well its not enough.. we had 100% tmac and yao during 05 playoffs and it still wasn't enough.. its going to be hard to imagine that tmac will be back to 100% or play for a long time from now..
I disagree. We should've won the Dallas series had it been officiated correctly (or at least not so blantently incorrectly)
Well said. I'm wondering why there is such focus and praise on safe predictable limited players who you know what you're getting and and why youth and athleticism is seen as something bad all of a sudden. Like athletic talent is something combustible and volatile. Other teams seem to do okay working in players who use their athleticism to contribute but the Rockets would rather SETTLE with some ol' trusties and play basketball like its a board game instead of an athletic game. I like Battier and glad we have him but geez... Also it was beaten into Rockets fans heads that the most pressing team need was ATHLETICISM and LENGTH on the perimeter. And could knock down the occassional open look. It was needs 1 and 2 and they pretty much got that and then some in the draft. But then went AGAINST what was the common perceived need by doing that trade. And made themselves look almost untruthful to everyone. Why couldnt they just say they wanted a Battier type from the beginning? Why even concentrate on the draft when the whole time its been about WIN NOW? Win now against win through the draft is two totally separate things. The same thing could have been said about Brandon Roy or any other pick-that they couldnt help the team NOW like a veteran could. If they were smart they'd address current needs and still have pieces for the future on the team. Cuz the most basic way to get back into contention is keep Tmac and Yao healthy anyways. And Rudy Gay ever being a Lebron, no way. Something less than a Scottie Pippen even. Caron Butler, like a guy said. Hell Rockets coulda used that! The Rockets woulda fared good with Gay just being an average player cuz they're THAT bad in needing what he would bring. He didnt have to be a Lebron.
A post with this topic is a waste of time. Or course the rockets would be horrified if Gay turned into a Lebron. But so would everyone who picked 1-7. You just wondered if a player who slipped to 8, that did not dominate in college, that was barely the leading scorer on his college team, and who has had his work ethic questioned would become the most complete basketball player in the world. What if Gay becomes the next Jonathan Bender, Dejuan Wagner or Eddie Griffen, then how would the rox look. What if Randy Foye turns into the next D-wade, the Blazers and Celtics will look like idiots. If lamarcus aldridge becomes the next tim duncan the bulls will be fools, If Bargnani becomes the next Tskitishvili the raptors are a disaster, if he is the next dirk they are brilliant. This trade can not be evaluatued in full for several more years, but if the Rox win and play deep into the playoffs and battier is a part of that, then kudos to management. If not, then they f'd things up.
2 years out of high school, Lebron James was averaging 27 ppg as the go-to guy for the Cavs. 2 years out of high school, Rudy Gay was averaging 15 ppg and couldn't carry the UConn team over Syracuse and the famed Gerry McNamara. Rudy Gay may be talented, but he's not some can't-miss prospect like Lebron. Instead, Rudy is just another highly talented lotto pick who may turn into a Ray Allen, a Donyell Marshall, or an Eddie Griffin. Here's an interesting article: http://www.82games.com/nbadraft2.htm Only 8% of lotto picks turn into superstars, and another 11% into All Stars. That's just about where Rudy stands, a 19% chance he turns into a superstar or All Star. As to Battier, most fans don't value him enough. I'd take him over pretty much any player who is not an "All Star" and perhaps a few of the less deserving All Stars, too. Guys like Maggette, Hughes, Marbury, Stackhouse, etc have absolutely nothing on Battier. Look at what the addition of Raja Bell did for PHX, that's the level of impact Battier will have for the Rockets for this year and for years to come. He's only 27 and should be great for 5 more years at least.
Battier is great? In what context is he great? I'm pretty sure he's an adequate role player, and i'm guessing you meant he's great at being that. You say Marbury and Maggette have nothing on Battier...you mean apart from the fact those guys are ''go-to'' players and Battier plugs gaps.
