NBA Draft 2008 - Rockets

Before I get into the Rockets' draft picks, let me first discuss which spots I thought they should be looking to fill. Basically, I'll look at the depth chart and highlight positions I think the Rockets could improve.

POS Starter 2nd 3rd
PG Rafer Alston Bobby Jackson Aaron Brooks
SG Tracy McGrady Luther Head Steve Francis
SF Shane Battier Steve Novak Mike Harris
PF Luis Scola Carl Landry Chuck Hayes
C Yao Ming Dikembe Mutombo Loren Woods

The starting lineup, should everyone ever be healthy at the same time, would be good enough to contend. The scoring would come from McGrady, Ming and Alston. Defense from Battier. And rebounds and general scrappiness from Scola. The bench of Brooks, Harris, Landry and Hayes is very good. Undersized, but very good.

Yao and McGrady aren't ever healthy together, or at least that's what it seems. Mutombo played well in relief, even though the team seemed reluctant to play him. He brings zero offense, but still has that defensive presence and some rebounding ability. Number one priority to me would be a backup center. One who can relieve Yao of some minutes and play some big minutes when Yao is hurt. The center they are looking for should have an emphasis of defense, with the ability to score some scrappy points - the offense would go through McGrady. I'm looking for a guy who can put up 10 pts, 7 rbs, 1blk when playing for more than 24 minutes. (Note: this may seem like a lot, someone who can average 20 pts, 14rbs per 48 minutes, but the other players on the bench can explode for some good numbers when given the chance). Besides, I've never heard of Loren Woods.

Second priority should be a big guard. McGrady doesn't stay health either. When he is healthy, he isn't TMac anymore. Anybody can take 20 15-foot jumpers a game. But say I give him the benefit of the doubt. He could use somebody to spell him. Play significant stretches off the bench with the ability to score while not being upset by the irregularity of playing behind McGrady. Not an easy find. However, I think CDR would fit very well. A tenured player in college, big guard, can defend and can create a shot with the ball in his hands. But I digress. Luther Head is undersized and okay at best, Stevie Franchise used to be good.

Third priority - point guard. The Rockets seem hellbent on replacing Rafer Alston every year. Yet every year, Skip wins the spot and performs well if not very well at the position. He assists when Yao and McGrady are in the lineup and scores when they aren't. Rafer seems to embrace the opportunity to prove himself and shifts his game to compensate for the team's absences. I'm okay with Rafer. Bobby Jackson did great down the stretch and in the playoffs. He takes a lot of shots and hits some of them, but he's getting old. Time to find some new blood. Aaron Brooks is really quick and seems sharp. Maybe he could take the reigns with some veteran leadership. It's hard for me to believe that Rafer and Jackson haven't already taken this kid under their wing. Bottom line, I don't think this is a position the Rockets should address in the draft. Yet. If they can find a PG better than Rafer, they should do it, but it would be unlikely for them to find something in the draft better than the Jackson/Brooks combo.

Small Forward - I hated the draft day trade that brought Shane Battier to Houston for Rudy Gay. It should also be noted, I wasn't that hot on Rudy Gay. That said, I really, really like what Shane Battier brings to the Rockets. In addition to being the default (read: college educated) team spokesman every night, he is a legitimate first-team all-defensive player. He takes the hardest defensive assignment (Kobe, Carmelo, etc.) and still brings energy to the offensive and defensive glass, along with some three-point threat. The impact of this type of player would be invaluable should the Rockets ever find themselves beyond the first round of the playoffs. And because Battier does it the right way (moving his feet, body position, jazz hand to the face-type deal) he should be able to defend well for seasons to come. Because he isn't a scorer, he can be had on the cheap. I'm high on this guy. I'm also high on Mike Harris. That dude works every minute he's in the game. Rebounds and put-backs, he's money. Unfortunately, at 6-6 he's undersized for the position. I don't like putting a lot of stock into the prototypical size requirements of the NBA, but I know he isn't an every day, every minute SF. Steve Novak is a great shooter, and should have warranted some more minutes, but he doesn't play inside the three point line at all. This is a position the Rockets could gain some ground.

I love the Rockets' power forwards. All three of them. Chuck is a defensive presence, even though he's 6-6. Landry showed some flashes of offensive brilliance, along with a willingness to do the dirty work. Luis Scola blends the best of European finesse and offensive rebounding of a player hungry to succeed in the NBA. If Yao is healthy, I think Scola is a great fit for the Rockets. He has shown a willingness to score points without having the offense run through him (which it won't) and is also a more active rebounder than Yao.

It seems to me the obvious holes are SG and C. The order in which they are addressed probably isn't important. Dead weight at center isn't necessary. The Rockets can play small effectively, moving Scola to the 5. Without McGrady, the Rockets currently play very, very small with Rafer at the point and Head at the two.

Those are the holes, next comes my draft commentary.

Rockets 2008 Playoff game #2

THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR THE ROCKETS!!! Probably. The Jazz have been very good at home (only 4 losses) and they now have home court advantage with the win in Houston on Saturday. The Jazz' record is poor on the road for the year, but they've been good on the road since acquiring Kyle Korver. Yes, you read that right, Kyle Korver. Boozer, Williams, AK-47, Okur ... and Kyle Korver made the difference.

8:40 Kady Milloy singing the National Anthem! So you don't know who that is. If you watch American Idol you would. She's from the Houston area, she's pretty decent looking, she does a good Britney Spears impression, however, she can't sing very well. And apparently brave is a two syllable word. And the home ... of the ... ba-rave!

8:43 They're announcing the starting lineups. Scola, Battier, all of them do this flying shoulder bump thing with the bench players. Except McGrady. He went with the index finger touch. Hopefully I can find a picture of it, you've got to see it to believe it. That shoulder must be a bigger problem than people are making it out to be.

