Pre-camp Rocket Updates

durvasa · Sep 23, 2009

Training Camp starts next week Rocket fans. Next Monday is Media Day.

Here are a few blog updates on what's going on pre-camp.

Jonathan Feigen (Houston Chronicle Beat Writer):

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/09/summers_gone_and_the_time_is_r.html

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The Rockets off-season workouts have moved toward five-on-five games. They are pretty intense, too, which is to be expected with a half-dozen guys with non-guaranteed contracts in the gym with the GM, three vice presidents, four assistant coaches and two Adelmans looking on.

Luis Scola, Shane Battier and David Andersen have joined the regulars. (Tracy McGrady is still in Chicago, getting a last few days of work in with Tim Grover and posing for pictures.)

Trevor Ariza is playing, along with the usual suspects (Chuck Hayes, Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor Garrett Temple and Will Conroy). James White got in one final Toyota Center run before he was traded to Denver. Aaron Brooks joined the workout late after his medical testing. And there was one new face, Salim Stoudamire, who would love to bring his jumper to training camp.

To me, the highlight of the games was Chuck Hayes going Magic Johnson. He had several occasions in which he grabbed the defensive rebound and took off, leading fast breaks and finishing his last one.

As for things the Rockets might actually do during real games, Ariza looks very good and in phenomenal shape. The guy doesn't sweat. He did not hit some of the shots he will have to, but then, few did. Battier looked very good, but did not hit his shots.

Taylor looks better than he did in Las Vegas. He was less of a ball stopper, finished well and was more discerning with his jumpers.

Other than that, Scola, Budinger and Conroy (who really looks like he belongs) made the shots you would expect. Andersen knocked down a few and had a few sharp passes. Dorsey blocked a few shots and generally looked good.

Mostly, it was good to see real basketball again.

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And, a big update from Rockets.com writer Jason Friedman:

http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5700042704

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But let’s face it, what you really want to know is how the guys are looking on the court. So let’s get right to it.

Shane Battier and Luis Scola arrived in town last weekend and they’ve since joined the 5-on-5 scrimmages which have been taking place at the Toyota Center practice court the last several weeks. Right now, everyone on the roster (including recent signee Garrett Temple, Will Conroy and Pops Mensah-Bonsu) is there except for Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Carl Landry and Kyle Lowry. It’s quite a sight to see these guys going at each other day after day and I’m happy to report that everyone clearly busted their butts to get into great shape for the upcoming season. Chuck Hayes in particular looks trimmed down and fantastic and it was no surprise to see his team (which also featured Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor, Temple and David Andersen) all four games I witnessed Tuesday. The Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen compared Hayes to Magic Johnson for his fearless forays which witnessed him going coast-to-coast on the break, and while that’s obviously a bit of playful hyperbole, it does speak to the fact that the Chuckwagon has clearly put in serious work this summer to get himself primed for a season when his team will need him more than ever.

What else stood out: Battier and Scola are in great shape as well; no surprise given the fact both guys are consummate professionals. No doubt Battier benefited from a full summer of rest and training, as opposed to last summer when he had to deal with rehab and a subsequent set-back in his recovery from offseason surgery. And speaking of being in tremendous physical condition, Trevor Ariza is a greyhound out there who can seemingly run for days without breaking a sweat. Also worth noting: he supposedly dominates the Rockets’ pre-scrimmage tag drills (brought to the team by new Director of strength and conditioning Darryl Eto) thanks to his incredible combination of quickness and length. Can’t wait to see how Coach Adelman unleashes Ariza this season.

As for the rookies, Taylor and Budinger look like classic Morey draft day steals. Budinger is just ridiculously smooth out there, always playing under control and making the right decisions. And while there’s no way he’ll come close to duplicating his jaw-dropping summer league percentages from three-point land (he shot .727 from beyond the arc in Vegas), his lightning-quick release outside jumper is still finding the bottom of the net far more often than not. Budinger is the first to admit that he needs to get stronger ("I'm playing against men now," he says) and there's no question expectations should be tempered until we see how he fares when the real games begin, but it's tough not to be tantalized by his potential. Taylor, meanwhile, is much more of a slasher, who’s carved-out-of-granite physique allows him to finish at the hoop even when sustaining copious contact. Don’t pencil him into the Von Wafer role just yet, but if he continues to progress, Coach Adelman has shown himself willing to give players opportunities on gameday once they earn them during practice.

Finally, don’t sleep on the newest signees, Garrett Temple and Will Conroy. Conroy tore up the D-league last year and really knows how to run an offense, while Temple is a smart, athletic guard with the potential to be a lockdown defender in this league some day. Right now they’re long shots to make the team simply because there’s not much wiggle room on the roster but both players have a lot of fans within the Rockets’ organization and if they don’t happen to stick coming out of training camp, rest assured Rockets’ brass will be keeping a very close eye on them should an opening appear later on.

One final note: All signs point to Tracy McGrady attending Houston’s Media Day, so everyone who’s been anxiously awaiting T-Mac news should find themselves sated next Monday.

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Pre-camp Rocket Updates

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