What a season the Rockets had last year highlighted by a twenty-two game win streak which propelled them into the playoffs and only two games out of first place.
The strong ride ended early though, with another first round playoff exit in six games at the hands of the Utah Jazz. To prevent that from happening again, the Rockets added defense through a trade with the Sacramento Kings to acquire Ron Artest. The team defense should be vastly improved and the Rockets may just contend for first overall in the West if they can improve on the 55 wins.
The backcourt play of Rafer Alston has solidified the PG position. Look for Alston to take that next big step forward to provide an extra scoring punch. Tracy McGrady will most likely lead the team in scoring again and one of the two go to guys. Will his back injuries affect his game this year? Same goes for Yao Ming and his two big feet, are they fully healed and can they sustain the rigors of an 82 game schedule? I for one believe that we haven’t seen the best of Yao Ming yet. I’ve always pictured him dunking the ball every time he got a touch. So there is still a lot of room for improvement in Yao’s game.
Inside scoring from the Rockets should be no problem with Shane Battier, Yao Ming and the surprise from 26 year old rookie Luis Scola. Who proved the transition from Euro Ball to the NBA can be easy if you have a skill set and winning experience.
POSITIVE --> STARTING 5 AND BENCH.
NEGATIVE --> YAO’S FOOT AND T-MAC’S BACK, BIG TIME QUESTION MARKS.
X-FACTOR --> LUIS SCOLA SHOULD BE AN IMPROVED PLAYER AND WILL PROVIDE EXTRA DOWN LOW SCORING.
SLEEPER PICK --> LUTHER HEAD. GOOD SCORER OFF THE BENCH.
PREDICTION --> WILL CONTEND WITH SAN ANTONIO AND DALLAS FOR DIVISION TITLE TO THE END. PLAYOFFS AND 50+ WINS BOOK IT.
OVERALL --> COMLPETE TEAM EFFORT AND TOUGH OPPONENT TO PLAY AGAINST.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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