Preseason

Lots of random thoughts on what we have (WARNING: not exactly organized):
So it's been awhile. So I was not happy about drafting Patterson, since I was hoping for a trade of some kind, and he's definitely not an exciting player. That's all I'm gonna say about that. So preseason is going well. Rockets so far are back to being a top 10 defensive team. We have so many players who are known for defense - Lee, Battier, Jeffries, Hayes. Yao is getting some blocks in the preseason, which is kind of out of character for him but good to see non the less. We don't really have any stars, but we are maybe the deepest team in the league. Martin/Lee is the best situation the Rockets have had at SG in quite some time. Courtney Lee is probably my favorite Rocket. He definitely brings two things Ariza did not - competence and confidence. I really feel like this is the best team personnel wise the franchise has had in 15 years. Jordan Hill has a Bosh-esque jump shot, which is nice to see. I was kind of worried about him and then that shot showed up. He's definitely a project, but he's got serious potential. We've also had a lot of SportsCenter Top 10 plays in the preseason, which isn't a bad thing. The Rockets were kind of forgotten by the media last season. This team has lots of offensive talent, is strong defensively, flashy, deep, and fast. I can't wait to see where this team goes. Worst case scenario: Yao goes down AGAIN, he retires and we rebuild, which is fine with me. Morey is great at rounding up role players, So we just need to get a star. Best case scenario: LeBron blows out both knees and Kobe finally has an injury he can't overcome, and the Rockets win the championship with some asterisks. I actually could see this team get past the Lakers with our depth. Adelman has to beat Phil Jackson some day, right?

The 2010 NBA Draft is Thursday!

As a Rockets fan I am always excited about the NBA Draft, because that's when Daryl really works his magic(he's never had a lottery pick). I have read that we may make draft night trade that includes our 14th overall pick. The target is Nikola Pekovic(T-Wolves have his draft rights), the best offensive center in Europe. Yes he is a true center(not David Anderson aka Hobo Dirk). He basically has the measurements of Dwight Howard. That said he is not a good defender and not nearly as athletic. I have grown weary of 7-footers and think that 6'10''/6'11'' 170 is the perfect size for an NBA center. He is a truly remarkable post player. Houston is historically the best place for big men and I think he'd give us some serious help against the Laker giants. Whatever happens on draft night I am sure that I will be running around my house like a little girl, because Daryl will do something incredible.

Bill Simmons

So I have been watching most of the Finals with Bill Simmons' live commentary which is on espn.com and nba.com. If someone sends him a comment he likes he posts it on his feed. Well, the thing is he can only read the first sentence of each comment. He was talking about the bizarre halftime show and someone sent him the following comment(Simmons is a Jersey Shore fan).:

Snooki:
That looks like most of my nights. 2 muscled men, lots of touching and a high chance of someone contracting HIV.

I laughed to tears reading that. Simmons apologized multiple times for letting it get through. Great stuff.

What Could Have Been: Kurt Rambis and the Bulls

It's old news that the Bulls have hired Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau as their next head coach. I am absolutely convinced that had Kurt Rambis not taken the Timberwolves job last year he would have been hired by the Bulls. The T-Wolves job was really the only job available last year from what I can remember. It's also arguably the worst head coaching job in the NBA (maybe Golden State). The Bulls wanted Phil Jackson so they could court LeBron, and that's a pretty unrealistic hire, but Kurt Rambis really is the next best thing. He was probably the only assistant every true NBA fan knew by name and working with Phil Jackson in LA for most of his tenure, and prior to that he did a decent job coaching the team during the lockout(24-13). He's been a player(LeBron has said he wants to play for an ex-player), coach, and assistant GM, so he definitely knows basketball. The T-Wolves are a horribly run team. It's definitely not Rambis' fault they are stuggling.

My Lebron/Tom Izzo Theory

So today everyone has been talking about how the Cavs are trying to attract Tom Izzo. Many ESPN personalities don't thing a big time college coach would lure LeBron. I actually think the exact opposite. LeBron has a strange infatuation with college basketball. The past couple years he has decided the best player in college basketball should be his BFF(Curry, Wall). He loves his money, but I know there is a large part of him that longs to play college ball, so why not play for the man many call the best college coach in the game. I don't want to here that Izzo's coaching skills won't translate to the NBA. He's a decent recruiter who maxes out his players. Had he coached that Kentucky team I think they could have gone undefeated.

Lottery

So it's been a while. The Draft Lottery is tomorrow. We can only get the picks 14,3,2, and 1, so if "Houston Rockets" is not called first -- freak out! Aaron Brooks will be representing the Rockets as Steve Francis did when we got the number one overall, which landed us Yao like 9 years ago. Irony is if AB lucks us into number one, he'll likely be traded. We could trade the pick. I mean what would we do with an elite guard? We are pretty much maxed out and the chemistry is great between AB and K-Mart. I hope we get pick 14, maybe trade up and draft Hassan Whiteside. He's Center out of Marshall. He's a bit of a project, but Houston is the best place to develop big men. Hell, Bynum probably would have been far better than he is now 3 years ago had he been a Rocket. Oh well. I know I will be watching patiently tomorrow. No matter what happens I trust that Daryl Morey will maximize our draft assets and we will dominate the draft and off-season.

Forward Power!

So I have decided it's basically guaranteed that one of the following is a Rocket next season : Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, Al Jefferson. For obvious reasons Chris Bosh would be my first choice but if we could not get him I would love to have Carlos Boozer. I think we could actually woo him. It's no secret that Carlos Boozer and the Jazz are not on the best of terms. It can't hurt that we have Shane Battier, National Championship teammate of Carlos Boozer. I know from watching NBA TV that Shane Battier is a big fan of Boozer's game, but honestly who isn't. Game 6 of the Jazz/Nuggets series is all you need to see. Boozer had an unbelievable game. He may be getting up in age, but he is definitely still in his prime. 22 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. He absolutely dominated. I know I just wrote about how Kenyon Martin was handling Boozer, but Kenyon had a very bad night on both ends of the floor in game 6. Daryl Morey, please bring us greatness whether it be Boozer or Bosh. I am also a Big Al Jefferson fan, but he won't fit into our offense as well. Him and Yao would struggle on the court together since they have the same favorite spots. Al Jefferson would have to expand his game quite a bit. I want nothing to do with Amare Stoudemire. All Amare wants to is score. he has great size, but for some reason can't rebound to save his life and he is one of the worst defensive players in the league. He has absolutely no defensive skills. The most he does is keep track of where his guy is, which tends to turn into him watching his man stuff one down.