Enough of the optimistic energy that we all are sweating from our palms...Let's talk about the real situation at hand. We have some serious problems that we have to address or at least keep in mind. 1. We will almost certainly need some D. Mutombo insurance. 2. Has anybody even seen Charlie Ward play since 2001. 3. Is Reece Gaines even an NBA player, or should we haveasked for Keith Bogans or someone else? 4. Will the Rockets break our hearts and not pick up Boki's contract? 5. Will Juwon Howard be able to fit the need and get the rebound, because we know that is not what Mo Taylar is able to do for us. 6. At what point to we get so despirate that we actually have Spoon playing center again? 7. As good as Lue is, why will he see few minutes, so that the old Ward can trot around like Mark Jackson? 8. Will anyone other than T Mac be able to feed the ball down low? 9. Will we be a better team eventhough we have taken some defeated players from an inferior team? 10. And honestly have we given up a crutial part of our playoff aspirations by breaking up our highly successful frontcourt tandum of Cato and Yoa? These comments are the difference between playoffs and bad GM deals. But for the record I only LOVE the T Mac part of the deal.
Those are a lot of questions but to answer to your main one I would say I think this team can be as good as Tracy and Yao want it to be. It will all start and end with them. I had the pleasure of watching Yao on fox sports sunday last night and his english is better than mine and I'll say this if there was any shyness or timidness or humbleness in that guy it is being smothered up with confindence and forthrightness and a bit of arrogance, a good arrogance. This team is going to need that from him if they want to take it to the next level. I think Yao is ready to do that and I think the rest of the team will follow his lead. If that happens there is no reason why this team cannot be considered the best in the league next year.
Possibly, but at 15mpg I think Mutombo is likely to stay healthy, and was a good gamble. Yes, JVG has. At this point, I am inclined to trust his judgement. If you held up the T-Mac trade on the basis of the Reece Gaines / Keith Bogans question, I would have led the charge to run you out of town. Gaines is a throw-in, and if he happens to contribute, that's just gravy. I hope not, but I like that Boki has something to really motivate him in October. Of course he will. Howard is a much better rebounder than Taylor. When we are ready to throw the season. If Mutombo gets injured, Howard becomes a more credible option at backup center than Spoon. If Lue outplays Ward, I trust JVG to give him the minutes. From what I have seen, Lue works better as offensive spark off the bench, rather than the guy who runs your offense 30 mpg. Jim Jackson has been a consistent, excellent, entry passer. I expect that Ward will be effective here as well. I think that's a fair question. But Ward, Mutombo, and Howard have been a part of very successful teams, and they may be able to provide proven leadership. Even T-Mac boasts greater playoff success than Stevie. Come on, man. I loved having Cato as a backup center, but he was going nowhere as our starting PF. It was only a few months ago that JVG benched him for Scott Padgett.
Two questions -- how will all the newbies gel together and how well will health hold up. IF if if -- this will be a good squad. Great by March? Any tinkering to be done before Saturday? Scott Williams? Lucious Harris?
I'm somewhat worried about our defense in the backcourt. I expect T-Mac to be fine but Ward is a defensive liability. Lue will be useful against the smaller players but he will struggle against bigger guards.
Nobody mentioned that we got SURA. Although injured for the preseason I think his height and great rebounding will be great in certain situatinos. Also he is coming off a breakout season.
Somebody roll a ball out on the court, PLEASE!! This has the longest off season ever. I will tell you how good they are after about ten games. We might know sooner. I expect some early awkwardness. I don't expect a smooth oiled machine. But if they show chemistry early, look out.
The Rockets are doing fine right now. Of course there are pieces missing from the puzzel, but until we see these guys on the court we don't really know what kind of holes we need to fill. Ward will be able to control our offense like a true point guard should, he knows how to feed the post, he will at least draw defenders to him at the three point line and he will play solid D. Sura will be our spark off the bench like Pike never was last year, and if Mutombo can stay healthy for half of the season I will be happy with that move. Boki is developing and I wouldnt be surprised to see him in the regular rotation by the end of the year. Just give these guys a chance, it will probably take half a year for them to develop any type of chemistry together, so give them time. The only move I think we should be trying to do is package a combination of Taylor, Spoon, or Howard to upgrade either PF or PG, but it doesnt seem likely. Give the boys a chance and they will surprise some people. I expect at least a top 4 seed in the West this year, and expect some noise in the playoffs. The only teams that worry me in a seven game series are Sacto, Minny, and LA(even tho i expect the Rox to do better in the regular season). Comments??
