Screw that! If Rudy T and CD see Cato have another steller summer league or pre-season they may extend his contract and increase his salery again! ------------------
I don't mean to harp on this, but if you mean Marc Jackson, your scouting report is waaaaaaaaay off. Slow runner. No vertical leap. Poor defender. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, February 25: Jackson is still a work in progress, though, and Cowens chuckled when asked what areas of his center's game needed work. "If you can't jump, you can't jump," Cowens said. "What he has to do is learn how to play guys. Get a book on guys and play within his skills." Oh, and demands touches, specifically in the low post. From the Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31: "I'm not going to take a lesser role, and the Warriors organization knows that. I'm not going to let them turn me into a jump-shooting center, either. For example, they may want Antawn Jamison and Danny Fortson to work the post area, but want me to stand outside and shoot jump shots. I'm not going to do that, either, and they know that." [This message has been edited by Swopa (edited July 09, 2001).]
OP- Great post as usual! Any chance that we could be looking at forming our old twin towers with Dream and Admiral? I know doing it would bring the end to Mo-T as a Rocket, but it still may allow us a lil room to keep Moochie especially if we can dump Cato (and Walt) and pick up someone a lil cheaper. I don't know if the Towers would necessarly even apply because I can only see Dream playing 25-maybe 30 minutes a night and David 30-32 minutes. The reason I think it is possible (or at least to be considered) is our team is so young we need some vets who know how to win and secondly Dream wants to go out on a winning team. Honestly with our yoiung nucleus we are still at least 2 years away from even dreaming of a chapionship. Admiral and Dream are both agile enough to play the PF for spot minutes and we could try to emulate how the Spurs beat LA in their championship. Depth: C-Dream, Admiral, Collier, Pig? PF-Admiral, Griff, Bullard SF- Griff, T-mo, Walt SG-Cat PG-Stevie, Moochie, Colson Again this is just a thought, the obvious downside is 2 sizable contracts on two old players and the possibility that D-Rob and Dream may not match up well against all PFs.
Yeah sorry ... I meant Kevin G. The Jermaine O'N refernce probably came from me thinking the same thing about Indiana. Two peas in a pod. The puppies and the race cars both need meat. KG is beat up more and more when he moves inside. It's hard to think of a guy as athletic as KG being overabused,I know, but he cannot withstand the constant barrage of 4's and 5's that take him body to body and expect him to have the same legs and game by March-April. Flip needs a big man to spell the tall power forward (KG)in the middle, and to do some "constructive" body pushing at center. I mean they have a nine year veteran(Ellis) at 6'8"(250lbs), a three year european in Nestorvic(250lbs) who really doesn't understand the need or advantage of pushing guys off their chosen spot, (and can't do it even if he wanted to) or Dean Garrett (250lbs). Now they add a 240lbs,soaking wet, PF/center in Woods? I know he was a great pick to fall to them and would be useful later on, but they need some weight in there now. Cato is over 250 and knows the game, Collier is a beefy 260 at seven feet. Even Kenny Thomas is over 250 at 6'8", and he's a fearless guy with a soft shot. My point is, Woods is prime to be sold for a big meated PF/center who can play a little two way. Don't laugh at this ..... but ..... the guy who could help them the most (IMHO) is the slow ....(they could adjusted to his lack of speed, but he is not the slowest five in the league) ... imposing ..... knock 'em out of the spot,clear your man defense ..... with a little offense thrown in especially on put-backs.... who????????????? ............. Big Country Reeves. He's too expensive for the pups but I see them needing a guy like him badly. I don't think they will be successful unless they do get some respect inside. ------------------
crashbangboom: Eddie Griffin has a lot of growing to do. His game is a lot of slash and not a lot of bang. The big boys bang at the four spot. Especially where the sun sets. I see RT using his court time as a 3 all most all year with a couple tweener minutes at the four. Especially when matchups are lopsided. The biggest advantage he will get is that the slower fours CANNOT catch his butt. That being said, don't expect tons of production from him. He will give you some highlights. He will get some points. He will fight for more minutes. But, he has a lot of growing to do. As far as a small lineup goes. Yeah he better. I don't see Griffin playing the five. But I do see a Steve, Mobes, Morris, Griffin, MoTay line thrown in at mid game, that will scare the beejesus out of a couple teams. Let me say this ... if Griffin plays with "controlled abandon" with driving and slashing and making heads turn and coaches sweat, and if Shandon is resigned and is proving to everyone he can still run circles, and if Morris seems to prove as valuable and "in touch" ball savvy as everyone seems to be telling me, then in the right situation we may get a brief new cast "oldtyme showtime rudyball" version from the crew of Steve, Mobes, Shandon, Morris, and Griffin. pippen: Okay. Got it. So I should change my name to "Karla Malone" to remind myself of the agony of being a goofy but large misunderstood country boy? okay! LOL Rudyball: CD/RT and the crew patiently wait for Hakeem's ego to be gently stroked, (oops ... sorry, that is .... his keen buisness acumen aclimitaized to the opportunity ... ). It may be a long affair. Meanwhile ... 