No Evidence for a Lewis/Thomas exchange..

Like most of you, I like the way KT is playing and think he can be our answer at SF.

I like the idea of a 3 man rotation at our Forward positions with MO starting at the 4 and KT at the 3. Eddie can come in at either position. Each could average 32 minutes playing Forward with Rice as a 4th option.

With our 3 man rotation at guard, this just leaves the need for another quality 5.

Seems simple to me

 

Can you define the role that Pippen played for us?

Also, don't you think the Rockets seem to only want spot-up shooters at the 3? How do you explain Glen Rice?

I'm not trying to criticize the Rockets, if that's what is bothering you. I am just saying that the role of our SF's have been the same over the last what 10 years?

If you beg to differ, that's fine. Just cite some examples rather than asking me to "let it go".

 

Why does everyone say that KT should play the 3? Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that if we're going to experiment with any wierd 3 forward lineups, MoT would be the player most suited to slide away from the basket. He's a better jump shooter anyway, and he certainly doesn't rebound to save his life.

Maybe I just have a bad attitude, but I'm completely unsold on MoT at this point. I really, really like his attitude, but I don't see what he brings to the team other than offense.

I'm not a big proponent of trade talk, but I'd much rather trade MoT at this point than Kenny. He's a bigger name anyway, and he's already got that big contract.

Not that a trade is likely, but yeah...

 

I'm with Darkhorse, but since MoT's a cripple as far as we know, no one else would take his long term contract. We're stuck with him so now what? I really look forward to next year to see what goes down. Hopefully no one ends up disgruntled and asking for a trade, but we'll see. Maybe we'll go big instead of stupid #*! small ball with Moochie. Put KT at the 2 like Minnesota and Wally.

 

Does anyone else realize that if KT or Mo is a 3, they would have to guard a 3?

I would not like to see one of them try and keep up with Shawn Marion, or even James Posey.

 

I know!, Kenny's incredible footwork, quick hands, and wide body would definitely put him at a disadvantage when guarding the three.

 

Notice that I referred to these situations as "wierd three forward lineups." I think having 3 pretty good 4's is a joke. We should try to trade one of them if possible. But lots of teams have logjams at the 4. Look at Golden State. There's a plethera of pretty good power forwards in the league, just like there's an abundance of decent small forwards in the leauge. In case you haven't noticed, there's also a shortage of quality centers.

The boat we're in is pretty much typical, and there's not a lot we're probably going to be able to do about it. So we'll play around with different ideas, and whine about this or that and what could and should be done. And eventually, God willing, at some point in time, we'll be back in the Finals. (let it not be years) That's why we keep hitting reload on the browser.

 

Keep Kenny!

I am really impressed with how he has improved this year. He may be smallish for a 4 but he's got a huge heart and he's playing huge. As was already pointed out, Barkley was small for a PF but he made up for it by playing large. Besides, he's one of the few guys that plays his ass off all the time, especially on D. Lewis is looking good this year too but I wouldn't give up a guy like KT for him.

Here's some intersting quotes from last night's game...

"He's just a raging bull," Tomjanovich said. "He's one of the hardest to guard in the league at the 'four' spot. He had a tremendous game."

"It's always something," Thomas said with a smile when asked about the nickname. "I'll take it, I guess, if he's going to give me more time late in the game.

"It feels good that they're going to me late in games now. They didn't do that my first couple of years."

"Kenny's a clutch player," said Cuttino Mobley, who had 38 points. "He doesn't get recognized a lot, but we love and respect him. He does everything for us."

"Kenny Thomas is a super player and he's getting better all the time," said Gary Payton

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220312010

 

KT is not the long term solution. What happens when teams dare him to shoot on a nightly basis. He up and down, like the dow jones.

His ugly jumper and missing layups and free throws bother me. We need more consistency. However, he hustles, rebounds, and plays D. Ask Moochie for refund to pay Kenny

 

I didn't know that it was *required* for the other team's SF to guard our SF and vice versa. Does that mean that a PG must guard the opponent's PG, and that the C and PF match up against their counterparts??

Interesting...

 

You are comparing Kenny's incredible footwork to other PFs.

Compared to SFs his footwork is about the same, and foot speed is way below par.

Kenny can barely guard PFs who face up on him. His only defense is stripping the ball, and knocking it away or getting called for the foul.

If you think KT can then slow down much quicker SFs, with better ball handling skills, then we might as well put KT against Iverson.

 

52% shooting over the past month isn't consistent? Face it, noone can name one player on this whole team who's been more consistent than Kenny has this season. If you're complaining about Kenny's inconsistency then you've run out of things to complain about.

...but, he definitely does need to work on his free throw shooting.

