duncan228
04-20-2010, 06:19 PM
Rockets Well Positioned for 2010-11 Revival (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-rocketswellpositione)
SportingNews
The NBA playoffs are in their early stages, and for players on the 14 teams that didn’t make the postseason, this time of year can be a bit depressing. That’s the case for Rockets forward Shane Battier, who’s grown accustomed to postseason hoops. This year, Battier’s Rockets finished 42-40 and out of the West’s top eight, marking the first time since 2003 that Battier hasn’t been in the playoffs.
Ah, but there is hope in Houston. In fact, of all the teams that are lotto-bound this spring, no group is better set up to crash the playoffs next year than the Rockets. They resolved the impasse with Tracy McGrady at the trading deadline by, essentially, swapping him for 27-year-old shooting guard Kevin Martin. They added small forward Trevor Ariza, had a breakout season from point guard Aaron Brooks and are in position to re-sign power forward Luis Scola.
Oh, and there’s one other thing going for this team: They’re expecting to get All-Star center Yao Ming back after foot surgery.
That’s a lot to get excited about. But you’ll pardon Battier if he keeps his enthusiasm tempered. One thing he’s learned in his four years in Houston is that injuries can change everything quickly. McGrady, after all, played just 41 games in the two years before he was traded. And Yao has played an average of just 47.4 games per season over the last five years. “That’s been the question mark for the organization for the last four years, at least as long as I have been there,” Battier said. “Can we stay healthy or not? On paper, it always looks like we have everything you need to make a run at it, but we have just not been blessed with health at all.”
Coach Rick Adelman shares Battier’s caution. He was an early candidate for coach of the year, keeping the Rockets in playoff contention even without Yao. But, eventually, the Rockets’ youth and lack of depth caught up with them. “You put all the names down on paper, and it looks good,” Adelman said. “But paper is one thing. On the court is another. You’ve got to wait and see. We’re hoping to get Yao back and everything else, but he is coming off a very serious injury, and we don’t know exactly when he is going to be healthy and how long that is going to take. … We certainly think if Yao comes back and is healthy, we’re going to be as good as anybody as far as competing with them.”
One key for the Rockets will be the continued development of their young players. Brooks is a favorite for the NBA’s most improved player award, having averaged 19.6 points in his third season. Adelman was pleasantly surprised with the play of rookie Chase Budinger, who averaged 9.9 points and shot 49.0 percent from the field (41.0 percent from the 3-point line) after the All-Star break. Fellow rookie Jordan Hill averaged 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds off the bench in March and April. If there’s a silver lining to the many injuries the Rockets suffered this year, it’s the experience the team’s young players gained. “That’s going to be big for all of us,” Budinger said. “We will come in next year with a better idea of what to expect. But, also, we’ll be able to spend the summer knowing what we need to work on. We know there’s big expectations next year.”
Of course, it all hinges on Yao, who is working out in Houston. “He looks good,” Battier said. “But you never know until you are out there on the floor battling every night and playing four and five games a week and banging with other players.”
If Yao can return as his old self, if Ariza and Martin can be effective wings together, if Scola re-signs and if the youngsters become more reliable, then the Rockets will not only be back in the playoffs, but they will also be among the West’s top seeds. But, again, Adelman is keeping his excitement in check, with good reason. “That’s a lot of ifs thrown out there,” he said.
More teams looking forward to next year
The Rockets are not the only team thinking that the playoffs are possible in ’11. Keep an eye on these teams when it comes to next year’s postseason:
Grizzlies. The team will have to make tough decisions on a new contract for Rudy Gay and an extension for Zach Randolph—who can certainly drag down a team when he’s unhappy—but Memphis has to like its position. The Grizzlies are loaded with young talent, and only a lack of depth caused the team to fizzle down the stretch. But the addition of shooting guard Ronnie Brewer and the likely signing of a backup big man could be enough to push Memphis into the playoff picture next season.
Pacers. The Pacers finished 10-4 to close the season, and though late-season runs can be deceiving, Indiana fans got a taste of how this team can look when it has the depth required to play Jim O’Brien’s high-intensity style. Good health from Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, the development of Roy Hibbert and the addition of a defensive-minded big man could open the door to the East playoffs.
Knicks. All they need to do, of course, is sign LeBron James, and the playoffs await. All right, that’s probably not happening. But even if James (or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh) is out of reach, the Knicks will have the financial flexibility to sign multiple players or—and this option is often overlooked—take on big contracts other teams might want to unload, like that of Andre Iguodala in Philadelphia, David West in New Orleans or Al Jefferson in Minnesota.
