duncan228
10-25-2008, 09:54 PM
Rockets think the right piece is finally in place (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Rockets_think_the_right_piece_is_finally_in_place. html)
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
HOUSTON — Ask Houston Rockets center Yao Ming what he likes most about having Ron Artest as a teammate and he turns the question around.
“I remember when he was wearing the opposite jersey,” said Yao, the 7-foot-6 All-Star. “The hardest thing is how do you match up with him? Do you put the three man (small forward) or the four man (power forward) on him? Each one has a little weakness where he can beat them.”
Now, every team that meets the Rockets will have to answer that question — and the thought of that makes Yao smile.
“That is the biggest advantage he can bring us,” he said.
The trade the Rockets maneuvered this summer to wrest Artest from the Sacramento Kings — they gave up only an aging veteran backup, Bobby Jackson, a freshly drafted rookie, Donte Green, and their 2009 first-round draft pick — turned them into an NBA title contender.
They may not be regarded as Ron-Ron’s Rockets any time soon. After all, Yao is literally the NBA’s largest presence, and Tracy McGrady is a perennial All-Star, but Artest clearly will impose his personality on a team some have considered too soft to win in the postseason. A perennial contender for Defensive Player of the Year, Artest approaches the game, especially at the defensive end, with an aggression seldom seen.
Of course, Artest’s personality has been a problem for some of the teams in his NBA past, most notably the Indiana Pacers. Something about “Malice in The Palace.”
But it was in Sacramento, under head coach Rick Adelman, where Artest rehabilitated his reputation and his career. It is clear Artest loves Adelman’s approach to the game, including his way of handling practice.
“You know it’s going to be hard,” Artest said of a typical Adelman practice. “But you know it’s going to be fun, because Coach is going to play a lot. That’s what guys do in the NBA — play basketball. Any time you get a chance to play for the majority of practice, that has to be fun.”
NBA basketball hasn’t provided Artest with enough fun.
Though it has made him a wealthy man, it has not stamped him as a winner. He yearns for playoff success, and though he had dreamed of joining Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, he called his opportunity in Houston a chance to dance with the stars.
Just three days into training camp, Artest was asked how long he thought it would take for Adelman to fit together the Rockets’ pieces. He erupted into a stream-of-consciousness expression of confidence that was short on syntactical cohesion, but overloaded with enthusiasm.
“I don’t think it will take long at all,” he said. “I know we’re going to win a lot of games. When you’ve got the addition of Brent Barry, who is a proven veteran, and you’ve already got two stars, Yao and Tracy, who are veterans now, so it’s not like they’re young players, and then you’ve got a veteran point guard, in Rafer (Alston). So we should be OK.”
Nothing Artest saw in the preseason dampened his enthusiasm.
“You see guys are running hard and still making shots,” he said. “That tells you if they were working in the offseason. That’s definitely the case in this training camp. I definitely see what I was hoping to see.
“Yao is running well and Tracy is hustling and making shots and deflections. When you’ve got your two main guys out there, going hard, it gives everybody else something to play for.”
ROCKETS' FIVE BURNING QUESTIONS
Express-News NBA beat writer Mike Monroe asks — and answers — some key questions regarding the Rockets:
Will they become Ron-Ron’s Rockets?
The trade that brought Ron Artest to Houston this summer was one of the best of the offseason for any team. What he brings is precisely what the Rockets needed: a defensive presence and toughness at both ends of the floor. If they are at, or near, the top of the Western standings, it will be hard not to call them Artest’s team.
Where’s Dikembe?
For the first time since 1971, Dikembe Mutombo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo (really, that is his full name) is not on an opening-night roster. The Rockets just didn’t have room for the defensive giant who spent the past four seasons with them. But don’t be surprised if the former Georgetown star returns to the team before season’s end.
What’s Brent Barry’s role?
They signed Barry away from the Spurs because they love his experience, court savvy and 3-point shooting ability. They believe he can be more than a spot player, even though he will turn 37 on New Year’s Eve. Once Shane Battier returns from injury, though, they will have some playing-time decisions to make.
How is Yao’s left foot?
Yao Ming missed the final two months of the 2007-08 season with a stress fracture of the left foot, the same foot that had caused him problems in past seasons. He recovered in time to play for China in the Olympic Games, but did not look to be at full strength there. Rockets fans will be holding their collective breath, hoping there is no recurrence.
Can T-Mac finally win a playoff series?
Tracy McGrady is sick to death of the annual wonderment about his never having played on a team that escaped the first round of the playoffs. If he can’t do it with this Rockets team, he might just consider retirement.
