I love Eddie G but he is not ready to start at the PF against the plentiful Western Conference studs (Malone, Garnett, Gasol, Webber, Sheed and now Stoud). Blocks often does not translate to good defense. The guy takes too many gambles and gets out of position. Its nice to have a big center in the paint but we are putting to much pressure on the guy from the defensive end. I said this before and I will say it again, we need a bruiser type/tough guy PF. All the PFs listed above killed us this year. Granted, we got the W but this Eddie G at PF experiment needs to end. I say we go after either Brian Grant, PJ Brown, Tyrone Hill or even Carlos Boozer. I think our chemistry will improve and we have ALL the tools to get deep into the playoffs NOW but this is the only thing holding us back. How many more times will our PFs have to get schooled before we look for a trade??
A player will only learn to get better by playing the best. EG is showing signs of being aggressive and seems to be getting better every game. Stay calm...relax......take a deep breath. By next year...( when we are ready to contend for a title), EG will be ready.
I have no problem EG starting but if we can move Mo for a PJ Brown type as our reserve PF, that would be prefect. No one's gonna take Mo's contract though.
Dennis is right. We are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. You can't expect us to have the 5 best players in the NBA starting. We have a very good group and they need time playing together. Let's not focus on the now but, the future. Hopefully, this team stays together and matures together. If we do, in two years we will be what the Kings and Mavs are today. Patience.
While I agree to certain extent, when MoT's shot is on we are a hard team to beat. I think that EG and MoT make a very formidable tandem. That being said if we could get something like PJ Brown type player for MoT, I would consider it.
You would only consider it? Wow, I'd throw in a draft pick. You know, it's going to be some real delicious food for thought if MoT's play improves drastically AFTER the trading deadline.
I dont think its a stupid subject to talk about at all. It was more stupid when people were arguing over why Yao could not get the ball more against Boston, when there were <b>2</b> articles in the chronicle describing exactly why! But to talk about needing a position in which we are currently not doing too well is <b>not</b> stupid. By the way, i dont agree w/ the original post. I think we should be fine. I mean, we are still in the top 10 in rebounding, and we do fine defensively. But still not stupid to talk about.
I agree. The pf spot is causing an amount of concern. The consensus is that while EG has the potential, and has shown flashes of it, he's still too young and inexperienced to be manning to pf spot w/o more experienced or just more skilled help. I wouldn't mind getting a bruiser pf (doubt we could get one for MoT though), but I'm also happy with what we have right now. The chemistry works, and our record and stats are good. Imagine what EG will be able to do a year or so from now, he'll definitely get more consistent, but he'll be awesome (hopefully ).
I really don't think it is a big concern. My only concern is the health of MoT. EG needs to the time he is getting right now. No matter how you slice it, EG will have some growing pains as he grows into the position. It is like the old thing about a young QB. No matter who that QB is he will still need some seasoning to get to his top playing level. He is not going to get there holding a clip board and coming in for the occassional snap when the game is out of reach. He needs to take his bumps and bruises to learn. Well, EG is taking his bumps and bruises now while the team jells together. He will be completely ready to shine and be the PF we always wanted him to be when we are ready to contend for a title. I am overjoyed at how well we are doing considering the changes that have taken place over last couple of years. All I want is steady improvement and EG, as well as the Rockets, are showing that this year. Next year they will be one of the most dangerous teams in the league and we WILL contend for a title. In the meantime, the playoffs is what we need now and that is very much in our reach even while we jell and grow as a team.
Who was our starting PF on the 2nd championship team? who? WHO? Robert Horry...that's who....... You don't need brutes at every position to win...just be a good team. Yao needs to jump and dunk and be aggressive on the glass, and all will be well. DD
By "an amount of concern" I just meant a small amount of concern, my bad. And like I said I'm happy with what we have, but it would be nice to have an aggresive pf hepling EG out. And yes I agree he needs to be getting his large slice of pt and although he hasn't lived up to most ppl's enormously high expectations, he's progessing along pretty well.
