Lol. Simple is it? Lowry - Lee - Battier - Jeffries - Hayes = all defense. Do you have a problem with that since none of them are starters? We haven't gone from defensive to offensive.... we've gotten more offensive, but are more balanced. I'm sorry balance scares people.
If Yao goes down it wouldn't have mattered if we traded Ariza anyways, the season is over. Shane isn't able to guard the best without help? And Ariza was? Understand that Ariza gambled and got some steals, he was NEVER a defensive stopper. Lee has a much better chance of becoming that. And I am willing to bet that Hayes will be the primary backup behind Scola, at least early in the season. Hill and Patterson are nice, but Chuck was a starter for us all last year. You think he will be behind a couple of rookies now, just one year removed?
The five players in the post spots will be Yao Ming - Jordan Hill - Luis Scola... with minor minutes being played by Brad Miller and Patrick Patterson. Chuck Hayes just doesn't have anything else to offer besides his defense. He will be a situational player. Jeffries won't straight up play any minutes at all...
Yao Ming is back. Patrick Patterson has been drafted. Brad Miller has been acquired. Jordan Hill and Jeffries weren't acquired mid-way through the season. And the Houston Rockets at the time had no other viable options at the center position. I really do not think Hayes is going to backup Yao...
What is this? JVG rolling in his grave and made a thread? THIS TEAM is suppose to be an offensive team, RA's system is built for offense.
Uhh, this was in the Morey 610 interview thread this afternoon "At the four-spot, I see Chuck Hayes winning a lot of the minutes there. He just came back from [where?] camp, which is the biggest off-season NBA camp, and might have been the best player there. He was playing out of his mind."
Did Battier enter some time warp and age 5 years overnight? He's 31. I guess if you're 20 that seems old. I just don't get the talk that he is done as a top notch defender.
We'll be better defensively than last year. And even better offensively. In other words, we'll be better period.
even if Yao averages 30, something he has never even come close to in his career, battier, lee, lowry, and hayes would struggle to net even 40 points combined. What are you trying to get at?
Feel the same way as the original poster. Ariza while not a true all star defender (yet) was very valuable on the defensive side and his loss will sting, especially when we have to have Shane handle the likes the elite wings by himself. Lee is decent but make no mistake, he isn't going to have nearly the same impact. Welcome to the world of US professional team sports.
What's hilarious is you think our entire defense rested on Ariza's shoulders. Ariza is the only one who left the team, yet you act like we'll be GS warriorsv2. I don't think there's that big a dropoff in D from Ariza to Lee.
This! After years of Tmac, Alston and Battier bricking open shots, would be nice to have a roster full of shooters for once.
What exactly did Ariza do that was so stellar defensively? The guy was ABYSMAL in man to man coverage. He could not keep a snail in front of him. The way people overrate his defense is simply stunning. Lee is not any worse of a defender than Ariza and with Battier back in the starting lineup, they will be better defensively because Ariza is not even close to being in the same class as Shane is on defense. Now that Yao is back, they have one of the best players at protecting the rim in the NBA and they have an elite perimeter defender in Battier to patrol the outside. That is plenty, not to mention Lowry, Lee, Hayes, and Jeffries will be coming off the bench. This team has PLENTY of defense. I have never understood why a player who only plays offense but no defense is demonized while a guy who only plays defense and no offense is supposed to be a stud. You can only have so many one way players in the lineup. The only guy in the starting lineup I would consider a truly horribly defender is Martin. Brooks is not nearly as bad as people make him out to be, he does not look completely lost on the defensive end like Martin does. Scola is not a great defender but he puts in loads of effort.
i believe the rockets will trade for Tashaun Prince.I do belive that they will send battie and jeffries to detroit for prince. I hope we do so our lineup would be set. C-Yao/Miller/Hill F-Scola/Patterson/Hayes F-T.Prince/Budinger/Taylor G-Martin/Lee G-Brooks/Lowery
