long time reader, first time poster. Regarding this season, it was a great season despite the first round loss. Of course the 22 game win streak was a big reason why. I never liked the bonzi trade. mike james woulda done the same work bobby jackson did, so it was like givin bonzi away. I guess bonzi never lived up to expectations, just like stromile swift, but i woulda liked to see him with the team….and he was always a spurs killer.

regarding next season. my take on the roster is this. Yao obviously in the middle. Scola and Battier at the forwards. Battier is highly limited on offense, but his 3 pt shootin is always timely, he’s a team player and he plays solid D. I do hate when Battier posts. His left handed hook does not seem very accurate. i would like to see TMac paired with Yao for one more season. i really feel Tmac gets a bad rap. yes he takes too many jumpers and doesnt’ drive enough. yes his free throw shooting is poor for an elite player. the difference between him and kobe is the accuracy. kobe shoots a higher FG % and FT %. but then how many kobe’s are there in the league. if i recall, Tmac also had a huge game 7 last year vs Utah. and i think Tmac also played great in that dallas series. the man can only do so much. the key is i feel yao is much improved from 2 seasons ago. his stats are similar, but its beginning to become more yao’s team rather than tmac’s. finally alston. i was just like you, wanted alston out. but he has won me over this season. rafer beat out all the guards houston brought in and has time and again proved his doubters wrong. rafer’s shootin still needs improvement. lets hope he can continue to play like this and not return to the old rafer. if only him and tmac can both improve there FG % by 3-5% and there FT % by 5-10 %. so the starting 5 shall remain intact.

the backups??
backup point - aaron brooks. give him a chance
backup sg - steve francis. i hope he returns
backup sf - steve novak. why can’t he play a kyle korver type role
backup pf - landry. hope he can return to what he was during that 22 game win streak. i think he can do it. utah is a bad matchup for landry cuz they are very physical. landry i feel can get his hustle boards over most west teams. and can get those game changing dunks vs most of them as well. utah does not give up layups so gettin a dunk on them is very hard.
backup center -Deke. we’re not askin deke to play 20 -24 min like he was this season near the end. 10-15 min outta deke would be fine. and somtimes we could go small with scola and landry.

luther head needs to go. we’ve given him plenty of opportunities. i like the guy, but he just can’t get it done.
chuck hayes needs to go as well. although, if he’s the 11th or 12th guy off the bench, i guess its not so bad.

the team did well this season, but obvioulsy the loss of yao hurt. we never got to see the 22 game win streak team in the playoffs. with scola starting and yao back, why not give this roster another chance. and if stevie franchise can come back and become any semblance of what he was……that may be the secondary playmaker the rockets need.

in closing, thanks for the great work john. you are one dedicated individual. one questoin for you……what are your thoughts about steve francis?? is he returning?? would u like to see him return? do u think he can be productive? everyone mentions the bonzi trade, the yao injury and the rafer injury. but noone really mentions francis.

Hey David, welcome to YaoMingMania and thanks for your first post. I agree with you on the Mike James and Bobby Jackson similarities. They were pretty close, but I guess in their scouting reports Bobby Jack had a slight edge, but probably not significant.

Thanks for the compliment about my work. I appreciate that. — John

When they pulled within one point, I was elated and thought they were going to make it. But it was not going to be. Anyhow, the team actually achieved more than anyone predicted they could after Yao’s injury. So, we could not fault them too much. As I wrote previously, they should find a good backup for Yao. In addition to your suggestion, ie. keeping him as a third string backup, I would suggest that due to his incredible contribution in the locker room, perhaps hire him as an assistant coach may not be a bad idea.

Anyway, thank you for all you have done and - have a good summer! I will come back here often to check up on your news stories especially on Yao’s contribution to the Olympic team.

Thanks, Luckyme. You’re welcome. About Deke: I don’t think he would be interested in an assistant job. He is set with enough money, the job is a lot of work, and I think he’s probably more interested in continuing his philanthropy.

If the Rockets had Yao but not T-Mac I’m not sure they would have even made the playoffs. He’s the MVP.

