2012 Houston Rockets Season Preview

[78#]

Hello everyone. Thank you all for being here. We're really excited for the upcoming season. Last year we ended the season strong and got the 7th seed in the West for our their straight playoff appearance. After stealing game one on the road at the Clippers, we unfortunately lost some close games the rest of the way due to the great Kevin Durant. However, the offseason was very beneficial for us from the draft thru training camp.

With the 14th pick in the draft, we selected guard Patrick Beverly from Arkansas. We really like what he's capable of defensively and offensively, and plan to make him our backup combo guard.

In free agency, we add Zoran Planinic who will get quality minutes as a backup wing. We also traded for backup guard Jodie Meeks who could find minutes off the bench as a shooter.

Training camp was very good for us. We saw big improvements from Al Horford and Ty Lawson who we have built this team around. We also saw improvements from our 3 previous draft picks in Lance Stephenson, Bismack Biyombo, and Patrick Beverly. The big key here in the improvements in potential from Biyombo in scoring and especially defensively where he could be a top 5 defender in the league and potential max level player to go along with his athleticism. We also saw improvements from key veterans in Ike Diogu, Ronnie Brewer, and Marcus Banks who will continue to start this season along with Horford and Lawson.

We've slowly tried to build this team from the draft as well as signing key players to fit right away without hamstringing the payroll long-term. Six of our 11 players have come from the draft and this will be our 7th consecutive season to avoid the luxury tax. We also return our top six players for the second consecutive season which is why our cohesion is good so far.

So our depth chart will look like this.

Center - Al Horford will be the anchor down low. He is a good all-around player and continues to improve each season. Not only is his defense and rebounding becoming elite, he's improved tremendously on the offensive side of the player. We think he can approach being a 20/10 player this season. His backup will be the reliable Eddie Griffin who brings defense and rebounding.

Power Forward - Ike Diogu will be our guy again this season. He is another guy who can be a 20/10 scorer and he improved his post defense this offseason. We were glad he accepted his player option. We also look for Griffin to be his backup.

Small Forward - The athletic, defensive-minded Ronnie Brewer. He was a no brainer as far as accepting his team option. We think he can improve offensively this season as well so we're excited to bring him back. Zoran Planinic and Griffin will vye for backup minutes here.

Shooting Guard - Marcus Banks is returning again and we're excited to see what he can do in year two. He can score, handle the rock, and defend while being very athletic. We're also hoping he can approach being a 20 point scorer this season. Patrick Beverly is the backup here.

Point Guard - Ty Lawson of course. He's improved every season and we're also hoping he can be a 20 point scorer as well as improve his assist totals and steals. His potential is unlimited and he's improved each season. Beverly is the obvious backup here.

[false9]

Lack Zowe, Landgrant:

The West is loaded again, and it will be a bloodbath for every playoff spot. What are your expectations this year?

[78#]

Lack Zowe, Landgrant:

The West is loaded again, and it will be a bloodbath for every playoff spot. What are your expectations this year?

Thanks for the question. We definitely expect to make our 4th straight playoff appearance, but this team with a winning record and higher side. However we know the competition is improving not only our conference, but especially our division. We need to improve tremendously on the offensive side of the player while continuing to approach a top 5 defensive squad.

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: The phrase "20 ppg scorer" seemed to come up quite often in your lineup description. Is that indicative of a shift to a more all-around offensively-focused gameplan, as opposed to the primarily post-based, defense/rebounding strategy that Houston's historically been known for?

[78#]

Random Reporter: The phrase "20 ppg scorer" seemed to come up quite often in your lineup description. Is that indicative of a shift to a more all-around offensively-focused gameplan, as opposed to the primarily post-based, defense/rebounding strategy that Houston's historically been known for?

Our offense has definitely changed since the days of Shaq or the days of Big Z/CWebb where we did pound the rock to one or two scorers. The last two seasons we haven't had a primary scorer, but instead focused on ball movement and looking for the best shot available. We do have guys who can score, but we're focusing on ball movement and good looks.

[garbageman]

While Patrick Beverley looks to be seeing minutes right away, how far off do you see Bismack Biyombo and Lance Stephenson from getting minutes?

[78#]

While Patrick Beverley looks to be seeing minutes right away, how far off do you see Bismack Biyombo and Lance Stephenson from getting minutes?

Those two will get some playing time this season, but I look for them to get backup minutes next season or possibly starting.

[C-Prej]

Your Bigs are getting older do you have plans to acquire youth at the positions?

[WigNosy]

How worried are you that other GMs around the league have caught on to Ronnie Brewer's defensive value and you won't again be able to sign him to a contract that many feel had him underpaid these last few years in Houston?

[78#]

Your Bigs are getting older do you have plans to acquire youth at the positions?

We do have Horford and Biyombo as long-term options. Question will be whether we bring back Griffin or try to re-sign Diogu in the offseason.

[78#]

How worried are you that other GMs around the league have caught on to Ronnie Brewer's defensive value and you won't again be able to sign him to a contract that many feel had him underpaid these last few years in Houston?

Ronnie's entering his 7th season with us and he's been a good soldier us. However, we're not going to get away from our cap formula so if he takes a contract which is higher than we're willing to pay him, so be it. We will always look for bargain types to fill around our main core in Horford, Biyombo, and Lawson. Plus we feel like Lance Stephenson will be an impact player soon.

[Eazy P]

The training camp gods blessed you the season, How do you feel and changes you made to your training program or did you make changes to your training staff?