Things I never thought I would be able to say after Opening Day:

Guess who is in first place!!!??

The Houston Rockets!!!!!

........... these guys amaze me every single game.  I've never been so happy to be so wrong about a team.

Tomorrow, the Rockets travel to the least interesting place the NBA has to offer.  Utah.

Consider this your first reminder.

I really, really hate the Utah Jazz. 

GO ROCKETS!

I know I've been pleading for the Rockets to acquire a real, actual 7' tall or bigger center.  It hasn't happened yet, but there could be worse things in life I guess.

(David Andersen is not what I had in mind, but he looks to be a good acquisition once he learns that forearm shivers and hip checks don't really go unnoticed in the NBA.  But I digress...)

On that note, I would like to say I am very, very glad the Rockets never made any attempt to acquire Shaquille O'Neal.  At the very same time, am I the only person who is highly amused by the fact that the FatAss has "helped" the Cavaliers and King James to a sputtering 0-2 start?  Including a loss to the Raptors.  We all know it can't be LeBron's fault......... and I can't wait to see who Shaq tries to blame for this (because we know that it couldn't possibly Shaq's fault for getting in the way!)

I can't wait until the FatAss gets the Braylon Edwards treatment for messing with LeBron James' world.

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

10 days ago: Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks, right, and Kyle Lowry sit on the bench during a break in the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. Brooks scored 19 points as they lost to the Blazers 96-87. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Browse more photos »

Recapping games and doing "journalist" type stuff... so not my thing.  I'd much rather just rant and rave and post my observations and things I see that the Richard Justice types never will because he is they are too busy using Google Images to search for incriminating photos of Brad Mills.  I mean, how else do they keep their jobs in this economy?  Anyway...

• Holy hell the Rockets look tiny next to the Blazers!  Granted, most teams are going to look small going up against a front-line of Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla and LaMarcus Aldridge.  Those dudes are TALL. 
• After this season is over, the whole world will finally appreciate how much of a badass Yao Ming is.  For all the criticism he's taken for being "soft" or "overrated" or "slow defensively," only in his absence will people truly understand how great he is.
• Okay, so maybe Luis Scola won't go 20/10 this year.  You have to look for your shot more to get 20 points and the Rockets appear to have adopted a more democratic sense of offense.  This may or may not be a good thing.
• Did Carl Landry shrink 3 inches in the off-season?
• Kyle Lowry showed why the Rockets won the Rafer Alston trade .0001 seconds after it was made.
• For all the pre-season hype and talk, Pops and Joey continue to be non-factors in the rotation.  Against a big team like Portland, you would think they would get more court-time.
• David Andersen had about a 5 minute burst in the 4th Q where he actually looked really, really good.  Is this what I can expect for the next 81 games?  If so... I'm completely on board.
• Chase Budinger can dunk?  Must have learned that playing volleyball...
• Greg Oden did get 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.  But, uhhh, we basically handed that s--t to him.  The dude is a monumental bust for a #1 overall pick.  He can't run or shoot.  And after 2 years in the league, you'd thnk he'd have at least some modicum of an offensive "go-to" move.  And yet....... all he has is that stiff-legged, line-drive hook shot.  Not exactly inspiring stuff.  Somewhere Durant is laughing.
• Everyone is praising Chuck Hayes for playing amazing last night.  And yes, for Chuck Hayes, that was one hell of a good game.  The problem is that Chuck Hayes at his absolute best is only about 65% of a competent NBA center.  We may be "solid" on team defense with Chuck, but the Blazers still out-rebounded the good guys 51-33.  Yes, the Rockets only got 23 defensive rebounds the whole game.  That is bad.  It's not Chuck's fault, but his personal disadvantages are representative of the entire team's defensive problems.  "Doing your best" works just fine in little league (at least that's what my parents told me), but this ain't little league.
• As for our biggest acquisition - Trevor Ariza - he had a quick offensive burst in the first quarter.  Then he kinda disappeared.  His defense was "okay"... Outlaw was just on fire and no one was gonna stop that without earning a suspension for illegal cut blocking.  But, Ariza has one major flaw in his offensive game:  he has no handles.  Ron Artest may have looked sloppy dribbling the basketball, but he was so strong that you couldn't take it away.  Ariza looks very fluid, and yet - he can't dribble with his left hand and Portland just attacked him every time he put it on the floor.  I am not sure how we hide this in the future.
• Nice to see Rick Adelman in post-season form asleep on the bench at crucial times. 
• Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza just found out how tough life is in the NBA when you don't have a Yao, Kobe, McGrady, Artest or Gasol around to take attention away from you.
• On that note - someone needs to tell Aaron Brooks that we don't care if he is 0-6 from deep - you HAVE to take that open 3 pointer at the end when it's available.  Do you think Reggie Miller passes up an open three even on a cold-shooting night?  Hell naw!
• In the end, we should all applaud the Rockets for fighting back in the end.  They were down 20 early in the 4th Q and could have easily gone Tennessee Titan (and by that I mean "giving up completely").  Instead, they fought back with important contributions by the new guys.  That was inspiring.  If only there was an NBA genie that could grant my wish to make everyone on our team 10% taller.  Or at least make every other team 10% shorter.
• Big game tonight.  We get to see how the "run and gun" new look Rockets match up against a team that's been running and gunning to moderate success for decades:  the Warriors.

