My Suggestions For Kevin McHale

     Last night, the Rockets beat the Blazers 126-113. We played well and all, but I have some suggestions for Kevin McHale going forward.

     For Kevin McHale, I think that he should try to make the Rockets into a more defensive minded team. We've been giving up 102 points per game which is 22nd in the league. When we get steals, we get to run in transition which is our specialty just we haven't been able to do it as much this year. We are a good enough offensive team that if we hold a team under 90 points, we will most likely win. On offense, we need Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones to score more consistently. When they are both on their games, we win most of the time because we are already a pretty good outside team and when Jones and Howard play well, they give us the inside presence that we need. So on offense, we need to work the ball inside more often and overall, we need to be more of a defensive minded team.

     To sum it up, I think we've been playing great team basketball lately. Hopefully, Kevin McHale can use my suggestions to make the Rockets a better team and that we can continue playing well.

   

Meeting my Favorite Rockets Players at the Rockets Game

     I had the most incredible time at the Rockets game last Saturday night. We got group tickets as a reunion with some of our family friends. The Yuhans from California and the Jungs from Houston. We went to the game early before the doors opened to try to get some autographs and see the players warm up. Right as the doors opened, we went straight to the bottom of the court and right when we got there we surprisingly saw Chandler Parsons, Aaron Brooks, James Harden, and Dwight Howard warming up. When they started leaving the court, I got Chandler Parsons's autograph and even got a fist bump from Aaron Brooks! Then we went to check out the store, got some food, and then went to our seats that we would be watching the game from.

     The game was awesome! We were playing against the Pelicans. It was close all the way until the end when the Rockets started pulling away. Jeremy Lin and James Harden both made huge shots at the end which got me on my feet. It was a very exciting game and fun to watch.

     After the game, my dad's friend, Uncle Peter worked it out with Josh Fan (Jeremy Lin's trainer) to get us guest passes to go down to the court. Right when we got there, we saw Darryl Morey, the Rockets GM. We said hi to him and my two brothers and I took a picture with him. After waiting there for about twenty minutes longer, we saw Jeremy Lin! Luckily, Uncle Peter is friends with him so he came right over to us. There were a lot of other people waiting in line and he wanted to see us, so he took us a few steps inside of the tunnel. We talked for a little bit and then my brothers and I took another picture, but this time with Jeremy Lin.

     I had the time of my life at the Rockets game! I'd like to give a big thank you to Josh Fan for making this happen.

Omer Asik Trade Rumors

     Just one day after getting a huge road win against the Spurs handing them their first home loss of the season, the Rockets lost to the now 4-13 Jazz. One rumor that has been going around is that Omer Asik is unhappy with his role and wants to be traded. From what I've seen, the price that the Rockets have for Omer Asik is too high for other teams and he will be making $15 million next season, so it will be a tough to deal him. Here are my 2 best scenarios for the Rockets and Asik:
     First, we should try to acquire a defensive small forward and play Parsons at the 4. We are dead last in the NBA for forced turnovers and we need another defensive forward. A forward would be best because Patrick Beverley is a great defender at point guard, James Harden and Dwight Howard have already solidified their spots, and Chandler Parsons can do it all. Terrence Jones is good, but we need more depth at forward.
     Second, we should try to trade Asik and someone else for a lottery pick. This year's draft class will probably end up being the best draft class this decade. Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Julius Randle can all be centerpieces for a franchise. If the Rockets could land one of them, I think we would be the best team in the league.
     Hopefully, the Rockets can do something good with this situation they have with Asik right now. They could acquire some good players in return for him and I hope the Rockets can make the right decision on what to do with him.

