PG- Francis/James- 2 scoring point guards who are capable passers and should succeed while spliting time. SG- T-Mac/Bonzi Wells- A top 10 player who could put up 25/6/7 in Adelman's system and a very good player backing him up. Wells likes playing under Adelman. SF- Battier/Wells- The perfect role player Shane Battier who can drain 3's and play excellent perimeter defense. Wells will also see some time at SF and could be one of the better 6th men PF- Scola/Hayes A weak position for the team last year but it looks strong this year. Scola is a classic power forward about 6'9". He has excellent fundamentals, he has some great post moves, he is an excellent passer, he can hit jumpers and he has great footwork. Hayes is an undersized PF but an excellent hustle player who will give us rebounds and energy C- Yao/Mutombo- We have Yao who is a 25/10 player and one of the top 3 centers in the league and Mutombo who is a veteran who is still a great rebounder and defender. Adelman is the perfect coach for a team with so much offensive talent. I don't see what else the team needs?
LOL this is what the Spurs think of Bonzi Scola is a good acquisition for the Rockets but the real threat is Bonzi Wells. If this guy gets his head on right (and I think he will) then based on experience we have no answer for him. He overpowers our guards and he's to quick for our bigs. In our favor, Adelman has never been known for his stellar defenses. Houston may just be the "new" Kings.
I think we need a disgruntled Greek basketball star who didn't have what it took to earn major minutes in his first year, and has a poor attitude about it.
PG Francis/James/Brooks SG TMac/(James)/(Wells) SF Battier/Wells PF Scola/Hayes C Yao/Deke/Butler These are the only definites on the team, IMHO. Battier could come off the bench instead of Wells and/or James, but I have a feeling Adelman will want their instant offense. We only have 4 roster spots for these 9 players. JL3/Reed/Sura/Snyder/Alston/Harris/Landry/Novak/Head Obviously, if we could trade all 9 and get 4 better players, that would be optimal, but I doubt that happens. So, we'll probably keep who we can't do 2 or 3 for 1 trades in order to improve. Worst case, we let everyone go at it in training camp, then cut the weakest players. If we could get an Artest, David Lee, Tyrus Thomas, Sefolosha, Amir Johnson, Ike Diogu, Charlie Villanueva, Udonis Haslem, Channing Frye, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Nick Collison, Delonte West, Matt Harpring, Cedric Simmons, Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright, Matt Barnes, Patrick O'Bryant, Brandon Wright, Marco Belinelli,Ronny Turiaf, Boris Diaw, or any player that probably isn't starting, but is a building block ... we should do what it takes with these pieces and/or picks, and get them. I hate to see us just lay guys off ... but, we'll probably end up trading JL3 for a 2nd round pick, use Sura's contract to get under the luxury tax, keep Alston, Landry, Novak and Head, and cut Reed, Snyder and Harris. Reed and Harris are no big loss, but I'm hating to lose Snyder, without giving him a chance to develop under Adelman. It would seem better if we could at least trade 2 of them for 1 other guy that would give us more toughness and future potential. I'm not sure why we passed on Glen Davis, Josh McRoberts, Gabe Pruitt, Nick Fazekas, Sun Yue, Derrick Byars, Jared Jordan, Marc Gasol and Taureen Green to take Landry. Landry seems like a dufus out there. But, I'm really loving the Brooks pick now. I still don't know why we didn't buy a pick earlier and pick up Bellineli, Crittendon and/or Fernandez, but I'm glad we got Brooks.
Cough. Foster. Cough. Capable backup vet power forward over 6'10" that can rebound and defend in case Scola gets into foul trouble. But, I like what we have and think Morey's done a marvelous job with the few bargaining chips he has. I like your list. Just wanted to add two more useful weapons: Luther Head: 44.1% 3 point shooter last year, 4th highest percentage in the league behind Kapono, Nash and Brent Barry. Aaron Brooks: Jet-quick point guard with an explosive first step, good handles, and an excellent 3 point shot. He was also the summer league MVP and opened up some eyes as a Team Select member going up against the Dream Team.
I think we need a little drama betwen Frances and Mike James, maybe also between Bonzi and whomever. Otherwise, this will be a BORING team all the way to Championship.
The Rockets are still short in the big-man department. We can lose any player at the SF/SG/PG position, and still have a decent rotation at that spot. Even losing T-Mac for several games shouldn't be a big problem. But if Hayes/Scola/Yao ever go down, we'd have depth problems unless one believe Butler and/or Reed can actually play. The big thing is that neither Scola nor Hayes at this time can be consistent 30 mpg players. Both are too foul-prone, with Scola also having to adjust to the NBA schedule.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2090 As for the people who are skeptical of yet another undersized post player trying to crack the NBA, Landry has a very direct message for them: “Look at Chuck Hayes, Carlos Boozer, Jason Maxiel, Craig Smith, and Ryan Gomes. I can go on and on, those guys are impact players. They can contribute to any team in the NBA.” It is precisely those players that Landry patterns his game after. He stated he thought he is a combination of several of those players, and that if he continues to work hard it will pay off for him in the long run.
This is what i think roster is gonna be: Yao/Mutombo/Another Center Scola/Hayes/Another PF Battier/Snyder/Novak Tmac/Bonzi/Head Francis/James/Brooks Most likely inactive players will be Another Center/PF/Novak or Snyder. I would like to see Novak get more mintues this season n could use his 3-point shooting under adelmans offense.
And defense. We're going to regret firing Thibodeau and Clifford come June. Anybody can coach THIS MUCH offensive talent. Defense wins championships. Look at the past 9 championship teams. I'm still not confident in Adelman and Turner's defensive abilities. Yao is going to get exposed more than ever without JVG aiding him on the pick and role and giving him tons of help on opposing big men. This team will be fun to watch for sure, but with the loss of a considerable amount of defensive coaching and strategy, coupled with the departure of Juwan's leadership that kept the team together last year despite all that could have gone wrong, I don't see us winning it this year. Oh yeah, did I forget TMac gets tired when it matters most? Exactly what we need from our franchise player. Oh wait, the Franchise is now our franchise player. The West is all about seeding. If we crack the top 4, which isn't likely given that Dallas, Phoenix, SA, and Utah (easy division winners) are built for the regular season, then we have a chance at the Finals. But without homecourt in the West, we're doomed. And even if we do somehow get homecourt and make the Finals, Boston is still the team to beat. I have this crazy feeling Doc Rivers isn't going to be around and Thibodeau will come back to bite us in the butt and win a title in his first year head coaching.
tmac put up 25, 6, 7 under JVG's system, which is not very good. if he gets these stats again, he should be much more efficient. yao will def. be even more efficient and a much more dominant all-around player. he's the best center, not one of the top 3
McGrady will putup 28-6-6 in the upcoming season. i got no doubt about it. he might even win the MVP. Ok as for the weak spots, i still feel were missing a Big Bruiser at the PF spot. someone like PJ brown. if scola gets injured, were only left with hayes again like last year. i still wouldnt mind another big guy who can score and play defense. Also i'm hoping Snyder will be given a chance to play. i think he'll be a very handy player in the motion offense. he'll get alot of easy dunks and layups due to he's atheletic ability and size. he'll be a nightmare to stop off the ball.
Then he really needs to get that trophy back from Nate Robinson. Spoiler Aaron was rookie of the month during summer league play, not the MVP
