Easy, I like this lineup on offense. But I would be VERY concerned from a defensive point of view. Maddox - Scouting reports out of college said hes not a bad defender. Unknown whether he can keep up with the Paytons and Millers. For the sake of arguement, lets say he can. Francis - He cant even consistantly guard players his size, much less 2 guards like Bryant, Szcerbiak, Finley, Smith, Wells/Anderson, Barry, etc. Nachbar - Hes a euro so ......youd have to hope his offensive output makes up for the points hell give up on D. Cato - Not a bad defensive center. I dont think he has the lateral quickness, technique, IQ or even desire to keep up with some of the good 4s or even mediocre 4s in this league. Also, not use to having to guard players further out on the floor. Yao - Still finding his way on D. Im sure hell improve. ------------ So really out of this lineup, you have maybe 1 good defensive player (Maddox) and possibly 1 more (Yao). This lineup could work for very short stretches if the other team is big or has a slow lineup, otherwise, it would be scary to watch on D.
if mobley doesnt play tuesday against spurs, i would actually like to see maddox and francis playing the guards... he was good.... by the way, i noticed this forum after i made one about maddox... ahha
yep, those last few minutes were the only glimmers of hope from this game. IMO, Maddox was picked because he could very well become our ideal 3rd guard. He's a pass first point guard, that likes to run full speed, with excellent size and tough in your face defense. I'm sure he needs more time to learn some of the schemes the Rockets are running, but he's a first round talent that fell to us in round 2 because of his year away from basketball. Keep in mind, he turned 21 a couple months ago; really young PGs like that need some developmental time, but he's definitely shown the flashes. Did you notice Eddie finally got the ball with his back to the basket, and calmly hit a little 8 foot turnaround. IMO, that's his shot-he did it yesterday, and couple times against Wallace in the Portland game, plus a lot more in the summer leagues. It also looked to me that that's where he usually tries to set up position, just never gets the ball. Nachbar looked smooth. Didn't try to impress everyone by forcing anything, he took an outside shot, and then tried to get closer to the basket to get his game going. Beautiful fast break pass, too. I'd love to see Rudy maybe give him a shot with some minutes some game soon (maybe not San Antonio, but a lesser team), and see what he can do with the first unit.
I really would like Moochie's minutes cut down a bit for Maddox. I think he has great potential, definitely more than Moochie. I agree we should bring him in slowly, but give him some playing time each game, even five minutes would be enuf for now. Also KT's and Rice's minutes should be cut down a bit for Nachbar and TMo. Again not a lot, but enough to bring Boki and TMo along and see how they improve. I think they'll be good solid players. KT and Rice don't seem to be in the rox future anyways (if only KT would stop taking those 18 to 20 ft jumpshots... it'll be a shame to lose him).
Ive been saying good things about Tito and Nachbar, ever since the Draft. Every time I have done this, so many posters try to shoot me down. Now you have a glimpse of what I was talking about!
Exactly. All the Rockets seem to do (when Griff is in the game) is run the high pick and roll. Then Griff rolls right out to the three point line. He is left so open he better shoot. I am sick and tired of running that high pick and roll with Steve and Griffin. How about setting a screen down low and letting Griffin post up closer to the basket. I dont want to say its Rudy's fault, but Griffin is not being utilized the way he should be.
T-Mo's strength is supposed to be rebounding and defense. Can anyone tell me who was he guarding yesterday and do you think he can rotate quickly enough on defense or play man to man defense against rival SF's? NIKEstrad,I saw Griffin making a move in the low post against the Clippers where he got in a good position but just couldn't put the ball in the basket.I think he can better as a low post player if he improves his footwork,positioning and shooting along with developing his physical strength but it's going to take quite a lot of time and practise.However the only way that he will succeed is by getting better in actual game situations.
For all the complaining about defense, I for one would like to see the offense step it up a couple notches. Right now the team is struggling to put the ball in the hole. I'm tired of 13 points quarters. Dropping 100 points on most teams is a W.
Studogg Larry Bird was fast either albeit at the defensive end but he outsmarted his opponents. So which is more important? Basketball wits or speed? Well you do need to answer that because it is not fair to judge Boki foot speed untill he has gotten ample amount of PT. Talking about speed at the defensive end, who needs one now when the Zone defense is legal? Are you trying to tell me that Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas is fast? I wouldn't be so mad at Ruddy for not giving Boki some PT this far but I hope that changes soonest. CD and Ruddy T should unclog the SF position by unloading 2 of the follwing players; Kenny Thomas, Terrence Morris or Glenn Rice. At least we can get draft picks in return if nothing else (including salary cap relief if Rice is successfully unloaded - I fear his health will always be an issue).
I'd like to think we got a Larry Bird type player too, but it's far fetched. IMO, a hernia really slows you down. I've seen it before. You just feel so awkward after recovering from a hernia. It's kinda like running with a really full stomach. Here's what I think: This team has too many F's for any of them to get comfortable. There aren't enough minutes for each of them to get in the flow. They come in and out in and out in and out. It's what's affecting their FG%. I still do believe that, ultimately, T-Mo and Griffin are our starting F's. Griffin isn't starting because of strength, and T-Mo because his shot, although vastly improved, still needs some work. I am positive that if we keep these guys in the rotation, off the bench, that they will get the experience they need. During training camp, the staff commented on how Griffin had added 17lbs since his first offseason. Assuming that number is up to 20lbs, then if he adds strength at the same rate, he will be around 8-10lbs stronger next year. He's listed at 232lbs right now on NBA.com. I'm confident that by next season, he'll be a solid,real (not listed) 240lbs. Once he adds this, he can post up more effectively and stop get pushed around. As for T-Mo, once he improves his shot, everything else is already there. He has already improved it since last year, and one more year of improvement will make him the ideal candidate at SF. I love this big, quick, athletic, defensive, shotblocking frontcourt with our superb backcourt: Ming (7'5) Griffin (6'11) T-Mo (listed at 6'9, but common, looks as tall as Cato) Mobley Francis Best part is, the whole frontcourt will break out in the same season. I can't wait.
As far as Cato playing PF, I think you're exagerating his deficiencies. He would do a decent job against guys like Duncan, Webber, Malone who are post players, and if they go to the perimeter, that's a good thing. Of course, Cato wouldn't work against guys like Nowitski and Antoine Walker. However, the biggest arguement in Cato's favor is the other 3 guys we have playing PF. None of them can guard anyone at all in the post. Cato couldn't do any worse than Eddie, KT, or MoT.
Not at all. Cato has rarely played the 4 during his NBA career, if at all. The players you mentioned, Duncan, Malone and Webber are face up players as well as post players. They have the ability to take their man off the dribble and take the ball to the hole. Not to mention Garnett even. Putting Cato at the 4 on defense is asking for 1) Foul trouble on Cato 2) Foul trouble on Yao (who would no doubt have to slide over to help Cato with his man 3) Alot of open jumbers because Cato wont be able to play them tight on the perimeter for fear of having his man blow by him. KT can do a good job defensively at the 4 and has been since Griffin has been benched (the reason why EG was benched IMO was because of his poor defense). IMO, much better than Cato ever would be. Cato is not even a great defensive center, much less a defensive 4.
I think it may be worth a try to play Cato and Yao at the same time just to match up with Duncan and Robinson. Maybe just 5 minutes or so to see how they do. I'm more than just curious to see how that works out. Yao on Tim and Cato on David.
