Considering that the Houston Rockets were hoping to acquire All-Star forward Chris Bosh through a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors, Rockets' fans are obviously somewhat disappointed that things did not work out as planned and Bosh opted to join Dwayne Wade and LeBron James in Miami. Yet, Houston managed to keep their core together and could very well climb back to the upper echelon of the Western Conference if franchise cornerstone Yao Ming can stay healthy in 2010-11.

Last year, one evident problem for the Rockets has been their lack of size and neither Chris Andersen nor playing Luis Scola as center seemed to be the solution. Thus, it appears to be a justified assumption that the team would need another big man, regardless of how much playing time Yao Ming will be able to handle down the stretch. Fortunately, the Rockets were able to sign veteran center Brad Miller to a three year deal worth roughly $15 million. As backup center for the Chicago Bulls last year, Brad Miller averaged 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 23 minutes per contest. That said, GM Daryl Morey did not only acquire Miller but also did everything in his power to ensure that All-Star Yao Ming can count on a solid supporting cast. More precisely, Houston also resigned power forward Luis Scola as the Argentine agreed to a five year deal worth no less than $47 million. In 2009-10, Scola put up 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33 minutes per game. Likewise, the Rockets were also able to resign backup guard Kyle Lowry and managed to retain the services of forward Chuck Hayes for another year. As sound as these moves may appear, ultimately it will all come down to whether Yao Ming will be back on the court and stay healthy throughout the season. In case Yao does indeed bounce back from yet another knee injury, the Rockets could very well be one of the toughest teams in the Western Conference. Otherwise, another year in the lottery is a very real threat for the franchise from Southern Texas.

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