Prepared for Blastoff: Are Artest and Rockets Ready to Launch?

After another disappointing loss in the first round against the Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets went home again empty handed. General manager Daryl Morey knew he needed just a little more on top of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady for perfection. So the Rockets went out this offseason and brought in Ron Artest, the veteran small forward from the Kings. I will agree with a lot of people saying that this was an ideal trade for the Rockets. The only significant loss was guard Bobby Jackson, but Houston has plenty of point guards to cover for him. So the big question is: Will Ron Artest prove to be the missing ingredient to this high-powered offensive team? I absolutely think so. The last couple of seasons, the Rockets have really relied on T-Mac and Yao to pick up the scoring, which they have. But when struck, the team struggled a bit. Some players stepped up in little ways, like Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Rafer Alston, but that's not what they were looking for. The Rockets ... (link)