Those were the 3 guys who stopped Nowitzki at the end. In a game like this one, the variable to watch isn't the baskets, it's the stops. And that was the biggest one of the series. Pollard got a hand up to make the shot just a little too hard. He got pushed out of bounds before he could go for the board, so Turkoglu stepped in and got a hand on Nowitzki's wrist to keep him from tapping in the easy putback. Now there's time for just one more chance, except that before Nowitzki can gather the ball, little Bobby Jackson is all over his backside slapping at his hands and preventing him from getting control of it. It squirts loose and by the time Finley gets it, it's too late. That's 3 guys who don't start, saving the game for fouled-out Webber and fouled-out Divac. That is a deep team. Deep in numbers, deep in fight. They've got everything it takes to win a championship, except the star who refuses to lose. Webber's a chump. But I'm starting to think Mike Bibby has the stuff to lead them through L.A. Go Kings.
This is proof of how valuable role players are. Everyone wants the Rockets to get star quality players, but those players can't win if thye don't have other guys who do the little things that win games.
Well said, Will. This is not going to be a very popular statement, but even if the Rockets had Pollard, Hedo, and Jackson on their roster it wouldn't matter because they would never get the playing time to develop. Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley each play more minutes than any King. Moochie is within 6 mpg of Bibby. Hedo Turgoglu got 8 more minutes than the closest Rocket "bench" player and only 2 less than Griffin (who only got PT because of all the injuries). Now the first thing everyone is going to starting criticizing is "hey, our bench isn't good enough so Cat and Steve have to play heavy minutes and besides they're the stars." B*** S***. The bench doesn't play because Rudy doesn't substitute as liberally as Adelman and Adelman will leave a bench player in the game as long as they are performing well. Forget pre-determined substitutions - let the bench play. In their first seasons as Kings, Pollard and Hedo played as much or more than any Rocket bench player this season. There is a reason Dan Langhi shot the ball so well at the end of the season...RT had left "the hook" in the locker room. If players know there is a good chance for PT each and every game, they are going to be much sharper mentally.
In their first seasons as Kings, Pollard and Hedo played as much or more than any Rocket bench player this season. There is a reason Dan Langhi shot the ball so well at the end of the season...RT had left "the hook" in the locker room. Sorry, not true. Pollard - 9.6 min (rook), 16.2, 17.6 Turky - 16.8 (rook) , 24.6 Funderburk - 21 (rook), 19, 13, 11 (numbers go down as team gets better) Jackson - 21 Wallace (rook) - 8 vs Griffin - 26 (rook) Norris - 27 Willis - 16 Torres - 16 (rook) Collier - 15 Morris - 16 (rook) Langhi - 12 00-01 (with few injuries) Williams - 22 KT - 25 Mooch - 20 Bullard - 16 Cato - 17 Rogers - 13 (did he even play 2 mpg this year?) Collier - 10 (rook) Langhi - 7.3 (rook)
Geoff Petrie's job with that team has been nothing short of phenomenal. What impresses me the most, was his ability to put together a championship caliber team in such a conventional manner, which is rare to see these days. Teams like Dallas (no regard for the salary cap) or the Lakers (the allure of the city itself was strong enough to get Rick Fox to sign for less than market value, bring Shaq from a better situation in Orlando, and spark the tacit warnings from Kobe Bryant to Charlotte), haven't traveled the same path, which makes the current Kings team seem all the more impressive. They added Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie, who both have relatively cheap contracts, especially Jackson, for what they provide when on the floor. They are responsible for the international craze that has spread throughout the league, through the seen success of players like Turkoglu and Stojakovic. They got rid of malcontent (Williams) for a player suffering from boredom (Bibby) whose talent has always been there. Hell, they picked up Pollard off waivers from Atlanta, if I'm not mistaken. I'm impressed, and I do think this is their year.
1) You used Pollards rookie season at Detroit. I clearly stated at Sacramento. 2) Griffin only got minutes do to injury. His minutes were from the absence of MoT and Rice otherwise a #7 gets less rookie minutes than a #16 pick (Hedo). 3) Moochie Norris is not a typical "bench" player. Unless you want to tell me Francis wasn't injured this year and the Rockets don't use an excessive amount of "Small Ball". 4) In 00-01 Williams started 27 games. This season, Jackson started 3 and Hedo 10. Pollard started some games in Webbers absence but Vlade started in 80. Surely your not trying to use RT playing Walt Willaims 27 mpg as an example of RT using his bench? That's pretty weak. Sorry, the original statement is TRUE as it stands and your isolated attempts at disapproving it is the logical equivalent of saying Stomille Swift is better off the bench than Robert Horry because Swift outscrored Horry 13-5 in one game this seaon Adelman plays the bench, RT doesn't. Your logic is akin to me saying Texas has a diverse geography and climate and your saying, "I've been to Houston and all of Texas is flat and humid.
Hedo and Bobby Jackson are light years better than Eddie Griffin at this point. Comparing the Rockets bench to the Kings bench is like comparing a Big Mac to a filet mignon.
I hope you realize that Sacramento is over the Salary cap also and that Dallas' payroll isn't even four million more than Sacramento and Dallas has three more people than Sacramento. If you look at both teams playoff roster, I think Sacramento's players count more against the cap than Dallas players. People just don't like how Dallas rebuilt because it was so quick.
