“The people we’re missing are huge pieces,” coach Rick Adelman said. “It’s one thing when you have Yao on the floor and Tracy, and you have a role that you do. Now, suddenly, we’re going to see who’s going to step up, see who’s going to make the leap, and we need that. We have to have that. It’s going to be interesting to watch the team progress.”
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Houston made some major moves to shore up its roster after
Ron Artest(notes) left to join the Lakers. The Rockets signed
Trevor Ariza(notes) away from the Lakers and he is expected to pick up the slack for McGrady.
“I can’t even explain how excited I am to have an opportunity to expand my game,” Ariza said. “That’s what every player really wants.”
To partially replace Yao’s production in the paint, Houston will count on a pair of foreign big men in
Luis Scola(notes) and
David Andersen(notes). Scola averaged 12.7 points and 8.8 boards last season for the Rockets while the slender, 6-11 Andersen was signed in August after a career spent mostly in Europe, including three Euroleague championships between 2001-08.
The Rockets are also counting on getting more from
Aaron Brooks(notes), who emerged to average 21.8 points in the games against the Lakers without Yao.
“Aaron has an opportunity,” Adelman said. “In the playoffs, he had big games and you want to see where his growth continues. It can’t be one game here, one game there. It’s got to be consistent, over the course of the season, every game.”
