Will Eddie be brought along slowly this first year? Will He be riding the pine until the Rocks have a 20 point lead? Will he be used for particular defensive matchups? Will he steal someone else's backup minutes? Things we know. 1) Rudy said he would play Griffin at the 3. 2) Griffin said he would play at the 4. 3) Rice is going to get his minutes at the 3-4 no matter what. 4) Mo is going to his minutes at the 4 no matter what. 5) Defensively, Griffin may be the best big man on the team this year. 6) Griffin's all around game might be better than KT, Langhi, TRock, Williams, Collier, Cato by the end of the season. Before the Rice trade I was expecting him to get 25 minutes a game as a starting SF or a very active backup (like Shandon has been). Now that we have a SF that really demands minutes I'm not so sure what is going to happen. My best guess is that our forwards will indeed be sliding from position to position even more than we have seen in the past. Griffen, in order to get experience and playing time, which he deserves based on his college performance, might end up playing the 3, 4, and 5. I think the big loser in the deal will be KT who Griffin might overtake as the best forward who doesn't start. Langhi could help the logjam by playing SG minutes like he did in the summer league. One thing is for sure... We are going to be deep at every position except center.
For various reasons, the Rockets appear not to be in a mode to bring anyone along slowly. The surprisingly cavalier attitude CD has about getting another center suggests that they intend to go with Cato and if that does not work, augment that with Taylor and maybe even Griffin. The rotation I believe breaks down something like this: Cato plays 20 minutes a game Taylor plays 35 minutes a game with 15 minutes at the 5 Rice plays 35 minutes a game entirely at the 3 Francis plays 35 minutes. Mobley plays 35 minutes entirely at the 2. Collier plays 8 minutes, once healthy, all at the 5 Thomas plays 15 minutes all at the 4. Griffin plays 23 minutes with 5 at 3, 13 at 4 and 5 at 5. Some of Thomas minutes at 4 could be exchanged with Griffin's minutes at the 3. Moochieplays 13 at the point. Langhiplays 8 minutes at the 3 Williamsplays 7 minutes at the 2 Morris plays 6 minutes at the 2 Positional breakdown is projected as follows: Center: Cato 20, Taylor 15. Collier 8, Griffin 5 Power: Taylor 20, Thomas15, Griffin 13 Small: Rice 35, Griffin 5, Langhi 8 Point: Francis 35, Moochie 15, Hill, 3 Off: Mobley 35, Williams 7, Morris 6
DearRock, your numbers look about right, except I'm not sure MoTay gets 35 minutes, with KT only 15. Maybe Mo gets 30, with KT 20, or something like that. They'll need the hustle KT gives off the bench.
So you're suggesting that Rudy play a 12-man rotation? I'm sorry but the Rocket's have too many forwards - even with the possibility of forwards playing the 5. KT and Collier should be packaged with Walt to bring in Jahidi and Davis ideally. Irregardless, KT needs to be moved to allow Griffin the time to develop.
I think the current roster playing time will be divided: Player.................Mins.......................Games.........R...........A.........P C - Cato..........25.0 (25C)......................65..........6...........5.........8 PF - Taylor.......32.5 (25PF/7.5C)............75.........6.5........1.5......16 SF - Rice..........30.0 (25SF/5SG).............75...........5...........2.......15 SG - Mobley.....37.5 (37.5SG).................80.........4.5........2.5......19 PG - Francis......40.0 (32.5PG/7.5SG)......75...........7.........7.5......21 C - Collier........12.5 (12.5C)..................50...........3...........5.........4 PF - Thomas.....25.0 (12.5PF/12.5C)......75..........5.5.........1.........7 SF - Griffin........20.0 (15PF/5SF).............75...........5...........1.........7 SG - Williams....15.0 (15SF)....................60...........3...........1.........6 PG - Norris........20.0 (20PG)....................80...........2..........3.5......5 F - Langhi........15.0 (12.5SF/2.5SG).......60...........2..........1..........5 F - Morris..........7.5 (7.5SF)....................40.........1.5.........5.......2.5 G - Colson........7.5 (5PG/2.5SG)............30...........1..........5.......2.5 Totals.............49mins(+overtimes)......................45.........21.....101 The mins were rounded off to the nearest 2.5, points & rebounds & assist were rounded off to the nearest 0.5 This is just thoughs for my entertainment, nothing to be taken seriously by anyone.
I think KT will be a surprise this year. Most have forgotten all about him lately, but he will be a difference maker.
ZRB, I think you may be right. The better KT plays, the tougher it will be to get Griffin playing time. Maybe competition for playing time will become a driving force behind some of these guys as long as they stay friendly. It is pretty common in football, but you don't see it much in basketball. I am convinced that if Walt stays, he will get to play off the bench at the SF position before Griffin. I think Rudy loves Walt, and will stick with him as long as he can.
LA, I think you may have gone above 48 minutes in distributing the playing time. ZRB, you are right that Thomas may require and justify more minutes. I really believe that the Rockets will use Taylor at 5 and get Griffin in there at the 4, while that is happening. The quarterly breakdown of playing time could go like this: Q1 Cato 8, Taylor 8, Rice 12, Francis 12, Mobley 12 Collier 4, Thomas 4, Q2 Taylor 7, Thomas 6, Griffin 6, Moochie 8, Langhi 6 Cato 5, Griffin 6, Morris 6, Francis 4, Williams 6 Q3 Cato 4, Taylor 8, Rice 10, Francis 10, Mobley 10 Collier 4, Griffin 6, Morris 2,
LA, I think you may have gone above 48 minutes in distributing the playing time. ZRB, you are right that Thomas may require and justify more minutes. I really believe that the Rockets will use Taylor at 5 and get Griffin in there at the 4, while that is happening. The quarterly breakdown of playing time could go like this: Q1 Cato 8, Taylor 8, Rice 12, Francis 12, Mobley 12 Collier 4, Thomas 4, Q2 Taylor 7, Thomas 6, Griffin 6, Moochie 8, Langhi 6 Cato 5, Griffin 6, Morris 6, Francis 4, Williams 6 Q3 Cato 3, Taylor 8, Rice 10, Francis 8, Mobley 10 Collier 4, Griffin 5, Thomas 4, Morris 2, Moochie 4, Williams 2 Q4 Taylor 8, Thomas 4, Griffin 2 Moochie 4, Williams 2 , Griffin 4, Rice 10, Francis 8, Mobley 10 Cato 4, Taylor 4, Sorry about the accident!
