The wing players I'd like to push for are the Hawk at the 2 and Morris at the 3. There can be all this talk to move Steve at the 2. We're wasting our breath. Steve wants to be a 1 and Rudy wants him to be the 1. Ming will have no problem holding the fort at the 5 position. The 4 position is causing Rudy and us some stress. I like Eddie, but it doesn't matter too much who plays that position this year...ego concerns will probably have MoT starting when everything settles. Now, coming back to the wings...I believe Morris and Hawk play with a quiet passion. They have an above average basketball IQ while still possessing physical aptitude. I've noticed they care about the unit, the Team, and make sure it runs well on both ends of the floor. In Morris's little playing time so far, I've seen some intelligent plays. Now...Reality...we know Cuttino will be the 2...I believe he can do well...I believe in his defense... he'll be a better catch and shoot threat than the Hawk...so I can buy the argument for him starting...I still want the Hawk to get some playing time there though... As far as the 3...we know Rudy will give the Vet (Glen Rice) the starting responsiblity...I believe Glen is part of Rudy's Spacing Unit. I can buy that too...Although Tmo's consistency from outside has improved, he doesn't have the range or reputation that Glen has. Glen can give our post players (MoT and Yao) some room inside. Well...if I didn't have any egos to manage (which is important btw), I'd play Tmo and the Hawk at the Wing positions. I like them best when we are in our 5 man set offensively. When we play our other offenses...pick and roll, 93-94 low post offense, high post iso (Cat, KT) and guard penetration and dish I'll admit some of our other players thrive a little better, but Hawk and Tmo are still effective. Defensively there's no argument. They are our best players at those positions.
Hawkins and TMo are very good defensive players,and were instrumental in closing out the Spurs in our recent victory. But egos and reputations have nothing to do with their playing time. The reason they wont start is they cant even score 5 points a game. Wlile TMo did have one good week during exibition season, he hasnt proven in over a year now, that he is anything but an offensive liability. Hawkins defenders sag off him to help double in the middle and he still misses wide open jumpers. That said, both Hawkins and TMo will play valuable role this year for the Rockets....as back=ups and defensive specialists.
