A Not So Turrible Season AheadHouston, TX - For the 2009-10 season, or last season, the Houston Rockets went 42-40 without their star big man, Yao Ming. If you look at their record season before last, that's an 11-win decrease, and you would think that it could've been much worse. Yao Ming went down in the 2009 NBA Playoffs in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers (ugh), and it turned out to be a season-ending injury, which carried over to the next season. They were eventually eliminated from the playoffs in seven games, and, much to my deep disgust and dismay, the Lakers went on to win the championship.
Without Yao Ming, the Rockets maintained themselves at .500 for the majority of the season, and actually had a shot at the 2010 NBA Playoffs, but faded away from the 50-win team and eventually eight-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder near the end of the season.
During the season, Daryl Morey, one of the best general managers in the league right now, came through with a trade. It was a three-team trade. The Rockets sent Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to Sacramento, and received Kevin Martin and Hilton Armstrong in return. They also shipped injury-prone Tracy McGrady to New York in exchange for Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries. Since this is a Rockets blog, it doesn't matter who the Knicks and Kings exchanged, go google it or something.
Many people criticized Morey for sending fan favorite Carl Landry away; some were beginning to call him the best Rocket of the decade. Despite that trade, the Rockets did not make the playoffs. This season however, they have plenty of talent to work with, and with Yao Ming returning, the Rockets could become a contender if Yao comes back strong and stays healthy. They can maybe take it to the evil that is the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, all celebrations of Yao's comeback aside, Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman have decided to limit his minutes this season. He will average no more than 24 minutes per game this season, and will not play on back-to-backs. A very safe decision; this prevents the likelihood of injuries from happening to him. It is better to have Yao for half a game than to not have him at all. If he can at least average 10 points per game, six or seven rebounds per game, and a block per game, that would be acceptable.
Houston's the best place to be in if you're a center; Brad Miller and Chuck Hayes will get plenty of minutes when Yao Ming is resting. With plenty of scorers in Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks, Courtney Lee, Luis Scola and many more, the Rockets will have no problem scoring this season. Defense can be a concern however, Shane Battier is slowing down, Yao Ming's injury aftermath will limit the amount of shots he can block, and our best shot blocker is Jordan Hill, who comes off the bench. Courtney Lee, an excellent wing defender, will be heavily depended upon to defend players out on the perimeter.
A not so turrible, or terrible, season is in store for the Rockets. A championship is overrating them, but no playoffs is underrating them (if injuries don't plague them). My prediction is they get into the playoffs with a 4th to 8th seed, 50-win season at best.