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Rockets Fan Confidence Poll
Last tallied on 08/04.
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NBA Salaries
NBA Salaries
Here's a detailed list of each NBA club's payroll. All credit goes to Wyn Douglas of Canis Hoopus.
Rockets Schedule
Last 5 Games
New Orleans
|
Wed 04/14 | L 115 - 123 |
|
@
Sacramento
|
Mon 04/12 | W 117 - 107 |
|
@
Phoenix
|
Sun 04/11 | L 106 - 116 |
|
Charlotte
|
Fri 04/09 | W 97 - 90 |
|
Utah
|
Wed 04/07 | W 113 - 96 |
Southwest Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dallas
|
55 | 27 | .670 | 0 | Lost 1 |
|
San Antonio
|
50 | 32 | .609 | 5 | Won 1 |
|
Houston
|
42 | 40 | .512 | 13 | Lost 1 |
|
Memphis
|
40 | 43 | .481 | 15.5 | Lost 3 |
|
New Orleans
|
37 | 45 | .451 | 18 | Won 2 |
(updated 8.7.2010 at 9:27 PM CDT)
Whoops, almost forgot the second one...
An August Rundown Of A Stacked Western Conference
by Tom Martin on Aug 7, 2010 8:19 PM CDT
in Random Commentary
7 comments
I had no clue initially, but the Western Conference is extra beefy this year. It's Jonah Hill post-Superbad, plus thirty pounds for good measure. Last year's young up-and-comers like Memphis and LAC, along with teams like Phoenix that suffered off-season setbacks, are headed for the lottery. Portland, Houston, San Antonio and New Orleans should all be back in the playoff mix, guaranteeing the aforementioned teams a bed in the basement.
Nearly everyone stands to be better than they were last season. To keep you up to date:
-- The Lakeshow remain fresh and ready to contend. They added Matt Barnes and two sleeper rookies in Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter. And Ebanks looks too much like Trevor Ariza not to be able to A) Nail catch-and-shoot threes or finish alley-oops, and B) Dribble like a sixth grader missing his left arm.
-- Dallas has its finger on the Rodrigue Beaubois trigger and could routinely blow up opposing defenses should they pull (therefore capping Jason Kidd's career, literally).
-- San Antonio bought back an attitude-adjusted Richard Jefferson, who became so convinced that his Milwaukee antics weren't going to fly under Popp that he took less money to stay with the Spurs (they've also got Tiago Splitter on the way - this is the biggest difference-maker - and Manu and Tony Parker are healthy again).
-- Utah swiped Al Jefferson from Minnesota for essentially nothing and found another token white shooter in Gordon Hayward to keep up the trend (following in the footsteps of Jeff Hornacek, Scott Padgett and Kyle Korver and preceding Kyle Singler, White Goodman or a sudden career rejuvenation by the former Vanilla Villain himself, Adam Morrison). I'm not convinced Jefferson will fit too nicely in Utah's pick and roll offense, but Jerry Sloan could make it work. As usual, I'm hoping that the entire team gets injured and Ronnie Price becomes their go-to weapon.
-- Denver added Al Harrington and stands to improve solely because Ty Lawson should see more minutes. Things will take a tumble only if George Karl has to miss more time. Silver lining? Adrian Dantley has another excuse to expand upon his already Sager-ish suit collection.
-- The Blazers enter the season like a professional basketball team from Portland, Oregon should: hidden in the woods and far from our conscience. If Greg Oden can keep healthy, the Blazers could surprise some people (not unlike: "If Lindsay Lohan could stay out of jail, she could resurrect her movie career, hopefully into an unrated, straight-to-DVD version of 'Mean Girls 2'). Actually, spare me.
-- Phoenix lost Amar'e Stoudemire, but that roster is loaded with a bunch of high-energy, low defense guys that get the Suns no further than the Western Conference Finals if shots fall. So... what am I saying? If Robin Lopez morphs into Brook Lopez, there's a chance.
-- Chris Paul will keep New Orleans in the race for a while. A known hothead with refs, he'll shatter the hearing/remaining innocence of as many officials as it takes to squeak out a win.
