by Juan Leer

Created on: November 03, 2009

No team in the NBA gets the most out of its money and players than the Houston Rockets. Last season, they were missing the two players that take up most of their payroll (Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming) for most of their series against the Los Angeles Lakers, and they still gave the Lakers all they could handle in the second round of the playoffs. They use a lot of statistics in their evaluation of players, and it has proven to be a very successful method so far for General Manager Darryl Morey.

If they want to continue to be successful, they will have to continue to try to do less with more. Yao Ming will likely miss the entire season, and Tracy McGrady will be out at least until the midway point of the season. Again, these two players are their highest paid players, and almost no team could withstand the loss of its two highest paid players and still hope to compete for a playoff spot. The Rockets are not most teams.

They are a very hard-nosed team that gets the most out of its talent and does not beat itself. They have a lot of guys that don't put up big numbers, but they simply get the job done, especially on the defensive end. Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes are two such players. Neither guys numbers jump out at you (especially Hayes, who doesn't seem like he should even be on an NBA roster if you just look at the numbers), but both are invaluable members of the Rockets team. Each guy knows his job and performs it every night, even if they might not ever get any glory.

Trevor Ariza was their big FA pickup, as they essentially traded him for Ron Artest. He is still in his young 20s, is a good defender, a very athletic player, and has championship experience. Early returns are very good, and if he can continue to grow on the offensive side of the ball he is going to be a great player for the Rockets. Aaron Brooks is another guy that provides a lot of offense for the Rockets. He is an undersized PG, but he is very quick with the ball and his range starts just inside the gym. Luis Scola provides some punch down low.

The Rockets don't have a lot of big names, and they don't do a lot of things that really jump out at you. However, they are simply solid in all areas of the game. They play great defense, they are efficient with the ball, and they are great at building talent to withstand injuries to key players. Because of that, they will be in the heart of the playoff race even without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

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