open house

Open house at Toyota Center this saturday 11am-2pm. Guests will be able to meet with a Rockets sales representative to select their seats for the upcoming 2008-2009 Houston Rockets season. Full season tickets, half season, 14 game, and 6 game plans will all be available.

That's right lets pick some good seats ADDICTS!! We should try and get as many people to get the outskirts of the front row... that way only Rocket's ADDICTS will be that close...ALSO in case RON goes nuts and tries to jump in the stands again we can "TRY" and hold him back. Chances are that is not gonna happen again because of Ron's Comments.

"Whatever Yao Ming wants me to do, I'll be there. Whatever Tracy McGrady tells me to do, that's how it's going to go down. Ultimately, whatever Rick Adelman tells me to do is exactly what I'm going to do."

Hopefully they dont tell him to run in the stands and beat the shit out of this guy for talking shit.

Interview with Pistons owner Bill Davidson

I sure am a sucker for NBA interviews of any kind. Getting to read the actual words straight from the mouth of an NBA player or coach or owner is such an insight into the makeup of the league. That's why I love Eric Mussleman's Basketball Notebook and, to a lesser extent, player-blogs like Gilbert's.

I also love hearing knowledgeable and cantankerous old men give their honest opinions. Looks like I lucked out with this:

Mitch Ablum, sportswriter and author of 'Tuesdays With Morrie,' interviews Bill Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons and the WNBA's Detroit Shock.

TrueHoop

Here are some excerpts: (Q = Ablum, A = Davidson)

"Q: What do you look for during a game?

A: Well, I look for certain things, which are mainly fouls ... and, unfortunately, the referees are not what they should be -- although they're getting better. So I watch the referees. I watch who they are. There are certain referees -- when they come to our game -- you know you're gonna lose. And that should never be.

Q: What do you think of the whole Tim Donaghy scandal?

A: That's the tip of the iceberg with referees.

Q: Do the refs' calls upset you that much?

A: Yeah, it's what they call and when they call it -- and on whom they call it. And when you see what they do, you know that they're kind of taking over the game and making the outcome certain -- all they have to do is call a couple ticky-tack fouls on say, (Chauncey) Billups, and you're not gonna win that game.

Q: Have you voiced that concern to the commissioner?

A: (He laughs.) Daily!"

Modern Art

Also: Jason Friedman's Notes on Damon Stoudamire, Aaron Brooks and D.J. Strawberry at the Rockets' practice facility.

And my favorite Knickerbocker just blogged. (And, no, I did not read this before attributing "my favorite" to the link, he really has been my favorite. not much competition - 2nd place? david lee)

Yeah.

Gotta love them Lithuanians

"The Rockets also announced the hiring of Arturas Karnisovas as director of global scouting and international affairs.

"Karnisovas, a former European player of the year after his college career at Seton Hall, played professionally in Italy, Greece, Spain and France and was a two-time Olympic bronze medalist for Lithuania."

True-Blooded Rocket: Rafer Alston

(left: a true "point" guard)

Not many people had heard much about Rafer Alston, the NBA player, when he was acquired from the Toronto Raptors before the '05-'06 season. Being 'Skip to my Lou' was his claim to fame, and the AND1 stigma was hard to shake off; just as others had tried and failed in the past.
Could a flashy guard have a strong enough head to run an NBA offense?

This was the year after our disappointing first round exit to Dallas. That team was filled with veterans: Bob Sura, David Wesley, John Barry at the guard positions, and the organization quietly and quickly realized that they needed to begin rebuilding slowly but surely towards their goal of a T-Mac and Yao-led championship.

Jeff Van Gundy was beginning to recruit his "type" of players and set his sights on a solid passing point guard to defer to T-Mac and Yao - while still playing great defense. Rafer always had the speed and the handles, and over the course of the last 4 years he has proven that he was the perfect man for the job. Thank You, Jeff.

