Q&A With The Enemy: The Dream Shake
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The Lakers are set to play the Houston Rockets tonight to start off a very tough portion of their season. The upcoming stretch will most likely be the toughest four game stretch of the season as the Lakers face the Rockets, Spurs, Magic, and Cavaliers.
Once again, I contacted one of the great SB Nation blogs, this time The Dream Shake, a Houston Rockets blog. They have a great site and a loyal fan base. Luckily, they were willing to work with me and together we’ve assembled a nice round of questions and answers.
I also answered a few questions regarding the Los Angeles Lakers.
LABallTalk: How would you rate the big three’s progress this season? The Rockets are currently 23-15 compared to last year’s 20-18. Prior to the year starting the analysts predicted that the Rockets would be the team to beat due to the acquisition of Ron Artest. What are your thoughts?
The Dream Shake: When the big three have each been on the court for 20 games combined, can we really call that progress? I’m patiently (okay, not so patiently) waiting for Tracy, Ron, Yao… as well as Shane and the others… to get close to 100% healthy and we can finally see what the Rockets truly have on their roster. Right now, while 23-15 is better than the Rockets mark at this point last year (which was 20-18 following a loss to the Hornets), the general attitude is that this Rockets team is underachieving. Badly. The team has already found a way to lose to the short-handed Spurs, the Pacers, the Grizzlies, the Clippers, the Wi**rds, the Raptors and the 76ers. That’s seven games the Rockets had absolutely no excuse for losing. Not even with McGrady and Artest being injured should the Rockets ever lose those games. Nevertheless, there is reason for optimism. Guys like Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer, Luis Scola and Carl Landry have proven to be more than useful players on the roster. Further, the NBA schedule makers didn’t exactly do the Rockets any favors so far. Check out all the back-to-backs the team has had. It’s unfair. The good news is that as of January 26th, the schedule softens up. The Rockets could feasibly win every game from January 26th through March 3rd (just gotta beat Cleveland in Houston on February 26th). That would be a 16 game winning streak if my prediction holds up. I’ll take that…
LABallTalk: Do you see Ron Artest staying with the Rockets past this year?
The Dream Shake: Considering I do not even want to think about the alternatives… yes. Absolutely. I think there are maybe three things that would prevent Artest from signing a 3-year $30-35M deal with the Rockets: (1) Artest becoming frustrated with the team catering to Tracy McGrady’s crybaby attitude; (2) Daryl Morey deciding to go younger and make a run at a 2010 free agent (when McGrady, Battier and everyone not named “Yao” comes off the cap); and (3) Artest getting a bigger offer from, say, the Nets. Remember though, Artest is still on the good side of 30. The fans have truly embraced him in Houston. He’s been nothing short of a model citizen on the court and in the locker room. And he’s playing through pain… which is only magnified by McGrady moping around all the time. So, yes, I see Crazy Pills returning.
LABallTalk: What is the story with Dikembe Mutombo? Are you glad they resigned him? What does he bring to the team at this point?
The Dream Shake: Dikembe was not re-signed to play 20 minutes a night. I think we all know this. But yes, I am very glad we got him to return. The reason is not so obvious though. Deke’s true value is on the bench and in the locker room. And at practice. You see, aside from Yao, the tallest guy on the roster is Luis Scola, who might be 6’10″ on his tip-toes. It’s hard for Yao to practice shooting over 7-footers without one to bang on him in practice. This matters. Also, by all accounts, the Cookie Monster is quite a calming influence in the locker room. McGrady and Yao both greatly respect him. This also matters. Lastly, in the absolute worst case scenario… if Yao misses a few games, Deke can step in for 15 minutes and at least provide some semblance of a defensive presence in the post. I love what Scola, Landry and Hayes do… but none of them are tall enough or big enough to consistently defend the centers in this league.
LABallTalk: The win over the Celtics was really big last week. It was the first Rockets game that I watched of the season and they really seemed to take control when it counted most. Can you provide any thoughts on what a win like that does for this Rockets team? I know the Lakers played dominant for the next few games after they took out the Celts!
The Dream Shake: A couple big things to take from the Celtics game: First, Tracy McGrady did not play. It showed the rest of the team that they can win without their supposed best player. Also, it showed the Rockets they can grind out a tough, close game in the end. For players like Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer — both of who were on the court in crunch time, this is a great confidence boost. The coaches must really trust them (or Adelman is just asleep. One or the other.). I’d slow down in comparing the Rockets to the Lakers though. The Lakers are the best team in the league. And we’ll see this Tuesday how well the Rockets truly match up against an elite team. I think we have a good chance to pull out a victory since we are at home, but the Lakers aren’t in a backsliding mode like the Celtics are/were.LABallTalk: Do you feel that this team has what it takes to contend for the title or do they need to make some moves? Explain either argument.The Dream Shake: Contend? Absolutely. I think the roster is 95% intact. There might be a move here or there if someone gets injured, but I think Daryl Morey is content with who is currently on the team. Now, if the Bulls were to suddenly offer up Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah for McGrady and Rafer… I’d hope that Morey would seriously consider pulling the trigger on that deal. Yet I just don’t see that happening. At least not until the ’09 Draft in June. Moreover, the Western Conference simply isn’t as strong as it was last year, so the Rockets could get a top 3 seed by winning 55+ games. Homecourt didn’t help us the last two years against Utah, but I think the third time is a charm. And once the Yao/McGrady duo gets to the Second Round, I think you’ll see a whole new level of confidence from this Rockets team. Not unlike the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL playoffs… which would make the Rockets the proverbial “team no one wants to play in May.”
