Rice is a good ball player, but his injury may keep him out for the season. Barkley plaqued us with injuries, he got injured during the playoffs which cost us the win. I am happy we got him, I am just worried if we can count on him. Steve Francis solidifies the PG for our team. Mobley at SG, is a weakness, he is a great offensive player, but he is short at 6'4, with little defense. He would make the PG position untouchable if he played behind Francis. T Morris can play the SG, if he works on his offensive, and dribbling skills. He is 6'9! Eddie Griffin, along with a healthy Glen Rice definitely solidifies the SF, postion. Eddie has defense, he just needs the ball handling, like a SG. Glen Rice, with his foot injury, will offer little defense, and little transition points off of fast breaks. He needs to play with the slow PF's. Tayor at 6'9 is a good fit for PF, but he needs to work on his shooting touch, and or develop a 3 pointer to be at this position. With Tim Duncan, KG, and Wallace playing the PF position, he lacks the height to play defense, and rebound, so he needs to step behind three like Bird, or Dirk, or develop a long 2 pointer like Carl Malone, and Webber. Taylor at 6'9, and Collier at 7'0 can play the PF. Cato at 6'11 is the only Center, to provide defense against Shaq, Morning, Olajuwon, and Robinson. MMMM I don't know about that. I think PG--Steve Francis and Mobley as the 6 man--- Perfect I think SG--Terrance, we need a dominate SG I think SF--Eddie Griffin, then Dan Lan-- I think PF--Taylor, then Glen Rice ( brings the rebounders away) I thinkC--Cato, then Collier-- we need a dominate Center PG-- Perfect-- and dominate SG--Strong with Terrance, weak without, mobley is ok here, but not the best. SF--Strong with Eddie, weak without PF--ok with Taylor; and with Rice-- can become strong C--ok with Cato, and Collier.
Rice only missed 7 games last year. You are overreacting and jumping to conclusions. I doubt Tmo will play SG, especially as Mobley's #1 back-up. That's why Langhi has been working out at the 2 spot. There's no way that Rice would play the 4 spot. After Mo, it will be Kenny Thomas. EG will play at the 4 spot before Rice. Mo Taylor does not need to develop a 3 point shot!! If anything, he needs to work on his low post game, rebounding, and interior defense. Collier will have to back up Cato at the 5 spot. I don't think he has time to fool with the 4 spot although Rudy T may put him in there at the same time as Cato. However, I don't think that will happen much. Cato will do alright if he decides to quit acting like a corpse and we can get a 3rd big man like a Jahidi White so we can give 18 fouls a night at the center position with these 2 and Collier. You honestly think that Tmo deserves to start over Mobley??!! Mobley has played 3 seasons in the NBA and has averaged over 20 ppg last season while Tmo has to still prove himself. Not a very smart move there. EG is not ready to start YET. Dan LanGHI will be backing up the 2 spot more than the 3 spot unless we get someone else in a late trade. Rice will definitely not be coming off the bench, let alone to play the 4 spot. That's one of the most ludicrous things that I have ever seen!! Won't argue about a dominant (not dominate) center, but they are pretty much a dime a dozen and we'll have to make due with what we got. It blows my mind that you would be serious about starting 2 rookies over veterans like Rice and Mobley!! I am sure glad that you are not in charge!!
Rice has a foot injury, so he may be out, and if he comes back he lacks transition defense. His best bet is PF. Mobley will have to hold, Tracey 6'8 in Orlando, 6'7 Bryant, and possibly MJ in washington. He is only 6'4! I know he is a great player, but we need a strong bench, and him at PG behind Francis would work. Look at 6'1 Iverson and his defense in the playoffs. He had no defense!!!!!!!!!
