are a few cases, such as with Thabeet, where our youngsters are being over paid but the vast majority are not.  It would be an opportunity cost to the management not to get a full season out of these guy while they are cheap.

 

9.  Because I don’t have enough Scola in my life anymore.

Scola is a world class, no bullshit pro and a gosh darn handsome looking man.  He’s reliable, skilled and Argentinian.  I miss the expressions, the post game, and even the flopping on occasion.  He’s one of my favorite Rockets of all time and I’m just not filling my quota these days.

 

8.  Because the 2012 draft is stacked and Morey needs more power forwards, NOW.

Daryl Morey may have fooled the rest of the world into thinking he’s a shrewd businessman with a background in statistics but I’m a little more observant than most.  Yes, I’ve figured it all out – Daryl Morey is a creep who has an insatiable fetish for power forwards.  Go ahead, look at the roster.  Excluding Hayes, we have six players whose natural position is power forward (closer to 9 if you include Hayes and the late season D-league signings).  It is very clear to me that this is Morey’s mantra: disregard depth chart, acquire power forwards.  And the 2012 draft has some awfully sexy power forwards for Daryl to salivate over.

 

7.  Because this off-season is when DH12 and CP3 may be moved.

It’s a matter of time before either Orlando or New Orleans realizes that they are going to get LeBron’d if they don’t move quickly.  No franchise wants to trade away their star player, but when the players have publically stated that they’re sole loyalty is towards winning a championship it’s time to start blowing up the phone lines.  The Carmelo/Denver strategy of waiting until the all-star break causes too much turbulence to the team during the season.  Denver was playing basketball with a giant elephant in the room on a nightly basis.  I think there’s a chance we may see some moves made prior to the start of the season, if there is a start.  Furthermore, I think Houston will be able to cash in on its bottomless pit of young players sooner than later.

 

6.  Because we won’t have the same free agency.

Who knows what kind of cap space we’ll be looking at after the CBA is renegotiated or if there will be an MLE with which to sign a decent player?  Usually, the free agency is a summer long extravaganza of rumors and drama – not this summer.  On a different tangent altogether, what kind of money do you think Carl Landry plans on asking for?  I for one would welcome him back with open arms and I’m fairly sure Daryl Morey would too (see #8).

 

5.  Because: rookies.

My favorite part about basketball is watching the young guns rise.  The sooner I get to see if Marcus Morris can play the 3 or if Donatas Motiejunas is worth a darn the better.  Chandler Parsons is an intriguing pick, his story is a lot like Chase Budinger’s:  long, shooter white guy with question marks surrounding his assertiveness.  He had a pretty lackluster college career but he just might eventually become one of those role players who is worth every penny.

 

4.  Because I would like to avoid the shooting slump this time, Chase Budinger.

Speaking of Chase Budinger, how about that Chase Budinger?  Following a raw start to the season, Budinger came back with a vengeance after Battier was traded.  I don’t have the statistics handy, but Chase not only handled the starting role with poise but he rocked it.  Let’s not let Chase cool off – I read on Twitter that he’s going to be playing some serious volleyball during the lockout.  What if we lose Chase forever?

 

3.  Because Kevin McHale needs to impose his will.

McHale is going to be a very special kind of coach for this team.  He’s not going to be bringing in “his guys” (unless the Flynn trade was more than a salary dump) and running “his system” like Adelman did.  Kevin McHale is here to lead with whatever pieces the front office deems appropriate.  He’s not going to be involved in personnel decisions but you better believe he’s going to work hard with the guys he’s given.  He’s going to turn our scraggly big men into a force on both ends and he’s going to have each and every player on our team’s respect.  The longer this takes to happen, the more we’re going to see Terrance Williams ripping off his clothing.

 

2.  Because we’ve got a lot of talent waiting to explode

Last season we had excess depth.   This season, we’re plagued with it.  We have legitimate starting talent whose roles have been cut and touches have been slashed in order to accommodate the rest of the guys.  The Chicago Bulls would kill to get Courtney Lee in any trade that didn’t dismantle their contending roster.  Patrick Patterson is the all around power forward you want for the long haul.  Terrance Williams could be the kind of isolation player the Rockets haven’t had since healthy T-Mac.  Goran Dragic showed us at the end of last season that he can handle big minutes with ease.  Even Jordan Hill was generating a lot of buzz in pre-lockout workouts.  Let’s not forget that Johnny Flynn had a pretty decent rookie season and was never doubted as a top 10 pick until his injury.  We’re poised this season to see something big happen with one of these guys, you can take that to the bank.