Thanks for the compliment. For the record, Rafer was not treated unfairly at the beginning of the season. He was terrible. Even the front office thought he was bad before the season by bringing in Mike James and Steve Francis. But I have said many times that he should have been a serious candidate for Most Improved Player within the same season, which would be a first. When fans are critical of players, most of the time it is because they are trying to light a fire underneath them to get better. Rafer responded; unfortunately Luther Head has not. So should the Rockets keep Luther because he’s the victim of unfair criticism? Should fans never criticize players? Who really knows if criticism is fair or not? Is Bobby Jackson really that bad? I say let the fans say what they want (like you have done here with other players) since the players should be strong enough to handle it. Plus, they get paid millions of dollars - I’d gladly sign up for that kind of scrutiny to be set for life for a couple of years of work.

Thanks Brian. That means alot to me. — John

A little disappointed we could not go further. But very hopeful for this group of players. Well, with some adjustments over the summer. I think we will come back stronger.

Thanks, JW. Your continued reading means alot to me. — John

It will be an exciting season, with a healthy Yao, a team that has had the time to gel and to understand the scheme under a new coach, and promissing rookies getting some exposure and experience.

It absolutely will be an exciting season next year. And thanks for the compliment. — John

However the one thing on my mind is… that couldn’t of been the ending of Dikembe Mutumbo’s career right? Everyone must admit that his age is catching up to him, but would the front office actually keep him on the Roster if he does choose to come back? I know he is loved by everyone and is a great role model and supporter in and out of the locker room, but can the Rockets afford the space on the Roster to bring him back?

Lastly… “IMHO they have too many fans who are a bunch of white trash losers (there, I said it!). I’ve never seen an uglier lot (both physically and class-wise), like when they cheered after Alston sprained his ankle and hobbled to the locker room. That’s just one example of how low-class many of them are. Losers.” I could not agree with you more John… this Jazz team with Harpring, Okur, AK, Boozer, and Deron looks so shady and dishonest which showed from the “few” times that they WERE actually caught. This team kinda reminds me of what a hardened and disciplined Denver team could become if they took it under the table more. As for the fans, probably 3/4 of them are 45+ blue collared Caucasians with a couple wives of the same group. And to think… these are the only classless people that the Jazz have to call fans, what a pity. As for now… I’ll be showing my hometown Lakers a little love on their way to demolishing the Jazz. And I bet there won’t be any Jazz jerseys compared to all those Rockets jerseys over here when Houston plays at Staples Center.

Once again, a big THANK YOU everyone who has provided us a great place to find all the Rockets Videos, Pictures, Interviews, etc. throughout this year.

Thanks for the nice things you said about me. Thanks to all of you who kept coming back to read my posts. You made it easier for me to push through the fatigue.

It will be interesting to see what they do with Deke, and if he even wants to return. He’s such a liability on offense, fumbles the ball too much, and he’s starting to miss getting rebounds he used to get so easily. But he can still get lots of rebounds and can block shots. And his locker room presence is incredible. The Rockets would probably make him their 3rd string center after getting Yao a younger backup center, play him minimum minutes, and pay him the minimum salary since they’re going to need every dollar they can to pursue a free agent or two. I just wonder if Deke would want that. — John

I have enjoyed this season the most. Some of the best memories were the 22-win streak, the big numbers that Yao was putting up, The play of “Carluis Scolandry”, the emergence of Alston, and others. I really hope that everyone can stay healthy next year. I believe if for one season that all the key players are healthy, the Rockets would have a good chance of winning it all.

Thanks for your work throughout the season, John. I can’t believe that you have been doing this for six years now! I will check back here from time to time during the off-season, but I will see you and all of the other Rockets and YaoMania fans in November!

Here is that classic saying again: Better luck next year!

I feel the same way you do — this isn’t as bad as last year’s Game 7 loss at home. As Peter Vescey said last night on NBA TV, after Alston went out, the Rockets had no chance. When the national media recognizes that Yao and Rafer being out was too much to overcome, it makes you realize there was no way they could have done much more, and that in life, “stuff happens.”

Thanks for your kind words, AirChina23. Six years is a long time. I appreciate it. — John