GO ROCKETS!!!

via i.ytimg.com

View full size photo »

Lazy, ignorant comments such as these make me tremble.  Am I really going to be competing in a job market with fools like Jalen Rose?  Really?

Here is Rose's prediction for the 2009-2010 Rockets:

No Yao for possibly the entire season. T-Mac is recovering from surgery. And both players could be free agents after the season. Ariza was a good signing, but wins will be hard to come by this season. Brooks will have a breakout year. 

Southwest: 5 -- West: 14

You heard it, folks.  The Grizzlies, who lack more chemistry than Michael Cera and any love interest that he has ever had, are going to win more games than the Rockets this year.  Surely Jalen wasn't alone on his prediction.

Actually, he was.  Not a single ESPN columnist, or sane sportswriter elsewhere, picked the Rockets to finish below the dreaded Grizzlies in 2010.  Brilliant call, Jalen.  Simply brilliant.

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Browse more photos »

From the AP:

The Houston Rockets waived guards Romel Beck and Garrett Temple on Wednesday, reducing the roster to 17.

Beck averaged 4.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in two games with the Rockets in the preseason. He averaged 16 points and three assists in the developmental league last season. He played with San Antonio in the summer league before signing a non-guaranteed contract with Houston.

Temple averaged 2.5 points in four games with Houston this preseason. He played four seasons at LSU before signing with Houston as an undrafted free agent.

This comes as no surprise.  Temple and Beck, though athletic and talented, were clearly the least NBA-ready players on the roster.

For the moment I shall ignore all rumors about Jerry Stackhouse but after last night it seems the Rockets may have already settled on the 15 players... okay the 13 "active" players that will be on the roster for Opening Day.  Yao and Tracy obviously being inactive as of Halloween, but due to quirky NBA rules, Morey and the gang have to keep them on the 15 man roster.  So lame.  I much preferred being able to stash guys on the inactive list with fake injuries.

The one really big piece of bad news is that Joey Dorsey has most likely sulked and half-assed his way off the team.  Leaving me with about 50% less material to write about this upcoming season.  As if I weren't already facing an uphill climb without Yao to praise and T-Mac to belittle?!?!

That aside, here's what (as of today) looks to be the 2009/10 roster:

60% of our salary cap
C - Yao Ming (essentially deceased for 2010 purposes)
SF - Tracy McGrady (only mostly dead)
---
starting lineup (probable)
SG/SF - Trevor Ariza
PF/C - Luis Scola
SG/SF - Shane Battier
PG/midget in traveling circus - Aaron Brooks
PF/C - Chuck Hayes
---
scrubs/bench
PF/C/SF - Carl Landry
PG/resident bulldog - Kyle Lowry
SF/PF/token white guy shooter - Chase Budinger
SG/rookie beyotch - Jermaine Taylor ("sing it again!")
PG/practice dummy - Will Conroy
PF/C - David Andersen (he's here to keep Luis happy)
PF/C/blog killer - Pops Mensah-Bonsu
worthless waste of cap space - Brian Cook

This leaves no room for Joey.  It also leaves no room for Jerry Stackhouse... unless the Rockets plan on cutting Budinger, Taylor or Pops.  Or can somehow find a sucker to take Brian Cook's contract off our hands.  Brent Barry is also still on the roster, but he will be traded or bought out or forced into early retirement soon enough.

Chicago Bulls

BlogABull.com | Give Me The Rock

Cleveland Cavaliers

Fear The Sword | WaitingForNextYear | Cavalier Attitude

Detroit Pistons

Motown String Music  | Empty the Bench | Pistons Nation | Need4Sheed.com

Indiana Pacers

Indy Cornrows

Milwaukee Bucks

BrewHoop

Bonus Links:

See full schedule here | Also see SBNation Central Division Storystream