He's great in the context that his team plays a whole lot better when he's on the court than when he's sitting: http://www.82games.com/0506/05MEM9D.HTM http://www.82games.com/04MEM7D.HTM Notice the team improve both on defense and on offense when he's in there. This happened over both of the last seasons with significant change in personnell, and both teams have rather talented swingmen to to play the minutes when Battier rests: Bonzi, Posey, Mike Miller in 04/05 and Eddie Jones and Mike Miller in 05/06. It's not like the team plays better with him because Ryan Bowen always comes in to replace Battier. Could be Battier is merely adequate and this positive result just magically happened both of the past seasons, that it's a 164 game long fluke, but the more likely explanation is that Battier's skills helps the team do better when he's in there compared to when those others guys fills in for him. He might not score much, but he hits his open shots efficiently to open up the floor for his teammates, he plays tough D, moves the ball, goes after steals, blocks, and takes the charge-- and he does all these things better than the "adequate" NBA player. Guys like Maggette and Marbury are "pseudo go-to guys", they can score one-on-one, but they often dribble the air out of the ball, disrupt the flow of the offense, run down the shot clock, etc, and don't do much on defense. In my book, they are a major step below true go-to guys like TMac, Yao, Dirk, Duncan, etc. I would also rather have an elite two-way unselfish role player than some pseudo star.
i hate to keep bringing i tup but remember when the rockets were down to the nuggets by like 10 with a couple of mins to go and they pulled out the win...if we would have lost that, we would have had Roy....that hurts
Battier could improve his game with the rockets with Yao and tracy getting him more open shots...it might end up being a good trade...nobody knows...we all just like to b****..its in our nature...how do you think Knicks fans feel about now....now thats pain
First of all I don't think we'll ever see another LeBron, 6'9'' 250 and a combo of Magic and Jordan. Certainly not Rudy Gay who has doesn't play hard 1/2 the time. Eddie Griffin IMO is a better comparison.
so it looks like peeps are hoping that Gay turn into the next Eggie. kinda harsh. what did he do to deserve that? anyway, just because he busts doesn't exactly detract from the trade. you have to hope that every pick after 8 not named Novak also flops.
IMO, only way Rockets look bad in this trade is if Gay turns into LeBron. If after 4 years gay turns into Tayshaun Prince, then the Rockets still come out ok.
It is not just about stats. Even if gay scores more and rebounds more then battier it doesnt mean he would have helped the Rox more. Iverson scored more points and had more assists then D-wade or Lebron did last year. Would you rather have AI on your team or either one of them. If you use your logic and base this trade only on points and rebounds, Nick Caner Medley is as good as Rudy Gay. He scored a little over 15 points and grabbed about 6 rebounds in about 30 mins per game with Maryland which is almost the exact same stats as Gay had at Uconn.
So lets see, Dwight Howard averaged more rebounds and blocks and had a higher shooting percentage then Yao. Plus he is younger, so we better go out right now and make that trade since youth is always so much better. I bet we all wish we could have 22 year old Yao (who averaged 13 and 8), next year instead of the 26 year old Yao (who went for 22 and 10), again because the younger the better. As for those being Gay's college stats, they were also Caner Medley's college stats so Im just saying if stats are all you are basing your Gay vs. Battier argument on, college stats are all we can compare with Gay right now.
Dang my long posts. Sorry i get bored at work And I love repeating the same info over and over.... *Edit* PART Tried to see the summer league Memphis-Laker game here in my area. Arrived late after halftime . Tickets were sold out already. Couldnt go in but I peaked in from outside through the front door and could actually see the Grizzlies side of the court. Couldnt quite make out all the action first but was able to count 7 Rudy Gay trips down the court (offense only) from late 3rd quarter on. Very slender and long. On the possessions: *EDIT PART 2* I'M AN IDIOT Rudy Gay did not play. Trade hasnt even been finalized!! Sorry about that posters. You guys should have unloaded on me
Battier has better steals stats but worse assists. shooting percentages are fairly similar as well; both good efficient shooters with Battier better from long distance and Prince better at the line. but altogether, those two seem almost even on paper with Battier only playing one more season. he's also only about 17 months older. yet many people consider Prince to be an All-Star caliber small forward and a lock down defender. the point being that stats do not tell the whole story; not even close. this applies to Battier as well.
Giving up him is right decision.I think Rox's high level do the most smartest decision in this year.Battier is Rox's big facts.Let's look forward what will happen.
