that was exactly my point. the only true mismatches at PF against Battier would be mismatches against any other PF in the league. the last that i remembered, Duncan, Brand and Amare are locked up to long term deals with their respective teams anyway. or said another way, there aren't too many PF's period (available or what not) that are a better fit for the Rockets than Battier. the only halfway decent arguments for Battier not starting at PF is that it MIGHT take away his defense of the premier wings in the league, and his apparent lack of rebounding which is now ameliorated by Wells. but the pros (offensively and defensively) of starting Battier at PF far outweigh the cons. however, i don't think that Miles would be that much of a help for the Rockets. i cannot see him starting on this Rockets team over T-Mac, Wells or Battier. he may be marginally better than Stro.
No, I'm not saying as a starter, unless it is against certain lineups. We've got our starting 5 plus Kirk Snyder should be a bonafide 30 mpg guy too. Miles would just give us that seventh player that could bring the D agaisnt bigger, taller lineups. BTW, it would not surprise me to see Bonzi or McGrady taking a PF defensively on occasion and switching Battier to the SF or SG depending on who we are playing. For instance, against the Bucks, I wouldn't be surprised to see Battier on Redd, and the other 2 guys on the forwards. Or against the Lakers, I could see Battier and McGrady switching assignments on Odom and Kobe.
Snyder? a bonafide 30 min player? u kidding? even howard will play more than snyder this season. I just don't understand the hatred toward j.howard in this forum. Are you suggesting that t-mac or bonzi should guard power forwards over juwan howard?
Agreed. Or Marion and Diaw. Or Dirk and Howard. Or Carter and Jefferson. Most of the time we probably want Battier on the toughest forward or a big shooting guard, but him and Tmac are largely interchangable and times Tmac might draw the tougher assignment (e.g., if Battier is in foul trouble, maybe the last possession). Bonzi and Snyder may be in the mix for taking a tough SG/SF too. I do agree Battier is our best PF defender most of the time. He will be outstanding versus a primary face up PF (everyone from Dirk to Odom to Marion to KG). But against Duncan, Brand and J Oneal-- back to the basket strong and long PFs who go over 250 and can use it, I think Howard will work better than Battier because Howard can at least hold his position while help (from guys like Battier and Tmac and Bonzi) come. Sorry, I don't see the need for Miles with Battier, Tmac, Wells and Synder. More of our good players can play SF than any position on the team, and Tmac and SB are both the long athletic types (Wells and Snyder are athletic, strong, and have decent length for swingmen even if they are not quite Miles/Tmac/SB long).
Months ago doubts were expresssed of Tmac even playing over at shooting guard. So with this news here, Tmac at the 2 like everyone originally wanted, Bonzi the 3, Battier at 4 and call it a day. (Rafer starting the game at point, then substitute accordingly.) All of a sudden this sounds like a much more interchangeable and versatile team. We'll see how things play out first before we say they have actual NBA level depth but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out
LOOOOOOOOOVE McGrady at the point!!!!! I was growing increasingly concerned he was gonna get shoved into the SF position again this year! Anything that puts TMAC on the perimeter is a great idea! First up, that's where Tmac excels above the competition! Yeh, he can drive the lane, like a host of others, but whens he's strokin it from the arc...He's Magic! (no former team pun intended). Secondly, I gotta believe defending guards on the perimeter will be much easier on McGrady's back, than jostlin with forwards down low for rebounds! Thirdly, sure we all wish TMAC could play PF and replace Howard, but it ain't gonna happen...that leaves PG as the weakest link... I feel pretty confident Tmac can perform in the top 10% of the league at the position. I think Bonzi/Snyder will do well covering the SG position. Hopefully, Battier will be utilized primarily at SF, which he is one of the best in the league, and not get forced to play out of position at PF. That leaves Juwan (the weakest link) Howard....but heck, you can throw in Hayes for defensive needs, Padgett or Novak can cover some minutes to spread the floor, and hopefully not be of toooo great a defensive detriment. And that leaves the big man, top 3 in the league! End result, TMAC @ PG = CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!! I LOOOOOOOOVE IT!
hey i had a question? I know we may not need it and some people might not like it but do u think we could use our trade exception on an old rocket "Litigation aside, Francis' presence in New York places Brown's successor in the difficult spot of trying to get Marbury and Francis to co-exist, which is something many NBA coaches think never will happen. In fact, Thomas was publicly skeptical last February regarding the compatibility of a Marbury-Francis backcourt. Even Dolan felt the trade was a mistake and when asked yesterday about the Garden boss' remarks, Thomas paused for a moment before saying, "I agree with everything Jim Dolan says." With Francis' trade value at an all-time low, Thomas, as the Daily News reported last July, visited Francis in Washington, D.C., to smooth over whatever bad feelings may have existed and to convince the veteran guard that he is in the Knicks' plans. "Right now, my job is to make it work," Thomas said. "It's a tough spot. But either you have a tough spot or no spot. So I'll take the tough spot." I mean it would definetly improve our point since tmac cant play there all game. What do u think as far as the liklihood of this happening
If the Knicks wanted a couple of our players like maybe Rafer and Juwon, I'd do it. You'd be crazy not to. Francis is young and can easily be better than Rafer at the 1.
I like the idea of starting a possession on offense with the ball in T Mac's hands, but he would definietly need to switch up on defense. You cant have him runnin around with the little guys as he'll be spent to quickly.
McGrady, Head, Battier, Novak, Yao That's your shooting lineup that allows Head to check the point guard.
The article said t mac would play the point on offense. On defense, he would switch with bonzi so mac would play their two and bonzi their one
I dont think they would ever START Tmac at point, granted he will play there some this year...... But our starting lineup should be Alston Snyder (as long as he is hitting the spot up 3) Tmac Battier Yao Bring: Wells Howard off the bench as offensive subs and for matchups. Then youve got Head, Vspan, Novak and Deke to bring in situationally.
It's pretty simple... TMac plays PG if and only if neither Spanoulis nor Lucas proves ready to run the team. Otherwise, I imagine one of the youngsters will play PG.
Plus we still have Reefer Alston for his playmaking ability... if his 3-ball starts to fall this year, he could round out the starting-5 nicely
With the way the team is talking about Novak, he may start at the 3 or 4. It sounds like Novak is the best shooter on the team. Maybe: Alston McGrady Battier Novak Yao
Not a chance that Novak will be a starter for the season opener. But I prey that Novak can establish himself that he is a starter by the end of the season. I'm not holding my breath, however.