 

1.  Because it’s time for Kyle Lowry to step into his big boy shoes.

Lowry fought valiantly last season once Aaron Brooks came back from his injury to prove that he was the rightful starter.  His three point shooting, passing, and isolation play all took a serious leap in the right direction.  The battle is over and Kyle won.  Now it’s time for Kyle to embrace his earnings.  So far this summer, various media have labeled Kyle a “great defensive player” or a “sparkplug” but he’s so much more than that.  If he can maintain his hot shooting and improve the way he has been in every other department, people will begin to see Kyle Lowry as the top tier point guard he is destined to become.

Earlier today the 2012 Rockets schedule was released.  Barring an NBA Lockout, Houston opens its season on Nov. 1 against the new-look rival Utah Jazz.  It wouldn’t be right if the Rockets didn’t open the season with back-to-back road games.  Like last year when they took on the Lakers and Warriors to start, the Rockets must travel to Salt Lake City and Sacramento on back-to-back nights.

Going through the entire schedule, the team has 22 back-to-back games, which is tied with five other teams for the most in the NBA.  They also have 20 opponents playing back-to-back games, and a seven game home stand spanning from February to March, which is the longest since the 1981-82 season.  November is light, going against only five teams that made the playoffs last year in the first 11 games.  There is absolutely no way the Rockets start 1-6 again.  The Rockets also have a nice six game home stand at the end of January.  There are two nationally televised games, against Philadelphia (Nov. 9^th) and Minnesota (Nov. 25^th).  Here are some of the highlights:

November 23^rd: The Rockets take on the defending champion Dallas Mavericks for the first time since the Mavs knocked off the Heat in last years Finals.

December 12^th:  The Rockets played the Heat very well last December at home and get another shot at the defending Eastern Conference Champs.

February 15^th-March 4^th: Even though it is a seven game home stretch, the Rockets are facing some tough teams.  It will by no way thrust them back into the middle of the hunt if they are out of the Playoff Picture.  The Rockets face OKC, Memphis, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Denver, and LAC.  Five of the seven teams made the playoffs last year.

Entire Schedule:

NOVEMBER:

• November 1^st: @Utah
• November 2^nd: @ Sacramento
• November 5^th: vs Utah
• November 8^th: @Indiana
• November 9^th: @Philadelphia
• November 12^th: vs Golden State
• November 15^th: vs LAC
• November 16^th: @NO
• November 19^th: vs NJ
• November 21^st: vs Minnesota
• November 23^rd: vs Dallas
• November 25^th: @Minnesota
• November 26^th: vs SA

DECEMBER

• December 2^nd: @Detroit
• December 3^rd: @Chicago
• December 6^th: vs LAL
• December 9^th: @SA
• December 10^th: OKC
• December 12^th: @Miami
• December 14^th: vs Chicago
• December 16^th: @Memphis
• December 17^th: vs Cleveland
• December 20^th: vs Phoenix
• December 21^st: @Atlanta
• December 23^rd: @Washington
• December 26^th: @Orlando
• December 28^th: vs Utah
• December 30^th: @Minnesota
• December 31^st: vs Portland

JANUARY

• January 3^rd: @LAL
• January 4^th: @LAC
• January 6^th: @OKC
• January 7^th: vs NO
• January 9^th: @NY
• January 13^th: vs Milwaukee
• January 14^th: vs Portland
• January 16^th: @Charlotte
• January 18^th: @NO
• January 19^th: vs Minnesota
• January 21^st: vs SA
• January 25^th: vs Detroit
• January 27^th: vs Washington
• January 28^th: vs NY
• January 30^th: vs Miami

FEBRUARY

• February 1^st: @Memphis
• February 3^rd: vs Atlanta
• February 4^th: @SA
• February 6^th: @Denver
• February 8^th: @Portland
• February 9^th: @Phoenix
• February 11^th: @GS
• February 15^th: vs OKC
• February 17^th: vs Memphis
• February 19^th: vs Boston
• February 22^nd: vs Philadelphia
• February 28^th: vs Toronto

