Why you should put $ on Houston to win the West

The 7 faces that you see below are quite accomplished basketball players. You may notice that their NBA mugshots form the 9th letter, as in Me, Myself, and I. I suppose this is fitting for Tracy McGrady, because the 5th year Rocket has long been considered a selfish player. How else do you explain the fact that one of the most dominant 1-on-1 players alive today (if T-Mac & Nash played ten games of 1-on-1, would Nash even win two?) has NEVER advanced past the 1st Round of the Playoffs (in 7 tries)? Perhaps McGrady's need to be the center of attention has been holding him back, so it only makes sense to write about him first. The guy can score from anywhere on the floor, as we've all witnessed before. He has the length, athleticism, and ball-handling ability to pull down a defensive rebound, bring the ball up, get to where he wants to go, and then score over anyone. Unfortunately, that rare ability has also been his downfall, because he doesn't get his teammates involved as much as he should on offense and doesn't expend the same amount of energy on defense as a result. However, T-Mac played his heart out in the 2008 Playoffs and I suddenly believe that his career has turned the proverbial corner. So take note everyone: while's McGrady's mugshot is still in the middle column, he's no longer in the very center. Which is key? for this article anyway. Fantasy Impact: T-Mac's 21.6 ppg in '07-08 was his lowest scoring output in 8 years. That could drop even further with Artest taking away some of his shots. However, his horrible shooting %'s from last season (41.9% FG, 29.2% 3P, 68.4% FT) can only go up, and I expect his steals per game (1.0 in '07-08 compared to 1.7 in '04-05) to increase as well. Ron Artest is a bad, bad dude who is going to make or break this team. HE is the glue that is either going to hold Houston together as one (as glue is supposed to do and a team is supposed to be) or allow them to fall apart (as Artest often does and as "Super Glue" often does to me). Say what you will about "Do Never" Artest, but there are two things that you cannot deny: his basketball talent and his craziness. Both are thru the roof and way higher than yours or mine. Whenever I see Ron Artest, I think back to an interview he did before a Chicago vs. Washington game in 2001. If you recall, Ron-Ron was still on the Bulls back then, and that was the summer that Jordan was attempting to make his 2nd comeback at the age of 38. During a pickup game earlier in the summer, a 21-year old Artest just happened to break one of Mr. Jordan's ribs. Luckily (depending on how you look at it), MJ recovered and announced his return. And now the Bulls were playing the Wizards, so a reporter simply asked Ron if he was afraid that Jordan might be out for revenge. Artest's reply was something like: I'm from QUEENSBRIDGE. We're not afraid of NOTHIN. Q-B!!! (Queensbridge is the largest housing projects in the United States and home to several accomplished rappers: Marley Marl, Nas, Mobb Deep, and Cormega among others). Indeed, Artest has shown the world how un-afraid he is several times since then, often leading to disastrous results for both himself and those around him. So why should we believe that HE has turned the corner? Because this is probably his last chance in the NBA. "Ron is grateful Adelman wants him to play for him again. It's a wish come true." -Mark Stevens (Artest's agent) Artest played half a season for Adelman in Sacramento, so Houston is willing to take a chance on him. But if the volatile forward somehow screws this opportunity up, there may not be any more chances. I'm sure Ron knows this by now, which is why I think he's going to stay out of trouble and have his finest season yet. This sounds crazy, but I see Artest becoming Houston's leader, both in the locker room and on the court. His aggressive confidence and sheer physicality are going to pump guys up like they've never been pumped up before. And of course, it doesn't hurt to have a nice big fella to lean on. Fantasy Impact: Artest has never been surrounded by so much talent, so it will be interesting to see what effect this has on his stats. His 20.5 points per game from last year is sure to take a hit, but his FG% should go up as he gets much better looks. I expect him to play a lot of power forward in Houston, so he might even be able to best his career-high of 6.5 rebounds per game. Yao Ming might be an even bigger question mark than McGrady or Artest in my mind. The guy has missed at least 25 games in each of the past 3 seasons, and he missed out on all of the Playoffs last year due to a stress fracture in his left foot. While a full summer of rest would have been nice, there is no way in Chairman Mao's hell that Yao was going to miss China's Olympic Games. I feel bad for the gentle giant, because it seems like his mind and body never get a chance to rest. But Yao is such a good guy that it's easy to root for him and wish him the best. However, there is some validity to "nice guys finish last." His Airness didn't win 6 rings by being nice, that's for damn sure. Jordan had a ferocious killer instinct on the court, which is something that Yao's detractors say he lacks and will NEVER have. His combination of size and skill is out of this world, but some don't think he's aggresive enough to be a truly dominant force. Well guess what? Ron-Ron has plenty of extra aggression to dish out on opponents, and hopefully some of that will rub off on Yao. If