Now that we have Marc Jackson where does he fit in with the team? I see two choices: he could either start at power forward ahead of KT or he could play at center with Cato as his backup. I think that it would be better for him to play the 5 because he has the bulk and defense to make that position better. I think MJ allows us to still make a strong push for the playoffs. Can you imagine when Taylor comes back? We will definitely be a playoff team... PG-Francis/Moochie SG-Mobley/Torres SF-Rice/Williams PF-Taylor/Griffin/Thomas C-Jackson/Cato/Collier
I don't think Griffin will be a force for 2 MAYBE 3 years. He's the heir apparent to Glen Rice, not Mo Taylor. Griffin will start at SF, and defend the SF and play as a PF on offense I believe. I'm looking forward to a frontline this year of Rice, Cato and Jackson. With the zones, all Cato has to do is rebound and block shots, and he can do that. If he gives us 6 to 8 ppg, I'd be estatic. Jackson will be the PF, give us 13 to 15 ppg and about 7 to 9 rpg. Rice will grab about 3 to 4 rpg, that's pretty much a guarantee. I think that Jackson will be the future center unless Cato steps up. Which means one of them will be trade bait in 2 or 3 years, probably Jackson since his contract is nice, or Cato if he ups his value.
I don't think Rudy T is going to want his best rebounder and shot blocker garding a 3 on Defense. You want him inside as an erraser.
I think at time we could play MarC at the 4 and Cato at the 5. That way Cato could just concentrate on defense and MarC could handle the boards and scoring.
I'd want Cato and Jackson together as starters. Cato playing C on offense, while guarding the PF defensively. Jackson a PF on offense, and guarding the C on defense. We need to get some size in our starting lineup, and that means KT is out. KT's better suited as a high-energy hustle guy off the bench anyway than a consistent 30 min per game starter. Next year, barring a Cato miracle, Jackson will be the true C, Mo the PF, and Rice/Griffin as the SF. Our bench will be stacked for 2002-2003.
New rotation: Cato:33 min Jackson:35 min Rice:35 min Cat:38 min Francis:38 min Griffin:25 min Mooch:28 min Kt:23 min Williams:10 min Bench warmers:Morris,Langhi,Collier IR-Mo T In and out-Kelly,Torres,Colson,Ike nwakoo-something and maybe pig or S.Scott.
Griffin would work fine as a SF and be able to block shots. Griffin isn't going to be a straight up shot-blocker he's going to be a weakside shotblocker like Camby. He'll be able to do fine at the SF spot.
As far as shot blocking from the SF spot, Horry did that quite a bit (with a little time at PF as well).
Agreed, though I'd compare his defense more to Shawn Marion than Camby, mainly due to the positions. Nonetheless, Griffin will be our best weakside/double teamer since Horry. I'd like to see the Rockets utilize a full-court press with Griffin. With the 8 second half-court rule, I think it'd be worth a shot.
if we do wind up with blaylock, can you imagine him,cato and griffin on a press. that would be scary. I don't think Cato could play 35min per because he always find a way to get silly fouls
I haven't seen much of Blaylock lately. But in his prime, he was the best defensive PG in the league, better than Payton. He used his long arms to his advantage in not allowing any PG drive on him. If he still has some D, Blaylock would be tremendous in a full-court defense off the bench. The more I think about it, the more I want the Rockets to throw in a press.
