It's Here!

The regular season begins in a couple of hours and I can tell you, it's about damn time! I love this game!

It's time for my annual preseason predictions. The Rockets got better this year:

• Courtney Lee will be at least as good as Trevor Ariza was last year, if not better.
• Yao Ming will stay vertical for a full season (though he may miss a game or two here and there) and he will be good to go for the playoffs. His presence alone makes this team 5 games better. It would be more if he wasn't restricted to 24 minutes per game.
• Aaron Brooks is just coming into his prime and is constantly gaining experience.
• Chase Budinger will have a breakout season and show marked improvement.
• Kyle Lowry is only getting better and may be the best guard on the team once he gets healthy.
• Patrick Patterson shows great potential for the future but barring injuries at the forward position, will not see all that much action this season.
• Ish Smith may be faster than even Brooks, yet shows fine court judgement for a rookie point guard. He would play big minutes on any team that did not already have Brooks and Lowry. I hope the Rockets send him to the Valley for some seasoning in the Adelman system.
• Battier says he feels fine, but he is getting a little long in the tooth to maintain the defensive brilliance he once enjoyed. He will be just about as good as he was a year ago.
• Luis Scola is in a similar situation, though a bit younger than Shane. Scola will be as dependable as ever.
• Chuck Hayes is returning to his natural position to backup Scola at power forward. He is an over-achiever that inspires a team. Hayes will have a fine year.

There are several question marks for the 2010-11 season:

• Jermaine Taylor has yet to show the discipline and consistency necessary in an NBA player. I don't see that changing.
• Jarred Jeffries is a journeyman and I have serious doubts that he will ever get beyond that status. He was aquired to make the McGrady trade work and has only one year remaining on his overpriced contract.
• Jordan Hill has potential, which is a kind way of saying "You ain't done squat yet." Adelman seems frustrated with him. Hill would benefit from some time with the Vipers.
• Brad Miller is getting old and was never fast, but he may fit in perfectly with this team and coaching staff. Brad will be important to the team this year. He is a distinct improvement over David Andersen and his experience makes him almost another coach on the court.
• That brings us to the biggest question mark of all and the most important: Kevin Martin. Martin can score in bunches or shoot himself out of the game. He gets the occassional steal, but often disappoints on defense. Whether or not the Rockets go far in the playoffs this season depends a lot on Kevin achieving a level of consistency and developing the Rockets' win-at-all-costs attitude. I predict he will be good, but not great.

Final analysis? The Rockets will win 50 games and make the conference finals, but the Lakers will ultimately beat Miami for the NBA title.