-- Memphis isn't bad, just not as good as everyone else. They're stuck in a conference that will seemingly forever treat them like they're back in Canada wearing the most hideous turquoise uniforms you'll ever see. I can actually see Bryant Reeves appreciating the old jerseys, only because he could legitimately wear one while hunting for antelope hides in the snowy woods of the North Alaskan wilderness. They'd also be a comfortable choice for the Great Outdoor Games, Reeves' true natural sport.
-- The Clippers? Blake Griffin enters the fold; they add two boom-or-bust rookies in Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe; they've contracted VDN, which is strangely an upgrade over Bald Dunleavy; and Al Thornton is no longer in the mix to play the Al Harrington Role (i.e. your typical points-only swingman with the efficiency of a pre-Henry Ford automaker. When do these players ever wind up on good teams?). Their likely 2010-11 outlook? Maybe 40 wins, or perhaps 30. If it's the former, then they'll have to basically run the table against many of the lousy Eastern Conference teams. Either way, our hopes a potential Crystal-Nicholson playoff matchup will likely be dashed once again.
-- We save Oklahoma City for last, because I think they'll take a Thunderous step forward (...) towards becoming a legitimate Conference Title contender. Kevin Durant's going to get even better, as will Russell Westbrook Eric Maynor and James Harden. Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic will form a nice frontcourt, with rookie Cole Aldrich playing Ostertag off the bench while defensive dynamo Serge Ibaka nurses an injury. And what if Byron Mullens (... Byron Mullens!?!) manages to match his skill set with his work ethic? This could be a deadly roster. And that's just on paper. The way Durant, Westbrook and Green have come together as teammates and friends over three years has contributed to the franchise's quick turnaround more than anything else. Durant didn't hesitate when OKC offered him an extension. He's got great chemistry with the Thunder, something that you'll rarely see with today's star players. Once everyone else picks up on the good vibe, it leads to nothing but added success. I'm telling you, this means more to the Thunder than their overwhelming amount young talent. Many teams have found themselves in similar situations in past years, only to suffer the consequences of immaturity and selfishness. The Thunder appear to have dodged that bullet swiftly.
The Rockets seem pretty high in a stacked conference, but I'm buying into Yao's smooth return and superb, guard-oriented offense that should easily counter the league's best defenses. Again, this team, minus Yao, a good backup center like Brad Miller, a moderately sane Trevor Ariza and an energy-boost off the bench over the second half of the season (Patterson), managed to go over .500 against one of the league's toughest schedules. There will be vast improvement, by default.
Anyway, here are my current rankings, PRE-SCHEDULE RELEASE. Things should change by then. Discuss:
1. LA Lakers
6. Utah Jazz
8. Portland
9. Phoenix
10. New Orleans
11. Clippers
12. Memphis
13. Sacramento
14. Golden State
15. Minnesota.... KAHHHN!!
NBA Positions: What Do They Mean, And How Do We React To Hybrids And A New Age Of Basketball?
by Tom Martin on Aug 5, 2010 11:05 PM CDT
in Random Commentary
33 comments
Rob Mahoney has an interesting post over at The Two Man Game that challenges what we think of the typical and accepted positions in the NBA: PG, SG, SF, PF, C. I would post an excerpt of the article, but that won't do any good. Take five minutes and visit thetwomangame.com (I know, it looks like "That Woman Game" at first, right?) to see the post. You need to read it in its entirety.
...(read it, then come back, or else nothing below will make sense)...
The following is a free-flowing thought process. Just so you know. I plan to change my mind a few times on things, but I think this will actually help you all understand where I am coming from.
Hollinger/Ford Rank Rockets Fifth In NBA Future Power Rankings
by Tom Martin on Aug 5, 2010 3:08 PM CDT
in Random Commentary
24 comments
People will question John Hollinger's and Chad Ford's joint decision to rank the Rockets fifth out of thirty teams (behind Miami, LA, OKC and Chicago) in their future power rankings, pointing to Yao's decline and the general roster turmoil we've seen in years past. Then they'll try and pull some "Daryl Morey hasn't won anything/stats are overrated" reverse-psychology crap and force me to do a subsequent post on how Boy Genius has been tied down by large contracts and capitalized on every opportunity that he has been given to improve the roster. But there will still be haters. There will always be haters, 'cause haters gon' hate.