The Rockets organization just spent the last three days running tests to see if Rice would be fine by next season... This has nothing to do with Rice or Barkley's "injury proneness" the only time he got injured with us in the playoffs was in 97-98 (I think) against Utah. The reason Barkley got injured because Antoine Carr hacked his arm. Eric Snow is a solid point guard...I'd say Francis is a little more than solid. Thank you I needed a new sig...yes having arguably the 3rd best SG in the Western Conference, behind Kobe and Finley, is a huge weakness Ok Francis will play around 38 minutes a game. That would leave 10 minutes for Mobley at PG and no minutes for Mooch if he resigns. I'd say Francis/Mooch is pretty damn near untouchable considering Francis could easily be the top pg in the league next season and Mooch is an excellent backup. Alright! A 6-9 shooting guard. Now we'll be able to completely shutdown 6-7 Kobe, 6-8 TMac and 6-1 Iverson since he is TALLER!!!! The only true thing in this whole post. The zone will help Glen on defense. We don't really need Glen for fastbreaks. Mooch, Francis, Mobley and Griffin can run on breaks. Shaq doesn't run much, why don't we put Rice on him! Taylor is one of the best shooting PF's in the league. Taylor is not Bird or Nowitzki. He can already shoot long 2 pointers very well, not as good as "Carl", but he has a nice shot. Never use Collier and PF in the same sentence. I would love to see Collier guarding Duncan and KG. I'm still hoping we get Jahidi White, but if the Rockets don't get another center then they can use a zone defense to collapse on Shaq, "Morning", Olajuwon and Robinson. We have a DOMINANT SG
Repeat after me: Glen Rice is not, has not, and will not play PF. To think that he would play that now because he has a foot injury or that he is slow is logic I don't understand. I feel that Tmo will become a solid player in time, but he is nowhere close to starting over a 3 year veteran coming off a 20 ppg season!! If he was that good, then he would have probably been the #1 pick and not have been picked in the 2nd round. Not even EG is going to start & do you think that Tmo is better than EG? I don't care how tall he is--McGrady, Bryant, Iverson, etc. would all eat him alive. Using your logic that he is tall, maybe the Rockets need to place Collier or Mo Taylor on the "big" shooting guards. I don't think that you're giving Mobley any credit for his defense. When he first started playing for the Rockets, he was known as a good defender. As a matter of fact, I think that might be why he was able to start by the end of his rookie year because he was a better defender than Maloney or Price (OK that's not saying much), but he had defensive potential. It's only been recently with him increasing his offense that nobody thinks he can play defense. Look for him to have a solid defensive year to go along with his other talents like putting the ball into the hole.
If every one can thnk back to the Chicago Bulls. they didn't have a good center. If Cato play half as good as Cartwight , we will be all right
You have to notice that SG are getting taller not smaller. 6'9 magic was a PG, 6'8 hill may play PG this year, tracey 6'8 is a SG, Rose can play PG,SG, and SF. If Morris runs on the track everyday, work on his dribbling, and shot. He can be a very good SG. He will not shut down 6'7 Kobe, 6'8 TMac, or 6'1 Iverson, but if he works on his game, his height can HELP. Part of the bulls, and lakers dominance was, whether you want to believe it or not, because of the height of the players. I mean it is a significant factor. Jordan, Pippen, Bryant, and Shaq are the main reasons, but height is a significance.
Collier and Mo Taylor will never play SG, that is crazy. He does not have the athleticism to play the position, but if he did, yes even at 7'0 ft I would put a 7'0 over a 6'4, if and only if he had the athleticism to play the position. I am from Houston, born and raised, I have spent the last couple of years in Maryland, and know that Morris can play the position. I know mobley will start as SG this season, especially with a 20 pt season, but he will not win most of the matchups against the taller SG, with the same athleticism. His only weakness is his HEIGHT!!! I love Mobley, and support him, but just the way I feel. What did JORDAN 6'6 tell STARKS 6'4 in the Playoffs. "YOU TOO SHORT TO HOLD ME." Even the greatest SG ever knows this fact. Height matters!
