once those pre-draft workouts start he'll come back down to earth...late lottery maybe, but definitely not top 10(considering late lottery doesnt mean # 10)....
That is a problem. Kyle is a great spark plug of a pg who goes forward and runs through people, he's probably go more charging fouls on him than anyone in the league. But let him try to execute a half court offense where he can't breakdown his man because he doesn't have the physical abilities to do so. Then you have Martin who, if you look at his stats, you see a disturbing pattern and that is that he shoots nearly the same from 3 point land as he does from the field, meaning that he is basically a 3 point shooter, who doesn't play defense. The best thing about him is that he gets to the line nearly 6 times a game, but the trend underscores the fact that he isn't able to break him man off the dribble and pull up in traffic for a game winner. Chase is the like martin, only he is not as good. I stand by the fact that you guys have some really good pfs. Scola is a great pf, Chuck Haynes and Patrick Patterson are all great players. Martin, in my opinion, should be traded. If I were this team, depending on your draft spot you end up with, if it goes as normal and you don't win the draft, I'd consider trying to move up to get Brandon Knight or Jan Vesley. Though even a Martin plus the 12 pick might not be enough to get Brandon Knight since teams are going to think he is a superstar, which he probably will be.
Kyle Lowry can and does run the half court offense very well. The high energetic bowling ball routine has actually fallen off quite a bit since he has been a starter since it is a style he cannot sustain through the entire game. He has become a lot more patient handling the offense now. As for not getting by guys, I completely do not agree with you. He is fast enough to beat out the majority of opposing PG's, something you can easily see as he continues to score on not only scrub PG's but elite ones as well. His strong physical build also allows him to physically bump off PG's if necessary. Besides, in a half court set, he doesn't have to run it by being able to break down his man. Anyone can break down the defense through the use of screens, cuts, or iso. Martin has always been a shooter. Not sure what you were expecting from him. Martin is a GREAT complementary 2nd option and if we can get a star and have Martin play OFF him, you will be able to truly see him shine. He is the type of player who does not need a lot of shots to get his points. More importantly, that means more shots for our superstar, if we ever do get one. That is a good thing. Our PF spot is solid, but I wouldn't go more than that. Scola is tough, hustles a lot, and has a decent post game. He is also old, slow, and porous defensively. 2Pat has a lot of promise and shows a great grasp for the game and a steady mentality. Unfortunately, he is still a rookie and it shows. My opinion of Hill has dropped immensely this season, but if the article regarding his personal life affecting his professional one holds any water, hopefully he can prove me wrong next season. Hayes should not actually be classified as a big until he extends his range a bit more. Right now he is an undersized but very effective C. Chase IMHO is still garbage. He is more aggressive, but his lack of lateral quickness severely hampers his 1 on 1 ability. His cutting is limited to his defender sagging off and he is still completely reliant on his shot to be a worthwhile player on the team. Take away his shot and cover him better off screens and rotations and like Brooks, he only has the occasional flashes of court vision to fall back on. While he probably can't improve his lateral quickness by much anymore, I would like to seem him improve at least as a team defender, much like Battier.
This is the NBA. The Grizzlies could lose a few and so can the Hornets. It ain't over until it's over. 14th pick isn't bad for DM. Our team is very close. Dwight Howard close to winning multiple rings (fingers crossed).
I want DM to go for the Best Player Available. I just hope it isn't another PF. As far as needs go, I think it's 1) defensive center, 2) a defensive stopper like a younger Shane, 3) backup PG. If we ended up with another Chase to back up the Chase we have now, that would be nice, though I'd prefer a defensive stopper.
I dont think we can go as low as Utah, they are 3 games below us. Maybe Phoenix can topple us and we can say - Hello 13th pick. Lucky 13th.
Yeah they could lose, but so what? Them losing means nothing if we keep losing with them. Back to backs against Philly and NOLA, then Spurs and Dallas. Dont forget the Hawks.
on another thread i said the rockets should draft brownlee from st johns for one of our picks but this guy chris singelton seems to be the best fit for the rockets right now. a small forward/pf with good ball handles and is known for his defense.