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
HOUSTON — Ask Houston Rockets center Yao Ming what he likes most about having Ron Artest as a teammate and he turns the question around.
“I remember when he was wearing the opposite jersey,” said Yao, the 7-foot-6 All-Star. “The hardest thing is how do you match up with him? Do you put the three man (small forward) or the four man (power forward) on him? Each one has a little weakness where he can beat them.”
Now, every team that meets the Rockets will have to answer that question — and the thought of that makes Yao smile.
“That is the biggest advantage he can bring us,” he said.
The trade the Rockets maneuvered this summer to wrest Artest from the Sacramento Kings — they gave up only an aging veteran backup, Bobby Jackson, a freshly drafted rookie, Donte Green, and their 2009 first-round draft pick — turned them into an NBA title contender.
They may not be regarded as Ron-Ron’s Rockets any time soon. After all, Yao is literally the NBA’s largest presence, and Tracy McGrady is a perennial All-Star, but Artest clearly will impose his personality on a team some have considered too soft to win in the postseason. A perennial contender for Defensive Player of the Year, Artest approaches the game, especially at the defensive end, with an aggression seldom seen.
Of course, Artest’s personality has been a problem for some of the teams in his NBA past, most notably the Indiana Pacers. Something about “Malice in The Palace.”
But it was in Sacramento, under head coach Rick Adelman, where Artest rehabilitated his reputation and his career. It is clear Artest loves Adelman’s approach to the game, including his way of handling practice.
“You know it’s going to be hard,” Artest said of a typical Adelman practice. “But you know it’s going to be fun, because Coach is going to play a lot. That’s what guys do in the NBA — play basketball. Any time you get a chance to play for the majority of practice, that has to be fun.”
NBA basketball hasn’t provided Artest with enough fun.
Though it has made him a wealthy man, it has not stamped him as a winner. He yearns for playoff success, and though he had dreamed of joining Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, he called his opportunity in Houston a chance to dance with the stars.
Just three days into training camp, Artest was asked how long he thought it would take for Adelman to fit together the Rockets’ pieces. He erupted into a stream-of-consciousness expression of confidence that was short on syntactical cohesion, but overloaded with enthusiasm.
“I don’t think it will take long at all,” he said. “I know we’re going to win a lot of games. When you’ve got the addition of Brent Barry, who is a proven veteran, and you’ve already got two stars, Yao and Tracy, who are veterans now, so it’s not like they’re young players, and then you’ve got a veteran point guard, in Rafer (Alston). So we should be OK.”
Nothing Artest saw in the preseason dampened his enthusiasm.
“You see guys are running hard and still making shots,” he said. “That tells you if they were working in the offseason. That’s definitely the case in this training camp. I definitely see what I was hoping to see.
“Yao is running well and Tracy is hustling and making shots and deflections. When you’ve got your two main guys out there, going hard, it gives everybody else something to play for.”
ROCKETS' FIVE BURNING QUESTIONS
Express-News NBA beat writer Mike Monroe asks — and answers — some key questions regarding the Rockets:
Will they become Ron-Ron’s Rockets?
The trade that brought Ron Artest to Houston this summer was one of the best of the offseason for any team. What he brings is precisely what the Rockets needed: a defensive presence and toughness at both ends of the floor. If they are at, or near, the top of the Western standings, it will be hard not to call them Artest’s team.
Where’s Dikembe?
For the first time since 1971, Dikembe Mutombo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo (really, that is his full name) is not on an opening-night roster. The Rockets just didn’t have room for the defensive giant who spent the past four seasons with them. But don’t be surprised if the former Georgetown star returns to the team before season’s end.
What’s Brent Barry’s role?
They signed Barry away from the Spurs because they love his experience, court savvy and 3-point shooting ability. They believe he can be more than a spot player, even though he will turn 37 on New Year’s Eve. Once Shane Battier returns from injury, though, they will have some playing-time decisions to make.
How is Yao’s left foot?
Yao Ming missed the final two months of the 2007-08 season with a stress fracture of the left foot, the same foot that had caused him problems in past seasons. He recovered in time to play for China in the Olympic Games, but did not look to be at full strength there. Rockets fans will be holding their collective breath, hoping there is no recurrence.
Can T-Mac finally win a playoff series?
Tracy McGrady is sick to death of the annual wonderment about his never having played on a team that escaped the first round of the playoffs. If he can’t do it with this Rockets team, he might just consider retirement.