I don't get to see any Rocket games except 2 this year, aginst the lakers at houston, so I was wondering if anyone can fill me in Please Can you guys tell me if Torres is playing any sf time? He looks good offensively from all the stats I seen lately and I reading he's playing great defense. And at 6'6 and 220, the same size as SA, I think he could play SF just as well. I'm asking becuase I'm wondering what his playing time will be when Francis and Mobley come back, if he can play with them both on the court. Do you guys think he can be a scorer for us off the bench like mobley was? How's his passing, driving, outside shot, and dribbling? Where is he getting most of his mins? Thanks in advance guys.
The question should be: "Will Mobley be okay in returning to the bench?" Seriously, a guard rotation of Francis, Torres, and Mobley would be effective offensively...and more importantly, defensively. Torres will get more minutes and play the tougher backcourt defensive assignment. To answer your question, Torres is confident, athletic, provides a lot of energy, quick, has a reliable perimeter game, has decent ball-handling skills, good demeanor, and recovers well defensively. Where does this put Norris? If I were Houston, I would try to work a trade of Cato, Norris, Thomas, Langhi, Brown, Rice, Collier, and/or Williams. University (Spring Cleaning) Blue
I don't think we should make Cuttino the sixth man when he comes back, I think Oscar should be the sixth man. Torres is pretty good, but Mobley is better.
I like Mobley as starter and Torres filling in for Rice for 3 will be a real interesting line up, But however there might be some bad ball movement together with back court duo.
Ok guys, calm down, Torres is good, but he's not that great. Cat has nothing to worry about, he won't lose his starting position. Like what MoandFroShow said, Torres needs to be our sixth man that can come out and hit big shots. Maybe even play at SF, if he can play good defense against opposing SFs. Anyone know if Mobley is coming back next game?
Question is will RT wake up and smell the coffee and play the best players to win the game? or will he continue giving the minutes to the people with the biggest salaries. I agree Oscar should be our 6th man, but NO WAY MOOCHIE should continue to be the 6th man when Francis returns. As Jeff mentioned in an earlier post, Moochie could not start for any team, in the NBA, at PG. He has shown no skills worthy of the NBA, and frankly he probably would have trouble starting in the CBA with the effort he has shown this year. Yes, he might give you a few good offensive nights, but at the same time he is costing us more in turnovers and/or running the clock down and making somebody else turn it over. Oscar's game is 10X more polished then Moochies. Until Francis returns, I think that Mobley should return as our starting PG with Oscar the starting 2 guard. Moochie and/or Tier can be the backups. Here is how I would do the lineups. 1. Mobley (our best PG til Francis returns) 2. Oscar (the next best thing to mobley --so far this season--) 3. KT (if he is going to sit out on the 3 point line, lets just make him a SF) 4. Griffin (needs to be in the post, he was incredible against Duncan & Robinson the other night. - and for that RT pratically benches him for the 2nd half.) 5. Willis (our best center, period!!! give Cato a reason to bust his ass to regain the staring position) backups: 1. Moochie or Tier (At leats Tier looks to pass first, and he pushed the ball up the court and does not dribble for 20 seconds. He just needs some playing time to get rid of the rust). 2. Langhi (yes Langhi, he deserves some playing time and at least he can score if everybody else is in a slump) 3. Rice, Williams, Langhi, Morris (Rice needs to go on the IR until he can get his legs back. It is so painful to watch him play, especially when he tries to cut to the basket.) 4. Williams (he is starting to look like a ball hog, I almost never see him pass the ball when he gets it.) 5. Cato
Oscar has not shown the ability to instantly take over a game. He is a player that fits extreamly well in the normal flow of the game and would be a terrific roll player alongside Francis. Cat can come in and take over a game like few others can. Cat can thrive as the sixth man while Oscar has not shown the ability to come in off of the bench and just light it up.
Guys I haven't been to see the Rox play in a long while but I know that Torres is starting b/c the Cat his been injured... Has Torres been playing that well??? Being Latino, I was just happy the Rox kept him and he made the team... I've only been able to see one game the game vs. the Kings at Houston... He looked good for a rookie but has he played that much better than Moochie???