1. MoTay has been asked to wait while "other" things fall into place. He has said he would be there waiting for the call. 2. Moochie has been assured his contract requests will be taken seriousily, he says "... I know,I trust you guys ..." He hangs around,not fielding many calls. He smiles about Dallas, but his mind is made up. 3. Shandon was told " ... well we may want you back, because we have decided to bring back most of the guys from last year .... what do you think? ... " Shandon answers: " ... well yeah I would like to be here. Can you pay me what my agent says I'm worth? ... " The boys say: " ... we think so, or close to it. We'll be reasonable. Can you hang around for a while ? ..." " ...Yeah, I can. But take me serious,okay?" ........ "Sure. Sure. But ... well can you ask your agent to lighten up a little?" 4. Bull says he'll play for minimum. Or retire. " ... Call me in the Woodlands when you get it all fixed up. I'm going to play golf and play with the kids... " 5. RT and staff scout the summer leagues. 6. Meanwhile, Dan Feigan travels to Atlanta, Indiana, Chicago, Washington, New York, Florida, Phoenix, ... logging up those frequent flyer miles. ------------------ [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited July 10, 2001).]
OP- Keeping all of the players means to me that we have alot of above average players that can be used during the year as trade bait. For the past couple years, I do not think we had the necessary players to pull off a big trade unless it involved Steve or Cat. I think we now have potential pawns. What do you think? ------------------ Fuggetabout it
Pops, what are the Rockets going to do if Dream doesn't resign with the team meaning do they have, besides their own, any free agents "waiting" to see what Dream does? And what are the chances that the Rockets will be waiting for next year's free agent crop? ------------------ Stevierebel
BigDressedMan: The Rockets always had a thing for low end salaries with up talent players. Thorpe, Max, Mario, Chuckie Brown, Othella, etc... were all guys at fairly low salaries and fairly tradeable profiles. We only got ourselves into trouble when we started exchanging that plan with superstar signings - Pippen, Barkley. I'm saying that those signings were necessarily wrong or that we should go back to a more "stable stable" of players. But it bears thought. ------------------
OP -- Exactly. But, the legitimacy of your 1995Rudy+CBA=LoveAndChampionships point is totally obscured by spelling Chucky with an "ie" rather than "y." But the Rockets are overstocked with guys who are -- or perceive themselves to be -- stars. Mobely, Franchise, MoTaylor, Hakeem, and now Griffin. For sure, we should be more worried about the addition of Griffin's internal and external expectations than any overabundance of mid-range players. When you think about it, Griffin is not going to have the leeway of growing pains. If the Rocks management and fans are expecting that draft day coup to provide an extra 10 – or even five wins – next year, Griffin will need to be essentially perfect in terms of attitude, maturity not to mention basketball. Two years removed from an inner city High School in Philly? I am four years removed from working in one, and do not have the kind of “take one for the team” attitude that Griffin must demonstrate to satisfy the savages around here next season. If we re-sign Mo, I would argue that – other than Hakeem’s possible farewell gig – the pecking order in terms of pressure and expectations is Steve Francis, Eddie Griffin and Mo Taylor as the top three. Where does that leave Cuttino? Will Griffin be happy to watch Jack cuttino up a bunch of… I mean, Cuttino jack up a bunch of threes when Griffin is asked to pass and be patient? This year’s roster may crimp Cuttinos style in a big way. Speaking of which, whose ass do I have to kiss to get Chucky Brown signed by the Rockets, to provide veteran leadership and demonstrate how a role player can make a big difference? Wandering off topic, CBFC ------------------ Join the Chucky Brown Fan Club
Well, at least it would have been accurate. Other than the fact that I am in no way Clarence "Chucky" Brown, that is. [This message has been edited by CBrownFanClub (edited July 10, 2001).]
*ugh* yet again a great long-timer on this board disrespecting our boy, like he is an unconscionable disaster waiting to happen, instead of Rudy's most trusted player and his main scoring threat. Notice how no one ever mentions Mobley's lockerroom oral surgery with no aesthetic to come out an score 24 second half points. Nope, don't bother building the glorious legend that is Mobley, because he is bound to fail soon enough. Rest assured; this won't happen. You don't go from being *the* coaches Go-To man to a "4th expectations" man in one year. He is our best penetrator, and he will be given an offense to pass out of collapses D in the lane....finally. imo, Mobley can only live in ISO is a myth, created by those who need something to blame other than the fact the Rockets were young without a frontline and the continuous wacked out line-ups that forced. With less injuries and more threats on the court, a more comfortable Mo and then Griffin with his height and athleticism, Mobley for the first time in 1 1/2 years will not face over-aggressive defenses designed to stop him. To me, you all are about to see the glory and vision of Rudy for exploiting Mobley. Mobley will become an amazing weakside threat, if not the top weakside threat, to go with his increasingly efficient PnR play. Taking a short, non-threatening SF in Anderson off the court, and giving Mobley at least an injury-free Center position will absolutely open up our guard attack. This season will be the rapture for the Mobley faith!
