A scrappy Argentine. A super-quick point guard who flew under the radar of NBA draft hype. An established big man to anchor the front court. A veteran leader and role players who can knock down the three.
You heard it here first: the Rockets will be the new Spurs. Maybe not next year, but eventually. First-round draft pick Aaron Brooks has been quietly dominating the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas and Luis Scola appears to be the kind of dirty—make that, uh, “hard-working”—hustle player the Rockets have been lacking.
In fact, Brooks was just named top rookie for his play in Vegas, where he averaged 21.4 points and 5.4 assists per game in summer league play. Meanwhile, the 30-somethings that make up a large part of the Spurs roster aren’t getting any younger. Sure, those geezers may have another year or two of championships left in their creaky knees. After that, they can move the dynasty down I-10. – Russell Cobb
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2007.
