Which Houston Rocket besides T-Mac and Yao will have the best year and biggest impact on the rockets.
I think that Juwan Howard will be instrumental to the team's success. In the second half of last season before he got injured, Howard really stepped up his rebounding and opened up the floor with his ability to hit from up to 20 feet. It wasn't a coincidence that the team faltered in the playoffs. No matter whether Howard starts or comes off the bench for Swift, he'll be a key part of the offense and his veteran presence in the locker room will definitely help with the locker room chemistry.
i think with Rafer Alston able to push the tempo on offense and create shots, they will be a better team. TMac played too much point last season as Sura isn't a natural PG. With Rafer, TMac can play more off the ball and finish the play rather than start it.
The position that I think will ultimately determine the Rockets' success/failure is the power forward position aka Howard/Swift. With the overload of quality PFs in the West(Duncan, KG, Stoudamire, Dirk, etc.) it is absolutely vital that Swift/Howard be able to handle their own on defense and contain some people while grabbing up the rebounds. Also with the playmakers we have on our team, both of them need to be able to hit the open 18 footer. If these two play well, the Rockets will do well. If they dont play well, then it will be an early exit from the Playoffs. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting johnny33:</div><div class="quote_post"> TMac played too much point last season as Sura isn't a natural PG. With Rafer, TMac can play more off the ball and finish the play rather than start it.</div> Eh, I sort of disagree with the statement that Tracy plays to much point. He is a legitimate superstar and a player who needs the ball in his hands. Who really cares whether he dribbles it 60 feet under no pressure to the top of the key to make a play or whether we have Alson dribble the 60 feet then give the ball to McGrady. Alston will be the primary ball handler and will do his best work in transition using his speed and vision to create. In a half court set though, I wouldn't be opposed to Tracy being the primary play-starter.
I think Alston's play will be most crucial towards the Rockets' success...he's been the first, true point that the Rockets have had in a long time...it'll be important for him to play 34-38 minutes a night, shoot the 3, and to take a lot of the ballhandling pressure off TMac so that McGrady can focus on scoring or penetrating and getting open scores...Alston's ball control and tempo, as well as his ability to stop opposing backcourt scorers, will be significant...
Right now, Alston's going to have to play 34-38 minutes at the point by default. Although Moochie Norris has improved his decision-making, having him run the point any more than 10 minutes a game isn't going to be beneficial to the team. Until Sura gets back or we get a dependable backup, Alston's going to have to play well in order for us to win.