Rafer's success and his spot in our starting lineup is a concrete example of one the very FEW advantages to having an injury-plagued team. Bob Sura went down for good, and David Wesley began shooting himself into retirement; All of sudden Rafer was the best choice and the only choice the Rockets had.

In a year where Yao played only 57 games, and T-mac a mere 47, Jeff realized a championship was not a reasonable season goal. He began to work on the players he planned to use in the future. Injuries, the 40-point game-7 loss and the bad season record were alienating fans. All the while Rafer was showing that he was the best player on our depleted roster. A very important thing to understand is that our record was extremely misleading that year. Almost every single game was competitive and with almost nothing on our roster. Van Gundy's coaching was beginning to shine. In fact, he probably was completely happy with what his team gave him that year.

Heading into the '06-'07 season Rafer was our top runner, and we really felt that with a healthy team and what we built in '05-'06 we were already playoff material. Rafer went on to start ALL 82 games that season averaging the most minutes per game (37.1 minutes) on the team. His durability and reliability really made it possible for him to get better and our team to get completely comfortable with him. Unfortunately, Yao was injured again and only played 48 games. Although we would lose to Utah in 7 games, moving into the playoffs and being a few minutes from advancing was a step in the right direction from what was a rebuilding year just one year before. However, the Houston fans saw this as a huge disappointment and combined the last two years of let down with the previous 6 years - our team was unfairly criticized. Injuries were obvious reasons, but Rafer was always there, by proxy setting him up to be the scapegoat.

He is a very spotty shooter and always has been, but Jeff did not bring him here to be a third option scorer. There were still two positions (SF,PF) that were better suited for that role and Jeff began asking too much from Rafer without much choice. In the offseason Rafer was absolutely murdered by the Houston media and fans. His arrests and the Rockets' acquisitions: Steve Francis and Aaron Brooks, led many to believe that the Rockets organization was as ignorant as the fans themselves. But the facts always overshadow unfounded opinions, and Rafer EASILY beat out all competition. I emphasize easily because Rafer had an advantage. His two years of experience and the continuous lack of respect he received were two driving forces for Rafer's success that training camp - no one came close.

It wasn't until the 22-game winning streak that Rafer was finally absolved from the AND1 stigma, and all the haters really couldn't find anything to complain about. It is true that he was at his best, but his tough NBA journey led him to this inevitable year.

I first noticed how vital he was to this team in a game against New Orleans on Feb. 3 in the '06-'07 season. In the first quarter, Rafer was ejected along with a New Orleans scrub. An unusually healthy Rockets team had no flow or chemistry or any chance to win that game. This wasn't the New Orleans of last year or even the Chris Paul of last year. If that wasn't enough, then everybody could see his impact when a "better scoring" guard (Bobby Jackson) was forced to lead the Rockets in the first two playoff games last season. He led us right into an impenetrable 0-2 deficit.

My final point is understanding the value in terms of money with a player like Alston. Unselfish, intangible-driven players like Alston are usually undervalued and underpaid in the NBA. We now have 3 superstars and a rising star in Scola. Oh, and Battier isn't exactly a scrub either. Who could we possibly get that would be better? Everyone you could name would be either an elite point guard who plays the role of T-Mac for their respective team while getting paid near the same, or a better scoring point guard who is 3 years behind Rafer's experience and chemistry with the our team. Trading Rafer will never work out for the best. We have the best point guard in the league for the roster we have and that we can afford. We are not the Yankees, and this is not baseball.

'05 -'06 was not only the year we found our point guard, but the same year we brought in two rookies that would get a similar opportunity to succeed due to injuries...

...And the Rockets select Luther Head from Illinois to be the next True-Blooded Rocket.

Submitted by Earnie Banks

Yao, T-Mac Wireless at Rookie Game (last year)

VIDEO OF THE DAY



Notice Scola is not singing. He definately doesn't know the national anthem, he probably does now but i give him credit for tryin to mouth it then.

I wonder what Kevin Durant's shoes are going to look like.

Basketbawful: Weed, Plyometric Jumpsoles and Kevin Mchale's post moves.

