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The Roster Doctor takes a look at the championship contending Houston Rockets in this installment of the Fantasy Lounge NBA Draft Kit
Team Overview Now here is a championship contender that cannot be described as boring for fantasy managers. New additions creating upheaval in the regular rotation? Check. Fluid roles that can create opportunity for minutes? Check. Young players coming up behind flawed veterans? Check. It’s almost a perfect storm of confusion, and confusion is good for fantasy upside. At point guard, Rafer Alston has had a checkered past and got in trouble this summer with the law. He also went under the knife. On both counts, he claims he’s fine and will be the starting point guard in Houston this year. He’s probably right, but Luther Head lurks in the background, and has shown the ability to hit threes and get the ball to the real playmaker on this team, Tracy McGrady. Either way, in deep leagues, Head always has value for those games that McGrady misses. The forward situation is murkier. While one might not think of either Ron Artest or Shane Battier as a power forward, one of them will be playing significant minutes at the position this year. The guess here is that Artest, the beefier of the two, will defend power forwards, but it may not really matter. Both will play, both will give you great hustle stats, and both will be murder on your percentages.  Artest should see an increase in his rebounding working at his new position, but otherwise can’t really be seen as being in a different position than his last team, which had plenty of small forwards and no power forwards. Luis Scola will still be needed, as a more natural power forward, and there are enough injuries on this team that everyone listed here should get good minutes at one point or another.
Yes, there is some confusion on this team. But, as with any contenders, there won’t be time to develop the young players or take chances. It’s a good bet that the normal group of players, the ones with a track record of success, will be the ones getting the minutes. So don’t go overboard on the guys in the second column of this depth chart. Depth Chart PG Rafer Alston / Luther Head / Aaron Brooks SG Tracy McGrady / Brent Barry SF Shane Battier / Carl Landry / Chuck Hayes PF Ron Artest / Luis Scola C Yao Ming / Dikembe Mutumbo Value Picks Tracy McGrady In rotisserie leagues, McGrady is a hidden gem in the middle rounds. He’s fallen as far as the sixth round in some drafts so far, and that’s too far for a guy with such a well-rounded game. It’s possible that having Artest around will help McGrady’s percentages, too, which were better in the past. In rotisserie, you can just park McGrady on the bench for the ten to twenty games he misses, while getting good value in the other 60+.  Shane Battier Battier may actually be the biggest risk for losing time with Artest in town, but if he drops too far, his game will still translate to fantasy value as a sixth man. You own Battier for his steal and block and three per game, and nothing else. He’ll still be able to contribute that in less time, coming off the bench.
Luis Scola If Artest plays small forward, Battier comes off the bench, and Scola starts at power forward, he’s interesting. He can help in points and rebounds and field goal percentage, and should come cheap. However, if Artest and Battier both start, Scola takes a major hit in value. Be careful, and don’t take Scola too early thinking he’s assured of the power forward minutes.  Rafer Alston Though there is some doubt surrounding Alston, Skip to my Lou also has good value at the very end of drafts… for teams willing to punt field goal percentage. However, punting FG is a fairly common strategy, and Alston’s FT %, though not good, won’t kill a strong team. Either way, almost two threes and five assists per game, when paired with a steal and half, will help one team this year. Will it be yours?
Free Agent Additions Brent Barry The last Barry brother standing will help with veteran savvy and backup wing minutes, but not much else. Rookies Joey Dorsey Last seen as the bruiser on the guard-oriented Memphis team, Dorsey has a real chance to become the team’s next Chuck Hayes or Carl Landry. He has a little more upside, actually, because he’s taller (6’9”) and he’s shown the ability to block shots in college. Projected Stats Rafer Alston – 38 FG% / 72 FT% / 1.7 3PG / 11.4 PPG / 3.3 RPG / 5.2 APG / 1.2 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 2.3 TO Tracy McGrady – 44 FG% / 72 FT% / 1.5 3PG / 21.5 PPG / 5.4 RPG / 5.1 APG / 1.2 SPG / 0.5 BPG / 2.7 TO Shane Battier – 43 FG% / 79 FT% / 1.5 3PG / 10.1 PPG / 4.4 RPG / 1.8 APG / 1.0 SPG / 1.0 BPG / 1.1 TO Ron Artest– 46 FG% / 74 FT% / 1.5 3PG / 17.8 PPG / 6.7 RPG / 3.4 APG / 2.2 SPG / 1.0 BPG / 2.4 TO Yao Ming – 50 FG% / 85 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 21.3 PPG / 9.8 RPG / 2.1 APG / 0.4 SPG / 2.0 BPG / 3.1 TO Luis Scola – 50 FG% / 69 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 10.1 PPG / 5.9 RPG / 1.2 APG / 0.6 SPG / 0.3 BPG / 1.2 TO Luther Head – 44 FG% / 81 FT% / 1.2 3PG / 7.1 PPG / 2.1 RPG / 2.0 APG / 0.6 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 1.5 TO Carl Landry – 57 FG% / 68 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 7.1 PPG / 5.2 RPG / 0.4 APG / 0.4 SPG / 0.3 BPG / 1.0 TO
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