Really liked your assessment of this current Rockets team. Objective and detached. Scola's defensive weaknesses were really obscured when he was playing along real centers like Yao and Deke. Now that there is nobody protecting the rim, Scola is being exposed. Often he fails to timely close on shooters and against taller and more athletic pf, he is just helpless (e.g. Bosh). That was and has been painful to watch. Bud is fools' gold. Gold when making 3's. Garbage when missing them. He is soft and lacks aggression. Still, he is cheap under his rookie contract. I would trade both of them if it could bring us a starting center. Now we know why Morey was after that backup center from Chicago. He would have helped yesterday when Miami had something like 65 points in the paint???
Ive been screaming this for a while now Enes Kanter !! & I have a feeling Stern will force the balls to bounce our comes lottery time .. its been a while since we had a top 5 pick
The lottery effectively would be over if there were even a perception of reality that Stern would favor any team in the draft. As for Enes Kanter, he is a lesser Greg Oden with the same caliber knees. I suppose you want another great center who watches games from the bench year after year with disabling knee injuries.
This. It was pretty glaring in the late moments of Sundays game that our defense at the rim and at the foward postion is just terrible and too easy for other teams to exploit. We need size and stregth in the frontcourt so Chuck can play PF and Scola can be moved into more of a 6th man role. PPat may be part of the answer to this but he needs a little more polish defensively.
The Draft Combine will write the book on Enes Kanter's draft status. Right now he is simply a big guess as to where he will end up. If he's healthy, he's a top 3 or 4 pick, and out of the Rockets reach. Basically all NBA GM's have to go by is his European scouting reports from previous years, and hearsay regarding his knees and overall health. NBA teams cannot give full detailed physicals until the Combine and that is when he will either stay in the top 5 or drop significantly. If he falls to where the Rockets can grab him around 10 to 14, its because NBA physicians gave the bad news on his health. Either way, I wouldnt expect the Rockets to land Kanter. I think there are several other players in the draft the Rockets view as more desirable that will be around for the 14th pick and the 20th pick that turn out to be good surprises. *Also would expect that the 2nd 1st round pick (most likely 20th - 23rd) and maybe the 2nd round pick will be traded for a potentially higher 2012 first round pick. Unless a couple players are moved, I dont see there being enough roster space for 3 more rookies, and resigning Chuck, a free agent pickup, & yes Yao.
Scola is not going anywhere unless he is traded. If Patterson keeps on improving he could force the issue, but there is a bigger question that needs to be answered rather than just finding any Center to start for the Rockets.... What Center out there, that the Rockets really have a shot at getting(disregard Nene/Gasol), can actually beat out Chuck Hayes???... Maybe its time to realize that the best option for Center right now might still be Hayes with a combination or developing Thabeet & Hill, resigning at minimum cost/recovering Yao, and possibly more healthy Miller next season. -You have one proven Low Post defender, and four wild card centers. Out of four, Id say you have to think that 1 of these 4 will possibly pan out by the second half of the 2011/2012 season. -The point here is that, with Chuck Hayes starting and playing big minutes, it gives the Rockets one of the best low post defenders in the game, however he guards mostly PF's and slides Scola over to the Center. Maybe the real issue on defense is Scola. I sincerely doubt he ever gets his starting spot taken away unless he is traded.
Not necessarily. Don't forget that draft day RUMORS about health can send a player's draft stock into the toilet. Look at what happened to Darrell Arthur in 2008. He was projected as a late lottery to mid-first rounder. However, DURING the draft, rumors spread about him having some sort of kidney problems. The rumors were largely false, but that caused Arthur to fall all the way to #27. Hell, if I was Arthur, I would have sued whoever started those rumors (and I'll bet he did). I agree that Morey may look to parlay some 2011 draft assets into a potentially better 2012 draft asset. However, my assumption is that the most likely use of the LAC 2nd rounder will be to take another quality foreign prospect and let him develop overseas, much like they did with Sergio Llull. At #38 (the likely position at which the pick will land), the Rockets can probably get a better prospect (like Llull) than in prior drafts (see Newley, Leunen, etc.).
I think Chuck is great, but he shouldn't be the starting center. If he's playing 12 minutes at center, and 24 minutes at PF, that's fine. When he plays center, he's helping us in some ways, but hurting us in others. And, neither Hill nor Thabeet are ready to be that starting center, either. We need 36 mins per game out of somebody that plays decent defense, blocks shots, rebounds, and is tall.
