ESPN compares last years draft with this one. As far as impact players, this draft seems weak. ESPN' Andy Katz said.... Cleveland got a more reliable point guard in Utah's Andre Miller. Chicago received a low-post scorer in Duke's Elton Brand. Houston found the necessary scoring pop in Maryland's Steve Francis and a gem of a scorer inside in New Mexico's Kenny Thomas. http://espn.go.com/nba/draft00/s/katz/0621scout.html KT a GEM....see I told you we should keep him, now on to Demarr Johnson. DaDakota "Starlancer has a free demo...get it now !!! ------------------
hell yeah. "Kenny Thomas is a gem of a scorer." Said by none other than Andy Katz. Like Dakota said, that is why we dont trade Thomas. If we have Dermarr at the 9, then no doubt that we get him. I'll pass on Jerome Moiso, seeing as how we have a gem of a scorer starting at the 4. thx for article dadakota. ------------------ treasurer of the moochie norris fan club
If we get Dermarr, do you think Cuttino will have less time? And if he does, how will it effect him signing here? ------------------ President of the Moochie Norris FAN CLUB
If Houston drafts Johnson, then it's possible to trade both Norris and Drew. Houston would have a guard rotation of Francis, Mobley, and Johnson and a SF rotation of Anderson and Johnson. However, Houston would be too small at the SF position -- which is why I don't think Houston will draft Johnson.
Francis3, thats the exact question I have been pondering for a while now. I think Mobley will atleast stick around for an Early Bird for 2 yrs. DerMarr Johnson is going to take time to develop so there should still be enough minutes to go around. If the minutes crunch gets too much, the Rockets can move Walt Williams and that would guarantee that Anderson, Francis, Johnson and Mobley could all get significant PT. There are 48 mins at each perimeter position, making a total of 144 mins at 1-2-3 positions. If you divide that by 4 (Francis, Mobley, Johnson, Anderson), you get 36 MPG. Thats plenty of time to go around for everyone. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Johnson is 6'9". How is that too small for SF? ------------------ the more I know, the more I know I don't know...
Does anyone else have a problem with Mobley playing significant minutes at SF? I can't think of very many SF that he could guard effectively. He would be a major liabilty on defense. ------------------
I don't think anyone's suggesting putting Mobley at SF... just Anderson and Johnson. Besides, we have a couple years to let Johnson bulk up for the position. At 9, you take the best player available... shoot... trade the man if you have to, but take the most talented guy. Did you notice that he said Houston might draft Pryzbilla? Eeek! Please no no no no no no no. I think I'd rather *sigh*... have Cato. ------------------
I agree BobFinn*, he has trouble even guarding SG. I just keep reading posts where people keep on making references to the fact that if the Rockets draft a SF then Mobley would lean towards leaving because that would take away some minutes from him. If that's the case, I hate to say it but maybe that is what needs to happen. Mobley can really only play SG and there's only 48 min. between him and Shandon. Now if Shandon shifts to SF for extended minutes that is still a mismatch against many players, and everyone seems deadset against moving him. Where does that leave Mobley? Coming off the bench with possibly reduced PT, because I don't see Shandon losing the starting job. It's a very tough situation for the Rockets. ------------------
Rudy did play a 3-guard offense quite a bit at the end of last year. I realize he was kind of forced too with injuries to Dream and Barkley, but it did create problems for other teams to match up with us. The biggest weakness the Rockets had last year was D-fence. If Rudy can get these guys to play a team defense, like '94-'95, it would cover up a weak link. ------------------
Except for the oddity that makes the rule worth discussing, most rookies(dare I say ALL) come into the NBA with little or no defensive skills. So our roster better beef up it's defensive skills all around. KT should be better this year. Francis appeared to have picked up his D when he discovered he can be effective NOT scoring, which improved his maturity level by leaps and bounds, as well. Cato has D when he wants to play. Fluip a coin Kelvin, going to play tonight. Walt ... well don't get me started on Walt's lack of defensive ability. It's like asking a blind man what color is Marcel Marceau's hankie. My point is: 1. We better be drafting for skills other than trying to solve any defensive problems we are having. 2. Mobes will probably never develop a consistent defensive game. He is an instigator. A scorer. A ball mover. 3. A Shandon Anderson and DerMarr Johnson tandem at the three would be very complimentry. And successful. ------------------
Considering the opportunities last year, with injuries and walt's poor start to the season, how many times did Shandon start at the 3 spot, I think Rudy showed he doesn't like that move at all, so that leaves either a rookie, Walt or Bull to start at the 3 spot, cool. ------------------ Mango is the Smeg of Bizarro World
As the good 'ol saying goes "D-fense wins championships" and it won't be till this group of guys aren't sold on it that we won't be serious contenders... We have to be careful in not trying to outscore the opponents because we find one that plays good D and we would be in trouble. The thing I like about Demmar is the fact that he is a 6'9 SF , that was a weakness of ours last yr.(lack of hight) so once he can play that position at an NBA level the SF position would be one that we could possibly consider a strong position for us , just like our pt. guard and sg can be considered a strong position for the rox.. so in one or 2 yrs. we could possibly have 3 of 5 positions solidified and ready for the playoffs ! if Cato comes out and plays as we all know he can then we can count on 4 positions being strong on the rox starting unit ! that leaves our PF , if KT surprise the heck out of most of everyone in here and shows that he is no liability and provides the rox w/some post offense then we can say that all 5 positions are strong and ready for some major run at the championship !!!! The key to it is to slowly move towards building a strong starting unit that would provide all kind of match up problems against opposing teams..w/speed ,athleticism and great chemistry this team can go far. In 3 yrs from now many of the current prominent teams are going to be getting older and the rox are going to be hitting their prime .. Is going to be fun folks , just hang in there for the ride because I can tell you something , you can expect some bumps and many hurdles along the way but we are not going to crash and burn !!!! ------------------ "Why can't we just get along"...quote from a scientist in Half-life 2nd edition.
Defense wins championships? Ah... about as much as offense does, imo. Quite frankly, whether you outscore your opponent, or cause them to score less... it's the same story from a different perspective. Quite frankly, I think the Lakers played VERY POOR defense in the championship... and won in 6 because the Pacers had trouble stopping them as well. A couple final points: The better team is more likely to win in a HIGH SCORING game, because it increases the amount of scoring in which the law of averages has time to take effect . Secondly... with 10 seconds left, I'd rather my team be down by one, and have the ball in the hands of Stevie, than be up by one, with the ball being dumped into Tim Duncan. Basketball and football are extremely different... but people use the same analogy in football... yet the Rams beat the Titans. I think that old adage just emerged because so many players don't WANT to play defense, that it became a way of trying to persuade them. There's something positively "old school" about it... but sheesh. Whether the score is 120-116, or 85-83... the result is the same. Defense is important, of course... but I don't think it wins championships one bit more than offense... probably less, as no matter HOW good of defense you play, the other team can still hit difficult shot. ------------------ [This message has been edited by haven (edited June 23, 2000).]