With so much attention has focused on the 1 and 4 positions, we have left this off our radar. Right now, we got nobody else at 5 after Yao. Yes, Mutombo is on the roster, but he really should have been retired. Yao has averaged 35 minutes so far this season, that might be comparable to last season on the surface, but if you look a little closer, you will see that he only average 32+ minutes in the first FIVE games, but 37+ in the last SIX games. His shoot % has dropped all the way from .564 during the first FIVE games to .482 for the last SIX games; in the last 4 games, his % was .333, .368, .444, .429, which is a direct result of the long minutes he played, IMO. As we all know the NBA is a long season, we have only played 11 games, there are still 71 games to go. The Rockets and JVG must find a backup center who can play 10 to 15 minutes, so Yao's minutes can cut down to ~34minutes, otherwise the guy will not be able to do much come in April.
its padgett . to bad the rockets didnt draft Milsap instead of novak. that would be a backup c/pf for the next 13 years
All the guys you have mentioned are PFs, not a legit backup 5. We can get away with some bad teams, but not against other quality ones.
I wouldn't put a lot of stock in preseason play. He's 6-6 and already undersized at the 4 and has to be scrappy to make up for being out-talented almost every night. It's like asking Scott Brooks to step in for an injured Vernon Maxwell. Bad idea for more than 4 minutes here and there. I agree fully that this is should be a major point of concern for the Rockets. A Yao 2 week ankle sprain would devestate us. Loren Woods is the only real big man available right now, if I am correct. An Adoynal Foyle buyout may be our best hope (I realize how awful that sounds). I doubt that Olowakandi, Scott Pollard, or Mark Blount would be especially difficult to trade for. Evan
Anyone know what kind of free agent bigmen are out there? Maybe there is a Tim THomas type of player in the pool will explode for us?
how about we focus on our biggest problem right now? a backup 4 that can play when Chuck is in foul trouble or when he is guarding larger PFs?? Ming plays 35 minutes a game, Motumbo is still reliable and he can give us great 8-10 minutes, in the 4 minutes left, we can go small and outrun the other team.. a backup center is the LAST thing we need to worry about.. the voids at the 1 and 4 should be addressed immedietly..
I'd certainly rank this higher over the PG "issue" many people have been talking about here. Yes we don't have a good PF, but at least we have a bunch of bodies to fill the void. If Yao is in foul trouble, or has a bad day, who is there to sub him? Nobody! Mutombo can no longer give us 8-10 good minutes a game any more. Deke has never been able to do much offensively throughout his career, and his defense is almost gone now, that's why you see Yao's minutes going up in the last few games. I read somewhere that the Warriors want to buy out Adonal Foyle, maybe that's something worth consideration. The guy is a shot blocker, similar to Deke, but much younger, and cheaper (after bought out).
Kill two birds with one stone and get a guy who can play either spot. We need an athletic, big body who can run the floor, play some defense and dunk the ball without taking 10 seconds to gather himself before he jumps. Deke is done and we have no backup for Hayes that has the size/strength to deal with today's PFs. Cato would have been a nice pickup although he is a bit older now and not the athlete he was 3 years ago. A guy like Pollard would work as well.
Mutombo isn't that bad. Still a good defensive player and a fantastic rebounder. We can make due with Chuck/Juwan splitting the rest of the minutes. If Yao's playing 35 MPG, I don't think backup center is much of a priority. If he goes down with an injury, it can become a problem.
I hope Deke wins a ring with the current Rockets squad, but it seems quite unlikely. Deke is getting older and running on fumes. Even if we can get by this season, there is next season and beyond. I am still upset we cut Haryasz at the end of preseason. Dude has size, plays hard, and should be a keeper as a long-term backup for Yao.
If you were4 wathching the BBS you might remamber that I told you all of this berfoe the season started!! Nobody would listen. It was already obvious that Mutombo should have retired!
Don't get fooled by those stats. If you watch the games, it would be obvious that Deke can only provide a minute or two here or there, he can no longer provide 10+ solid minutes we solely need right now. Yao's minutes should be reduced to 33-35, no one at that height & weight should play longer than that. It just increases the chances of Yao getting injuried when gets tired, and his productivity/accuracy has been down when he is tired.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dikembe_mutombo/game_by_game_stats.html He's still good for 10 minutes or so when needed. He's a not as good as he was in his youth, or even as good as he was 2 years ago, but he's still productive in specific situations. He's the equivalent of a lefty specialist pitcher now. Considering Juwan and Hayes are available to matchup against smaller lineups, the backup C is no more a concern than anything else. Not that I'm opposed to getting a big guy, though, but that big guy better be able to play PF, too, because backup 4 is a concern. I don't think, for instance, Cato is the solution. He could barely keep up with 4s 3 years ago, and now he is older and appears slower and heavier (dude was enormous looking when I saw him in person at the Garden)
solution 1: put more bench players on the court, let all starters relax more; solution 2: sign a back-up center, for example Keith Van Horn Solution 3: both solution 1 and solution 2. I hope JVG accept solution 3.
