However we start the season, probably: c: Ming pf: Mo (KT first 5 games) sf: Rice sg: Cat pg: Franchise I hope by the end of the season we have Ming, EG, Boki, Cat and Franchise starting.
c: Cato pf: Mo T( after 1st 5) sf: Rice sg: Cat pg: Steve Cato will start in the beginning until Ming gets used to playing 4 games a week instead of 1 or 2. Ming will be finishing the game however. I'd rather have Cato start & Ming fill in being fresh than have Ming start & be wasted by the end of the game.
I don't think that having Eddie come off the bench this year and maybe next is a bad thing he is only what, 19-20 years old. Eddie will get increasing minutes and maybe become a starting PF in the western conference but since we have a starting caliber PF right now in MoT why force Eddie into a roll that is not nesessary. Eddie will get his minutes and sometime this year or next somebody will be moving on. I hope it's MoT, but only because that will mean Eddie is one bad a$$ mutha.
Isn't EG only going to turn 21 next year? Even if he doesn't start, if it's him and MT he will get plenty of time on court. That's a formidable pair of young power forwards to have on the same team, and either one can play the 5 at times. They can be on the same squad. The one that needs to be moved is KT. Either more 3 time or a trade.
I agree that Eddie shouldn't start this upcoming season (unless he proves it), but I'd be worried about not starting him after the following season, because after that he will be up for a contract extension! If he's still coming off the bench with only 20 minutes per game, I would imagine he'd be a little more careful in signing an extension than if he was getting starter's minutes. BTW, I fully expect him to be the starter in two seasons just because of his ability. If he's not a starter after next season, he either hasn't been as good as we all expected or Mo Taylor's numbers have significantly improved. And I realize he's young, but I think two years should be enough time for him to get comfortable.
I disagree. I think everyone believes the future starting PF spot on the Rockets belongs to Eddie somewhere down the line. Agree? Assuming that, I would much rather have KT coming off the bench. He's a sparkplug that brings a lot of energy into the game and plays tough defense, which is something I think a bench player should provide. And the most important thing is, we'd be paying Mo starter's money to come off the bench! Kenny probably wouldn't cost as much. I just think Kenny would be a much better candidate to be Eddie's backup.
I say put the five best players out: Beggining - C- Cato (ming will take time to get used to offense since he wont play preseason) PF - Kenny SF - Rice SG- Mobley PG - Francis Middle - C - Ming PF - MoT SF - Kenny (he's better then rice IMO) Sg - Mobley PG - Francis End - C- ming PF - MoT SF - Griffen SG - Mobley PG - Francis
All indications point to Rudy trying to get Yao out there as a starter as soon as possible, with a good chance that it will be the girst game. Besides commenting along these lines directly, we know the team plans to send Yao "tapes" of practice to watch on his computer so he can get up to speed even before he gets here. In either case, putting aside Mo's 5 game suspension, I see this as the starting lineup: Ming MoT Rice Mobley Francis Rice will get limited minutes, KT and Griff will see the most time off the bench. If Griff has seriously grown or is slowly getting bigger (bulkier and taller), depending on who is playing well, I wouldn't be surprised to see any or all of Cato, KT, Moochie depending on what is offered in return.
By the middle of the season once are team is in full gear striving toward the playoffs our starting lineup should be C: Yao Ming PF: Eddie Griffin SF: Glen Rice... if healthy... if not then Bostan Nachbar SG: Cattino Mobely PG: Steve Francis Guys like Norris, Cato, and Thomas will be our major players off the bench.
Cato (Cato plays 28 m, Ming 20) KT Rice Mobley Francis Five games later ... Ming MoT Rice Mobley Francis Cato has something to prove and he always has a great pre-season. But it never lasts as long as we all want and yao overtakes him as soon as the fifth game. We have a bench w/ ... Cato Eddie KT Nachbar Torres Mooch Tito that is twelve deep and i say as deep a bench as we have ever fielded to start a season
C- Yao Ming PF- Maurice Taylor SF- Glen Rice SG- Cuttino Mobley PG- Steve Francis I have Mo starting because I don't believe that a player loses his starting spot due to injury; Rice will start until he proves unworthy of the spot (which might come fast with Boki waiting in the wings).
c - Kato pf - Mo sf - rice sg- mobley pg - francis All Season. Rudy is known to let lesser talented but more senior players have the starting roles and let the younger ones come off the bench even though they will play more minutes. Cassell and Kenny Smith is the classic example. He did it with mobley as well - who almost one the 6th man award. Griffen hasn't earned a starters spot, and I think Rudy is savy enough to know that once Glen Rice moves to a reserve position, he'll probably not work as hard where has players like Griffen, Boki, and Ming are starving just to play.
I hate to say it, but the best thing for us is to keep all 3 PF's, then trade Mo T as soon as Griffin starts performing like the starter. Mo makes too much money to come off the bench, and isn't the sparkplug that KT can be. Anyways, here's my line up: Cato KT Rice Mobley Francis Last 10 games, we'll rest Rice for the playoffs a bit: Ming MoT/Griff Nachbar Mobley Francis Have you guys noticed we have an incredible bench? Our backups were all starters last year, and must've improved with all the playing time: Cato (eventually) Griffin Nachbar Torres Mooochie That;s a pretty damn good bench. LOL, that team with T-Mo instead of Nachbar beat a few teams last year.
