The yellow storm in the NBA

On October 1, 2007, the Rockets officially assembled. Compared with last season, the Rockets this season have experienced a lot of personnel changes.

The original general manager Carroll Dawson retired, Damase Clay became the new general manager, and the head coach changed from the original Jeff Van Gundy to the current Rick Adelman.

Coach Van Gundy is a defensive-oriented head coach who pays more attention to the team's defense, while Adelman advocates the Princeton system and puts more emphasis on offense.

The change of head coach will inevitably lead to a change in the team's playing style, which requires the old players who have adapted to Coach Van Gundy's defensive-oriented tactics to re-adapt to the new coach's tactics. This will inevitably go through a period of running-in period, which will have an impact on the record.

Don't know what impact it will have.

There have also been great changes in terms of players. The original core player Tracy McGrady was traded in exchange for Josh Smith and this year's No. 3 overall pick Quan Xiao. In addition, Novak and Huo Ershu were also traded away from the team.

However, there are also new players added. Point guard Brooks was picked in the draft, Mike James and Carl Landry were traded, old player Steve Francis was signed, and power forward Luis Scola was introduced.

In addition to the newly introduced players, this year's Rockets are still in the playoffs.

On October 2, the Rockets held a press conference, which was also the team's media day. All players appeared for makeup photos, and new players also received their confirmed jersey numbers.

The current Rockets lineup is as follows:

Center: Yao Ming (11), Mutombo (55), Hayes (44)

Power forward: Josh Smith (5), Scola (4), Landry (14)

Small forward: Quan Xiao (27), Battier (31), Wells (6)

Shooting Guard: Hyde (2), Francis (3), Kirk Snyder (13)

Point guard: Alston (12), Brooks (0), Mike James (7)

This lineup is still competitive on paper, but the specific performance depends on the performance in the game, because there are many factors that affect whether the strength on paper can be fully utilized.

Having Yao Ming at the center position is naturally an advantage, but we have to pray that Yao Ming does not get injured, otherwise he will become a weakness at this position.

Don't worry about small forwards and shooting guards, because there are several people who can play these two positions. As for point guards, they are still a little weak.

Alston can only be said to be a qualified starter, Brooks still needs to grow up, and Mike James is no longer the courage he once was.

After several training sessions, Adelman

He has temporarily determined his starting lineup: point guard Alston, shooting guard Quan Xiao, small forward Shane Battier, power forward Josh Smith, and center Yao Ming.

This lineup seems to be balanced offensively and defensively. Yao Ming is a good scorer who averages more than 20 points per game. Alston is also a point guard who averages double figures per game. As for Quan Xiao, his performance in college is not weak in scoring, but specifically in the NBA

How much ability you can bring to the university remains to be tested.

Josh Smith was already able to average 16 points per game last season, and Battier did not average double figures per game. However, Battier has the ability to make three-pointers and can open up the space. In comparison, his defensive talents

It's what the team relies on more.

Of course, the defense may be slightly weaker than the offense. Yao Ming's defense is limited by his slow movement due to his height, and he has great flaws in assisting defense. Overall, he is above average.

Josh Smith's athletic ability is very strong, and his assist defense is very good. If he is paired with Yao Ming in the inside, he can form a good complement, and his blocking ability is even stronger than Yao Ming.

Quan Xiao's defensive ability is very reassuring, thanks to his super physical fitness. And Battier himself is a strong defensive player. The only loophole is Alston. The Streetball King's defense is a big colander.

Adelman himself is an offensive head coach, and this lineup is more in line with his requirements. And judging from the situation in training, this lineup is not inferior to most teams in the league in terms of offense.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Adelman won't change his lineup in the future, but it seems that this lineup is currently the strongest lineup the Rockets can field.

Once this lineup does not achieve the ideal state in his mind, the lineup will be readjusted until a satisfactory lineup is found.

After a week of training, everyone's condition is slowly improving, and their cooperation is becoming more and more tacit, and the preseason of the 2007-08 season is about to begin.

The Rockets have a total of 6 preseason games this year, namely against the Hornets on the 10th, the Mavericks on the 19th, the SuperSonics on the 21st, the Grizzlies on the 24th and 25th, and the Spurs on the 27th. After playing the Spurs, there are three days

Time to rest and adjust, then the opening game against the Los Angeles Lakers on the 31st.

The Rockets in the previous life had an astonishing 22 consecutive victories this season, and they achieved it even though Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady were constantly injured. This shows that the Rockets still have strength.

However, Yao Ming's average playing time this season was a career-high 37.2 minutes per game. It was precisely because of his excessive playing time that he suffered a stress fracture. As a result, he missed all the remaining games and was unable to play more in the season.

Going further, we have to

It's a huge regret.

The Rockets still have a fatal problem, which is that they habitually collapse in the third quarter, which is nicknamed the "Three Collapses" by fans. In fact, many times the Rockets play very well in the first half and can lead into the second half.

, but as soon as the second half comes, he will be defeated by his opponent and lose the game.

Therefore, Rockets fans often have to prepare quick-acting heart-saving pills when watching games, otherwise they would not dare to watch. Quan Xiao suffered from this in his previous life.

Since the Rockets formed the "Yao-Mai combination" in 2004, they have been able to reach the playoffs every year, but they have never been able to break through the first round. Ordinarily, with the strength of the two of them, they would not be unable to break through in the first round, but the reality is

So cruel.

The fundamental reason is that neither Yao nor Mai are suitable to be team leaders. This does not mean that they are not capable, but because of their personality.

Both of them have relatively gentle personalities, which is not to say that being gentle is bad. In daily life, gentle personalities are easier to get along with, but when it comes to the court, they need to be more domineering and tough to lead the team further. It's a pity.

But neither of them had such an awareness.

Now McGrady has been traded away from the team, but the Josh Smith who was exchanged is not enough to become the team leader. As for Quan Xiao, he is still a newcomer. Even if he is the third overall pick, he cannot be established as the core of the team all of a sudden. He needs to rely on him.

Use your own performance to fight for it.

The current Rockets are not the Rockets that Quan Xiao is familiar with, but as a member of them, Quan Xiao has the opportunity to change history. Now with this brand-new Rockets, Yao Ming definitely needs to take on more responsibilities, because he is the current Rockets

The Rockets' strongest and oldest player.

As a new coach, Adelman definitely wants to make breakthroughs, and the only person he can rely on most is Yao Ming. Therefore, it is foreseeable that Yao Ming's playing time will not be low in the new season.

But in fact, given Yao Ming's current physical condition, it is best to limit his playing time to about 30 minutes. Otherwise, it will inevitably lead to injuries, just like in his previous life, he suffered stress fractures due to overwork and missed the playoffs.

of all competitions.

Quan Xiao is aware of this situation, and he also wants to change it. The best way is of course to reduce Yao Ming's playing time, but he is not the coach and has no right to decide who plays for how long unless his performance is good enough and he is on the team.

You can give suggestions when you have enough voice.

Or just use your performance to help the team build an advantage in the game, thereby getting enough rest time for Yao Ming.

The new Rockets are about to usher in a new season and a new challenge! And Quan Xiao is also about to officially start his NBA journey!