Crispee, Since you're probably THE biggest Mobley supporter around, I was hoping you'd answer a question for me. I've been thinking lately on how much of Cuttino's success is due to the fact he's flat out talented, and how much is due to the fact that he gets more touches, and is more involved in the offense than virtually every other two guard in the league. Cuttino is underrated, and definitely a top 10 shooting guard in this league IMO, but who's to say that other talented shooting guards couldn't emulate Cuttino's numbers if they were put in the same situation? By the way, I like your analysis about Cuttino being exploited on the weakside. ------------------ Is it Rachmaninov or Rachmaninoff?
Something else that Mobes has that many other very good all star caliber 2 guards don't posses. A strong desire to score in the paint as well as a strong desire to score from the outside. My example on this point is none other than the Dallas Mavericks very own Michael Finley. Anyone that watches any Mavs game knows that Finley is primarly a perimeter player. Finley has the ability to take the ball to the hole but all to often he refuses settling for the jumper. Oh there are moments when Finley will tease the fans here in Dallas and drive the ball to the basket getting easy buckets and some much needed free throws only to settle for nothing but jump shots for the next several games. When Finleys shot goes south (as seen against the Spurs in the play-offs) then he becomes something of an offensive burden for his team. The sports anouncers and radio talk show hosts are constantly saying that Finley should be more aggresive taking the ball to the basket. Now onto Mobes. Here is a guy that has a much better than avg outside shot with a nice stroke from the 3pt line. Like Finley, Mobley loves his outside shot and will take it anytime on anyone from anywhere. Unlike Finley Mobely also loves to take the ball to the basket. Mobley LOVES TO TAKE THE BALL TO THE BASKETT. How many times did we see Mobley's outside shot go south last year (much in the same way as Finley's shot sometimes does) only to have him score twenty points driving the ball to the basket or making free throws. Like Finley, Mobley sometimes gets cold from the outside but unlike Finley, Mobley very rarely becomes an offensive burden because he will almost always find other ways to score on you and usually gets the other team in foul trouble while doing it. There are many guards like Finley that are primarily a threat from the outside. There are some like Jerry Stackhouse that make their living taking the ball to the basket but can't shoot the ball. But their are few like Iverson, Kobe, Allen and Mobes that are just as lethal goin to the basket as they are from the outside and vice versa. For this reason I think Mobes will continue to be one of the better 2 guards in the game. ------------------
TPL, Did crash answer your question? I don't really think I can add anything to that, nor do I want to dilute crash's effort by doing so.
Pretty much. I do hope Mobley works on his face up jumper, especially off the dribble, because he got worse in this respect from his 2nd to 3rd year. The kind of shot I'm referring to is like the pull up jumper he hit against the Lakers 2 seasons ago to put the game away. ------------------ Is it Rachmaninov or Rachmaninoff?
OP - Any chance some kind of a package of either Walt, SA, Collier, K9, Cato and/or future pics to Cleveland for Diop can be done? I like your scenario of Hakeem and Sabonis, but where's the youth/future? Cato does not count As for Big Country being a good fit for Minny (YIKES), other than the salary, what about Sabonis? He would be cheaper and better. ------------------ "Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true." - Honore de Balzag
OP - Any chance some kind of a package of either Walt, SA, Collier, K9, Cato and/or future pics to Cleveland for Diop can be done? I like your scenario of Hakeem and Sabonis, but where's the youth/future? Cato does not count As for Big Country being a good fit for Minny (YIKES), other than the salary, what about Sabonis? He would be cheaper and better. ------------------ "Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true." - Honore de Balzag
oilepere writes: "We only got ourselves into trouble when we started exchanging that plan with superstar signings - Pippen, Barkley. I'm saying that those signings were necessarily wrong or that we should go back to a more "stable stable" of players. But it bears thought." Exactly. Hell even Julie Roberts can't or won't keep a man. Of course it is exciting to go after these superstars like Barkley, Pippen, or Webber BUT we always end up over-paying and imbalancing our roster. My philosophy: draft and keep your stars and fill out the roster with specific contributors. The crux comes when you have to decide if you are willing to over-pay your stars just to keep them on the team. Reasons had better be compelling. ------------------ "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak. Because someday you will have been all of these."
