Houston Rockets: Preview

After a lot of roster turnover in the offseason, the Rockets are finally ready to take the court as they head to Detroit to challenge the Pistons. The Rockets rank last in the NBA in returning players' minutes played with only 13%. Most of that total consists of Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson. Coach Kevin McHale has been working hard to build some team chemistry in practice amid all the changes, but it is always difficult getting players to mesh when you only return two players with significant minutes Things weren't looking good for the Rockets earlier this summer. They unloaded all of their veterans from last year, trying to compile a plethora of draft picks and young players to entice Rob Hennigan in trading Dwight Howard to Houston. Howard ended up in Los Angeles, but Rockets GM Daryl Morey did his best in free agency picking up PG Jeremy Lin and C Omer Asik. The biggest move by far though, is the acquisition of James Harden from OKC.

The Rockets had to give up Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, 2 1st Round Picks, and a 2nd Rounder. This was an easy trade for a Rockets team that has been desperate for a star player ever since Yao Ming and T-Mac's careers disintegrated due to injuries. This leaves Houston with a young but talented starting 5 that should consist of Jeremy Lin at the point, Harden at SG, Chandler Parsons at the 3, Patrick Patterson at PF, and Asik playing center.
The Rockets should also have a young but deep bench. Rookies Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones have both played well in preseason and summer league games and should challenge Patterson for some of his minutes. Add in veteran Carlos Delfino and wild-card swingman Royce White, and this Rockets team could be very fun to watch. Young fresh legs will help the Rockets keep an uptempo pace with a lot of fast breaks. Tim Legler of ESPN has the Rockets as the lottery team most likely to make the playoffs. Amid all the uncertainty this offseason, the Rockets will be more than ready to prove they're no slouch at 6:30 tonight

 

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