Do you fear the Rockets?

[milesfides]

It's really Mutumbo and Shane Battier who make a major impact defensively.

Regardless of which coach they play for, those two will always play great defense: Mutumbo in the paint, Battier on the perimeter.

Edit: Actually that's not true, Scola's also played good defense, as has Landry.

[Sedale Threatt]

One thing to consider about the Adleman aspect is that, while that is true, and even as a Rockets fan I feel as many of you seem to re: offense-only teams, this is also a team which had been in JVG's hands for the past few years.

A lot of defense is about habits, and the Rockets are still mostly in the habit of playing great defense. In fact, while I didn't anticipate this kind of string, certainly not without Yao, I definitely felt the Rockets had the makings of a magical second half. You take a team with a great defensive coach and put them in the hands of an offensive guy, and you can sometimes get that special mix of great defensive awareness and work ethic with offensive flow and a sense of freedom.

Think the Pistons the year after LB left. Sure, they didn't repeat, but during the regular season they were even better than during their championship year, because they still played LB D while Flip opened them up on offense. It usually doesn't last much longer than a season, maybe a season and a half, but during that time, if you have talent, you can do some pretty special things.

Good points regarding JVG's lasting impact; I think I read a similar theory somewhere else, maybe SI.com.

My biggest beef with Adelman isn't necessarily that his teams have tended to be one-dimensional -- although that isn't exactly a strong suit -- but that they almost always lack toughness, particularly of the mental variety.

I think that stems directly from him. One of my enduring images of Adelman is that of him standing with his arms folded, shaking his head and smirking as he pleads for the officials to bail his team out from another meltdown. Players notice, and they follow suit.

Maybe he's learned his lesson, and this Rockets team is different. Certainly, they've shown a tremendous amount of resolve to absorb such a massive loss as Yao in stride. Twenty-one victories in a row -- I don't care if you're playing the Washington Generals, the achievement speaks for itself.

But considering Adelman's history, he's still got plenty to prove.

[Slava]

Trade Tracy and build around Yao? Think again Houston, McGrady has finally started playing like the McGrady of the old. He's been scuppered for too long by injuries and a lot worse but I just hope he keeps it all together from now on, he hasn't really done justice to his potential.

[Sofa King]

Fear this when your wife prefers this over you.