4) Houston Rockets
Everyone assumes that because Houston has Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming—and has added Rick Adelman and his up-tempo offense—the Rockets are guaranteed to blast into championship orbit.
Funny that nobody looks at how mismatched the Rocket roster is with the new system.
McGrady has the physical tools, but with more fast breaks leading to more possessions, more cuts, more changes-of-direction, and less seconds to rest on offense, can his back hold up?
Why would McGrady want to risk injury by running when he’s become so perfectly comfortable getting the ball at the wing and being asked to make something happen?
And McGrady’s never been one to get himself open off the ball—which means Adelman will have to tweak his offensive sets to suit his star.
The Rockets' many point guards are all up-tempo players —but that’s because they're all shoot-first scorers who can’t operate a half-court offense. With the lack of a true shooting guard, expect two point guards on the court at most times.
Shane Battier should thrive as Houston’s Doug Christie. Chuck Hayes is a menacing rebounder with no offensive game. Dikembe Mutombo will bring quality defense, fouls, and rebounding for about eight minutes a night.
Hayes and Mutombo are niche players at best. Maybe they can rebound enough to fuel a break, but they’ll just take up space on offense.
And then there’s Yao.
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