Houston Rockets 

Starting Five		Player Rating
C	Yao Ming	9
PF	Juwan Howard	6.5
SF	Jim Jackson	6.5
SG	Tracy McGrady	9
PG	Tyron Lue	5
		36

* Player Rating on a 1 to 10 Scale. 10 denotes best at position in the NBA with no weaknesses, 5 would be average player who holds his own etc.

Reserves		Position Rating
C	Dikembe Mutombo	5
PF	Maurice Taylor / Clarence Weatherspoon	6.5
SF	Bostjan Nachbar / Scott Padgett	5
SG	Bob Sura	6
PG	Reece Gaines / Charlie Ward	5
		27.5

* Ratings based on ability of bench to fill in a position. More than one backup at a position would influence the rating as would one player's ability to play multiple positions. For eg. The Griffin / Nachbar offense /defense option merits a higher rating than either would get on their own.

Sep '04

They got the backup center but look to be set with Tyronn Lue at the point. Can Ward really help off the bench? My feeling is NO. They are definitely lacking at PG but if Van Gundy is planning to walk it up and play a two-man game with Ming and McGrady, the PG won't really have to do too much except knock down outside shots and play D. Lue can shoot and will defend his heart out and his lack of size should matter as much with Yao and Dikembe backing him up.

So what happens this season? They go as far as McGrady's defense and Howard's rebounding will take them. Yao showed heart at the Olympics -- in fact, he put in an outstanding performance that received no press. Expect him to have a breakout year: 20 and 10 with a couple of blocks thrown in. McGrady's numbers should match last year's with better percentages. It all adds up to 52-60 wins.

 

Old Post - July '04

Needs:
Point Guard
After shipping out Francis, Van Gundy needs to bring in a point guard capable of playing the kind of game he prefers -- half-court basketball and tough defense. Charlie Ward is a FA so don't rule him out as a back-up signing though he's definitely not a starter at this point of his career. Lue and/or Gaines may be moved again. How about Payton in a trade for Maurice Taylor & Lue?
Potential candidates: Eric Snow (via trade), Derek Fisher, Kenny Anderson.

Back-up Center
The right player here is also important as Yao should not be playing more than 32-36 minutes a game. Howard may get some minutes here with Taylor as PF but a strong defender with shot-blocking abilities would be nice.
Potential candidates: Elden Campbell, Kurt Thomas, Etan Thomas.

Prediction: The team will be around the 55-win mark and should slide into the top 4 out West, ahead of Dallas and the Lakers, fighting for position with Sacramento, San Antonio and Minnesota. The right PG and they could do this year what the Wolves did last year.