Besides the Celtics and the Lakers no other team had the spotlight the Rockets had last season. After all, the team had a winning streak of 22 games (the second longest ever on the NBA) and to prove how competitive has been the Western conference, the Rockets even with the streak still finished the regular season tied with the Suns on the 4th position of the conference.

Rick Adelman had a good first season in Houston, reaching the Playoffs, something he has done in 14 of the16 seasons as a coach. Adelman used the defensive work developed by Jeff Van Gundy and the Rockets were the 4th best defense of the league with 92.0 ppg allowed and the 2nd in rebound margin with +3.98 reb/game.

For this season, the Rockets are apparently stronger: Yao Ming is recovered from the injury he suffered on the second part of the season and if his absence wasn't felt in the regular season, he was surely missed in the Playoffs against the powerful frontcourt of the Jazz. If he manages to stay healthy during the whole season, Yao is easily a player to average 20 points and 10 boards, something he has managed to do last season with 22.0 ppg and 10.8 rpg, however injuries have been his major obstacle and he hasn't managed to play a full season since the 2003-04 season.

Tracy McGrady became the true leader of the Rockets after Yao's injury and curiously after Yao went down, McGrady didn't miss a single game until the end of the season. His numbers are from a true All Star player with 21.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 5.9 apg, but we all know Tmac's problems began when the Playoffs arrive. T-Mac is yet to win a Playoff series on his 7 seasons career. Will he finally win a Playoff series this season? Well, the season has started on a bad way for him, as he is already injured and that's not a good sign at all.

But the big news in Houston for this season is Ron Artest joining the team and he may the key for a possible campaign of the Rockets to the title. Artest doesn't have an easy personality, but if he just focus himself on playing basketball, he is clearly an All Star player. Artest is coming from a season in Sacramento, where he averaged 20.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 3.5 apg and he has been giving great signs in Houston by saying Rick Adelman is the best coach he has ever had and that he would have no problems in coming off the bench if that helps the team.

However, the role of the 6th man should be played by Shane Battier, who is extremely important for the team due to his great defensive skills and how he can be dangerous in the perimeter. It will be curious to see how he will fit on a role he has never had on his career. Battier didn't began the season very well, as he got injured and he will miss the whole preseason. However, Adelman may make different combinations between Artest and Battier and that doesn't mean they can't be both on the field at the same time.

Rafer Alston was one of the players who raised his level with Yao's injury and he was the second option in the offense, right behind Tmac, while averaging 13.1 ppg and 5.3 apg. It is expected that Alston maintains the same level this season, as the Rockets don't have a deep roster for this position and if something happens to Alston, the team will have to use Aaron Brooks and D.J. Strawberry, two players who are talented, but who lack experience to play a starting role on a top team like the Rockets. This is possibly the weakest link of the Rockets this season.

Together with Alston, also Luis Scola had a great season and in my opinion he was the key for the Rockets, when Yao got injured. After that moment, Scola became a clear starter of the team and he finished the season with 13.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg, but more important than that, he gave lots of aggressiveness to the team in the fight for the rebounds that the Rockets were needing at that moment. This season, Scola won't have to prove that he deserves to be a starter and it's expected that he maintains his level from last season, especially now with Yao on his side in the frontcourt.

The frontcourt of the Rockets isn't deep, especially on the center position. Carl Landry will be a good backup for the PF position and he had some great moments at the end of last season, including a decisive block in a Playoff game in Utah. He finished the season with 61.6% FG and 8.1 ppg in just 16.9 min/game, so he took advantage very well from the opportunities he had last season. However, it's on the center position that the team may struggle. Yao Ming is injury prone and the team will just have Mutombo as a backup. Mutombo will be useful to give some rest to Yao, but if Yao gets injured, the team can't just stay with Mutombo on the center position. I know the team managed to get great results in this kind of situation last season, but when the Playoffs arrive and the Rockets face a strong team on the frontcourt, they will struggle big time.

This team can be a contender for the title, if injuries don't make Yao and Tmac struggle. They should be able to at least repeat last season's regular season record and if Tmac finally wins a series on the Playoffs, his confidence is going to skyrocket. Their schedule will demand the Rockets to be a competitive team right at the beginning of the season, as their schedule is going to be very tough: Boston, @ Clippers, @ Lakers, @ Phoenix, @ San Antonio and Hornets!

Get Andre Gomes' 1st Half NBA Season Package at Pregame Pros!