Houston Rockets ‘09-10 NBA season preview
Trevor Ariza
Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…
Added: Trevor Ariza, Chase Budinger, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, David Andersen, Jermaine Taylor
Lost: Ron Artest, Von Wafer, Dikembe Mutombo, James White
Ceiling: 7th seed in the West
Give Rick Adelman credit: He isn’t letting Yao Ming’s season-ending-before-it-started foot injury devastate him. Adelman says he wants these Rockets to run, and given their personnel, it makes sense. There were times last season when Yao was on the bench and Houston played some of their best ball with a smaller, quicker lineup which included Luis Scola or Chuck Hayes playing the five. Speedy PG Aaron Brooks had his breakout in the ‘09 playoffs, and free-agent pickup Ariza is built to run. Despite the loss of Artest, the team is still strong defensively with Ariza and Shane Battier on the wings, and have legit depth at every position except center. Tracy McGrady is the wild card: Like Gilbert Arenas this summer and D-Wade last summer, he’s been working out with the NBA’s go-to trainer Tim Grover, and if T-Mac comes back close to his old form, he puts the Rockets over the top as a playoff contender and gives them a proven go-to scorer/playmaker.
Basement: Lottery, 4th in the Southwest
You don’t just absorb the loss of a 20-and-10 All-NBA center and keep it pushing like nothing happened. Scrambling to find replacements for Yao over the summer, Houston ended up with career backup Mensah-Bonsu and Euroleague vet Andersen. Whether it’s one of them, Scola or Hayes who eventually owns the starting job, it’ll be a weakness either in size or talent. Teams who run need shooters, and beyond Battier and rookie Budinger, the Rockets don’t have many. T-Mac’s durability is obviously an issue, and the jury is still out on whether Ariza is a star in the making or just a role player.
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10/8 — Detroit Pistons
10/7 — Memphis Grizzlies
10/6 — New York Knicks
10/5 — New Orleans Hornets
10/2 — Atlanta Hawks
9/30 — Sacramento Kings
9/29 — New Jersey Nets
9/28 — Denver Nuggets
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October 9th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
doc says:
Terrible team.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Dr.Googles says:
I wonder if David Stern can issue the rockets a waiver stating that they can have the option to sit out this season due to the fact theres no leader, as a rocket fan im not looking to watch any of their games…BTW..im also pissed at the fact T-mac ratings has dramatically dropped on NBA2k10..
October 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
mr wilson says:
Ariza is a role player.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
rangerjohn says:
i agree, scola and battier are their only good players, brooks has a little learning to do and will be decent but he needs at least another year, ariza IMO is over payed and over hyped. tracy will not come back to do much considering the surgery he had, how many could. battier is a ? himself on health.
i have them picked as the 9/10 seed this season.
unfortunately i am in houston and they are my second fav team. it would AMAZE you guys how hyped the locals are about this team and how there are really people in houston who expect them to make some noise all based on the play of ariza last yrs playoffs and because they won a couple games against the lakers in the playoffs. those 2 things make locals believe the rockets can actually make the west finals or maybe even the finals. NUTS!
October 9th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
laker4life says:
ariza was good for the lakers..becuase he was on the system to flourish.. now hes the “man” and well see if he chose the right way or not.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
isotope says:
They are thin at center and PG (IMO) but are loaded at PF and wing players. Scola and Landry are better than any other starting+backup PF in the league. Chase is legit, he and Ariza and Battier hold down the wing positions. They need a taller and more experienced PG. Center is not that much of an issue as competion in that position is not AS strong. I think the wildcard is Brooks and not TMac. A lot is riding on him.
I think they’ll over-achieve with a really good coach. But if they do so, they ruin their chances of pulling a Tim Duncan like the spurs did.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
isotope says:
@ranger. I’m in Houston and I have not met anybody who’s that drunk off the koolaid. LOL
October 9th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Ross says:
The “Lost:” section should include Yao.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
scotsman says:
@isotope
“scola and landry are better than any other starting+backup PF in the league”
you sir, have been smoking the pipe
October 9th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Mellmeister says:
Houston, would stun some good teams but would not make the playoffs…
October 9th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
POPPI GEE says:
HOUSTON UPPPP!!
Dang looking at what Houston has lost and what they got makes you kinda like WHAT?
Still if there ever was 1 team that finds a way, it’s Houston.
Brooks is most def. straight and despite people saying he is to young and all, remember he is now playoff tested and has a full scope of a season and experience at starter. We most def. straight at the point and look for Brooks to be the leader in points with the running system.
Ariza is the ? not T-Mac because he has to rely more on himself cause he doesn’t have a Kobe to play off of, so it will be interesting to see if he can sink or swim totally on his own. I still think the Rockets would have been better to go after a center rather than him.
Shane will be consistent as he always is along with Scola, Landry and Hayes (consistent horrible freethrows lol)
The Rookies will do well Chase can shoot plain and simple and J.T. ain’t bad so they should contribute nicely. Look out for Chase in the R.O.Y. race.
Center will be an experiment but nothing that should be so bad till you face the likes of Shaq, Duncan and Blair and other teams strong at the 5 and 4. Still Houston should be able to even most teams out if not beat them besides a solid few.
Lamar McGrady will come back and be much better than most think. He has really been working hard this summer and is said to look better physically. He is coming back motivated and that should help as well. The world knows Lamar can play so it will be more a matter of him just avoiding annnnny other injuries and knowing he now has a group that he doesn’t have to carry so much.
Houston Up! I am looking forward to a fun season. LETS GO!
October 9th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Patrick says:
I’m in Houston and I think this could be the worst team in the league outside new york. Scola is legit but he is not good enough to carry this team. Ariza was pretty good playing with kobe, pau, odom, and bynum but he wasn’t that good. He is gonna go nowhere if the opposing team actaully treats him as the go to perimeter player.
Tmac is still one of my favorite players because even if he is gimpy he can get his shot off against anyone. But he has to play.
The season is not looking good.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Yeah cheese in the pic mofo..
He aint bout to be smiling come 2010..
October 9th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
bballinca says:
@5 Ariza didn’t have a choice. He got kicked to the curb because he thought he was special.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Ed Teach says:
If you took 2 max salary players off of any team that team is going to strugle. Darrel Moray is making the right moves to make the Rockets a contender but it won’t be this year. Look for the Rockets to either re-sign T-mac at bargin price or move him before the end of the season.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
showydisplay says:
Lotta hate on the Rox.
They will surprise many this season. Adelman is a solid and proven coach and has a scrappy team that will make their opponent earn that W if they get it. They are weak at the 5 spot tho and are running like crazy to compensate. I see Morey makin a good trade at some point for a quality 5 and TMac to return wit somethin to prove and will show up this season for that contract.
Budinger will be the wildcard this season…watch
We’ll see…
October 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Da_Griff says:
I’m looking forward to seeing Andersen get plenty of game time as Yao’s fill in. Scola will get to stay at the 4 where he belongs. Andersen’s been a good soldier for the Aussies for several years now. He’s got a reliable jump shot, can run, board and play some D.
Adelman is a good coach too. He’s always been able to get the most out of his teams. None the less, this will be a long year for the rockets. Still, i think they can at least push for a playoff spot for the first 2/3 of the year before fading.