SportingNews
The NBA playoffs are in their early stages, and for players on the 14 teams that didn’t make the postseason, this time of year can be a bit depressing. That’s the case for Rockets forward Shane Battier, who’s grown accustomed to postseason hoops. This year, Battier’s Rockets finished 42-40 and out of the West’s top eight, marking the first time since 2003 that Battier hasn’t been in the playoffs.
Ah, but there is hope in Houston. In fact, of all the teams that are lotto-bound this spring, no group is better set up to crash the playoffs next year than the Rockets. They resolved the impasse with Tracy McGrady at the trading deadline by, essentially, swapping him for 27-year-old shooting guard Kevin Martin. They added small forward Trevor Ariza, had a breakout season from point guard Aaron Brooks and are in position to re-sign power forward Luis Scola.
Oh, and there’s one other thing going for this team: They’re expecting to get All-Star center Yao Ming back after foot surgery.
That’s a lot to get excited about. But you’ll pardon Battier if he keeps his enthusiasm tempered. One thing he’s learned in his four years in Houston is that injuries can change everything quickly. McGrady, after all, played just 41 games in the two years before he was traded. And Yao has played an average of just 47.4 games per season over the last five years. “That’s been the question mark for the organization for the last four years, at least as long as I have been there,” Battier said. “Can we stay healthy or not? On paper, it always looks like we have everything you need to make a run at it, but we have just not been blessed with health at all.”
Coach Rick Adelman shares Battier’s caution. He was an early candidate for coach of the year, keeping the Rockets in playoff contention even without Yao. But, eventually, the Rockets’ youth and lack of depth caught up with them. “You put all the names down on paper, and it looks good,” Adelman said. “But paper is one thing. On the court is another. You’ve got to wait and see. We’re hoping to get Yao back and everything else, but he is coming off a very serious injury, and we don’t know exactly when he is going to be healthy and how long that is going to take. … We certainly think if Yao comes back and is healthy, we’re going to be as good as anybody as far as competing with them.”
One key for the Rockets will be the continued development of their young players. Brooks is a favorite for the NBA’s most improved player award, having averaged 19.6 points in his third season. Adelman was pleasantly surprised with the play of rookie Chase Budinger, who averaged 9.9 points and shot 49.0 percent from the field (41.0 percent from the 3-point line) after the All-Star break. Fellow rookie Jordan Hill averaged 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds off the bench in March and April. If there’s a silver lining to the many injuries the Rockets suffered this year, it’s the experience the team’s young players gained. “That’s going to be big for all of us,” Budinger said. “We will come in next year with a better idea of what to expect. But, also, we’ll be able to spend the summer knowing what we need to work on. We know there’s big expectations next year.”
Of course, it all hinges on Yao, who is working out in Houston. “He looks good,” Battier said. “But you never know until you are out there on the floor battling every night and playing four and five games a week and banging with other players.”
If Yao can return as his old self, if Ariza and Martin can be effective wings together, if Scola re-signs and if the youngsters become more reliable, then the Rockets will not only be back in the playoffs, but they will also be among the West’s top seeds. But, again, Adelman is keeping his excitement in check, with good reason. “That’s a lot of ifs thrown out there,” he said.
More teams looking forward to next year
The Rockets are not the only team thinking that the playoffs are possible in ’11. Keep an eye on these teams when it comes to next year’s postseason:
Grizzlies. The team will have to make tough decisions on a new contract for Rudy Gay and an extension for Zach Randolph—who can certainly drag down a team when he’s unhappy—but Memphis has to like its position. The Grizzlies are loaded with young talent, and only a lack of depth caused the team to fizzle down the stretch. But the addition of shooting guard Ronnie Brewer and the likely signing of a backup big man could be enough to push Memphis into the playoff picture next season.
Pacers. The Pacers finished 10-4 to close the season, and though late-season runs can be deceiving, Indiana fans got a taste of how this team can look when it has the depth required to play Jim O’Brien’s high-intensity style. Good health from Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, the development of Roy Hibbert and the addition of a defensive-minded big man could open the door to the East playoffs.
Knicks. All they need to do, of course, is sign LeBron James, and the playoffs await. All right, that’s probably not happening. But even if James (or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh) is out of reach, the Knicks will have the financial flexibility to sign multiple players or—and this option is often overlooked—take on big contracts other teams might want to unload, like that of Andre Iguodala in Philadelphia, David West in New Orleans or Al Jefferson in Minnesota.