But let's talk about why the Rockets have been ranked fifth. Hollinger and Ford obviously get it, but I have a feeling that few others agree.
1. Management
It's the boring argument that perhaps serves as an indicator for team success more than anything else. Poor management kills teams. Poor management won't spend money (Charlotte), or they'll have hidden agendas that govern any personnel moves they make (Clippers), or they hire bad coaches who have 'basketball tenure' and whose strategy will entertain just enough for fans to keep coming back (Golden State). Then you have the good management that continuously finds good character players (San Antonio), is willing to spend money after weighing every possible option (Houston), continues to put a winning product on the table despite a lack of draft picks (Utah) and hires coaches that cater to the current product (Oklahoma City).
The value of having Les Alexander and Daryl Morey and even Sam Hinkie (whom Jason Friedman has referred to as a "sure-fire superstar GM in the making") aboard can't be overstated enough. They allow you to ignore them. Everything is about basketball. The Rockets rarely find themselves in trouble with off-court issues. They have a tight-knit group despite constant roster shuffling. They also know how to put a winning product on the floor, which, as we Drayton sufferers know, isn't as easy as it looks. Morey's got all the chances in the world to improve the club because Mr. Alexander allows it. Ed Wade could probably do some real neat things if McLane's primary interest was to win, not sell tickets. Mr. Alexander seems to have found a happy medium, which allows the focus to be placed on the court and not in the owner's box.
Oh, and that Rio Grande Valley idea was pretty savvy as well. A minor league basketball team? Who knew!?!
2. Draft
The Rockets have some of the best talent evaluators in the business, led by Gersson Rosas and Pat Zipfel, and then it all reaches Morey in the end. The Rockets were able to turn two second round picks and a late first rounder into Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger. That's remarkable. If Hollinger could find a way to translate PER into a GM rating, Morey would find himself atop the list, and we're not even discussing his ability to trade. There has been one gaff on his résumé: David Andersen, who lost us money and gave us nothing more than a slightly stronger, more Australian, worse-shooting version of Steve Novak.
To add, Morey found us some extra draft picks from New York. Even if the Knicks don't finish in the lottery this season (something that is possible only because the Eastern Conference is that shitty), having two first-round picks will allow the Rockets to seriously explore trading up within the top five. They've got so many assets that, at some point, we'll see a franchise-altering deal. Draft day 2011 could be special.
3. Players
The roster, on paper, could translate to 60 wins. It's absolutely possible. The Mighty Ducks beat the Hawks in the pee-wee hockey championship back in '92 led by wimpy, pouty, brown-nosing Charlie Conway. I don't care if it's fiction: it proves that chemistry can't be overlooked. The Rockets have all the pieces in place to perfectly execute a gameplan under Rick Adelman. In five years, there will be changes, but they've set themselves up nicely to cope with the loss of Yao Ming (which is really saying that they'll win closer to 40 games without him than 30). But for now, they just have to win in the playoffs. This takes a few things: A) Talent check, B) Coaching check, C) Chemistry check, D) Luck, E) Luck F) Luck. And more luck at that.
Lucky is good in the NBA. Lucky is healthy. Lucky is a few good whistles in your direction at crucial moments. Lucky is a sexual assault case that forces your pathetic GM out of the Big Apple. I've constantly stated that the Rockets have put themselves in a position to win, because that's all you can do, really. It all has to come together, with a little luck.
Every champion - um, ever - has been lucky. They've all been talented and well-coached and have had unparalleled chemistry. And they've been lucky. In the last twenty years, which is really all I know, name me one team who won a title when their best player was hurt. None. The Lakers lucked into getting to the Finals in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. They lucked into Yao Ming getting hurt against them in the 2009 playoffs. And the Rockets reaped the negative dividends of that luck. You've got to be lucky. If we get lucky this year, and if Yao Ming stays healthy and if everyone else does, too, then we could be a championship contender. I'm dead serious.
So...
Perhaps what this all means is that you can trust the Rockets. You can trust them to put themselves in a position to win, and to do it better than twenty-five other franchises. All of the categories listed in the equation - management, players, money, draft, market - they all have to do with trust. There are certainly better teams than the Rockets right now, but they may not be in a position to say the same five years down the road, whether it's due to aging players, bad management, a poor and shaky market, a budget plan modeled after the Florida Marlins, or a reputation for drafting poorly (we're looking at you, old Seattle Sonics).
