I thought one of the MAIN reasons to bring in a player like Kirk Snyder with his size and ATHLETECISM was to help with matchup problems against a team like Dallas. I really don't see why Van Gundy insists on playing Wells over him. Bonzi can't shoot, he can't penetrate, he can't defend. He is a one dimensional player. All he can do is post up (and he's not even that good at that). Granted Snyder isn't the best shooter, but he can knock down the occasional outside shot, he can penetrate, but most importantly he can DEFEND. You could put Snyder on Howard or Harris. Battier could stick on Dirk so Tracy won't wear down. Put Tracy on whoever Snyder doesn't guard and then Stackhouse when he comes in the game. Then who are you scared of? Jason Terry? I'll take my chances on that... And on another note we better pick up a veteran backup PG if we expect to go anywhere in the playoffs. Alston looked horrible last night and I cringe every time Luther brings the ball up.
Amen to that. JVG is doing a lot of things very well but sometimes his blind loyalty astounds me. Unless he wants to see if Bonzi can finally get into game shape or showcase the guy for a trade. Snyder could be very effective for us. Instead he gets to sit with V-Mac and Tsakalidis at the end of the bench for the year, playing Yahtzee.
Snyder is better than Bonzi...especially against quick athletic teams. JVG should have played him instead of Bonz last night. DD
Honestly, I didn't see too many times last night (maybe three times?) that Stack drove on Bonzi. I thought that Bonzi did a solid job defending, especially with a key rip in the 4th quarter in order to keep it close. Also, Bonzi was a mismatch with whatever SF/SG they put on him, as he was able to take his man to the rim and cause general havoc down low. I do think that we should have kept attacking the basket in the 3rd, when the Mavs were already in the penalty with like 6 minutes to go. I think that is the spot where Snyder would help out, as it seems his first thought is to take it to the rim.
How do you figure that Snyder is better than Bonzi? I mean, yes, he is head and shoulders above Bonzi athletically. But Bonzi has shown an ability to distribute and play with his back to the basket that I've not seen out of Kirk.
I meant right now.....Snyder fits in better on the Rockets team. We need a player who comes outside in...and attacks the rim, not another slow footed post player...we got enough of those already. DD
It's all about MATCHUPS and how to exploit them. That is why Dallas is so good, the create mathcup problems, not because they have the most talented team. JVG needs to do a better job of exploiting those matchups and adjusting to them. Him not getting Snyder in the game last night was blind ignorance. I'm not saying Wells didn't have his place in the game, but Snyder could have definitely helped. And that's all I'm saying. I made a post a few days back about Van Gundy's "8 man rotation" and his refusal to deviate from it. And last night was a classic example of my argument.
Who is kidding who? Bonzi is in there for the rebounding and low post scoring. It is the hallmark of this team to go inside out. No Yao, somebody has to do it. Bonzi also has track record and was playing fine for this game. He had a good first 1 half and Rockets were up by 7 at the half. Synder is big and quick but he is an all out attack the rim guy. He is not going to attack and dish (not his game). Dallas is actually decent enough on defense to stop his moves. Synder also not very deadly from the outside. Would I like to see him play more? Sure. But the coach has his plans and Bonzi is in them, Synder is not. All this "world is ending" after another lost to the Mavs is pointless. We have a hole in the middle without Yao, we are still winning and has one of the best records in the NBA, so when Yao in back for the last 20 games or so, see how the team does and look out for the playoff because it's going to be fun.
Couldn't have said it more succinctly myself. Bonzi created mismatches when he backed his man down on the block. I've seen Snyder develop that part of his game and it is coming along. But, He's not as effective at punishing smaller defenders like Bonzi is (barring that Harris flop last night, he was having his way when he got his man on his back hip).
I know one thing... Kirk wouldn't have watched a critical rebound bounce on the floor 2 feet from him without moving so much as an inch to actually grab it. If you know what play I'm talking about...that pissed me off big time
It was right next to Bonzi...he just stood there and watched it....I was amazed......at his lethargy. DD
While I agree, that I'd rather see more Synder and less Bonzi, the argument that Synder isn't the best shooter (we scored 77 points last night) and he can defend (we allowed one of the best offenses only 80 points), doesn't hold much weight after last night's game. I like our chances with T-Mac and Yao on the floor. It would have been a nice boost to beat the Mavs going into the All-Star break, but Yao is the cure for a lot of what ails us.
Apart from all the other issue towards the end of the game- We left Juwan to guard Dirk- that was when Dirk made 3 to4 shots back to back and they went on a 12-0 run. If we had the more athletic Snyder (on Josh Howard) then Battier would have covered Dirk. It was not until the 7 minute mark- that Tracy was asked to guard Dirk. NBA play offs will be all about Match Ups- and if we have a coach that does not change his ways with substituitions- and sticks to players who have limitations, I think we will have issues- but then again playoffs have 5 games ( do we really need to wait for 2-3 games before we adapt?) Of Course Yao will be a big differnce makers- hopefully he will be our go to guy for Free throws! But let us not forget Rafer is the ball handler- something goes wrong with him when the heat is on. I would have preferred to use bonzi when luther was not hitting shots in the 3rd quarter- and perhaps played Snyder 10-15 minutes purely for defensive purposes. But that violates JVG 's set rules. We are asking way too much of Tracy and Battier. Trading Bonzi is a mistake- whatever your issues are with him, this guy can pass and rebound and defend. Sure I wanted him to get back his jump shots- till such time he should just go to the rim. That is our highest percentage shot without Yao on the team.
Per Dadakota: "Snyder is better than Bonzi...especially against quick athletic teams. JVG should have played him instead of Bonz last night." DD Agreed- we were soooooo close to winning. It would not have taken much to get the advantage. Needed Snyder against that devil Josh Howard!!!! __________________
I am really tired of people pointing to a winning record and suggest that anyone who posts a logical counterpoint to what happens in the game- is more or less ostracized! Yao's coming back does not improve Rafer's decision making. Deke does a decent enough job in the middle- the problem is we need Juwan for some offense- and Juwan cannot guard a flag pole that is stuck in the ground! Yes we are winning- but against whom? We were a playoff bound team at the start of the season- if that is all is expected, then there are a lot of us who think we can win it all- so it is a pure matter of what we are capable of doing and what we are doing. JVG is a great coach- but his in-game strategy and match-ups are really questionable. Luther should not have had that many minutes yesterday- Kirk Snyder was badly needed. Give me one good reason why he was not on the floor for even say 10-15 minutes?
Bonzi can contribute MUCH more in the playoffs. And that's why he signed here. JVG knows we need another difference-maker, and we desperately need Bonzi to be that guy. Kirk Snyder is a good NBA player who will find ways to contribute. But I have no problem with JVG trying to jumpstart Bonzi Wells. It's a luxury the Rockets have while they're winning. If Wells doesn't "get it" by the playoffs, Kirk Snyder is always ready to step in and supply adequate help.
I think Bonzi will be very important in the playoffs but for matchups against teams like Dallas, he should use Bonzi and Snyder and leave Head on the bench. I just don't understand why JVG does not want to play Bonzi and Snyder on the same game. They don't have to be on the field at the same time, but he can alternate them.
To tell you the truth, I think snyder should have taken a lot of Head's minutes in this game, not Bonzi's. Head was the one that kept venturing into the paint and then had no idea what to do. Also, it would have made guarding Stackhouse a lot easier.
