Rockets Lack Firepower

By Max Berger

After signing the most Lin-sane media sensation in NBA history, one would think that the Houston Rockets have a lot to be excited about heading into the coming season. Despite the addition of rising star point guard Jeremy Lin, the Rockets will struggle to take off during the 2012-2013 NBA season.

Houston totally revamped its roster this offseason, returning only three players from last year’s team and making a plethora of trades and free agency acquisitions. Along with signing Lin, the Rockets traded away former starting point guard Kyle Lowry, as well as small forward Chase Budinger. They signed the defensive-minded center Omer Asik and drafted Kentucky’s Terrence Jones, UConn’s Jeremy Lamb and Iowa State’s Royce White. 

AP Photo/ Eric Kayne

Most will agree that the team has young talent. Current Houston shooting guard Kevin Martin is a skilled scorer and last year averaged 17.1 points per game. However, he is a player that needs to dominate the ball to score and could lose some touches with the newcomer Lin. What the Rockets lack is a true superstar to go along with Jeremy Lin. Truthfully, the Rockets have been in need of that superstar ever since the great Yao Ming retired.

The Bad News: Houston will not win a lot of games this year and will probably miss the playoffs. The Good News: With all of the young talent on its roster, the Rockets have stockpiled many assets, including future first and second round picks acquired in offseason trades, which will allow them to make a blockbuster deal and acquire a franchise player.

Although the Rockets may have missed out on getting Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol, they hope that their youth can provide enough spark and hope that in the future, they will be able to entice a superstar to come to Houston.

For now though, it’s the Jeremy Lin and Kevin Martin show until Martin is possibly packaged in a trade for another All Star during the season. Lin still has a lot to prove, telling USA Today “Just because you have x amount of good games doesn't mean that you have drastically improved as a player.”

Houston will most likely face a tough season ahead, unless Linsanity once again ensues and leads the Rockets to the playoffs, in which case both Sportscenter and Twitter will explode.