If Rudy starts KT at sf, and griffin starts at PF Francis, mobley, KT, griffin, cato that's simply not bad at all. a lineup like that can run, gun, board, and play good D. it's a team that's 5th seed caliber imo things *are* looking on the up and up
I agree with you. In my opinion Eddie Griffin is the best front court player we have right now. Rudy should do whatever it takes for him to start. If having Kenny as our starting small forward is the only way Rudy can see Griffin starting, then he should do it. If thats not a good idea then have Griffin start as our small foward. I really don't care though, as long as he's out there 30 minutes plus.
KT will glen rice would get significant minutes at SF while oscar would play SG/SF it might even be a 4th playoff seeded team
KT at SF????? KT is slow speed-wise (I know he's somewhat quick) as is at PF. To think that he would be in the perimeter trying to guard a quick SF is crazy. KT also is not a good enough shooter to be a SF. Stick with Walt or Rice at SF. KT at best is a backup player.
KT a backup player??? he has played GREAT this year!!! I am starting to like him even more than MoTay, I think we should trade Mo + a draft pick and langhi for a good C, or trade up to get a top 3 pick in the draft, mabye pick Chris Marcus out of W. Kentucky. Marcus/ Cato KT/ Cato Griffin/ Rice/ Williams Mobley/ Torres Francis/ Norris/ Brown OR start Griff at C, and play a smaller lineup with Cat at the 3, and draft either Jason Williams or Dajuan Wagner. it would look like this... Griffin/Cato KT/ Tmo Cat/ Rice(or Wizard) Francis/Torres Williams(or wagner)/Norris
I can't see KT matching up with some of the better small forwards in the league. He doesn't have the lateral quickness to keep up with them.
Bear in mind that the Western Conf is loaded with bad asses at PF. Do you really like the idea of a 6 ft 7 KT guarding the best PF's in the NBA? Or perhaps you like the idea of KT chasing a SF like Rashard Lewis on the perimeter? KT is too short to play PF and too slow to play SF. He is an idea bench player. He is basically a Malik Rose-type guy. He is the type of guy you can plug in for matchup problems against the other team's backup SF/PF. But he does not pose any problems for any starting SF or PF.
Jeff, it doesn't matter. You improvise. Do whatever you have to do as a coach to keep Eddie Griffin out there starting with starter minutes. He's going to good right now. In my opinion, Eddies play is a key difference maker in wins or losses, while Kennys play is not. Griffins overall contribution and effectiveness on the defensive and offensive ends is much more devasting to opponets and more vauluable to his teamtes than Kennys play. It's early but thats what im seeing now. Dont get me wrong though, Kennys a decent player but hes not game changer like Eddie. Rudy should do whatever is necessary for him to allow Griffin to keep starting. If that means sliding KennyThomas over to the small foward spot, then so be it.
Booster-No one is arguing that Griffin shouldn't be a starter. I think Jeff (and I) is/are saying that KT cannot be a starting SF. KT is a nice player to have off the bench for 15-20 mins a game, but I think he has practically "topped out" in terms of production. Yes, he is young, but his lack of size and athleticism make me skeptical as to how much he can improve. If we play Phx, and they insert Rodney Rogers at SF, then KT would be a good matchup. However, I wouldn't want KT to be chasing a McGrady-type guy.
Jeff, I'm not chasing you and your replies down, but the same can be said about Williams and Rice. Neither has the lateral or vertical quickness to keep up with any small forward. I'd rather see Thomas there instead of walt or Rice. Our 4 used to be our weakness, but now its the 3 spot.
So that means you want either Mobley or Thomas to be the guy spotting up for 3s? In our offense, we have to have 1 legit spot-up shooter out there. KT does not fit that mold.
Kidrock, this is what makes me red ass anyway, even though I'm black and can't get red assed. Why do our 3 have to shoot 3's? Why do they have to be a spot up guy? How many 3's did Grant Hill shoot when healthy? A 3 man don't have to be a 3pt shooter, thats just the way this bull**** offense id designed. Seeing where Thomas catches the ball mid post and drives to the basket or post up, wouldn't that take advantage of his stregnth? We could use his stregnths and diversify the offense so that he can draw fouls or get double teams that would free up the other players. Its the same thing Det uses Corliss for. It can happen and it can make the team better, so why not do it. Its obvious Rice and Williams our so called spot up players are very inconsistent and can't guard anyone. Even though he scored 22 against the Bucks, didn't he give up the same amount? Other than center, small forward is the weakest position on the team. Might as well play thomas
In my opinion, when Stevie comes back, our lineup should be: Francis/Norris Mobely/Brown Torres/Walt/TMo/Langhi Griffin/Thomas/(Tmo) Cato/Willis/Collier Now if the Rockets want to trade KT, then they'll stick him back in there to showcase him for another few months. Then they might package him with William's expiring contract for a trade with someone near the luxury tax, and help us obtain a real center. Torres deserves to start at SF more than KT. KT is a wonderful backup at PF. Griffin is putting up better numbers and brings us more in terms of defense and shotblocking than KT at the PF position. Mo is out for the season, so he'll stay on IL. Keep Rice out for the rest of the season, too, until he is absolutely healed, whatever it takes. Rice will be very valuable if he is totally healthy. I don't think he's past his prime, he's just injured. If he plays well when he's healthy, he'll either be valuable as a shooter for this team at the 3, or trade bait.
I prefer KT at SF and I would want someone to tell me which SF KT is too slow to stick with. Pippen? Fox? Rose? Marion? Big Dog? I would think also that whoever they are, they would have difficulty defending him too. On the question on who would backup at 4, please remember that Willis was a 4 all his career. I would put him to back up at the 4 and 5 and I would even work Collier in to give us some more shooting help. Once again we should be running all the time and playing tough defense. We need ten guys for that. We also need to protect against injuries. Rotation? C Cato 30, Collier 15, Willis 3 PF Griffin 30, Willis 15, Thomas, 3 SF Thomas 27, Walt 15, Torres 6 PG Francis 33, Moochie 15 OG Mobley 33, Torres 15
If we put KT on Marion, he will be roasted. For the most part, the West doesn't have too many quick SFs. The main thing is that KT is not a spot-up shooter. Put him in the game instead of Rice or Williams, and we don't have any good spot-up shooters.
I can agree with most, but saying rice isn't past his prime is an understatement. Glen had his day, but now he's just a 1 dimensional spot up player. His days are done and has been spiraling down since his 27 ppg avg a few yrs ago.
