http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/22816 Recent articles about Luis Scola en-us LAST SEASON Houston won 55 games, but they lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years (they didn't make it in '05-06). McGrady & Co. put up an admirable fight againt Utah without Yao, but they still lost in 6 games. After Boston, they were probably the best defensive team in the league. OFFSEASON MOVES Key Additions: Ron Artest, Brent Barry, Joey Dorsey Key Losses: Bobby Jackson, Carl Landry?, Dikembe Mutombo? A strong defensive team just got stronger with the addition of Ron Artest. You can click here to read what I've already said about the addition, but I think it immediately turns Houston into a legit contender. They had to give up a talented prospect (Donte Greene) to get him, but since T-Mac & Yao are already in their primes, it makes sense to go for the glory NOW. The signing of veteran guard Brent Barry was much less heralded, but still very important, as he'll replace B-Jax as the 1st guard off the bench. Carl Landry wants more money after an impressive rookie season, but the Rockets might let him go since they drafted Joey Dorsey out of Memphis. At 6-7, 265 pounds, Dorsey is an imposing physical specimen and a monster rebounder. The Rockets would like to have Mutombo back for one more year, but he wants more than the veteran's minimum. I think they should pay the old man and mic him up for every game, because the result would be countless hours of hilarity. ROTATION / PLAYING TIME The man the middle, Yao Ming, led Houston with a 37.2 mpg average in '07-08. He's also missed at least 25 games in each of the past 3 seasons and will be competing in the Olympics despite his foot not being 100%. My point being, if the Rockets play him any more than 36 mpg, they're asking for trouble. In case of injury, the Rockets will break the glass and bring in Mutombo (assuming he re-signs). Chuck Hayes & Dorsey are rather short power forwards, but both are strong enough to guard centers if need be. At the forward spots, Shane Battier played 36.3 minutes and Luis Scola played 24.7 minutes in '07-08, but I'm expecting those numbers to fall to 34 and 22, respectively. To start the season at least, I'm projecting Artest to come off the bench and play 14 minutes at SF and 20 minutes at PF. I also expect McGrady's minutes (37.3 last year) to fall in the 34-36 range, as Brent Barry is a solid backup. At point guard, Rafer Alston should see close to the 34.1 minutes that he got last season, while the small & speedy Aaron Brooks will serve as his backup. During the regular season, the Rockets will likely tinker with several different player combinations, so don't be surprised if you see Barry & T-Mac in the backcourt together, or Battier, Artest & Scola up front. DON'T SLEEP ON: Yao Ming In this recent Yahoo mock draft, Yao fell to the middle of the 3rd Round, #30 overall. He's always one of the best "per game" guys in fantasy hoops, but missing 25+ games for 3 years in a row makes you fall hard (see: Baron Davis last year). He is now officially a "MAJOR Injury Risk," perhaps more so than Marcus Camby used to be. But when you gamble on high-risk players like that, you can also reap huge rewards (like Baron & Camby owners did last year). Yao also has some room for improvement, especially in the FG% department. His 50.7% FG in '07-08 was his lowest mark since his rookie year, and with the additions of Barry (to extend the defense) and Artest (to take some pressure off), I'm expecting that number to climb up to 52.5% in '08-09. With Artest also playing tenacious D at power forward now, Ming could possibly rack up more weak side blocks and improve on last year's career-high of 2.02 per game. If Yao falls to you in the 3rd Round, do NOT sleep on this talented Chinaman (not the preferred nomenclature). BE CAREFUL OF: Rafer Alston Over the past 3 years, Houston has lacked a reliable 3rd scorer and Yao & T-Mac have missed a combined 148 games, so Rafer Alston has had plenty of chances to score points. In '07-08, he even averaged a career-high 12.5 FG attempts per game, but that's sure to fall with Artest's 16.9 FGA and 20.5 ppg now in the mix. Since both T-Mac & Artest like to have the ball in their hands, it will be hard for Rafer to improve on his modest 5.3 dimes per game. But there are more reasons to be careful of "Skip to My Lou." Over the past 5 years, he's shot over 40% from the field just ONCE (last year's 39.4% was actually a huge improvement over the 37.5% and 37.9% he shot in the two years prior). If that wasn't bad enough, this field goal-killer also likes to kick you in the nuts by hurting your FT% as well (over 74% just ONCE in his career). He'll likely be a Top 80 pick in some leagues, but I suggest waiting till the 8th or 9th round. ROUND BY ROUND TARGETS (Where you should draft these guys in an 8-cat Roto league with 12 teams and 14 man rosters) Click on the link to find out! Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:19:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301814 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301814 With Artest moving to a team that was going nowhere to a team that's going somewhere, the West has become a whole lot more cutthroat. It may so happen that with the Hornets become the only team in the West with a true future. Who knows if the Rockets may end the Spurs' dynasty, and close the windows of opportunity on the Dallas Mavericks and LA Lakers? Ron Artest goes as far as saying 2008-09 would be a "failure" if the Houston Rockets don't win a championship. Can the Houston Rockets win it all in 2009? ( More after the jump ) Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:23:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301407 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301407 Ron Artest to Houston. No NBA summer is complete without the Rockets picking up yet another forward who is supposed to put them into title contention. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:35:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298348 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298348 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??? Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:08:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298310 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298310 The oldest player in the NBA will be 42 next month and is planning to come back for one more season. He, but after h has been decisive about retirementaving a successful season filling in for center Yao Ming and averaging 3.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game, he wants in!!! Mutumbe stated: "I'm going to consider to keep playing basketball. So will be seeing that finger once more next season. Sun, 18 May 2008 22:04:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268392 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268392 Although neither were able to beat out Seattle's Kevin Durant for the NBA rookie of the year award, both Luis Scola and Al Horford were able to join him. The NBA announced the selections for this seasons NBA All-Rookie team, joining Scola, Horford and Durant were Al Thorton of the LA Clippers and Durant's teammate Jeff Green. Wed, 14 May 2008 13:10:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266870 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266870 Tim Duncan is the best power forward in the game and one of the best ever to play. Able to play both forward and center, he can dominate whoever he plays on both sides of the floor. Not only that, he steps up his game in the playoffs with 24.8 PPG, 13.8 RPG and 2.4 BPG. He might be boring to watch, but you can't argue with 4 championships. 3 more positions left to cover. Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG * = Best in Category (R) = Rookie Steals 1+ Shown Blocks 1.5+ Shown Blocks and Steals Shown if both are 1+ 1. Tim Duncan (SAS) 19.3, 11.3*, 2.8, 2 BPG 2. Amare Stoudemire (PHX) 25.2*, 9.1, 1.5, 2.1 BPG*, 59% FG* 3. Kevin Garnett (BOS) 18.8, 9.4, 3.4, 1.2, 1.4 4. Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) 23.6, 8.6, 3.5 5. Carlos Boozer (UTA) 21.1, 10.4, 2.2, 1.2 SPG 6. Antawn Jamison (WAS) 21.4, 10.2, 1.5, 1.3 SPG 7. Chris Bosh (TOR) 22.3, 8.7, 2.6, 1 BPG 8. David West (NOH) 20.6, 8.9, 2.3, 1.3 9. Josh Smith (ATL) 17.2, 8.2, 3.4, 1.5, 2.8 10. Lamar Odom (LAL) 14.2, 10.6, 3.5, 1 SPG 11. Rashard Lewis (ORL) 19, 8.4, 4.4*, 1.6 SPG* 12. Zach Randolph (NYK) 17.6, 10.3, 2 13. Danny Granger (IND) 19.6, 6.1, 2.1, 1.2, 1 14. Emeka Okafor (CHA) 13.8, 10.7, 0.9, 1.7 BPG 15. LaMarcus Aldridge (POR) 17.8, 7.6, 1.6, 1.2 BPG 16. Udonis Haslem (MIA) 12, 9, 1.4 17. Drew Gooden (CHI/CLE) 12, 8.6, 1.2 18. Chris Wilcox (SEA) 13.4, 7, 1.2 19. Kenyon Martin (DEN) 12.4, 6.5, 1.3, 1 SPG 20. Al Harrington (GSW) 13.6, 5.4, 1.6 21. Tim Thomas (LAC) 12.4, 5.1, 2.7 22. Ryan Gomes (MIN) 12.6, 5.8, 1.8 23. Charlie Villanueva (MIL) 11.7, 6.1, 1 24. (R) Luis Scola (HOU) 10.3, 6.4, 1.3 25. Hakim Warrick (MEM) 11.4, 4.7, 0.7 26. Ben Wallace (CLE/CHI) 4.8, 8.4, 1.5, 1.2, 1.6 27. Joe Smith (CLE/CHI) 10.2, 5.1, 0.9 28. Josh Boone (NJN) 8.2, 7.3, 0.8 29. Mikki Moore (SAC) 8.5, 6, 1 30. (R) Yi Jianlian (MIL) 8.2, 5.6, 0.8 Just Missed Out Brandon Bass (DAL) , Jason Maxiell (DET), Antonio McDyess (DET), Carl Landry (HOU) Some of these players don't just play the PF, but they can play SF too. Josh Smith, Rashard Lewis, Danny Granger, Ryan Gomes, they played SF until the occasion called up. Smith played PF a lot and is matched up with KG in the playoffs. Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are interchangable with it comes to the 3 and 4 spots. Granger has even started as a shooting guard and Gomes went big when Al Jefferson started as a center. It just shows you how interchangable the NBA is now. Thu, 01 May 2008 13:38:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262307 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262307 A couple dozen basket-bloggers voted every two weeks on awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year. With the final Rookie, Coach, and Most Improved Player awards unveiled, did Kevin Durant hold off Al Horford? Did Doc Rivers win Coach of the Year over Kevin Garnett? Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:48:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252299 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252299 Last night I was trolling the internet and came across a story posted on Slam magazine's website by Lang Whitaker, the subject was who should be this seasons Rookie of the Year in the NBA and this is what we came up with. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:30:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234466 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234466 The Kings played spoiler for a night, denying the Rockets their 50th win and a tie for 3rd place in the West with the Lakers. Instead they stay in 6th place, diminishing their chances for the Southwest division title and homecourt advantage. Great game to watch all the way down to the end. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:00:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/226751 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/226751 BRANDON BASS This is a guy who had me on his bandwagon when Dirk went down. He has some ability and the Mavs just are not that deep. 21 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 6-12 from the field and 9-12 from the line is respectable. He is the first guy off the bench for this team, at least until Dirk gets back, so look for him early and look for him often. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:22:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225132 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225132 On the same day that the Major League Baseball season opened up in the States, the NBA offered 9 games. There were plenty of surprise performances with the playoff and lottery race very much in tact. We saw Zach Randolph and Shawn Marion sit out, while the Timberwolves shocked the Jazz, and only word of a future return of Dirk Nowitzki offered some positive news for Dallas. Here's a look at Sunday's fantasy highlights. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:06:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225048 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225048 If you look on the majority of the playoff teams in the NBA and especially in the West you see at least one highly useful player from outside the United States. Is it a coincidence that the Knicks stink and have zero players from outside the United States? I think not. Is it a coincidence that the Western Conference dominates the entire Eastern Conference except the Pistons and Celtics? I think not. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:24:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223211 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223211 Anyone catch Chris Webber on TNT last night? He did a solid job and slammed the Mavericks pretty good. Also, see what it takes to be a championship team, according to Kenny Smith. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:49:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/222562 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/222562 Though much closer than their first meeting of the season back in January, the outcome was the same for the Wolves who lost their 29th game on the road this season. Luis Scola had 18 points to go with his 18 boards and Tracy McGrady managed to put up 25 shots despite complaining of a sore shoulder and scored 23. The Wolves will go for number 30 in San Antonio on Friday night. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:34:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219549 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219549