Man we would be able to score with dallas and the suns if we had rashard.........we still wouldnt win
Strongly agree- when Rudy and CD made a verbal commitment to Rashard to draft him- someone vetoed it IMHO
The thing is, how many PF's are there in the league, period, that can go toe to toe against the best in the West, ie, Duncan, KG, Boozer, etc. etc.? Take that list of PF's, and how realistic is it that the Rockets can attain any of them? Have you seen the list of PF's the Rockets are targetting? Those guys are basically Chuck Hayes/Juwan Howard types. If the Rockets get Rashard, he can stretch the floor, since he can knock down the long ball. Bring Duncan, KG, Boozer out to guard Rashard, leaving the lane free for T-Mac.
What the Rockets DON'T need is a defensive/rebounding/shot blocking PF. They already tried that with Cato, Hayes and Swift. Hopefully the Rockets can get Rashard, because I truly think the best defense this year is a good offense.
that's great. but we want a COMPLETE team. we're a PF away from being a truly complete team. again, another chuck hyaes type of PF is very good if he's a lil taller. we don't want that PF to score a lot. just be able to get rebounds, finish around the rim.... if hayes was 6-10 and finish around the rim a lil better, im fine w/ him being our full time starter. but he's not 6-10. getting lewis means giving up AT LEAST battier. he may not be potent offensively, buth e provides the defense and hustle that all teams need. and he and tmac can switch off anything on the perimeter defensively. again, i think if we get a guy like nocioni/haslem/or hell even darko, we're straight.
On the other end of the floor, we would need someone to help double team whoever Rashard's player, which also leaves at least one person open out on the perimeter (the Derek Fisher's, Jason Terry's, Manu Ginobili's, and Brent Barry's of the west)
fat chance.... aint no way lewis playing for rockets at a measly 5, 6 mil... he's looking for a max contract, home town discount rarely exist nowadays. Even if he does give hometown discount, we gotta cough up lot more than what's reported.
Unless the Rockets get PJ Brown, who on that list of targetted FA's the Rockets are looking at can guard Boozer, Duncan, KG, Amare, etc. straight up? Double teams on the defensive end will come regardless. Just like how double teams will come regardless when the opposition has to guard T-Mac and Yao. Come playoff time, scoring is at an optimum. THe more weapons, the better. Again, didn't we try this stuff with Cato and Swift? Hayes? We don't need a defensive PF. We need all the fire power we can get, and let the chips fall where they may.
This is a very BAD move. The current roster of Rockets has enough offensive power. The trade for Lewis won't help our offense much (since there are limited number of shot attempts), but will sacrifice our defense (Battier will be traded away). It will also sacrifice our signing of a good PF after getting Lewis expensively. When speed is a big factor in current NBA, the half-court offense/defense is still the key to win championship. We need a good 3pt shooter as well as a good half-court defender. His name is Battier (the Rockets version of Bowen).
I love Battier as much as the next guy, but, if it means getting Rashard, then I'm all for it. Reason being is, Battier is solid, but, he doesn't create his own shot. Rockets with Rashard, Mike James, Yao, T-Mac and Wells, it's a case of pick your poison if you're the opposition on the defensive end.
Did you watch the playoffs? This team has enough firepower? How so? By getting Mike James? He's our savior?
Ever heard of just TRADING for one? We have a surplus at the PG position and we have a couple of shooters that teams would need. And I think you've been seeing too much of Chuck Hayes to remember that there are some ATTAINABLE power forwards out there that can defend AND score. Thinking that that list Morey put out there is our ONLY viable options is pretty shortsighted.
You won't get past Utah again if that is what we do. That is not enough firepower in the west. tmac + yao + non scorers like Battier doesn't work. Just not enough.
u also forgot that tmac and yao shot very badly AT THE SAME TIME. no fat chance in hell that happens again. just bad offense all around. yes, mike james would have hit some shots that would take rafer off the floor, then spread the floor.
Firepower this firepower that. The West was won this year not by having a shoot-out. Utah, GS, Phoenix, San Antonio all pretty much scored less on average than they did in the series before. The Rockets all collectively shot like sh*t so don't make it out like Yao and Tmac had amazing games shooting-wise. The way to win the West is still with defense coupled with consistent scoring. You try to blow out teams in the playoffs without any semblance of team defense you'll make a quicker exit than the 2007 Dallas Mavericks
If you think we have enough firepower now, you are high. We don't nearly have what th eother teams in the west have, esp now that Portland is LOADED and Seattle has gotten a lot better. Bowen is fine on the Spurs because they have three guys that can score 35 on their own any given night creating their own offense. Parker Ginobili and Duncan. 3 dominant players plus Battier is perfect. We need a third guy with tmac yao before we can have 1 dimensional guys like battier.