Oscar Torres is what championship teams need. He plays defense harder than anyone else on this team and hustles his ass off on both sides of the court. At times, he can be a bit wild with his shot, but maybe after some time, he can refine that shot and make a little more consistent? Anyway, our team needs more players like Oscar, players that go all out on both sides of the ball. If he makes a bad play on the offensive side and loses the ball, you can almost expect that he'll get the ball back somehow on the defensive side. He's that persistent... Anyway, I think the best thing for Rudy to do would be go with what worked with us last year, and that is go small ball with a Steve/Cat/Oscar starting lineup. Oscar plays better D than Shandon and doesn't dribble the ball off his knees like Shandon. (Although he can be a bit wild on the break as well, and he seems to be getting ****ed over by the refs a lot when he tries to take the initiative on the break by getting dumb fouls called on him or NOT called on the opponent) Rudy needs to go back to what was working in the preseason, and that was going with the young guys and letting them run crazy on both sides...I miss that preseason game in which EG and Tmo combined for like 7 blocks... We need defense and speed, and we have plenty of solid speedy defenders in Oscar, TMo, EG, and Tierre...we're playing like a bunch of old men with the "walk it up and dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble heave the wild 3 ball" offense...
so does Torres fit into our long term plans? Does he figure to be a future starter and star in this league or will he be a good role player for his career? I too have not had a chance to seen him play much
Oscar plays very well. He and Kenny Thomas are as active as they come...at all times, on all parts of the court. Plus, Torres can nail the open shot, can dribble penetrate when they rush out to guard him, and is cutting well without the ball *without getting in anyone's way*. I have a sneaking suspicion that Oscar is taking extra practice and extra video sessions to learn his role since he can't speak English. Now, enough with the Mobley comparisons. Torres has not had to face defenses that even know who he is, yet. There is a common tendency in the media to praise guys like Raja Bell and call them future starters, if not stars. You can't really say that about the unknowns until you the NBA reacts to them....until scouts, scout them, learn their tendencies, etc. Teams invent defenses for Mobley...not Oscar. You cannot compare the two. I sure do love Oscar, though. prediction: when Oscar has a bad game, the BBS will start complaining about him shooting too much. Oscar loves to shoot, and he doesn't turn down shots too much. I wouldn't be surprised to hear some people jump on him for never passing, yet they'll never say that about Griffin....like when have we seen Griffin turn down a shot, so far. lol <b>BGM:</b> "we're playing like a bunch of old men with the "walk it up and dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble heave the wild 3 ball" offense..." If that is all you saw against the Kings and the Spurs, then I have to say that you are watching the dribbling too much. If you stop watching the dribbling, you will see that the weakside (and strongside even in those games) are making cuts and setting up. The dribbling in those games was merely to wait for the cuts to develop, and they were developing with plenty of time in the clock. This time we have a Popovich quote about our execution being better than theirs. watch...new things can happen in the space of one game.
Crispee speak the truth! Let's chill out and view Oscar as a nice bench player, who can do many of the things Mobes can do in some instances, but who has not had to go up against an opponent that prepares their defensive game plan around trying to stop him on every possession ala Franchise and Mobes! It is great to see and revel in, but let's face it...Torres is in a perfect situation 1) the team is struggling and we need instance offense fast--he can pretty much free stroke like the lost Williams brother in Memphis 2) teams do not prepare a game plan to stop Oscar 3) he is a backup right now starting due to injuries and there is no pressure on him. You need guys like Oscar to win championships though. Just because he lights it up and seems to be playing well does not make him a fulltime starter. Some players need to come off the bench. He strikes me as this type right now. In 2-3 years it may be different. Let's get him more minutes and do some creative rotational things with him. Heck, I like the idea someone had of having him a small forward in some situations.......franchise, mobley, torres, griffin and willis in the game agains smaller or slower teams would be nice!
I see him kinda like Mario Elie back in the championship years -- a starting, role player for the Rockets; benchwarmer elsewhere in the league.
Something else to consider is that the Rock's two starting guards are both hurt right now. They both were playing way too minutes before their injuries. And until Mobley got hurt, Torres saw no PT. What I would to see is Mobley limit his minutes to mid 30s when he comes back and let Torres pick up 10 minutes per game. I would even considering starting him against teams with premiere 2s, since his D is way better than Mobley's. Torres also may be better suited to play the 3 than Mobley when the Rocks go small. Torres is the next SA, except his defense is better and has a beter shot Torres for Rookie of the Year!!!