MARCH

• March 2^nd: vs Denver
• March 4^th: vs LAC
• March 6^th: @Boston
• March 7^th: @Toronto
• March 9^th: @Milwaukee
• March 11^th: @Cleveland
• March 12^th: @NJ
• March 14^th: vs Charlotte
• March 17^th: @LAC
• March 18^th: @Phoenix
• March 20^th: vs LAL
• March 22^nd: vs GS
• March 24^th: vs Dallas
• March 26^th: vs Sacramento
• March 27^th: @Dallas
• March 30^th: vs Memphis

APRIL

• April 1^st: vs Indiana
• April 4^th: @Utah
• April 6^th: @LAL
• April 8^th: @Sacramento
• April 9^th: @Portland
• April 11^th: vs Orlando
• April 13^th: vs Phoenix
• April 15^th: @Denver
• April 16^th: vs NO
• April 18^th: @Dallas

Kevin McHale, former NBA champion, basketball management veteran, and leader of men has begun to divulge his master plan.  Yahoo Sports broke the news via Twitter:

Wolves assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff has accepted a similar position with the Rockets. Agreed to accept job prior to Kurt Rambis’ firing.

While Jonathan Feigen announced further details:

Rockets reached agreement w Bucks’ Kelvin Sampson to be lead assistant under Kevin McHale, per source. Chris Finch already on staff.#hounews

Kelvin Sampson in particular is of interest to me.  Last year and years prior the Bucks have had superior defense.  This is, of course due to players like Andrew Bogut and Luc Mbah a Moute who both play stellar defense and head coach Scott Skiles but I’d like to think that Sampson might have had his say as well.  If we can muster half of the interior defense of the Bucks we’d be in good shape.  Chris Finch is an important name to note here as well.  My crackpot conspiracy theory is that he is being slowly groomed for the head coach position.  He was brought over from coaching in Europe to be the head coach of the Rocket’s affiliate development league team the Rio Grande Vipers.  Finch ran Adelman’s offense and brought that D-League team to multiple finals.  Chris Frinch is supposed to be a very Morey-friendly type of coach who believes in the importance of statistics where other coaches would laugh.  I like Finch, and I’ll be following his role in McHale’s staff very closely.  I don’t know much about J.B. Bickerstaff other than that he had agreed to join McHale long before Kurt Rambis was fired from the Timerwolves.  I have some homework to do but on the whole I would say that things are looking good for the Rockets coaching staff, or at least as good as one would expect.

Well folks, Yao Ming is calling it quits and salvaging what’s left of his legs and ankles while he still can.  The injury plagued super-star brought millions of new fans to the NBA and he gave the city of Houston a feeling of hope that they had not felt since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon.  I for one will never forget his impact on the game and how when healthy he could not be stopped from scoring.  Yao Ming has been cited as a great team mate, an honorable man, and a skilled athlete but I will always remember his sense of humor.  When Ron Artest stood up to leave from a press conference during the playoffs two years ago, Yao Ming turned toward the notorious hooligan and said “see you at the club”.  It is moments like these that fueled my Rockets fandom and they shall not be soon forgotten.

Yao Ming was hesitant this summer talking with the media about his basketball plans but he reiterated that if he was unable to properly return to the NBA within the year he would retire.  As a fan of Yao, this saddens me, but as a Rockets fan looking towards the future I couldn’t be happier with the decision.  Yao Ming is not stupid – he obviously knew that a return to the NBA at this point would be in vain.  The team has already acquired players who are ready to move on and now our team mentality will be ready to progress as well.  Think back to the beginning of the 2010 season.  Yao Ming was making his triumphant come back, but would only play 25 minutes and not play back to back games.  Yao was intermittently placed into the lineup and completely changed the dynamic from run and gun to slow and steady.  This only lasted for a week or two but in my opinion it greatly impacted the teams’ performance (along with all the other injuries).  After the all-star game we were full time run and gun, Adelman style, and we were winning.

Yao Ming brought an entire nation to love the game of basketball and was a financial miracle to the owners of the Houston Rockets.  While his career numbers demonstrate a player not worthy of the hall of fame, his accomplishments off of the court and his ability to mobilize the sport internationally will certainly make him a shoe-in.

Side note – With Yao Ming out of the NBA, the baton of tallest player in the NBA is to be passed to another Houston Rocket.  Any guesses?  Hasheem Thabeet, listed at seven foot three inches, is now tied for the tallest player in the league.