Of course. And let me correct myself, barbosa is one of the best bench scorer in the league. Got alil carried away there. I just don't understand why some people have such a biased hate for francis. He's playing as hard as he can right now and still people ridicule him on his current performances.
Originally Posted by rofflesaurus and he still doesnt play defense now. hes actually worse because he's slower laterally. adelman said in the paper that rafer and james were both much better than francis defensively. It's cause Rofflesaurus is actually a closet Mav's fan. He has a poster of Mark Cuban over his bed and he loves Jason Terry. He has socks with little embroidered Mav's logo's on them. Every night before he goes to bed, he kisses his Dirk doll goodnight and then turns his attention to clutchfans to rag on Francis and Yao. After getting his satifaction drawing the ire of most of the posters on this board, he grins and goes to bed with a big smile on his face.
At this point, this team really needs Steve Francis to step up and fill the team's need for a hard-nosed, drive-to-the-basket guard. Barring a trade, I just don't see anyone else on the roster with the size and athleticism being able to do this with consistency. He might've lost a step of two but he's our best hope. I know this has been pointed out many many times before, but just wanted to get that off my chest.
Good thread. But 1 size does not fit in the NBA. Wade was the only penetrator for Miami (though the best in the league at that time)--and they won. Only Billips off of Detroit is a main penetrator. Only Lebron off Cleveland, and they did well. SA had a mix, but there best player is a traditional low post player. Don't pretend they go anywhere without TD. I think the Rockets problem is an overall lack of athleticism/offensive explosiveness. Bonzi isn't a solution because of shooting and quickness woes depsite some strengths he has. Francis/James/Alston are fine, but playing two at once leaves the team too undersized and overmatched athletically. Then we can go with 1 PG, Tmac at the SG, Battier at SF, Hayes/Scola, Yao--but that team is quickness/athletically challeneged against most squads. So whichever lineup the Rockets choose, there are just some areas if major concern. Either too small or quickness challenged. Solutions? Add a big athletic guard with an all around game (shoot decent, drive decent, defend decent) or a PF who is athletic, good sized and with the all around game. The latter are nearly impossible to get. But the former, someone like Kirk Snyder, except a reliable shooter and consistent player, might be attainable. I would try to pry one of GS excess swingmen who fit the mold.
Desert, I don't disagree with you but the Rockets don't even have one "balls to the wall" penetrator like Wade. Most of the quality teams we are fighting have 2. Spurs - Ginobli, Parker Suns - Nash, Barbossa Mavs - Harris, Howard I guess some of the teams get by with one, but they have to be uber aggressive at getting into the paint. Whomever suggested the Battier for Maggette trade is a very smart fan, that would work out very well (if Corey can stay healthy), as he attacks the basket relentlessly and it would allow Tmac to move back to his natural SF position. DD
only prob is maggette is one of those guys who slacks a lot...id rather keep shane and trade others...like luther head, kirk snyder, draft picks, maybe rafer.
Well Mike Bibby will likely be available because Udrih seems to be playing at a very high level. Only question is, has the surgery to his hand altered his shot?
Here's another truthier truth. Didn't Aaron Brooks shoot lights out from 3 pt range in preseason? Since our shooting sucks so much, why not let Aaron try his hand a bit? He's better than Novak insofar that he's really quick and can break his defender down. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Aaron-Brooks-332/ July 24, 2007 Listed generously at 6-1, Aaron Brooks came into the Summer League as a supporting player in the Houston Rockets’ point guard controversy. With two point guards, Mike James and Rafer Alston, already locked up, the Rockets shocked a lot of people by selecting Brooks with their 26th overall selection. In the days following the draft, it seemed inevitable that a deal would be announced, but nothing surfaced. Nearly a month later, Brooks has put himself firmly in the center of this situation by earning the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month Award in Vegas. With Steve Francis now entering the picture for Houston, it is clear that they will be making another move, but the question is: will it include Brooks? No one may have proven more during this Summer League than Aaron Brooks. He showed the shot making ability and range of a seasoned NBA player. Brooks can punish opponents when left open, and was lights-out from three-point range all week. Brooks’ ability to hit the NBA three should fit in well next to Tracy McGrady should the two ever get the chance to play together. One thing that Brooks did show in Vegas was a propensity to take off balance shots from the perimeter. On the vast majority of his touches, Brooks either broke his man down off the dribble or shot the ball before his man could get a hand up. What made Brooks’ offense game seem so seasoned was the way he used his quickness in Houston’s offense. He moved surprisingly well off the ball, freeing himself by using screens and cutting backdoor for open looks at an alarming rate. This uncanny ability to create separation made Brooks’ lack of height a non-factor, which is a very promising sign for a player of his stature. However, he couldn’t compensate for his size around the rim. He got to the rim with little resistance, but wasn’t finishing as consistently as Nate Robinson or Jose Juan Barea. He doesn’t have touch like Barea or explosiveness like Robinson, but falls somewhere between the two. He will need to develop a go to move when driving to the rim to be effective on the NBA level. As a point guard, Brooks showed some inconsistency, interspersing his good