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I chuckled at first after reading Morey's boast, but quickly realized it was a defensible position.
Despite heading into their series with the Lakers without Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo, and then losing Yao Ming in the set, the Rockets gave the eventual champs a far tougher time than either Denver or Orlando.
A few weeks can sure change things, however.
Now, it looks as if Houston might have trouble making it back to the postseason next year.
The aging Mutombo has called it quits and the team desperately wants to rid itself of the final year of the oft-injured McGrady's massive contract. Meanwhile, defensive stalwart Ron Artest fled for Hollywood in free agency and most importantly, a grim report surfaced saying Yao may never play again due to a fractured navicular bone in a left foot.
The hairline fracture was originally discovered following the Rockets' May 8 loss to the Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. A conservative treatment plan called for Yao to cease all physical training and to use a walking boot in order to immobilize the foot and promote healing.
Few gave the injury much thought since the prognosis had the foot healing over the summer. Instead, the fracture failed to respond, putting the playing career of the Rockets' cornerstone in jeopardy.
"Yao is not experiencing any pain in his left foot, however, the results from the CT and bone scans we performed indicate that the hairline fracture has not responded to the degree that we expected," Rockets team physician Dr. Tom Clanton said when acknowledging Yao's setback.
For now, the Rockets are expecting Yao to need a full season before being able to return to basketball, and he is currently consulting with various medical experts to determine possible treatments.
"There are five metatarsal bones (each related to a toe) and while 1 through 4 most often heal without issue, there is a 30-50 percent non-healing rate for 5th metatarsal fractures," Dr. Ben Wedro, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin and a consulting onsite physician at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, said when discussing Yao's injury.
"The initial therapy for these fractures is rest and immobilization with gradual return to activity," Wedro added. "The most common complication is non-union of the fracture, which seems to be the case with Yao since it has been close to two months since the injury was found and treatment was instituted.
"Eventually, a decision will need to be made whether further watchful waiting is enough or if an operation is needed to use a screw or plate to fix the fracture."
At 7-foot-6 and 310 pounds, Yao's prodigious size make leg injuries a sensitive subject, Other talented big men like Sam Bowie and another former Rocket, Ralph Sampson, had careers cut short by a seemingly never ending series of leg injuries.
Yao, a seven-year NBA veteran, has now had three different fractures of the left foot and a hairline crack of the right leg.
Already, the All-Star's tenuous future has knocked over a series of dominos in south Texas. It was likely the tipping point in Artest's decision to flee Houston and now has Morey looking for band-aids in the pivot, with pedestrian names like Marcin Gortat and Samuel Dalembert being bandied about.
An MIT graduate, the 37-year-old Morey is considered to be one of the NBA's brightest young minds. He was nicknamed "Dork Elvis" by ESPN writer Bill Simmons for his popularity among MIT students where he taught an MBA-level course titled "Analytical Sports Management."
A course that will probably soon have a new lesson plan..."Success in the NBA is as fragile as Yao's foot."
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