You're spot on my man, that's why I listed Bonzi ahead of Shane. Tmac just isn't the same tmac that he was when we first got him, so we'll definitely need that 1-2 and 3 punch in order to make it out of the west. Hopefully Bonzi comes into in shape and with a good attitude, and hopefully Ricky can utilize him properly...if not, then yeah we could be headed for another first round exit.
1) Tracy McGrady - why? even w/ this new roster, w/o him, the team would not make the playoffs. tmac basically controls EVERYTHING this team does on offense outside of the yao-post ups. like i have said, dude had the highest usage rating of any superstar last yr. 2) Yao Ming - the team's most efficient player and best post player. if he can play like he did pre-injury but improve the D and rebounding, he's on his way to a long string of 1st team appearances 3) Mike James - the dude can simply score. he also plays passing lanes very well. and more importantly, he has that "murderous" look when he plays ala sura. 4) Shane Battier - he's not higher b/c all he does is defend. dude sucks on offense and is so inconsistent during the reg. season and playoffs that it kills you. 5) Up for Grabs - it could be scola. it could be bonzi. it could be luther. but i haven't seen scola played in the NBA. i haven't seen bonzi put a string of great games together yet. so we'll see
The question is which Bonzi is going to show up? Healthy Bonzi, Injured Bonzi, in-Shape Bonzi, or Fat Bonzi? Same with Mike James? Are we having the James from 04/05, 05/06, or 06/07? Judging strictly by the performance from last season, it's really: TMac Yao Battier Chuck Hayes Rafer Alston Yep... the most effective starting 5 for 82 games. Now, Bonzi, James, Scola, even Brooks all look to have some potential of cracking the top 5, but they gotta prove it first.
Do we have a player with the first name of Alston or maybe this is a Typo and you meant to type Clutch the Bear is a better shooter than Alston? If it is not, I want you in for drug testing first thing in the morning See revised order. Mcgrady Yao James Battier ... .... ... ... ... ... ... ... Clutch the Bear the Men's room attendent in the Lexus Lounge the Lady's room attendent in the Lexus Lounge Daryll Morey Alston
1. Yao Ming: must improve rebounding and overall quickness; the most dominant center today; MVP candidate prior to injury; unstoppable with proper positioning; our most reliable scoring threat 2. Tracy McGrady: injuries/back problems have held him back; lost some aggressiveness; average jump shooter; still one of the best scorers in the nba; when on fire, few can match his offensive output 3. Shane Battier: can't score consistently besides spot up shooting; great defender; good spot up 3-point shooter; hustle and glue guy 4. Bonzi Wells: has the talent to be a effective scorer and decent rebounder; post up ability and size creates matchup problems 5. Rafer Alston: not a good shooter; can't finish around the basket well; decent defender; gets steals; very good passer; low turnovers; great ball handler; our best point guard floor leader
So from what I'm reading here, some people seem to think that the only way you could possibly be a decent player is if you have elite offensive skills? No doubt our best 2 players are TMac and Ming. No doubt our 3rd best player is Battier. He is easily one of the best defensive players in the league, and no, he does not 'sucks on offense', he's just not the player who can create his own shot. But if you make it for him then he hits it (42% from downtown last season is a sensational number) From here it's all about supporting cast! It doesn't matter who is "4th, 5th or 10th best" - what matters is that the rights peices fit around our best players. And, with all due respect to Battier, he is one of those 'peices' - the defensive stopper. So what we need is another offensive option, a bench scorer, some good 3pt shooters to space the floor, and another low post threat while Ming is out. If it was Alston and Hayes who started (like last year), then we can turn to a bench unit of Wells, James, Scola - throw in Mutumbo for short periods, and suddenly it looks like we have offense coming from the bench (provided Wells is in shape), size, shooting and experience. We finished with the 4th best record in the West last season, with our biggest problem being a 3rd scorer and a low post option. Even if Landry, Brooks, Wells and Scola are all terrible, we've still added Mike James to last years squad, which would've made a huge difference in terms of having a scorer come from the bench (even his 'terrible' season last year was still 10ppg).
the reason i criticize battier was his inconsistency for a guy who jacks up open shots all day. some nights he's hot. some nights he's cold. hell some nights he pass up wide open jumpers.
I just can't see how Rafer could be on this list after this past year and the additions made during this offseason. I would even put Aaron Brooks ahead of him at this point and this is simply because I believe Rafer was the worst starting PG in the NBA last year. Also, I rank these 5 based on individual all-around ability not as a starting 5. 1. TMAC 2. Yao 3. Battier 4. Scola (he better be, Rox management seem to be pinning a lot of hope on him 5. Mike James I leave off Bonzi due to his horrible year and I haven't seen anything yet that shows he is working hard at getting in shape. Luther just misses the cut as I believe James has a better all-around game at this point in time. Scola is up there based on potential alone, the fact that he has looked very good over a large sample period (much more so than VSPAN) in elite Euro play and International play to include against NBA level competition.
