| Rockets Acquire Ron Artest |
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| Written by Phil Partington | |
| Wednesday, 30 July 2008 | |
 The Rockets have badly needed additional fire power to help Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady out. Many have given “T-Mac” the label of choke artist for his lack of team success in the playoffs. However, this really isn’t very fair, as he hasn’t ever been in a situation where his team was – on paper – the better team. Though the Rockets were impressive last season, and even won 22-straight games at one point (second best winning streak in NBA history), they fall short when compared to the top teams of the West. First, the team was without Yao in the playoffs this season and had to rely on an average-at-best supporting cast. Luis Scola has proven to be a solid contributor, and Shane Battier may be the most underrated defender in the league, but Rafer Alston is an inconsistent floor general, Jackie Butler is an underachiever, and Dikembe Mutombo is older than dirt. Not only does the additional of Artest bring another star caliber player to the Rockets’ arsenal, but it also gives them a player with a new kind of swagger and toughness that they’ve badly needed. As much as Artest might bring off court baggage with him, he also brings top-notch defense (imagine pairing Artest with Battier), a viable third-option scorer and great versatility. Potential Starting Five: Center, Yao Ming; Forwards, Luis Scola and Ron Artest; Guards, Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady; Sixth Man, Shane Battier. What this trade means for Sacramento Donte Greene caught a lot of attention after scoring 40 points in an NBA summer league game. Of course, one can never really gauge a player’s ability through those games, but it’s still rather impressive. Greene slipped in the 2008 NBA Draft to the late first round, but has immense potential and a nice looking shot. The Kings will have him to go along with John Salmons at the small forward position. Last year, Salmons showed a lot of skill when Artest wasn’t able to play. Point guard Bobby Jackson used to play for the Kings during their “glory years” in the late 90’s. With Mike Bibby now in Atlanta, the Kings need support at the point spot and will be happy to have Jackson to back up Beno Udrih. Potential Starting Five: Center, Brad Miller; Forwards, Jason Thompson (or Mikki Moore) and John Salmons; Guards, Beno Udrih and Kevin Martin; Sixth Man, Fransisco Garcia.         Set as favorite Bookmark Comments
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