8:50 I'm watching this game on local tv. The game is also being broadcast on TNT. Not really sure why it's on local, too, but I wasn't too impressed with the announcers on Saturday night.

8:56 Somebody should try guarding Darren Williams. The Rockets miss Rafer Alston. Yes, you read that right, as well. They've been trying to give his job away for 3 years and he's still the best PG on the team.

9:01 I've already mentioned Kyle Korver - Iowa tie #1, I should also mention Matt Bullard a.k.a. Bull. You may know him from the University of Iowa teams in the late '80s. He's from WDM Valley and played for the Rockets on their championship teams. Iowa tie #2.

9:08 Mario Williams sighting!!! I wonder if he drove to the game in his orange Lamborgini?

9:22 Rockets still down 30-25, but McGrady seems to be trying, so that's a plus.

9:26 T-Mac averages 28.5 ppg in the playoffs. Good for fourth best all time. Behind Jordan and Jerry West (and somebody else). Maybe it isn't all his fault that his teams haven't made it out of the first round.

9:39 Okur (7') gets a rebound over Chuck Hayes (6'6"). Bullard says, "You can't teach 7 foot." To which Clyde Drexler adds, "You can't teach height" Uh, I think that's what he just said. I suppose if you've got a half-dozen quips stocked up, you use them when you can.

9:48 The Utah Jazz are so long! You would have thought Jay Bilas was calling the game!

9:49 Chuck Hayes has missed 3 point blank shots. And Battier just had a sweet put back dunk. Drexler dubs him "Air Battier." Original. I'm guessing he didn't come up with Clyde The Glide.

10:14 Second half and its tied on a TMac jumper, but he can't make the free throw and the Rockets can't take the lead. McGrady should be a better free throw shooter (68% !!! Not to mention his three-point shooting 29%. Ouch!)

10:18 McGrady is getting eaten up on defense by Kirilenko. McGrady has never been a great defender, but usually the Rockets hide him. Who is Battier guarding?

10:22 Rockets lead! Rockets lead! And of all people to make the go-ahead, it's Diekembe Mutumbo. That dude is oooooooold.

10:30 McGrady takes a three ... and misses! Not surprising, for those of you who have been following along.

10:35 Ronnie Price just hit a buzzer beater three at the end of the third quarter. Austin dubbed them the Utah Buzzer Beaters. Better than Drexler could have come up with, I guess. Ronnie Price is Houston-tie #1. He's from Friendswood.

10:39 4th quarter, 71-69, bad guys. Mehmet Okra just made an easy layup. Rockets should try playing some defense. Just heard that Darin Williams is not hurt, he's just chillaxin in the locker room.

10:45 Bennett Salvatore is bad at his job. One of the few things I agree with Bill Simmons about. Seriously, that guy's a turd. Well, both him and Salvatore.

10:49 McGrady goes 1 for 2 from the stripe. He's missed 4 ... of 9. 55%, that's about right. If someone like Amare Stoudemare can make 22 of 22 in a game, McGrady (a SHOOTING guard) should be able to go better than 70% from the line.

10:57 McGrady is rubbing off on the other players, and not in a good way. Bobby Jackson just missed two free throws - he's who they send up for technical free throws (81%). They needed that, too. Down by three, you can't miss two free throws.

10:59 Down by five, the Rockets get a five on four break, and McGrady is lucky to draw rim on a three point attempt (0 for 2 tonight). He just can't put together a complete game. This is the time when he needs to take the game over. He didn't score in the 4th quarter last night and only has one point in the fourth tonight. Maybe that's why he doesn't make it out of the first round.

11:06 Drexler and Bullard have been dogging on the refs all game long. I'd agree that there have been some pretty terrible calls. The last one was especially poor. Bullard doesn't think these refs belong in the playoffs.

11:09 Kyle Korver hits a shot and then ices the game from the free throw line. The Iowa kid killing us, that's what hurts. Kyle Korver makes the difference in yet another road game. We didn't get to the next two Iowa ties, maybe next time.

Rockets - 22 straight!

In addition to seeing history, I'm excited about this team's chances in this year's playoffs and going forward. No team has done this in 30 some years, and I can say I was there. People want to discredit their streak, but the fact is, this is the most competitive the west has been in a while. The Rockets were 10th in their conference and under .500 well into the season, and now they're in sole possession of first place.

I've said before, and I think it's showing, the Rockets have become better playing without one of TMac or Yao. They are playing both an effective and pleasing style of ball during their streak. Tonight, they scored 58 points in the first half, 0 of which came from Tracy McGrady (or Yao). By playing without them, the 'role' players have been empowered. Playing without Yao, as they have done the past couple of years, they've been able to adapt to playing without a dominant 5 player. Playing without McGrady, as they have done this year, they've adapted to playing without a dominant 2/3 player. The result has been a multi-dimensional offense. Everybody has the green light to take to take the open shot. TMac is still there to run the offense through in the fourth quarter, but the rest of the team can pick up the slack when he's having an off night, like tonight.

Van Gundy's emphasis on defense with Adeleman's offense shouldn't be overlooked, either. The same 'role' players that are capitalizing on the offensive end are winning games on the defensive end. Shane Battier has developed into one of the elite matchup defenders in the NBA. Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola are a couple of the hardest working rebounders in the game. What Houston lacks in physical attributes, the seem to be making up in hustle and general scrappiness.

This could all collapse in a game. Houston could lose to Boston, the Lakers could win and the Rockets could lose all their momentum. However, I don't see that happening. Because they have a team of winners (Battier, Scola, Hayes, Head) I think they can keep this thing rolling. And because they don't have to rely on McGrady to win games, I think they can make a run in the playoffs. And only because I didn't do it for the Texans...