Linsanity Part 2

     Linsanity is back! Jeremy Lin has been playing great for the past five games and I'm really excited that he finally got his touch back. Before, he would normally have to defer to James Harden and Dwight Howard, but now since he's coming off the bench, he can do his thing and not have to defer so much. I like to watch the Rockets when everyone contributes and makes plays. I think coming off the bench is a great role for Jeremy Lin because he has more opportunities to score. Unlike other bench players, he's actually been playing more minutes than the starter. He's been averaging 33 minutes played per game this season compared to Patrick Beverley's 28 minutes per game.  In the last five games, Lin's been averaging 22 points, and has been shooting 44% of 3 pointers. The 44% of

3 pointers has been a big improvement from last season in which he only shot 34%.
     Jeremy Lin has been lighting it up and I hope he can keep his great play up! The Rockets play the Mavericks tonight, hoping to make their record 9-4 on the season.

Great Week Of Basketball

     This week has been a great week of basketball for me! First, I got a chance to FaceTime with Jeremy Lin  again on Sunday night. My dad randomly told me to come to the phone, so I did and I saw his friend, Uncle Peter on the screen. Then, Jeremy Lin came to the phone and I was so surprised! Thankfully, I was actually awake this time and I had more to say. I told him that we went all the way to Gathersburg to go watch the new documentary about him called "Linsanity." Then, I asked him how many pairs of shoes he has and he told me that he has 200 pairs of shoes and Nike sent him almost all of them! I knew that he would probably have a lot, maybe 30, but I was caught off guard when he said 200. It was great talking to him again and special thanks to Uncle Peter for making this happen. 

     Secondly, today is the Rockets season opener vs. the Bobcats! I've been looking forward to this day for a while and I can't wait to watch it! Since Jeremy Lin is now officially starting on the bench, I hope that he can provide instant offense when he comes in. I hope we can have a great inside-out game today and that James Harden and Dwight Howard both have dominant games which is key to our success. 

     I am hoping for a big, fat W to start out the year and I hope this is the start to a successful season. 

Should Jeremy Lin or Patrick Beverley Start?

     Thankfully, there are only 8 more days until the NBA regular season starts! I like how the inside-out game is working for the Rockets and hopefully we can keep it up going forward. One question still remains... Should Jeremy Lin or Patrick Beverley start at point guard?
      I'd probably rather have Lin start, but either way he'll still most likely get more minutes. He's being paid as much as a starter is paid and I wouldn't think that the Rockets would bench him. I just read an article about Kevin McHale talking about how he has two starting point guards and that he doesn't get why players would rather play 20 minutes starting rather than 30 minutes off the bench. That is part of the reason why I would be okay with Lin coming off the bench as long as he gets more minutes than Beverley. The thing that is good is that they both have different strengths. Beverley is a better shooter and defender and Lin is a better ball handler, passer, and finisher. I agree with Kevin McHale, I think we have two starting point guards.
     The Rockets have been looking good so far and I hope we can keep it up. As long as Lin gets more minutes than Beverley, I am fine.

Rockets Goals For The Season

     I can't wait for the NBA regular season to start! The Rockets have looked good in the preseason so far and I'm looking forward to getting to watch the new Rockets with Dwight Howard! I have high hopes for them this season. Here are some of my goals for them to accomplish this season and why we can accomplish them:

• Be a top five seed in the Western Conference because we have more good players and a lot more depth this year. I think we can beat a lot of the good teams in our conference that we haven't had much success against before like the Clippers, Spurs, Nuggets, and the Thunder. Now that we have Dwight Howard, I think we have a great chance of being a top 5 seed in the Western Conference.                                                                                                                                             
• Have the highest pick and roll ratio in the league because now that we have a great combo in Jeremy Lin/James Harden and Dwight Howard we now have a better player to roll to the basket than Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin and James Harden are both great passers. Hopefully, Dwight Howard will be willing to play the pick and roll this year because he didn't want to last year with the Lakers. I think we will have a very efficient offense this year.
• Be the highest scoring team in the league because now that we have Dwight Howard he can be the guy that we give the ball to down low when we aren't making shots from the outside. 3 pointers aren't the highest percentage shot, so hopefully we can take higher percentage shots this year and continue to score a lot of points.

     I think we are going to have a great season this year! Hopefully we can accomplish my goals and play very well this year! We better not have "Dwightmares."