that happens, and if he can stay healthy, Houston is finally going to advance past the 1st round. Fantasy Impact: The addition of Artest is going to help alleviate some of Yao's pressures. I'm expecting Yao's FG% to jump from 50.7% last year to 52% or better this season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he sets a career-high in blocked shots. But this superstar trio is going to need some more assistance if they want to make BIG waves in the West. ENTER: unsung hero extraordinaire, Shane Battier. Coach K's protege is the prototypical team player willing to do whatever his team needs him to do. The past couple of years, that meant knocking down open threes and playing balls out defense to make up for all of T-Mac's points allowed. Now that Battier has another defensive hound in Artest, Houston has the best 1-2 perimeter D punch in the league. I'm expecting the two to play together often, especially during crunch time. Can you imagine those two guarding each other in practice?!? Fantasy Impact: Battier shot a career-low 42.8% from the field last year, so expect that number to bounce back nicely. With Bobby Jackson gone, he may be asked to take a few more threes this season, but don't expect any of his other numbers to improve much. So what about Rafer Alston? Skip to My Lou was a vital part of Houston's success last season. He came back from an injury to drop 57 points, 18 assists (only 6 turnovers), and 11 threes in just 4 playoff games. The veteran point guard has his limitations, but he does a fairly good job of minimizing them. He'll start the season as Houston's starting PG, but I'm not sure how many games he'll be closing out. Sure, Bobby Jackson is out of town, but his replacement is even more versatile. Fantasy Impact: If you ask me, Rafer is going to have a hard time duplicating last season's stats. He averaged a career-high 12.5 shots per game last season, but that will likely fall with Artest now in town. His assists will likely take a hit as well, so don't expect anything close to the 6.7 dimes he dropped in '05-06. Why am I so down on Alston? Because I'm high on Brent Barry! Houston's signing of the 36-year old guard is what made B-Jax expendable in the first place. He has championship experience thanks to his San Antonio days, and he might be the piece that turns Houston from pretender to contender. Barry is a deadly shooter, but he's also able to handle the rock and has excellent court vision. During crunch time, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see "Bones" on the floor with T-Mac, Battier, Artest, and Yao. Sure, Alston is the superior defender, but Barry is the more reliable shooter. Fantasy Impact: Barry is going to have fantasy value at some point this season, but I'm not sure when. The guy has shot over 47% from the field in 5 of his last 8 seasons, and he's made a whopping 1,346 career 3-pointers (12th all-time!). Don't forget, the Spurs routinely have one of the slowest paces in the NBA, which hurts their players' fantasy value. Don't sleep on Barry if you need some treys. Another guy who shouldn't be underestimated is Luis Scola. Last season, the Argentinian proved that he belonged in the NBA, and his confidence will only be higher this season. He's a tough dude and a very efficient offensive player around the rim. Of course, a major factor for Scola is whether or not the Rockets are going to re-sign Carl Landry. Fantasy Impact: Even if Landry doesn't re-sign, Scola is going to have a tough time duplicating his value. Yao missed 27 games last season, which gave Scola a significant bump in minutes and stat production. Chuck Hayes is still around, and like I said before, I expect Artest to get a lot of minutes at the 4 this season. And did you know that Rafer Alston (.24) had more blocked shots per game than Scola (.23)? Not good. I know what you're thinking. Why did I type all of this about these 7 Rockets if I wasn't going to answer the big ??? in the title? Which is, how far is Houston going to go in '08-09? Well, you're getting ahead of yourself, because as T-Mac now knows, there's no I in team. The image above is still pretty egocentric, but the Rocket logos have yet to reveal two hidden players. To be considered legit contenders in the West, Houston needs to add a proven veteran center. PAGING: Old Man Mutombo. Where are you Dikembe? The 64-year old has been considering retirement, but the acquisition of a fellow defensive force in Artest could easily lure him back for another year. Having a legit 7-footer to backup Yao is essential given his recent injury history. Mt. Mutombo has been to the NBA Finals before (2001 with Philly), and if you're looking for a Louis Armstrong sound-alike to call out plays, who else are you going to turn to? If Mutombo returns, and the other 7 guys mentioned above stay healthy, I'm going to put money on Houston to make it to the Western Conference Finals this season. I'm not going to go any further than that right now, because their 9th man is still a mystery. Houston would love to retain Carl Landry for cheap, but that may or may not happen. Hayes and Head are solid and Aaron Brooks has potential, but none of those guys strike me as NBA Finals rotation player material. So who should Houston go after to be their 9th man? Does T-Mac finally get out of the 1st round? Will Ron Artest do the unthinkable and be the leader that holds this team together? Will Yao stay healthy and develop that killer instinct? And just how far are the Rockets going to go???