I think the Rockets are pretty set in all of those categories. And they are aware that each of those categories matters. That's the nice thing.
Shaq joins the Celtics: will have to adhere to a strict budget
by grungedave on Aug 5, 2010 8:55 AM CDT
20 comments
So the FatAss finally found a taker. Shaquille O'Neal has signed a 2 year contract with the Boston Celtics for essentially the league minimum ($3M/2 years). So, uh, congrats Fat Boy. Or something.
Of course, this is a guy who said he would retire when his last contract ran out, then decided he couldn't live without the NBA limelight and wanted to sign for the MLE with Miami. (But not Atlanta.) One problem - Miami wanted no part of him after he trashed their medical staff on the way out of town last time. I guess King James did not put in a good word for him after the failed season in Cleveland.
The hardest part for Shaq now? He's having to take a 90+% pay cut to play the next two years. Oh, the ignominy. Yes, Mr. O'Neal (no, not the other one, the one who can't play and is fat) will have to learn how to live on only $1.5M a year. But this is before taxes... before his agents/managers/promoters get paid... and before the dreaded $1500 a month cable bill. So, let's say Shaq will pull in about, oh, $500,000 this year for his efforts when all is said and done. Well, we have some good news. For that amount of money, you can buy:
two years worth of gas (Shaq's gas bill is about $23k per month)
500,000 cheeseburgers (though this is only for a limited time)
83,333 rolls of duct tape (to keep his big mouth shut)
250,000 of those Taco Bell meal deals (though Barkley will be offended if he doesn't share)
100,000 copies of Kazaam! at the $4.99 and under aisle at Best Buy
50,000 copies of the Fu-Schnickens CD he guest-starred on
half of Darrelle Revis' 2010 salary with the Jets
14,306 copies of the Better Basketball: Better Free Throws DVD
5,005 pairs of Kobe's shoes
.... but you can't put a price on dignity or maturity. Sorry 'bout that, Big Fella.
But cheer up. It could be worse. You may never have had Kobe or DWade on your team to carry you to a championship. And then you'd be without all that jewelry you crave!
Rockets Preseason Schedule Announced
Per Adam Clanton:
The Rockets and Nets will tip off on Oct. 13 in Beijing at the 17,012-seat Wukesong Arena, and will meet again on Oct. 16 at the new state-of-the-art 17,773-seat Guangzhou International Sports Arena.
Overall, this will be the NBA’s fifth set of preseason games in China. This will be the third consecutive year the NBA will play a game at the Wukesong Arena, home to the basketball competition during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Houston will again hold two days of training camp in Rio Grande Valley at the McAllen Convention Center on Oct. 3-4 prior to hosting a preseason game against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 5 at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
The Rockets will then host three games at Toyota Center before heading off to China, matching up with the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 7, the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 9 and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 10.
Houston closes out its eight-game preseason slate with road games at San Antonio on Oct. 21 and at Dallas on Oct. 22.
The Tracy McGrady Manifesto
This is why I feel McGrady was unappreciated.
3 days ago
batman713
65 comments
1 recs
Following the 1995 Finals. Shaq, you can't be serious.
Rockets, Lakers Will Meet On Opening Night
by Tom Martin on Aug 3, 2010 11:56 PM CDT
in News
35 comments
The NBA has announced its first wave of scheduling, and low and behold the Rockets have reappeared on the league's radar, landing an opening night game in Los Angeles against Kobe and The Show.
I'm going to take this opportunity to state that I think the league is too big and needs to be reduced down to, oh, 24 teams. Get rid of Minnesota, New Orleans, Charlotte, Toronto, Memphis, New Jersey and the Clippers, and then reincarnate one of those franchises in Seattle. Spread those players throughout the rest of the league in a draft and move on. This is a league that gravitates its attention towards its stars more so than any other, as evidenced by Houston's one national TV appearance last season despite finishing above .500. Why spread the talent thin across 30 teams? There's no need for it.
I've also begun reading Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball. Got through a hundo pages today - I'm learning a lot.
Discuss.
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