Reading Rockets Basketball

2010-2011 Season Preview

A year ago, the Rockets came up just shy of the post-season in a very competitive Western Conference. Approximately 4 months removed from season’s close, have the Rockets done enough to improve their playoff posture headed into 2010-2011?Fortunately for the Rockets, the off-season didn’t necessarily have to include a home run newcomer in order for the team to expect improvement. With Yao at least contributing, though it remains to see exactly how many minutes and at what level as he returns from an extended absence, the Rockets automatically gain at least one key asset going forward. Furthermore, Yao has continued to play a valuable role over the course of his past 4 seasons played, despite missing significant chunks of time in 3 of those years due to injury. Though he has never attempted to come back from an injury in which he missed so much time, Yao has at least has success in rehabbing past ailments, and shown the ability to be a difference maker even in a limited capacity.On the other hand, the loss of Trevor Ariza could hurt the Rockets more than anticipated. Assuming Brad Miller and Yao can combine to form close to 1 full-strength Yao for the duration of the season, the Rockets have essentially spent more money to reap an equally satisfactory product to that of 2 years ago. While the 2008-2009 roster was good enough for 53 wins and a 5^th seed, a similarly built squad (obviously not the same roster, but similar in strengths and talent level) will face staunch competition in a Western Conference that has seen young players develop into superstars and teams around the league bring in talent to put them over the top. Though the Rockets have been spenders this summer, the majority of their funds have gone towards preserving a holding pattern as opposed to bringing in potential impact free agents. The Rockets shouldn’t completely flounder this year, but look for us Houston fans to once again be looking from the outside-in come playoff time. Prediction: 45-37, 9^th in the Western Conference.