Did anyone watch the Kings/Mavs game lastnight, they played most of the game in a halfcourt offense and it was terrible. The playoffs are about slowing the game down and playing defense, something the Mavs and Kings don't and can't do.
I'm not sure if we're better off playing the Lakers or not. But I do know that our offense is light years better against the Lakers than any other team. When teams take away the middle from us, we have real difficulties. The double edge sword of the Lakers is that our offense is much better against them, but they've also got tremendous offensive weapons that challenge our defense. Would you rather play a team that we score more against, but are a bigger challenge to our defense or would you rather play a team that we have more trouble with offensively, but we do better against defensively? In today's chronicle JVG is quoted as saying "If you don't have to close (defensively) to somebody, then you can keep anybody out of the lane." . That's exactly the problem that we have. Teams can keep us out of the lane because they don't have to respect our outside shooting or our ball movement and passing. When teams take the lane away from us (which almost everybody has tried to do this season), we have to be able to make them pay for it. We're either going to have to have some consistent outside shooters or we're going to have to move well without the ball and pass smartly. Sacramento does a little of both. Last night, the announcers were commenting how Sacramento was simply throwing the ball into Webber in the low post and everybody else was standing around. Once Webber went to the bench and they started moving without the ball and moving the ball around, the offense picked up and they won the game. Can our current makeup of players become consistent outside shooters? Probably not. Will we start moving well without the ball and start making smart passes? I doubt it and as long as we can't do either of those things on a consistent basis, we'll see a steady diet of teams camping out 3 guys in the lane and taking away Yao and the driving lanes of our guards. Here's an easy question. If you were coaching against the Rockets, how would you try to defend them? In my opinion, the easy option is to just pack in the defense. By doing that, I make it difficult for Yao, Francis and Mobley.
Why not? It worked a year ago. Excuses, excuses, excuses. This team can win 45 games without Yao Ming. Winning 45 with him is inexcusable.
We should use our T.E. to get a PF, I think we should try to prusued Stromile Swift hes an exelent defender very atletic. I also think should try to get Brent Barry for M.L.E or try to get Sura for less.
We will not contend if we stand pat. At a minimum... * DAL will be dealing Walker for a decent 5 and some change and moving Jamison (who's a better fit) into the lineup. * The Hornets will come into our division so we will be playing them 2 more times while playing the EC two less times. * PHX has $10m in cap space and a Lottery pick. * UTA has nearly $30m in cap space and could SnT Ostertag to the EC. * DEN has nearly $20m in cap space. And speculatively.... * The Faker$ could wind up with an influx of depth (and/or picks) if they SnT Kobe to the EC. * The Grizz and Jerry West have a lot of low contract players to SnT for Kobe which strengthens both the Faker$ and the Grizz. * The Clipps have a Lottery pick and could start Wilcox while sending Brand to the EC for low contracts. * TMac and/or Pierce could be in the WC next season. There is no point in having a $6.99m TE and letting it expire because you won't move a rotation player.
Yes we could! Would we actually contend? Well Yao Ming with Francis at the controls will take another three seasons to come to what we expect from him, but if we tinker and get us a 'Tough'Power Forward, at least 7' tall and 295lbs. a 6'10" Small Forward and a starting Playmaker Point Guard, you never know we just might cause a stare or two. To do this we might have to make a few adjustments to our Roster.
Here are some not too outlandish possibilities that I would like to see happen this offseason: I like Cat, but I think the starting combination of Steve, Cat and JJ is too turnover prone and lacks sufficient smart passing skills. Cat's our most tradeable asset. First move: Trade Cat for Al Harrington I think there was a rumor the Pacers were interested in this deal last year. Reasons why it might be realistic is that the Pacers need a SG to replace Reggie and Al Harrington's more effective at the 4 than the 3 and is not content to continue coming off the bench behind O'Neal. Whether Cat straight-up is enough, I don't know. Second move: Trade Mo Taylor for Kurt Thomas and filler. Taylor's contract is bad, but the Knicks actually need someone in the frontcourt who can create and score and Taylor's offensive game is proven. Can you picture Taylor burying the 20-footer after a perfect drive and dish from Starbury? It's not a bad fit at all. I don't know if they'd be willing to trade Thomas,but his contract is going to suck majorly in 3-4 years when his game has completely deteriorated. Knicks fans have to be able to see that. I'm willing to live with Thomas as a liability later because I think he can really help the team now. Third move: Sign Brent Barry for the MLE Barry will be expensive, but I think he has the combination of passing, shooting, and size that we need in the backcourt. Seattle and Denver have more money and therefore the advantage, but I think Barry will listen if we offer him a four-year contract like he wants. This, however, is actually the least likely to happen in my book. Someone else to consider trying to acquire might be Mike Miller. Fourth move: Sign Charlie Ward for a two-year minimum contract. It looks like the Spurs won't resign Ward since he hasn't played well for them and they need the caproom to resign Ginobli and Turkoglu. We need a backup point who can play defense, shoot, and not turn the ball over. Ward fits and he knows the JVG, the staff, and the system. Our rotation could be like this: Yao Harrington JJ Steve Barry with: Thomas Ward Nachbar Cato coming off the bench (not to mention Spoon who I see being left out of the rotation). We're at least two deep at every position, and we still have the TE and the luxury of Cato as a trade asset we can afford to lose.
the rox need a rasheed wallace type of pf who can bring the d but is also an offensive threat who can drain the 3. another type of player the rox need is a tony parker type of guard that is speedy and reliable.
Hmm, looks good, except for one itsy bitsy, teeny weeny detail. Steve is too small to play two gaurd, and can't make up for it with speed like Allen Iverson does. So, how about, instead of moving him to the two, if we sign Brent Barry, we go after.......... T-Mac T-Mac T-Mac
Not to mention the fact that with Cato, you lose an offensive threat because the guy is simply terrible offensively. So on offense, Cato's man can leave him and double-team Yao which has been a regular occurance this year. You are dead on about Francis and you'll also want to add Mobley to the 10-15 brain cell club. Both guards lack the necessary basketball IQ to help put this team over the top.
The regular season to me showed we need alot of help. But this Lakers series they have played better. I am sure they have given more effort and execution because its the playoffs. I don't want them to stand pat if they can improve. But if they add a solid PF or PG they still have to cut down on the stupid mistakes. This team was next to last in turnovers in the league, the message in that is that they have to overcome alot of stupid mistakes to be a 7 seed in the west. They have alot of unforced errors Think of how many more wins we would have had if we were in the top ten teams taking care of the ball.
