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The Rockets Will Be Better with Rick Adelman

Say what you like about Rick Adelman, but he did get the 1990 Trail Blazers to the finals, and he did preside over one of the most exciting teams (the Sacramento Kings of the late-90s/early 2000s) in recent memory. And for the Rockets, he's a huge upgrade over Jeff Van Gundy.

For starters, the players are happier in Adelman's more free-wheeling, dynamic system. Bonzi Wells, who never saw eye to eye with Van Gundy (and blamed some of that on his own issues), is happy because "players can be players" and don't have to constantly fear making a mistake.

But it's more than just that. Van Gundy's gritty east-coast style of lock down defense and disciplined offensive sets works well with teams like the 1990s Knicks, who had tough physical rebounders like Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason, and just average skill players on the perimeter. For the Rockets, with a superstar perimeter player who can pass, shoot or drive in Tracy McGrady, another legitimate backcourt scorer in Bonzi Wells, three-point shooters who can get up the floor in Luther Head, Mike James and Aaron Brooks and a superstar center with excellent shooting touch out to mid range, Adelman's system will play to their strengths.

Luis Scola, who's battling Chuck Hayes for power forward minutes, is another dynamic player who can pass and score, and small forward Shane Battier can knock down the three or make the right pass as well. Fantasy-wise, bump up all the key Rockets (McGrady, Yao, Battier, Wells), and whoever gets regular minutes from among Mike James, Luther Head, Rafer Alston or Steve Francis.