Houston Rockets: 30 Teams in 30 Days

2008 Statistics

Finished 53-29, second in Northwest Division, fifth in Western Conference

Postseason

First Round: Beat Portland Trail Blazers 4-2

Semifinals: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-3

Key Additions

Trevor Ariza via free agency, Chase Budinger via trade, Jermaine Taylor via trade, Sergio Llull via draft

Key Losses

Ron Artest via free agency, Dikembe Mutombo via retirement

Losing your all-star 7'6 center and your defensive enforcer could cause problems for any team. In the case of the Houston Rockets, it means a lost season.

This past off-season has been one to forget for the Rockets, who lost center Yao Ming to a season ending injury, and forward Ron Artest to the champion Lakers.

In return, the Rockets managed to steal away the Lakers own forward Trevor Ariza. The lanky small forward played a large part in the Lakers championship run, averaging 11 points and four rebounds over 23 postseason games. Ariza is best known for his defense and three point shooting, which played a huge role in Los Angeles' success.

But despite grabbing a talented young forward, the Rockets lost their veteran forward in Artest who averaged 17 points and five rebounds per game last season.

Artest's hard-nosed defense is his calling card and played an important role in the Rockets impressive regular season and playoff run.

Filling in Artest's spot with Ariza will not solve any of the problems lying ahead for the Rockets.

The injury that Yao Ming suffered last season appears to be more serious than first thought; and could even be career threatening. Ming has spent his entire NBA career with the Rockets, and ever since he started playing with the team, he's been the cornerstone of the franchise.

In his first year, he managed a 15 game turn-around (wins), and made the team into what they are today.

Throughout the years, although his talent has led the Rockets successfully, his injuries have held them back as well.  

Two seasons ago when the Rockets went on their storied 22 game win streak, Yao Ming suffered an injury halfway through the streak, and the team was still able to win 11 more games in a row.

Yao, who's averaged 19 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks for his career, has had that overshadowed by missing 93 games in the last five seasons.

Just this past post-season, a Rockets team without Tracy McGrady was able to make it to the second round for the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon. McGrady, as we all know, has never been part of a team that advanced to the second round.

Entering 2009, T-Mac is a man on a mission to redeem his status as one of the top players.

Last season, McGrady only played in 35 games and averaged careers lows in points and field goal percentage. McGrady has yet to play more than 79 games in a season, and has suffered through injuries for the latter part of his career.

When healthy, McGrady is one of the most impressive players in the league, and is known for having a sweet shooting touch. He has led the league twice in scoring, and will need to stay healthy and bring that touch back if he wants to lead the Rockets to a postseason appearance.

With the loss of Artest and Yao, Houston has little to rely on. Luis Scola could be the team's starting center. But at 6'9, the size disparity will make the Rockets one of the weakest teams entering 2009-10 in the post. 

While Scola can score, and does have the capabilities to rebound as well, his frame is too small to compete with any other center in the league.

If Scola doesn't start at center, the Rockets will have to rely on the 6'6 Chuck Hayes as it's starting center. Hayes played the position while Yao was out, but is too small to play the position. But the Rockets may not have a choice.

But one of the positives of last season was the surprising play of promising young guard, Aaron Brooks. Brooks averaged 11 points and three assists last season, and came up huge in the postseason against the Blazers and Lakers.

He had a postseason high 34 points in a game 4 win against the Lakers, and will need to grow up quick and lower his turnover ratio if he wants to help lead this team to another post season appearance.

Despite the changes, the Rockets core is not entirely lost; as it is still left with defensive specialist Shane Battier. Despite his strong defensive presence, his offense suffered last season as he averaged a career low seven points, and missed 22 games. But much of that can be attributed to the influx of offensive options that Rockets acquired.

So after a strong season, the city of Houston is in one of it's most desperate stages in years due to injuries and off-season losses. After a number of easy playoff appearances, the Rockets are going to need a lot more than height to make it to the playoffs again.

It's going to take pure grit, determination, and leadership to get another winning season out of this team.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG-Aaron Brooks

SG-Tracy McGrady

SF-Trevor Ariza

PF-Luis Scola

C-Chuck Hayes

This is part ten of a 30-day series of 2009-10 season previews of each NBA team. My profile will contain every other team that has been previewed before.