He was supposed to be this monster coming out of college and was a very high draft pick, but he hasn't done squat in the NBA. Yeah, I read he had a lot of other players taking away game minutes from him, but that's bull$hit. The best players play...I don't care what team it is! And I've heard he played out of position, but won't he have do that sometimes with the Rockets too? I'd be surprised if he beat out Howard for the starting 4. Don't give me this crap that JVG will turn his career around...I'll believe it when I see it. I sure hope I'm wrong and he turns out to be the player everyone on this board says he is...but right now I'd say he's been a bust!
Damn dude... it's not like we gave him a kelvin cato contract! We signed this dude for the MLE! Please, wait until week 1 is over before you start hating. I'm guessing you can't feel the optimism on this board because you just pissed all over it!
I'm also cautious about what Swift will bring but I wanted to address something else in your post. The myth that JVG turns players around. That just isn't what its cracked up to be. JVG is very good coach, I have no problems with him. He isn't a miracle worker. he couldn't change Mo. Taylor. Cato started playing well three years ago under Rudy when Yao relieved him of starting center duty. And Spreewell was always a hardworking player at Golden State. He was an all-star before the infamous choking incident. JVG didn't make him into the player he is.
Because of JVG! Remember Cato pre-JVG? JVG will demand the best and Swift will have to deliver or sit in the JVG doghouse behind JHoward.
Damn. Who pissed in your cherrios this morning? I'm willing to give the guy a shot. He's not expected to be a savior. I think of him as a specialist that will fill a gap.
Dude was behind Gasol the whole time in Memphis. His numbers (if he played 48 minutes) were projected pretty good (20+ PPG/10+ REB/3+ BPG). We'll see how the season goes, but he's going to be a good asset.
There is one absolute fact of the Stromile situation: He's better than EVERY option we had last season at the 4. JHo, while productive, was not the tough guy that we (or Yao, specifically) needed to take that next step. Now we have 2 productive players at the "4" that bring a completely different skillset to the table. Add to that the fact that Deke, Yao's backup, excells at everything Yao does not (yet). When you factor all of that in, it becomes one of the toughest front courts to match up with.
I'm excited just for the fact that the guy is very athletic and can throw down some nasty dunks, not to mention he will be the best shotblocker we've had since the dream.
Because the man has tons of talent and we got him for a mid-level contract. He is a huge upgrade over our backup PF last year who was a combination of Bowen, Padgent, and Spoon. With all of his physical gifts there is a chance that under JVG he will become a defensive force in the league. Every player improves on the defensive side of the ball under coach JVG, just look at Tmac. Lastly, because it will be one less player in the league that can posterize Yao.
We did not sign Stro because of what he has accomplished, we signed him because of the different skills he brings to the table. If he has proven one thing, it's that he is a good shotblocker. Put him next to Yao, and we will see that Yao will not have to try to stop every player who gets to the basket. It will be a positive if Stro comes over and absorbs some fouls like Cato used to. I don't even really care if he gets into frequent foul trouble because Jho is ready to come in and score some points. On offense, Stro gives us a dimension that we have not had in years. He is a guy who can run the break and finish with the best of them. With the defenses focused on Yao and Tmac, Stro will get plenty of good opportunities, and his athleticism lets us attack through the air if we choose. We once again have a sidekick for Yao who can dunk the ball. It may not sound like much, but maybe our home crowd will get fired up once in a while. Most importantly, we were probably the most unathletic team in the league, and adding Stro will alleviate that.
I agree with Toast and KeepKenny. I'm excited about Swift because he's the perfect compliment for Yao. Or at least the perfect compliment that we could have gotten for MLE money.
Stro is a freakin beast of nature. I lived in Memphis for awhile last year and had an opportunity to watch several Grizz games in person...one of which was when he posterized Yao. What I did notice is that the guy, at certain times, played with a lot of intensity and fire. I feel that with a more significant and defined role, he will be able to do this on more a consistent basis. The change in scenary will definitely help him step his game up since he no longer has Pau in front of him. I agree Stro is a huge upgrade from our talent pool last year and with him and Howard at the 4, the Rockets have many of options and dimensions in our game.
Well in all fairness, Sprewell was an All-Star calibur player on a GS team that was winning 30 games or less every year. The only time he was the #1 option and they were respectable was when they still had SHE-Webb. Other than that, all Spree did was put up great numbers on terrible teams. Then the choking incident blah blah blah..... He ends up in NY under JVG. All of a sudden he's playing as the #2 option and he's more effective and the teams were winning games, even going to the Finals. It wasn't until his years in NY that people started realizing how good of a defender he was while still being an effective scorer. If you ask me, JVG maximized his playing ability better than anybody else has. He was never fit to be a #1 option.
He's still better than any 4 we have. Why would you hate on an upgrade that's 1)a good price 2)gives us another dimension on offense and defense 3)gives us more quality depth in the front court 4) Is young and still has a lot of upside....and as The Real Shady said, it would be one less facial Yao has to worry about (outside of practice).
Exactly. I agree with all of this as well as its HOW he fits into the rockets versus that of Memphis as to why I believe he will do great here. Memphis had a collection of good players but not one player that demanded a constant double team. Tham means that they moved the ball around a lot, and each must create for themselves or attempt to have others create for them (didn't happen that often w/ Bonzi/Pau/JWill shooting everytime they got the ball). Stromile simply cannot really create his own shot. He has a weak back to the basket game and I don't think he's a particularly good on the block defender. But we don't need him to create his own shot. There is a reason why Barry/Sura and JHoward got so many open looks: Yao and TMac. These guys garner so much attention that he will get the open looks/passes that he never got in Memphis. He has the athletic ability to quickly get to the basket and slam one down when his man doubles onto Yao or Tmac. This will help the Yao/T-Mac pick and roll/pop even more because he is lightning quick to cut to the basket and slam one down if his guy tries to help on Yao. He is also adept (not as good as Jho, but pretty damn good) at hitting the mid-range jump shot which will force defenses to not sag off of him and double Yao down low. He also has that defensive quickness that guys like Josh Howard killed us with. He can help Yao from getting the silly charges and have a weak-side shotblocker so Yao can focus on post-defense and he knows that Stro can block on the weakside the same way Robert Horry used to for Hakeem. I think he is a little overrated in his rebounding but he is an adept rebounder and is much better than anything we have.
