Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Year of the Rocket

The following is a mess, because my mind is overwhelmed with thoughts:
Next season is going to be very big for the Rockets. The 2008-09 season with supposed to be it. We had a big three with the addition of Ron Artest. If Yao had stayed healthy in the end and T-Mac had been what he was in 2007-08 rather than falling apart, the Rockets would have won a championship. The most painful part was the loss in Dallas that lost the Rockets the Southwest Title and dropped them from the 2 seed to the 5 seed. Well, things happened(Yao didn't heal right and was pronounced out indefinitely, Ron Artest bolted for LA, and like that our big three became a big zero), and the next season the Rockets had only one nationally televised game, and it was added later during the season. Well, I am starting to feel really good about next season. I'm reading that we have what the Raptors want in Jordan Hill, so we could add some guys and maybe get a deal done. It really doesn't matter. The Rockets will have some major addition(s) this summer. It's looking like the Timmy and Dirk eras are coming to an end, so assuming everyone stays healthy, which is unlikely for the Rockets(please, God, give us one season), the Rockets could win the Southwest. It's hard to know who will be the contending teams next season. The free agency mess will change everything. I think the East in particular will drastically change. We can assume that the Lakers will still be favorites, but I would love for the Rockets to get some hype. Next season will be very exciting if everyone stays healthy!

Kenyon Martin

I just watched Jazz/Nuggets game 5. My favorite player in the NBA is Kenyon Martin, and he did everything I love tonight. He is a tremendous interior defender. Carlos Boozer scored 25 points in 42 minutes. He was very inefficient and was often forced to pass the ball out. Kenyon was the perfect blend of heart, hustle, and talent tonight. Next time you watch Kenyon look for his signature defensive move in the post. He raises one arm up, while checking his man with the other and essentially creates a wall. The player will try to work his way out of it, but Kenyon's hand and foot speed is just too quick. I enjoy watching Luis Scola struggle with this every time the Nuggets play the Rockets.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Off-Season

I am very excited about this off-season for a number of reasons. I have absolute faith in Daryl Morey. and I am sure we will have at least one great addition to our current roster. I know that the front office is targeting Bosh, but I really just want to wait and see what happens. Every off-season and trade deadline I end up chasing my tail trying to figure out what Daryl Morey is going to get done. I always understand that many of our players plan to participate in rigorous training programs. Kevin Martin said in an interview that he plans on working harder this summer than he ever has before, and if you know anything about his background that really means something. Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill have also talked about training programs to help them take there games to new heights in their sophomore seasons. Trevor Ariza is apparently taking the "not going to thing about basketball all summer" approach. I'm sure he'll start off the season in a deathly shooting slump. Yao Ming obviously has a lot of work to do this summer. Ideally, the Rockets can be contendors with a healthy Yao and one last piece. The roster should be shaken up, because I have heard Morey say on a number of occasions that he believes most of the big deals will get done via sign-and-trade, because it apparently helps all parties financially.

Hello World

I have been inspired by Rahat Huq of the Red94 blog(red94.net) to start a blog of my own. I have lots of opinions and am always thinking about the Houston Rockets and sports in general. I spend a lot of my time reading sports articles and columns from various local and national news sources. I have even been known to read articles from outside of the United States if it helps me get the information I need. Until I develop a following this blog will probably mostly serve as a way for me to vent my thoughts.