The Start of a Season.

How will Dwight Howard recover after last year? Did he make the right choice in moving? How will he fit in with the Rockets? The NBA preseason started on Saturday and all of my questions were answered. Howard scored 19 and had 9 nine rebounds in a one point loss to the Pelicans. Despite the lost, you can see how Howard fits in with the team. Although he only had 9 rebounds, he led all players in that category. A total of 53% of shots were made, so there wasn't much to rebound. Last year, he shot an abysmal 49% from the line, a career low. This game, he was 7-11. Last year, on average, he shot nine free throws a game, making five. This game, he shot 64%. It's still not great, but it is a 15% improvement from last year.

His point guards, Jeremy Lin and Patrick Beverly, are both more than adequate which will help him. His backup, Beverley, is statistically almost the same as Nelson, his former point guard in Orlando, per 36 minutes, trailing by 2 points and 2 assists.

He's just the backup. Lin is much better and will mesh with Howard after a successful stint with two similar big men, Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire, in New York. After what happened in Los Angeles, people would argue that the same thing would happen with the lack of bench depth and Harden replacing Kobe. Right off the bat, Harden will not only keep up his scoring, but also help Dwight. Harden's play-making skills are off the charts for a shooting guard and can even play point guard sometimes. The Rockets have had bench issues last year, but they found new hope, for example Patrick Beverley. After trading away Patrick Patterson for Thomas Robinson and Francisco Garcia, some doubt sparked up. "Thomas Robinson? He's a bust!" Robinson provided support for post scoring, but it was Garcia who added to the bench's depth. The Rockets are built around post players and three-point shooters. Robinson was a good fit but they had to trade him to afford Howard. However, with other signings like Ronnie Brewer, Omri Casspi, and Aaron Books, their system became even stronger.

Now my next question is "Will the Rockets win the Western Conference?". They would have to get past the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and the Los Angeles Clippers. I guess we''l have to wait and see.