Manny Ramirez - Totally compelely agree with you. Although I think, actually I know, mobley can play point guard it really isn't his natural position. He could play backup for francis in games but that really should only be an rare occasion if moochie re-ups with us. Again I got to stress this(to some), Mobley should play SG period. He is one of the top SG in this league. He doesn't need to be 6'7 or 6'9 he is fine at 6'4(I heard somewhere that he was actually closer to 6'5 than 6'4, but that really doesn't matter). Mad Max was 6'4 and was actually noted as a player that could slow down Jordan with his defense. Mobley is an offensive weapon and should be used, not at PG where he was unconfortable with passing first(in his rookie year). He will and should play 35+ mins a game at SG and not 10 mins a game as francis backup. Honestly would you want mobley to average 5 points a game in 10 mins at PG letting TRock average 10pts a game in 35mins at SG or Cat averaging 20pts in 35 mins at SG. T. Morris should play SF. Though he can play SG at times he isn't ready to give 15mins a game at the SG position as a backup let alone start. Heck he isn't ready to start at the SF. That is absolutely silly to think that we have to have a 6'9 SG. Size doesn't always matter. Like mentioned in the 01 playoffs Kobe at 6'8 against 6'1 Iverson actually played worse than against the Steve Smith 6'8 Portland and Doug Cristie 6'6 Sac. Kobe was slashing and driving against them but against Philly he was settling with the outside shots and scoring less. It really is the defense that stops players not the size of a player. TRock might be taller than them but there is no way TRock can keep up with Vince or Kobe for 35 mins a game let alone dominate them. Rice can no way be used at PF. As some of you been saying how height matters than how do you think Rice 6'8 225 will hold up aganist 6'10 260 Webber or even 6'11 275 Baker. As some of you been saying he's slow and should play PF since he can keep up with them but how is he going to stop them? Rice is a finese player not a banger, he will bring less rebounds than Mo. Mo does not need to shoot 3s. He is a Power foward. PF are suppose to post up and bang. If he stands outside for 3s then we are definitely introuble because we will have 4 guys throwing it inside to Cato and expecting him to be able to pass it back out but he can't even dribble let alone find the open man. As for Collier, he's too slow to play PF. Maybe at times but not on a consistent basis. There is no way E.Griffin is going to ever handle the ball like a SG in his career. He's not even adaqiute to handle the ball at SF, and might never be. He would only work well at SF if he plays with a PF that can Handle like Mo Taylor. Put him with Kenny Thomas at PF and KThomas will probably handle it more than EG at SF. He just isn't a ballhandler, he actually never looks for a pass until he's around the 3pt line even if he's the last man down after the outlet. Even if it got in his hands before the 3pt line and he's not guarded he's going to not dribble it and try and find someone open to pass it to, that's one reason I like TRock because he actually can dribble it under pressure as a SF and bring it up if the guards got caught up. Again height doesn't always matter, take for instance two sandwitches. He was 7'2 320 and couldn't do anything while Barkley was 6'4 playing PF and dominated. It's what a player can do and bring not his size that matters. Jhicks - Although our ideas aren't the same, I'm not trying to knock on yours. I'm not saying that you are wrong and I am right, I'm just sharing my thoughts with you. I'm glad you brought up some ideas and some of them are really creative. It's always good to think of different lineups to out match the opposition. By the way it's good to have you here.
I think the steal happened the first time they played, and the Jordan explosion happened the second time. Rhodes is a pretty good defender, and he could be used for his ball handling not offense. He might have some issues, but maybe a camp invite would make sense.
Logically understand this! Assuming that he comes back, and healthy the way he was; he can play, and will play the SF position. However, a FOOT INJURY, can have a significant impact on your game. Most PF 's don't run the court. He can, like in college, play the PF position. Furthermore, he would be LESS likely to have a re-injury of his foot, while playing transition defensive against PF's. He would also have a better chance at bringing rebounders out, when he spots up for the three at the PF postion. Most PF's, as well as other position's, are trained to rebound, so he will get off a lot of three's. If they play D on his 3 pt shot, then the other team mates can help with the Rockets rebounding problem. Now there are players who are SF's who I think can not play the PF position. Scottie Pippen, Rick Fox, can not play the postion. Larry Johnson, Bird, and Rice can play the power forward position as a substitute, which he should be because of his injury. He is 6'8, and to short to play the C, that is a crazy assumption.
Thankyou! I am glad to be here. I was born a Rocket fan. Born right in Herman Hospital of Houston. I respect your thoughts, and completely understand them. I know Mobley is a good SG, even at 6'4. However if you are going to win a championship, you need an edge. Phil Jackson knows this! He trys all the time to get an edge. Mobley is a great offensive player, but will he be a defensive liability. A good point in which no one has brought up is that, when 6'6 Harper went out , 6'1 Derek Fisher came in, and did a wonderful job to help bring LA to a Championship!!! However, Phil is quick to change the line ups in his favor if it is not working. I would have loved to have seen Chicago, and Rockets play during the championship years. The great Rudy T against Phil Jackson. Hakeem and Drexler, against Pippen and Jordan. We would have won anyway!! HeHe!!!
I agree with everything you said, however; in the playoffs it is a different story. Part of the reason Barkley never won a championship, is because he is playing against players with same athleticism at 6'4 at the PF position. True he dominated, but in the playoff's, for example against Utah, Carl Malones height and athleticism proved valuble. Imagine Barkley 6'4 on 7'0 Tim Duncan, or 6'11 Kevin Garnett in the play offs. You might as well give them baskets. No my friend that would not work. I do agree that he was a great player, and one of the best. I never will deny that fact.
