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[deepak_e]

AOL Sports link

[tmansback]

I think they have done enough that they could be a 60 win team and challenge San Antonio and Dallas for the division. I think getting Adelman was great. There roster seems to fit his style. I think getting Scola was a steal. Hollinger article on how European numbers translate to the NBA make him one of the best pickups this year. I think Mike James fits that system perfectly. He a very similar player to Bobby Jackson and with Tmac doesn't have to handle PG duties. If Tmac and Yao are healthy I can't see a reason why they can't be as good as the Spurs.

[thref23]

The fact that Juwan Howard won't be playing so much is great for Houston IMO.

The fact that they have added guard depth is good, IMO

Battier was a great pick-up, regardless of who was responsible.

Their defense has been among the top of the league. Rick Adelman, a good offensive coach, is a perfect fit IMO. Their defense will take care of itself.

Thats my take as an outsider

[John Beattie]

Here's another current article about Daryl, on HoopsBlogging.com:

http://hoopsblogging.com/2007/09/14/rockets-gm-daryl-moreys-outlook-for-the-upcoming-season/

[Mountain]

I made a post on this thread that later got lost by the system. I'll try to reconstruct.

Francis, James, Scola, Wells and Brooks have offensive talent but will they increase offensive efficiency in their usage over what they replace? I am skeptical on most. If they just replace the shots of Howard and much or all of Alston's there might be some efficency improvement. There isn't a whole lot of shots just laying around to be picked up by these 5 guys, 21 if they take all of Howard's and Alston's, maybe more of the returning bench takes less. If they take shots from Yao, Head or Battier it probably will hurt the team on net efficiency change on those moved shots. If they take shots from McGrady it could be about the same or a move up or down, hard to tell in real interactive world.

Rockets could move up or down a few games regular season. My gut says down might be more likely than up but about the same is the safest bet depending on health. In general I expect some defensive slippage and some offensive improvement eventually if the players listen to and follow Adelman's system. Defensive slippage might exceed offensive improvement not so much because Adelman is that much lesser on leading D than Van Gundy but I suspect there will be some player let up and some transition learning cost. In the end it is about the playoffs and Rockets could well dial it by playoff time. They will be expected to do so.

[Mountain]

Other arguments for Rockets possibly slipping regular season include potentially higher turnovers with the added players, Mutumbo decline in minutes and performance, perhaps greater chance of lane clogging if Scola plays with Yao, and greater challenge to be disciplined, together and effective in the clutch with the addition of perimeter players who like to be the man and could cloud the plan oriented previously under Yao and McGrady (or maybe they manage the greater number of weapons/options to improve overall success).

[deepak_e]

I think slippage in defense is a legitimate concern for the Rockets. But Rick Adelman has, contrary to popular opinion, coached some pretty good defensive teams in Sacramento and Portland. And all the best defenders (both individually and in terms of team defense) will return. I'd be surprised if defense doesn't slip a little, simply because there probably won't be as much of an emphasis on defensive rebounding, but I expect improvements in offense to offset that.

Offensively, I think Adelman's system will minimize the natural tendency of some players on the Rockets (Francis, James, and Wells, in particular) to control the ball. It's a real question mark at this point if Francis and Wells can increase their efficiency with a reduced offensive role. Also, to what extent will having more offensive threats on the floor open up opportunities for Yao and T-Mac to get easy baskets? I think that's the main goal of adding all this offensive talent to the team.

Morey's approach seems to have been to add players who are versatile offensively and can create their own shots. The real work in blending all these talents together into a cohesive unit falls on Rick Adelman. It will be interesting to see how he brings it altogether.

[John Hollinger]

I may be biased on this, because I was in the arena for Game 7 when McGrady either scored or assisted on all but **nine** of their baskets, but I thought they were crying out like mad for additional scorers and succeeded wildly. T-Mac is good, but if he's leading the league in Usage Rate something is very wrong. Last year that something was named Rafer.

[KD]

Watch out. He'll stab ya.

[ziller]

Or at least spit on you. Allegedly.
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tziller@gmail.com

[mateo82]

I don't know about Scola. He has been a very poor rebounder in Europe and I don't see any reason why that won't continue. I don't believe the addition of scoring makes up for the poor rebounding. If they were able to run Hayes at the 3 that might not be as big of a worry. I just don't think you can have a power forward giving you single digits rebound rate and win, regardless of what offense they bring.

[holymoly]

Scola...Poor Rebounder? really. where did you hear that? Last season he averaged 9.4 Reb per 40mins.
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60% of the time, it works every time

[deepak_e]

I'm not sure what Scola's rebound rate has been, but John Hollinger gave the following projections in an ESPN Insider column posted June 29, 2007 (source):

Luis Scola (17.1 pts/40. 10.2 reb/40, 50.4 FG percent, 16.27 PER)

And if his highly touted "intangibles" translate as well, that looks pretty good to me.

I'd be more concerned about his defense than the rebounding. Persistent foul trouble will probably be an issue (for both him and Chuck Hayes).

[mateo82]

[deepak_e]