HLBT Daily: Greetings to Houston Chronicle, The Transmogrification of Robert Swift

I'd like to thank all of the readers from the Houston Chronicle (chron.com) for stopping by. Make yourself at home...

Fans across the league are still wondering whether or not it was a smart move for Rockets' GM Carroll Dawson to ship high flying Stromile Swift and possible future star Rudy Gay to Memphis for the solid but unexciting Shane Battier. Coincidentally, the trading partners faced off last night in what was both teams' first preseason game.

Sure, it was only a preseason game, but the players involved in the trade undoubtedly wanted to make a strong showing, and both teams were looking for a 'W.' By strict definition, the Rockets lost the game (75-69), however things certainly could have been worse. Recent acquisition Shane Battier shot 50% from the field, had 8 points, 7 boards, and 2 steals. Memphis' Rudy Gay shot 28% from the field (5-18), netted 14, pulled 4 boards, and had 2 steals. Stromile Swift literally did nothing (he did not play), something both Houston and Memphis fans have grown accustomed.

The best thing about the game was that Tracy Mcgrady played, and he played like Tracy Mcgrady plays. He had 17 points in 18 minutes. Steve Novak, the man T-Mac calls "the best shooter I have ever seen," had a couple of 3's and finished the game with 12 points on 6 shots and 3 rebounds.

A troublesome 2 inch big toe toenail kept 89 inch Yao Ming out of the game. Yao was his usual calm self as he explained the injury. "I had my right nail removed at the Athens Olympic games, and ten days later I was back on court again. I think I will be back to normal in two or three days."

Coach Van Gundy, on the other hand, was his usual pessimistic self. "This is a reoccurring issue with Yao's feet," he said. "He is not getting the shoe fitted properly so he doesn't have reoccurring issues with his toe and feet. Yao's got to be more demanding of [Reebok]. He's not getting the results he wants. It puts him at risk."

Both are correct. There is a fast recovery, but this is not the first or second time this has happened to Yao. It seems like a petty injury, though Yao will not play if the problem persists. That being said, chances are it will not, and all will be well in Houston.
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This formerly baby faced prep-to-pro baller, affectionately called "Big Rob" by his teammates, apparently decided to take on a new look for the 2006-07 season. See for yourself:

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Tat-less, facial hairless, and harmless to Tat'd, chin fuzz'd, disheveled, and... terrifying. Robert Swift ladies and gentlemen - coming this winter to a major city near you!
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Yesterday, Emeka Okafor played in (seemingly) his first organized game since the NCAA championship. And one word to describe his performance? Disaster. The big guy fouled out with zero points, two turnovers, and three rebounds - all in a whopping nine minutes of play. To add insult to calamity, Okafor's Bobcats lost to the Orlando Magic 109-90. The Magic's franchise player? None other than Dwight Howard, the only player selected before Emeka in the 2004 NBA draft.

Without speaking to Emeka directly, I can say with confidence that he did not play the way he hoped he would. Pretty sure that is fair to say.

On a more serious note - Emeka only played in 26 games last year due to ankle sprains and re-sprains. Although he played worse than bad, it would not be logical to expect good. He simply has not played much basketball recently. He will need time to get back in the flow. There is a good chance that he has not improved much since his rookie season because most of last year was affectively lost. Hopefully the ankles are no longer a serious problem, and Emeka will miss fewer than 56 games this season.
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