I agree with everything you said. I was just thinking about Robert Horry, and how tentative he was, and how everyone said he could not dribble nor shoot the three. Eddie Griffin may never handle the ball to be a premier SF, but man it would be nice to have him there at this position. He is young and I hope he develops the necessary skills.
I am not saying that we have to have a 6'9 SG. I am saying this; Phil looks towards winning the championship, not just the season, nor the playoffs. He looks at everything, and then tries to get an edge at every position. Now! I may be wrong, but I think that this is his secret. Look at every position, then compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses with the other players of the league. T Rock blocked Kobe Bryant shot. Kobe did a fade away, and TRock slapped it away. That then psychological messed up his game; then he had a low scoring game, while TRock was on fire. Iverson did not stop Kobe; Mutombo did, that is why he settled for outside shots. Philly got smart and got a 7'1 Center that could help stop 7'1 Shaq, and Kobe in the middle, which is why Ratliff, who is a better offensive player was traded. This was a smart move if you ask me, and may be the reason they made it to the playoffs.
You have a good point on Phil Jackson. He does do the craziest lineups in games and it leaves most everyone(LA Laker Fans here) with question marks and they do sometimes work for short spans but as you have quickly pointed out he's quick to change them also if they don't work. I even seen him have shaq bring it up a once(and that is almost the most strangest play to see), he's even played Horry at center. Hey you never know if it works unless it'd done, right. I guess it would leave the opposition coaches thinking about matchups and confused what to do next or what is coming next. I think rudy is alittle more conservative compared to P. Jackson but anyways good point my friend.
" TOO EVERY ONE WHO THINKS SIZE DOES NOT MATTER" Championships from the great allstars Dr. J =6'7 a ring Clyde Drexler=6'7 a ring Jordan 6'6 has 6 rings Duncan 7'0 a ring Robinson 7'1 a ring Magic 6'9 PG,SG,SF,PF, and C has rings Worthy 6'8 has rings Pippen 6'8 has rings Bryant 6'7 has rings Larry Legend Bird 6'9 has rings. Olajuwon 7'0 has rings Shaq 7'1 has rings Wilt 7'1 has rings Bill Russel 7'1 has rings There are exceptions to every thing: Piston's bad boys 6'3 Thomas and 6'4 Dumars has rings, but they had 6'11 lambier, and RODMAN the 6'8 Rebounding machine. Philly 6'1 Iverson no ring yet???? But one will come!!! These guys made the difference in the championships. Yes other players helped and stepped up, and could be classified as allstars as well, but without these guys you have no rings.
I'm going to go ahead and be lazy and use your whole quote. Don't mean to make anyone mad here. JHicks--I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree here about Rice playing PF. Someone pointed out that Rice is a finesse player. Now, you can make the argument that Mo Taylor is a finesse player and any 4 that gets 5 rebounds a game is a finesse player. However, you have to look at their body weight as well as height. Barkley was an anomaly in the fact that he had the height to play with SFs, but he had the weight or girth to play PF and he did that very well. Yea, he never won a championship, but he had some great performances in the playoffs, especially the year that the Suns went to the finals. Barkley never had the supporting cast that players like Magic, Bird, Jordan, and later Olajuwon had. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until he got to Houston that he had a strong supporting cast. Unfortunatley, they along with him had already reached their prime and were on the tail-end of their career. IMO, Rice does not have the girth or weight to bang with PFs on a game-to-game basis. However, he may play some 4 if Rudy decides to go with a 3 guard line-up in Francis, Mobley, and Moochie (assuming he re-signs) with Mo at the center spot. It all depends on the other team's personnel. Remember when the Suns had a 4 guard line-up a couple of years ago? Something like that but not as drastic. You make some interesting points and they are things that Rudy will probably look at except for bringing Cuttino off the bench. However, as LA pointed out Rudy is pretty conservative and I would be surprised to see him do things any differently than this rotation: SF Rice/Griffin/Morris PF Taylor/Thomas/Griffin C Cato/Collier/Pickup, i.e. Jahidi White or Pig Miller SG Mobley/Langhi PG Francis/Norris I hope that I haven't come across snooty or snobby. If I have, I apologize. After reading your posts, I can tell that you have put alot of thought in what you're posting & you can never fault anybody who does that.
