My Preferred 1999 Line Up

The lockout is over. We've signed our draft picks. The blockbuster trade with Pippen is done. Now, what is going to be the final roster of the Rockets? Here's my preferred roster for the 1999 season.

PG--Maloney/Rhodes/Price
SG--J. Jackson/Rhodes/Dickerson
SF--Pippen/Rhodes/EJ/Bullard
PF--Barkley/Harrington/Carr
C---Olajuwon/Carr/Harrington

IR--Drew, Mobley, Coker, & Miller

This line up has a good starting five, but is shaky due to the frequency of injuries. It also it contingent on us signing Jim Jackson for the $1 million or $1.75 million dollar exemption. We need Jackson more now than ever with the injury to Rhodes which will throw off his game even after he comes back. Plus, if we don't sign Jackson, Dickerson will have to start. I don't like the idea of a rookie starting, especially for a team vying for the title. If for money reasons they don't want to keep FIVE point guards, they would have to find a way to get rid of Price. Hopefully we could get another big man for him. I think the first round draft picks will all make the team, if for no other reason than youth. If we can avoid any major injuries, Dickerson can provide some offense and become a dependable defensive player, Hakeem can come back to full-strength, Harrington can prove he is a true NBA big man, then the Rockets could very well contend for the championship. BUT, that's a lot of IFs. Of course, every team has to hope they aren't killed by the injury bug. With Hakeem clogging up the middle, Pippen shutting down the opposing SFs and SGs, and Rhodes putting the clamps on the opponents PG, we should have one of the best defensive teams in the league. We'll all just have to wait and see.

*(Well, I guess my wish didn't come true. Our first mistake was that we didn't sign Jim Jackson. Portland did, and he had a good season. Second mistake, we gave Matt Maloney a huge undeserved contract. This somehow destroyed any talent he may have seemed to have. He only played in 15 games and shot 17.9% from the floor. We should try very hard to dump this guy on someone else. Third mistake sorta stems from the first two. We had two rookies starting. I like them both, but it's just common sense that you can't win a title with rookies controlling your backcourt. Our fourth mistake was relying on Scottie Pippen too much. We thought he would add a scoring threat, play great defense, and handle the ball much of the time. Well, his defense was poor. He was lit up by just about everyone we faced. Amazingly, he still make the NBA defensive team. His ball handling left something to be desired also. His turnover in the first game of the playoffs was a huge mistake and cost us the game. Then there was his offense. I wasn't one of those who want Pippen to be the focus of our offense, so I wasn't disappointed by his lack of scoring. What did disappoint me was his poor shooting. He had his lowest shooting percentage of his career (43.2%). This coming off the 97 - 98 season when he established his previous career low.