 

No, I'm not. I think Kenny's feet are just as quick as most SFs in the league. Sometimes he gets full steps on opposing PFs without even making a move. I think he would do just fine guarding the 3. Plus, his wide body and strength will prevent opponents from easily sliding past him. The only thing that keeps me from saying, "YES! Kenny is definitely are SF" is that he can't shoot from the outside very well. But I've noticed the last couple of games he's showing more confidence in his midrange jump shot, and hitting it pretty well.

I think Kenny would fair much better defending an SF than a PF.

 

I find Kenny gets more steals when I play him at SF in NBA Live 99 (I know, ancient game, and yes, I had to create him, and I tried to be fair). Because he's bigger and stronger than the other SFs, he tends to intercept passes designed for them.

So, since he's working out on my video game, I'm convinced he should be our starting SF.

 

You think KT does a good job of defense when the PF is facing him up? Please tell me not.

IMO, KT is not good at getting faced up by PFs.

I can't imagine how bad he would be getting faced up by SFs on the perimeter with much more shooting range, and room to maneuver.

KT's face up defense is all predicated on whether or not he can get a steal.

Stealing the ball from a PF is easier than a SF.

Think about it.

 

Moreover, foot speed is vital to be a SF. FYI, foot speed is a lot different than having good footwork.

There are plenty of SFs who would run KT out of the gym on fast breaks.

KT is best suited to defend PFs, in spite of his height disadvantage.

Clearly his strong suit on defense is stripping the ball. And clearly this is easier to do against PFs than SFs.

 

Are you trying to say that PFs who face up Kenny simply go around him to get to the hoop? If that's the case, I've never really seen that happen, and it would pretty illogical since we all know that Kenny is quite simply quicker than most PFs he faces. But he's definitely at a disadavantage guarding PFs because he's usually weaker and always shorter than the guy he's guarding. So they can use their strength to back him in, or use their four or so inches of extra height to shoot over him when facing up. So yes, about the only chance he has a lot of times is to try and strip the ball. Small forwards usually aren't going to have those advantages against Kenny.

Basically, I think Kenny's footwork is good enough to prevent players from easily going around him when they're in a half-court set. Sure, he'll get burned by some of the quickest SFs, but who doesn't? Doug Christie's one of the best defensive players in the league, and I've seen Mobley and Jordan burn him this season.

And I don't think the notion that Kenny won't be able to get down the court quick enough on a fast break to catch up with his man is really that significant. 90% of fast breaks start because of a turnover and catching the other team out of position. It doesn't usually happen simply because one SF can outrun the other SF.

 

How about the fact these guys would have to guard KT and Mo

Do you think KT and Mot can foul these guys out in the post
faster than they can foul out KT and MoT on the perimeter?

We'd kill them in the post.

Rocket River

 

originally posted by kidrock

Can you define the role that Pippen played for us?

Ummm...no. I think that was the problem.

Also, don't you think the Rockets seem to only want spot-up shooters at the 3? How do you explain Glen Rice?

I remember we inquired about Lamar Odom, recently. Explain Glen Rice? That's tough, since I also hated that deal from day one. Oh why didn't we just let shandy walk? Maybe it had something to do with a wink wink deal when he originally came here and signed for less. If we welshed on the deal to get him his money at the end of that contract, we'd get a bad name with FAs. It sure seemed that agent that worked on Hakeem, Shandy and Mooch held our feet to the fire, each time. The sign and trade was a deal with the devil, brokered by the agent. Rice was a gamble, and it went very bad. Snake Eyes.

I'm not trying to criticize the Rockets, if that's what is bothering you. I am just saying that the role of our SF's have been the same over the last what 10 years?

Since Rudy's been the coach, we've had Horry, Elie, Pippen, Shandy, Rice (15 games?) and now KT at the 3. Clyde played the spot a little one year, also. Horry was kind of sleepy a lot and camped out on the line, watching and "spacing". He was more effective around the basket. Elie was a good gunner from the line, but more effective driving hard to the rack. Clyde would step out to the line to draw his man away from the lane, and clear a path for himself, take the fake and step back set shot (claang!), or drop it to Hakeem. He was most effective in the post.
Pippen was supposed to be the "point forward". Rice can't move.
KT is utilized inside or on the drive with the quick step. I'm not going to say Rudy is any kind of wizard at maxing player abilities,
'cause I know he can be stubborn and seems lost if his game plan blows and he needs in-game adjustments, but I don't think the charge sticks. I think Rudy and Carroll (how do you spell it?) would use and want a sf with handles that can move the ball, fill the lanes on o and d, and use size, boards, quickness and the post. I don't think you need to just dismiss the possibility and say "it'll never happen" and "they won't can't do it".

If you beg to differ, that's fine. Just cite some examples rather than asking me to "let it go".

I hope there are some examples in the last paragraph.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the season. I will look for your draft/trade posts, soon.

Best wishes,
p