TSN has stated Rockets have looked into the idea of Mobley at SF... Norris Francis Mobley Rogers Cato I've heard of 2 PGs(Showtime) but 3...now that's revolutionary. Note: I do realize Mobley would get posted on cuz of his 6'4" height, but against teams like suns and kings where they go small ball, could prove useful. Any thoughts about this concept? ------------------ The Mall Kid is Back! The best draft source yet, www.draftsource.net [This message has been edited by rocketsfan34 (edited March 06, 2000).]
Thoughts? Yep, IT SUCKS. Big people win in the NBA. Chicago had all their players over 6'6" (starters anyway). Look at Toronto, now that they have gone to a big lineup with McGrady....6-1 with him starting. The Rockets are just too damned short. They need talented BIGGER players. DaDakota
One thing you should learn, never bring up the Chicago Bulls point. Why? Cuz it doesn't matter if everyone else is 4 feet, they have michael jordan. 'Nuff said. Remember bigger does NOT mean always better. You always seem to think that. ------------------ The Mall Kid is Back! The best draft source yet, www.draftsource.net
Look, You can not teach height. I will take BIGGER and equally talented over shorter and equally talented. The problem with the Rockets is that too much of their talent lies with smaller players. You do not win in the NBA with most of your talent being around 6 feet tall. The Rockets have only 2 real big men to build around. Kenny Thomas and Kelvin Cato. The rest of them are like hamsters...DISPOSABLE. DaDakota
Obviously, I would too. However this is hardly ever the case. Name 5 examples where the tall guy AND shorter guy have equal talent. What you'll find out is the the shorter guy is more talented than the tall guy to make up for his height difference. Have you ever watch the Suns run their 3 guard lineup? Its one of the few effective counters against the Spurs towers. Interesting...I would have thought you would choose Rogers who is taller.
All of this writing about size being important and disposable hamsters sheds you in a new light DaDakota.
speaking of a 3-guard line-up. I remember, when checking the boxscore of the Nets-game, i was surprised to see the minutes of Moochie. He played 21 minutes! Then I checked Francis stats: 41 minutes. Who did Moochie steal his PT from, besides from Drew (only 8min)? Shandon got 43 and Mobley 25. There was a total of 240+25 minutes and those five mentioned above played a combined 138 minutes. Our forwards KT, WW and CR combined for 73 and the centers (Keem, Pig and Cato) 54. I did not see the game, but those numbers suggest that Rudy already used some sort of three-guard line-up in this game. Or am I wrong?
DaDakota: big people win in the nba?? hmmmm....Isiah, Joe and Vinnie went small against arguably the best front court ever, Bird, McHale, Parish with two 6-4 guards. I've got a more accurate broad brush: mismatches win in the NBA! RF34: To me, going small (or going big) is not what you do against similar teams, it is what you do to contrasting teams. Throwing contrast at the opponents can take them out of their defensive rhythm as they struggle to deal with your mismatches. The key is that the mismatches the other way can't be more effective. You need a sum gain. There are three ways to help make certain the other teams mismatches aren't as effective: 1) mismatch against their poorest offensive player, 2) mismatch with quick-footed, versatile defensive players, 3) don't worry about mismatches because you have shotblockers guarding the rim. IMO, with Cato, we can produce a sum gain that other teams can't.
I don't think there is anyway that Anderson doesn't get to start. I could see Francis, Mobley, Anderson, but not Francis, Norris, Mobley. I wouldn't be surprised to see those three on the court at the same time for a few minutes, but not to start the game.
Kevin Garnett and Marbury have the same or close talent? HAHAHAHAHAHA. Are you serious??? We are talking about Garnett here. Who cares if we are predictable with ISO drive and dish? You know what the Jazz and Spurs will run, yet you can't do anything to stop it. Of all people to say this its Mike Ditka. "If you make another team prepare half day of it, you've succeeded." I have to agree with Heypartner on this, it isn't the size that makes the difference, its the mismatches that counts. ------------------ The Mall Kid is Back! The best draft source yet, www.draftsource.net
Does anybody remember the recent rule changes? No touching the man with the ball with your hands outside the free throw line, strong-side zone is now legal.....these rules are designed to benefit the smaller, quicker teams. If these rules are properly enforced, and once teams adjust and learn how to exploit them, the best teams will be the ones with the best small guys, not the best big guys.
This stuff about playing Mobley at SF is getting blown out of proportion. We did it against Sac because they went small and we beat them at their own game. I don't think small ball is something the Rockets are going to do against tall SFs. As for bigger being better: it is. It does not mean the bigger team will win, but I see the post-up game as being the NBA equivalent of the running game in the NFL: you need to establish it to open up the rest of the game, and it is something you can fall back on when nothing else is working. Teams can and have been successful without it, but that's the safe approach.
Isiah, Vinnie and Joe where beating Boston before their championship. And they were in the game together. 76'ers in the Fo, Fo, Fo year had a undersized 2nd team as well that demolished the Celtics frontline and the Lakers. Headed by Andrew Toni.
Actually, the Rockets have been using a three guard lineup for stretches of games throughout the year, playing Drew at the 2 and Mobley at the 3 with Francis running the point. Now, the 3-guard lineup has Moochie running point and Francis at the 2 with Mobley staying at the 3. This lineup wouldn't win in the playoffs, but we're not going to playoffs! Right now, Rudy is playing his best players together, and they happen to be small right now. Mobley does have an advantage at the 3 with his quickness. If you notice, the Rockets isolate him against slow-footed small forwards who don't have a prayer of guarding Cuttino on the wing. He can create room and shoot it or penetrate. He just needs to work on finding an open man every once and awhile. A way for the Rockets to employ a 3-guard lineup next season without having to "go small" is to select Dermarr Johnson in the draft. This kid is a 6-9 SHOOTING GUARD! He could come off the bench until he's strong enough to start at small forward. He is like Tracy McGrady, only he has a much better shot than T-Mac. He should be available around where the Rockets will pick.
good point Juan about low post being the surest game. I think DaDakota is making the same point. Surely, everyone must agree with that. As for RF34s original question, we don't need to speculate. We are playing that line-up. We are also playing SF, CM, and SA. Look at their combined minutes with Moochie (and Drew before); 3 guards are on the court together a lot. This has been going on since December.
To factor in the new NBA rule changes in the NFL analogy, maybe you should think about what it would be like in the NFL if the defensive backs weren't allowed to touch the receivers inside of 10 yards, instead of 5. This might make a passing game more of a "sure thing" than a running game.