The polls are in, and here's what we've got. Ron and Rafer dominate the "most minutes" category, while Yao and Tmac could both be looking at some bench time. Luis is somewhere in the middle. The most overwhelming vote was for Shane to play the least. I'm sure I voted like three times for Shane to play the least, but do we really want to kick this dude off the court?

VIDEO OF THE DAY: RON ARTEST MIX 1

This song didn't make me laugh, just cry with pleasure from the crazy defense he plays.

I don't enjoy bragging about my prediction about Dennis Rodman.......okay, alright, maybe I do, but when I posted that, I really felt the need for that kind of player on the court for us. And it looks like Ron Artest is the answer. We need a new nickname for him.

Raise your hand if you're giddy!!

Chemisty is in fact Rocket Science

It obvious now that Houston fans are satisfied with our core group of guys: T-mac, Yao, Artest, Battier, Scola, Brent Barry and Skip. Our core of eight has proven its skill and is without question comprised of championship talent. The issue now is putting it all together and having championship chemistry.

Fortunately, the Rockets have been quietly building a solid bond. That cohesion may have been the main reason for our 22-game winning streak and our 55-win season. If you remember, we only had about four of those core guys through the streak and pulled off the unthinkable - How is this possible?

The answer isn't as easy as just Adelman's system or a soft schedule. Adelman would be the first to tell you the answer is found in what was there BEFORE he got here, with the small exception of Carl Landry (who is just a freak).

This Rockets team is more than our mega-stars and all-stars. We have built strong chemistry over the years with our younger, unproven players. These players will be as vital to our future success as any of our core guys.

Championships are not just the playoffs or your playoff positioning. It is through practice, early season chemistry and withstanding the rigged 82 game season that we will see our championship-caliber team emerge.

In the wake of training camp, I am going to remind Rockets fans who these vital pieces are and why they will be playing important minutes for the Rockets in the 2008/09 season. These players are far from being "question mark players" and have been underrated and over-ridiculed for a long time now. In my Addict opinion, this championship-caliber team began taking shape during the 05-06 season.

Check back this week for the first true-blooded Rocket(TBR) to be profiled on Addicts: Rafer Alston.


Submitted by: Earnie Banks

New Look

If you haven't noticed, we here at RA are trying to keep it g-a-n-g-s-t-a by adding some throwback colors.

About two months until the season tips off. When that glorious time comes, we'll be going through game-by-game coverage, rankings, ramblings - very gangsta.

Enjoy the videos and sporadic blurbs. Let's get psyched for '08-'09.

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NBAtv Olajuwon On His Title Run

Jason Friedman interviews D.J. Strawberry

I'm not personally too opinionated on the matter, but I know my friend Steve and fellow addict Rob have had this discussion before:

"JCF: Are you a Live or 2K guy for basketball?
DJ: I’m a Live guy, personally.
JCF: Oh no.
DJ: (laughs) I can’t get into the 2K. I don’t know why. Probably just because I grew up with Live. I’ve heard 2K is good, I’ve just never really played it much. Maybe I’ll have to check it out.
JCF: You have to. It’s way more realistic than Live."

Tracy McGrady

hahah

top 100 TMAC DUNKS....




I think I only pick videos that make me laugh with the music. So please if your making highlight vids put something that will catch my attention.

Tracy is gonna be so sick this year with ron on the court. It is going to open up his game so much.Quick Question:::: When he had on Vince Carter on the court with him, do you think it opened up the lane for him more? I am trying to find his game highlights from when they played together.

If it DID open up the lane for him more, I am thinking Tracy is going to have 86 dunks this year! That is 43 more than he had last year, and 224 less than "Superwoman" had last year.Dwight Howard is no threat at all for Yao Ming. He lacks "killer instict" says Ewing.



Tracy has had better dunks than Dwight Howards.....throw downs.... I still don't think that was a dunk. He deserved to win, but it wasnt that crazy spectacular flying through the air BS.