Yes, the apathy has already sunk in. No, not the Rockets’. Don’t expect them to take even a single play off this entire year. We’re talking about my own apathy. Unfortunately, I’m pretty bored already and we’re only two games into the season.
I know I’m not alone. Watching the game last night, I had that “I guess I’ll watch but my heart isn’t exactly racing here over the outcome…wait, do I even want us to win?” feeling going on that I haven’t had since Stromile Swift still had potential.
Nothing against the Houston Rockets. They play a refreshing brand of ball that would put a smile on even Bobby Knight’s mug. I apologize, but it’s just hard to push from my mind the thought that at this time last year, we were in that glorious denial phase about Tracy McGrady’s injury and were still considered a legitimate threat to win the title. My God, what I would give for false hope and delusion right now.
As I said in my Houston Rockets season preview, what makes matters more difficult is that this team doesn’t have any high profile growth prospects. I can’t key in on one guy and tell myself, “okay, we’re going to suck, but this kid is fun to watch and…is going to take us to to the top within 5 years!” as was my in-game ritual from 1999-2002. Okay sorry, I’m ruining the fun for those of you still interested.
As is to be expected, we beat up on the utterly pathetic Warriors. They’re more talented, but they are young, undisciplined, and just overall completely suck. This is the type of team the Houston Rockets will feast on this year on their way to a range of 35-42 wins. This would probably be an appropriate time to admit that I wasn’t exactly upset when Aaron Brooks turned it over late to give the Warriors a chance. Yes, I feel a bit guilty. More on this later.
I should mention that, just two games in, I really, really like David Andersen. Yes, he might not ever become even average defensively but that’s irrelevant. He’s just a solid offensive player who I really think will be huge next year upon Yao’s return. He can shoot from the perimeter and has been showing off a very nice array of moves inside. Again, this is a 7 footer making $3million. Most 7 footers that can walk and chew gum at the same time are making at least twice that amount. I can’t begin to understand why some are actually complaining about his defense. He won’t exactly be asked to guard Dwight Howard when the games actually matter. He gives the team an option it didn’t have in the past when Yao was ineffective. The objective is to assess each part, not on the basis of its own independent merit, but in relation to the whole. The question isn’t whether he can fill Yao’s shoes or guard premiere ‘bigs.’ The question is whether he can be a legit option at the backup center position and be a reliable scoring threat off the bench. So far, it is looking very good. Another solid move by Daryl Morey.
Finally, Trevor Ariza has really been having a hard time holding onto the ball. This actually reached humorous levels last night. I’ll have more on this in-depth at a later time.
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