decisions with bad ones. His turnover numbers were somewhat misleading, as his teammates dropped a handful of passes around the rim that a player like Yao Ming would have gobbled up easily. His teammates don’t shoulder all of blame for his turnovers though, as Brooks made showed his lack of maturity frequently. At times, Brooks almost seemed to be in too big of a hurry going to the rim, leading to poor decisions with the ball. These problems will be remedied over time as Brooks gains experience and learns how to finish without needing as much space as he was trying to create by rushing to the rim. Brooks showed above average intensity on the defense end, but didn’t create a lot of turnovers. At this juncture, it appears that Rafer Alston and John Lucas III are the two most likely candidates to leave Houston, leaving Brooks playing the role of third point guard. With James and Francis occasionally playing at the two, Brooks could even see the minutes of a backup. While Brooks earned more playing time than anyone could have expected in Vegas, he still faces an uphill battle for time in Houston. [Read Full Article]
It's summer league. Take performances in the SL with a grain of salt. See where the MVP of the Summer league last year, JL3, has landed. Still not on a team..... With that said, I don't think we are in such bad shape that we have to start giving minutes to an unproven rookie. Give us at least a couple months to see if Skip or James can contribute more than they do now. IMO, the key is penetration. Looking at the teams that beat us, they had guys that would attack the basket relentlessly. Specially, against the Warriors and Kings. Every time down the court, they'd try to take it to the rim. If the shot wasn't there, they passed it out until they found the open man. But most of the time, they got to the rim for a layup or foul. With our team, we don't have enough of that. Guys are taking open jumpers and are missing them. Nobody other than Francis and sometimes T-Mac, can attack the rim and produce. AB can attack but he's too small to finish well. Skip takes floater, James is a one man show and even T-Mac shies away from defenders for the up and under, avoid the contact-layup. Hell, even Bonzi is settling for too many jumpers. Even ones way out of his range. Penetration creates much more offense and can lead to some easy buckets. Notice how everytime Steve has checked in, our team has either made a run, took the lead or came back to even the score. I don't think it's just a coincidence. He forces the issue and causes the defense to make adjustments. It's much easier to guard guys that take stand there and take open shots all day than guys that attack the rim and make you play defense.
Ya, good pt Ankor. I guess we would have to go under .500 to give Brooks a shot or a major slew of injuries.
I don't know if you guys recall Brooks in the last few preseason games but the kid showed that he was a LONG way away from being ready on both sides of the ball. Not Spanoulis 10 turnover bad, but still pretty lousy. I don't have any reason to presume he's gotten that much better inside 6 weeks.
Guess that's why he's getting garbage minutes at the end of games. But at least he's getting 2-3 minutes here and there.
here's the question, if a player is wide open, should he shoot a jumper or attack the rim with defenders waiting? I do not know the exact numbers, but if you give teams like the suns, the spurs, and the mavs the open jumpers, they will kill you in no time. On the other hand, other teams gave us open looks purposely, pretty sad.
Wrong forum? Wonder how it would work to make Yao 6th man? Start Scola at the 5 and run for 8 minutes; bring in Yao to pound them. Radical, huh?
Without going thru it all, even as this is, gee, quite a Thread, DD, but - how can you compare D-Wade to anyone anywhere this side of LBJ, Kobe, and Manu? (BTW - I fear for the fellow's future as he is majorly "balls to the wall" and reminds me of Adrian Peterson (or Earl 'The Tyler Rose' Campbell). Point is, you are correct. This team with Deron Wms or Chris Paul would be the elite team in the NBA IMHO. So, is there a realistic way, short of a Lotto visit, to get our version of a (near) perfect 1? There is the 'new regime' in Philly, and Dre Miller. Then there is the disappointment in Jordanville er Chicago, and if they decided Heinrich could be had I'd be all over that like the proverbial smell on stuff. There's a guy in Seattle I really like, Delonte, but he's due a new contract and their situation is iffy and and and... So, DD or et al, who's the Point?
Oh I agree. Only Cleveland someone close to that in the game right now. But I think someone else hit the nail on the head with Orlando, it doesn't have to be an extra great slasher, but could be another extra great shooter (quick trigger dead eye) who can slash a little bit. For instance, a Flip Murray or Larry Hughes, as great as they are as slashing, won't cut it because of their J problems. I just think an athletic all around SG (slash and shoot some, but either can be stronger) is more a problem than PG is. The problem we have to with more natural SFs in the 3 spot (Tmac or Battier) or very undersized/overmatched players in the SG spot (Head, Francis, James). Bonzi is too slow and doesn't shoot well enough either. I would look for achieving this in two ways. One, try to get a guy who can help for not too much cost and keep basically the core (including Batiier). At most trade a bit player--Wells, Snyder, Head, one of our vet PGs with perhaps a #1 pick for someone like Pietrus or Barnes, or maybe Cat Mobley if the Clips want to cut cost.. Another would be to include a core player (likely Battier). Maggette maybe, but I do have concerns about his ability to be a 3rd guy, I'd worry more about chemistry and losing as many intangles as much as we gain offensively. If we do a bigger trade, Battier +, I'd look for a guy with a lot of talent having a bad year. Maybe a Chicago guard/SF, Atlanta guy, Overall I think option 1, keep the core but add another SG, probably more feasible/likely.
