So yeah, who actually checks this thing anymore?
Anyways......pulled from the chron
POSSIBLE STARTING FIVE
Here's what the Rockets' starting lineup could look like this season with the addition of Luis Scola:
• F: Luis Scola — Brings toughness and offensive versatility to the position.
• F: Shane Battier — Team's best defender with shooting range now even more important.
• C: Yao Ming — Needs only to stay healthy; should love having Scola alongside.
• G: Tracy McGrady — High-scoring days could return with more up-tempo style.
• G: Rafer Alston — Could be early offensive trigger with Mike James bringing instant offense off bench.
I'm digging it. all except for Alston. but if Mike James can bring it off the bench, then that makes up for it. I am a little sad about "The Third" moving on though.
Plus, I forgot all about Bonzi. I'm not going to hold my breath that he'll not be a punk, but maybe just maybe he'll step up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
And to top it all off. Holinger just rated the Rockets as having the best offseason....
1. Houston Rockets
(added Mike James, Luis Scola, Jackie Butler and Aaron Brooks; lost Juwan Howard and Vassilis Spanoulis; replaced Jeff Van Gundy with Rick Adelman)
While you're focusing on the San Antonio-Dallas-Phoenix triumvirate in the West, don't sleep on Houston. The Rockets have quietly put together a roster that could very well be the last team standing in that conference in 2008.
Start with the decision to replace Van Gundy with Adelman -- a change in direction that will likely make the team more up-tempo and offensive-minded. They'll miss Van Gundy's defensive genius, but given the offensive stagnation this club showed in 2006-07, it's not a bad trade.
Moreover, hiring Adelman was especially important in this case because it basically adds another player to the roster. Bonzi Wells bristled under Van Gundy after showing up out of shape, and hardly played last season. But he seems excited by being reunited with Adelman, who coached him to a strong campaign in Sacramento two years ago.
From there, add in two vastly underrated trades. The first one pilfered James from Minnesota for Howard, giving the Rockets a do-over on the disastrous James-for-Rafer Alston trade two years ago. The second nabbed Scola and Butler from San Antonio in return for Spanoulis.
Scola, a skilled Argentinian who has been one of the best players in Europe for the past half-decade, will make an immediate impact as a starting power forward. Butler, as a young center with strong scoring skills in the post, should energize a second unit that was bereft of offense last season.
In the big picture, the Rockets aggressively addressed their three main problems: stagant offense, point guard and power forward. Between the coaching change, the additions of James and first-round pick Aaron Brooks at the point, the pickups of Scola and Butler up front, and the de facto addition of Wells, this team suddenly looks loaded. At this point in the offseason, nobody has upgraded more than this club.
Yea, I've been very happy with their offseason so far. I was confused by the Brooks pick, but now it all seems to make sense. He was even named the best player in the summer league!
Awesome pickup in Scola. Grade A work.
I'm really excited about Adelman too. I never really liked Van Gundy's game plan.
Rockets should kick some major booty this year. And I expect they still have some more moves in store. Head and Sura's contract will probably be shipped.
57 wins baby!
Has third actually moved on? I hadn't heard that.
Oh, and keep the Insider crap coming. I'm much too cheap to pay for it =)
Yeah, Lucas is bailing. basically he said that the Rockets are too good at point guard and he can't crack the rotations.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/players/John+Lucas/nba.p.4052
I think he's smoking crack but hey whatever.
And I used to subscribe to insider a couple of years ago. That was actually a free preview. I guess if you hit ESPN at the right time of day the articles can be free.
Post a Comment