November 2, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious
The Houston Rockets are legitimate title contenders! Okay, okay, okay, I realize it has only been 2 games into this new NBA season, but someone look me right in the eye and tell me the Rockets don’t look sharp on both ends of the floor. The funny thing is when most people look back on the 2007-08 season for the Rockets they will remember ‘The Streak’. The Rockets went on an amazing 22 game win streak last year, second best in NBA history. However throughout the whole streak I couldn’t help but think in the back of my mind that the Rockets of 2008 had absolutely no chance to get by teams like the Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Spurs, and Suns come playoff time.
In comes Ron Artest in a trade with the Sacramento Kings this summer. Instantly people start talking about the Rockets in the mix of contenders with Boston, LA, New Orleans, and Utah. And for good reason, with the addition of Artest, Houston now has a “Big Three” of their own. The Celtics last year won the title with their big three, can the Rockets do the same this year?
Even though their opening night win was against a surely lottery bound team in Memphis, they still played a quality team in Dallas in game #2 and looked to have the type of camaraderie and chemistry between their stars that seemed to be so successful for Boston last year. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen immediately clicked on the court last year due to their common understanding of the urgency of their shared goal to win a title before its too late in their careers. The Celtics ‘Big Three’ seemed to pool their individual talents to collectively do something very special on the court as a team. That’s what the Rockets franchise is hoping Ron Artest, Tracy McGrady, and Yao Ming will do this year.
Well the Rocket’s ‘Big Three’ certainly seems to be on the right track, and it is all starting with Ron Artest. Everyone knows the danger of having Ron Artest on your roster is his knack for getting into trouble, both on and off the court. In many cases he has become such a distraction to the team that his obvious skills and benefits can’t seem to outweigh the risks of having him on the team. Just ask the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings what that is all about. However for the first time in Ron Artest’s career I have a feeling he has his eyes on the prize. He realizes what a golden opportunity he has this year being matched with TMac and Yao.
I mentioned camaraderie. Did anyone notice Ron Artest was the first one into the mix for the Rockets to pull Yao Ming out of a potential scuff with Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night? He may not have helped the immediate situation getting a technical for a little shove of Howard and J.Kidd, but he certainly sent a message to the big fella, Yao Ming, that ‘hey I got your back’. Ron Artest is one of the toughest most aggressive players in the league, and coming to a team that was often criticized for being ‘too soft’ last year in certain situations, he is definitely a welcome addition. I guess that’s why Dallas was trying so hard to pull off a trade to get Artest. They have the same reputation for being ‘soft’ or ‘weak’.
Only a minute later in the same game against Dallas on Thursday, Artest hit a huge three in clutch time to put the nail in the coffin of Dallas. What sparked my attention was the Tracy McGrady celebration and towel waving from the sideline, then running onto the court to chest bump and hug Artest. Did that not say chemistry to you? If you think back to only three or four years ago, there is no way you would have seen McGrady looking more than half asleep on the sidelines even if his team made a big play.
Again, McGrady, Ming, and Artest seem to all be on the same page and willing to sacrifice personal statistics or glory in order to gel as a unit and see how far they can take things this year. In the playoffs when every bounce or tip of the ball can have a dramatic effect on the game, I can’t guarantee the Rockets will win it all, but i’m damn sure that the Rockets will be their in the end of a series, win or loss, in a close battle with just about any team in the league.
~There is a new big three in town~