You make some good points but we have a fundamental disagreement and that is I do not believe the in myth that having a team full of young players can blossom together from a management standpoint in the current flux of the NBA (salary cap, expansion). I do not believe that we can keep more than 2 all star type players at a time. Example.. Lets assume in 3 years that our current players live up to our expectations. Yao 24, 13, 3 blks Griffen 18, 9, 2 blks Nachbar 14 7 4 assist mobley 20, 4, 4 francis 20, 5, 7 There are several problems with this scenario.. 1. Although the individual players stats are possible, collaborating they are not. Are starting lineup will AVERAGE 96 pts a game! Not realistic. Players will want to get traded for more shots etc. 2. Assuming they can all play up to these levels like most of us believe, we will not be able to pay them their true market value. Francis is getting the max and I suspect Yao will in 3 years. I think it may be possible to keep one more of the guys listed above but definitely not all 5 since we need to have bench players too. With that said, I do not believe that the strategy many of you believe is truly effective for the Rox both short term and long term. Short term- We are getting slaughtered daily by PFs. Granted, Eddie G is getting experience. We have the talent to compete NOW. We shouldnt sacrafice wins for training purposes. Long term- The 2 cornerstones of this franchise is Yao and Steve. We need to supply them with a good supporting cast. Trying to groom 5 players is too difficult and ineffective. MY SOLUTION: I am not proposing that we trade Eddie G. Although good offers should be considered. But what we should do is get someone like Brian Grant and play Eddie G at SF and BACKUP PF. Perhaps we trade Mo Tay and Nachbar for Brian Grant. We model our management like the Bulls of the 90s. There 2 cornerstones were MJ and Pip. Ours is Yao and Steve. They continously find quality replacements for role players either through free agency. They had Horace Grant then Rodman. We get Brian Grant, then we sign who ever else is good at the time when Grant is done. We are in a great solution and I hope management doesnt blow it. While other teams are paying the max for guys like Jamison and Stackhouse. We have the 2 most important pieces to build a dynasty. We "should" have 2 of the most DESERVING "maxed out" players in the league. That is a HUGE ADVANTAGE ala Shaq/Kobe. The next Dynasty will be in Houston. And not just the Ming Dynasty. But the ROCKET DYNASTY!!!! I bleed yellow and red my friends...
EG and TMo are doing the best they currently can. In the absence of a trade for a stud 4,those two plus MoT can be enough to get by as long as the big 3 do their part. Plus it gives EG time to develop and improve. In the absence of MoT's size,which would've helped some last night,I'd still like to see Rudy give Cato some minutes there. He's been playing out of his mind during the minutes he gets. Between he and Yao,the paint could be a 'no trespassing' zone. It'd be interesting to see how that would work anyway.
DaDakota, What you say is true but there is a major flaw with your assessment. Remember that Dream was in his PRIME. Yao isn't. When Dream was young, we had guys like Sampson, Peterson, Thorpe helping him in the paint. Do you really believe that we are adequate in the PF spot now? I can understand the reasoning that some believe from a long term standpoint (although I still do not agree), but to feel that Yao is getting enough support from our PF's at this time is ludicrous. Lastly, let me ask you this... Are you treating this year as a REBUILDING year for the Rockets? More specifically, not making the playoffs or losing in the 1st round. If so, I can understand your reasoning (again, I do not agree with it). But if you expect and wish for more (like me), it should be pretty clear that we to give Yao some help up front. The PFs that Griffen has been getting killed by are not going away (malone, sheed, webber, garnett). They are not gonna play any softer come playoff time. We either need to get some help from a bruiser or Griffen needs to gain 20 pounds of muscle and stop shooting 3s. P.S. Hope I didnt offend you with this post. I have truly enjoyed reading your posts on CC and you are definitely one of the more knowledgible Rox fans. I sometimes get too excited for my Rox GO ROX
I am not saying that Eddie G and TMo are not trying. My point is that at this current juncture, they are not able to match up against the tough PFs of the Western Conference (who we will face come playoff time!). I am confident that Eddie G will be a good PF some day, but not right now. As you said, he needs time. So I ask you.. Do we want to win now or later? I am not asking for a Tim Duncan or a Kevin Garnett. Just a bruiser to help Yao rebound and defend opposing teams PF. I would have been thrilled to even get a guy like Malik Rose or a Carlos Boozer...
I think that 10 points and 9 rebounds out of your PF is adequate....and yes, I do not see them going far, I think this is a learning year, and EG is only 20, Yao 22.......I think the team will be much better in April then they are today. I look for a serious run in 2 years. DD
The W referred to ONLY the Phoenix game. We lost a few killer games when Malone, Gasol, Brand killed us... Malone had like 30+ which was 10 more than his average...
