If yao is going to be limited to 20-25 mins a night, who would you rather backing him up? Jefferson,scola,or hill?
I'm so glad I posted this before game 3. So where are the Ray Ray lovers now? I agree with DD, surprisingly, keep an up and coming player like C Bud and JT as our back up SG. Ray will have his nights now a days but he will also have his off nights like yesterday.
Amazing post, very well researched. Repped, as if you needed any more. But it's not a useless accusation to say that Lee is not a go to option. Getting 20/10 isn't easy, but there's a huge difference between Lee's 20/10 and Pau Gasol's. Marion was also a 20/10 player, but we all knew he couldn't create his own shot to save his life. Is being able to break down a defender more important than straight up production? I'm not sure, but I am confident that Lee is not a go to option at this time. It's not unfair to say that.
I think this is a valid point, the Knicks in general are not a great defensive team, but you want your center to be the anchor of the defense, somebody who can at least change some shots or make a slashing guard think twice about taking it to the hole. David Lee is redundant in the defense sense for the Rockets, he's really not much different from Scola... a 6-9 guy who has to play center from time to time. Scola is a great player, I love his game and his personality. But as you said, we traded Landry... who was beloved by nearly every Rockets Fan, nobody is untouchable. This is a business, all those same cliches. Great points tb, I agree with everything you said, which is why I said I didn't think Morey would be targeting a guy like Lee, but is certainly is more about "how he fits" than "if he's good enough". Because there is no question he's good enough. It is interesting that Lee has proven to be a more efficient offensive player, even knocking down the mid-range J at an impressive clip. Makes me wonder just how good he would be in a real basketball system, not a gimmicky offense. But as you said, we need to look to add a guy with some height who can create some havoc on the defensive side of the ball. That should be priority numero uno.
Lee is better than what people give him credit for esepcially on this board. He can beat people off the dribble as a four man. He's a wide area rebound, very good athlete and really, plays hard all the time. Is he worth what he's going to get? Don't know yet, but given his age and what he's going to produce, he's going to give everything all the time and produce numbers no matter who he plays with.
Haha, people say that I think Lee is better than Bosh and Scola. Lee is not better than Bosh and he is debatable wtih Scola. All I'm saying is that Lee may be a better VALUE than Bosh. Sure, Lee may cost 10 million + and i understand that with that, we have to get rid of let's say...picks and ariza/battier. But then Bosh is better than Lee, no doubt, but is he that much better than Lee, or that much better than anybody in the FA list to earn max money while we can sign a player like lee or any other players for half the price and still get as much as production
don't forget the 3+ assists per game. IMO that's what makes him almost as good as bosh. bosh has the advantage in scoring ability, but lee is a very capable passer.
I'm a huge Ray Ray fan and as much as I'd like him to sign with us, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for both sides.
1. Scola's rebounding #'s increased dramitically after the Landry trade 2. Does lee rely on dunks/layups mostly? If so, that explains the higher FG% and is not an indication that he is 'better'. 3. The relevant factor is determining which style fits our system better. I'd prefer to have a low post threat that can also step back and hit a 15' J. Scola can do that. I'm not too impressed with a big man with handles that requires iso plays to get points. It looks good but kills offensive flow. 4. Again, that was about Scola's avg for March since the Landry trade. The question is was that a fluke or can Scola sustain that? I dunno but I DO know that... 5. ...nobody has ever questioned Scola's effort. For me, those players that work that hard are hard to find esp hard workers that fit so well in that elusive factor, chemistry. I'm giving serious pause to replacing Scola in the starting linup ...even for Bosh. 6. Scola is actually quite effecitve on defense due to his hustle alone. On March 14, Scola had a 44 point game, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. I'd put that in the "monster night" category. Lee is a nice player, for sure. But I don't think he is an OBVIOUS upgrade over Scola. I'd trade Scola in a heartbeat for a player that was an obvious upgrade but I'd think long/hard before screwing up the output/chemistry that Scola currently gives us. Plus Scola is a proven player in high pressure situations with his international experience. Lee has only proven he plays well on a crappy team.
I'm a Scola fan, but what the heck are you talking about here? Scola gets way more iso plays than Lee. I don't remember the knicks running an iso set for Lee all year. He only gets opportunity baskets, like an anti-Tmac.
Lee for the past 2 seasons has averaged nearly 12 rebounds per game, and right around 3 offensive boards per game. I already addressed this, nobody averages 20 points per game on the NBA off a few dunks and put-backs. People look at the amount of these David Lee gets and don't understand that his hustle is what gets him in position for offensive boards and putbacks. Plus, as I have already mentioned, Lee's mid-range jumper is just as good as Scola's, if not better. Add to his offensive repertoire his ability to handle the ball as well as his career FG percentage and it is very clear that Lee is a (slightly) superior offensive player to Scola. I wouldn't call it isolation, Lee can take his man off the dribble from the high post yes, but over the select few Knicks games I managed to watch this year, I saw him slash to the rack like a point guard more than a few times. All of it was very much within the flow of the offense. He wasn't just standing there dribbling the ball for 10 seconds before jacking up a contested fadeaway. Regardless of this, I agree that Lee isn't what the Rockets should be looking for right now. Scola is a fine PF and we are lucky to have him. We need size and a defensive presence first and foremost. Lee isn't an obvious upgrade, which is why it doesn't seem to make sense to pay him big money to come here and be a slight upgrade over Scola when Scola won't command 10+ million a year and provides a lot of what Lee does. Make no mistake, I think David Lee is a great player, but I'm not going to lose sleep if we don't make a run at him. If he gets money in the 10 million range, who knows if he will prove to be actually worth it. There are risks involved. He might grab 11 boards a game the rest of his career, but he might regress offensively and settle back down to the 10 ppg he was putting up just a few seasons ago. Anyone who watched the Rockets labor through this past season understand what this team needs to compete for a title. Chuck Hayes will only get you so far. I'm more than happy if we bring back the current team from last year, with Yao and somebody else pretty tall.
I don't even know why you guys are arguing because the chances he comes here for MLE money is less than 1%. The chances of Walsh get ______ by Morey again in a sign and trade are less than 1%. He and Scola are great player for their respected teams.
Lee is onlu averasging 20-10 because of the run and gun D'Antoni style, without D'Antoni he is nothing but a slightly better, younger, but grossly overpaid American Scola
