Team can compete w/o Yao.

[rocketsballin]

yeah thats right about brooks. i thought the team got him to be rafer alston''s replacement. and he did just that last season and he did it well and even better when it matters most, (cough YAO MING cough) in the playoffs.

he showed in both series he can score efficiently, dominate the 3pt line, and most important...play the point well. he's not the best pg, but he can most definently be a starting pg, especailly if he continues to get better.

w/ no yao, and tmac playing half a season, brooks has a big oppuritunity to establish himself in the league, maybe as an all star. if not just a solid starting pg, which I think he'll be. too small for an all star, unless he's the next iverson, which is good good for us .

he has more potential, finished his 2nd season. he exceeded expectations in the playoffs. w/ the league getting stacked, he could become a jason terry player for houston. hopefully he could get on the steals, if not o well. houstons gonna need offense w/ no yao, and possibly no tmac. brooks can be the leading scorer if the teams rebuilds.

im high no brooks he best be higher on himself

[Teckon]

Just read the article from Jason Friedman, Rockets.com Staff Writer on his view of the coming season for the rockets. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets ... 22-34.html

The idea of a team deciding to tank the upcoming season in July is absolutely absurd; especially for a club which went 2-2 against the eventual champion Lakers without the services of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Sure, the Rockets are a couple pieces away from true title contention at the moment, but they have too many solid players and too good of a coaching staff to completely fall into disarray. Besides, I’d love to see what happens to the person who volunteers to tell guys like Shane Battier, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks that they’re supposed to lay down and let opponents walk all over them this season. I’m guessing that poor unfortunate soul would leave that discussion looking worse than Frank Mir after his grudge match against Brock Lesnar.

Then there’s this: Tanking doesn’t guarantee you anything since there’s no way to ensure you come away with a top-3 pick (just ask Sacramento). Actually, check that. Tanking does guarantee you something: bad box office, lost jobs and miserable morale. Who in their right mind would willingly sign off on that course of action? In July no less?!? Something else to consider: A joyless, listless, lifeless season doesn’t exactly add to a team’s attractiveness when it comes time to court free agents. And given the bumper crop of potentially available players in the summer of 2010, it would be an egregious mistake to intentionally do anything that might adversely affect one’s ability to woo a player from that class.

Again, let’s keep in mind how well the Rockets have performed in years past without their big guns and the fact that we’re not even in August yet, meaning there’s still plenty of time for this roster to be massaged and manipulated between now and the February 2010 trade deadline. Then take a hard, honest look at the Western Conference. Right this second, you’d have to say the top-6 looks something like this (in no particular order, and with the usual caveat that injuries or some other form of bad luck will probably strike at least one of these teams): Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Mavs, Jazz and Blazers. That would leave the Rockets fighting with squads like Phoenix, New Orleans, the Clippers and Thunder for one of the last two spots. Do any of those clubs strike you as being head-and-shoulders above Houston right now? They don’t to me, and I’m not exactly known as Mr. Optimism around these parts.

To repeat: This is an admittedly pointless exercise to conduct on July 21st. But if nothing else, it should serve as a sharp rebuke to the idea of tanking, and a clear signal that it’s far too early to abandon all hope for a postseason appearance in 2010.

[old rem]

I really don't get the lottery predictions. I still think we're better than the Suns, ergo, last seed.

Unless T-Mac can play better than 2/3 of the season.....It's hard for the Rockets to makle the playoffs.

The Warriors,Thunder,Wolves are all stocked with young,rising talent. The Rockets? Brooks might be the high scorer. That's trouble. Pretty much everybody has more firepower. I agree the Suns are sliding...but Nash and Amare and J Rich are still there....They will be able to score.

It's a good year to bag a lotto pick,Houston needs to replace T-Mac's scoring and probably should rest Yao more. Just making the 8 seed would be an achievement but no way will the Rox have the firepower to beat a 1 seed.

[Anti Chalmers]

I think houston will put up a good fight for the final playoff spot. This time has alot of heart and who knows, maybe Ariza will have a breakout season.
I'm a celtic/magic fan but houston is my 3rd favorite team so im rooting and hoping the best for you guys!

[Munchlaxatives]

The team that took the Lakers to 7 didn't have Yao. I might be in the minority, but I don't think we take them to 7 with Yao. With Budinger taking Barry's Spot and Dorsey an able body, we're better than that team. The Brooks/Lowry combo will have a full season at PG and David Anderson isn't the worst starting center in the league. We won't have offense-killing moments from Artest, but we won't have his offensive output from Ariza either. Whether it cancels out, we'll see.

[The Skyhook]

Its going to be a real battle for Houston to make it to the playoffs. It is doable however. The guys on this team have what it takes. They took a Lakers team to 7 games. There was no Tmac and Yao when they went to game 7. This team went on a crazy winning streak without Yao. I don't know how they do it but that sure as hell takes great chemistry and a lot of heart. Something this team has so I wouldn't count out the Rockets yet. Plus you guys might make some moves with Tmacs expiring.

[Clip34life]

Rockets have a decent young core. They just need a dynamic SG and a center to replace Yao.