Rocket Sauce: Artest To Blend Perfect With Ingredients Yao and McGrady

The way I see it, the addition of Artest seems like a perfect match. The Houston Rockets are soft. Yao Ming is possibly the most fragile player in the NBA.  Tracy McGrady has never been clutch when it matters most (in the playoffs).  Shane Battier is too passive on the offensive end of the floor to be a number three option. 

Yeah sure, the Rockets have a young tough stud in Carl Landry, but the youngster still needs NBA seasoning before that toughness is consistently shown throughout an entire NBA season.

With critical weaknesses in each of their core players' games, the Rockets were in need of some major upgrades this season.  Even with the 23 game win streak last season and decent role players in Rafer Alston and Luis Scola, the Western Conference is too tough for this team to stand pat and still think they are a lock for a playoff spot. 

But the addition of Ron Artest drastically changes the outlook for the Rockets' upcoming season.  Let's take a look at how he will improve the individual performances of the Rockets' core players.

Yao Ming's injuries may have been the biggest blow to each of the Rockets' last three seasons.  As the Rockets only post threat, Yao takes quite a beating.  This, along with the natural health issues that come with a 7'6" frame ensure that Yao will miss one third of an entire NBA season. 

Ron Artest will lighten the workload and amount of touches Yao gets in the post.  This will also free Yao up to take the 10 to 15 foot jumper as Artest is sure to draw double teams nightly in the post.  Head coach Rick Adelman will be able to rest Yao more with Artest on the floor which will be of extreme importance in the second half of the season.

Tracy McGrady's game should also benefit from the addition of Artest.  With Artest and Yao in the post, McGrady should see little if no double teams and should get plenty of open looks from the perimeter.  McGrady will be able to move more without the ball in his hands and cut to the hoop for dunks and put backs galore with the nifty passing skills that both Yao and Artest posses. 

Shane Battier should also benefit much in the same way McGrady will.  Open shots will be there pretty much all game for Battier as Artest is sure to draw double teams in the post.  In fact, I would not be surprised if Battier shot 45 to 50 percent this year from three. 

Carl Landry will see his playing time reduced, which is kind of sad.  But the upside to the situation is that Landry can learn to be that same nasty defender that Artest is.  It would be great to see Ron take Carl under his wing and mentor the young player. 

The real question is what kind of person is Ron Artest now?  He is four years removed from "The Brawl at the Palace," and last season with the Sacramento Kings, he was issued only one technical foul.  He seemed to handle the recent Yao comments about what he will do to the Rockets' team chemistry very well.  Tune in this upcoming season to find out.