I personally believe Greg is expendable regardless. He has some trade value. We may keep him, but I see more talent in the other two guys.
I agree the roster is good, but I'm not comfortable at all with our power forward position. More than a weak link, I think it could be an Achilles heel. Motiejunas or Jones or Smith might step up, Asik and Howard might be able to play in a twin towers line-up, Parsons might be able to slide over for a small-ball set. But, I'd rather not risk a potentially-contending season on a bunch of question marks on the power forward position. I'd be much more comfortable if we had a solid veteran starter there -- it doesn't have to be someone flashy, just someone whose output we can predict and will be of adequate quality so that we have a back-stop if the other options all flop. Of those other options, I think Parsons at the 4 is the most promising. He could get manhandled by a low post 4, but we can mitigate with double-teams and the shooting on the other end would be lethal.
Like legit, Rockets need a real power forward to compete against the top teams in the West. We got David Lee, Tim Duncan, Z-Bo, Blake Griffin and Ibaka all roaming around the top 8 in the West. Not to mention possible contenders in the future like Love, Anthony Davis and Aldridge.
This is what like most about our situation right now! We still have many options available to improve in the near future. This team is going to be downright scary for a very long time...:grin: ....... ....... .......
I keep looking at our roster and I really really really think we're trying to combat the "small ball" craze that's going on in the NBA. Not to say we're anything like Indy, but look at what they were able to do against the eventual champions. I don't recall them every going small. If anything, we're gonna go big with Garcia at the SG position. I like us though. We'll get the PF position shored up eventually. I don't see this season or next season as a real title run though. I'm just being realistic. If either one of those guys do turn into a legit threat or a consistent player this season then i'll be singing a different tune of course. Side note: Can't wait until we thrash the Lakers.
What I love the most is the mix of old and new: we finally kept and brought back some veterans and possibly fan favourites in Garcia, AB & Camby man. Pair that with the basically still new Harden - full off-season so now time to really implement system that benefits him - and of course Howard. Also literally the mix of 'old' guys and young bucks is very well done by Morey. If the 07-08 season and onwards is any indication of what Morey can do to find good role players, we should not worry about the 40% 3pt shooters and starting PF positions - they will come. It might take a year but don't worry, it's going to happen!
I once watched a youtube video on Stromile Swift - he was the greatest player to ever touch a basketball as far as I could tell...
Yes, but is it the greatest team ever assembled. Like Les said back in the early 2000s, when he had eddie griffin.
I think there's a 50% chance one of either D-Mo or T-Jones being effective enough to make us a contender. However, I believe that if we landed an Illyasova or Anderson, we would be the clear-cut contender to Miami. I think it would give us a legit shot at the championship this coming season. We have Howard locked down for 3 years. I don't think we should be patient in year 1, since it is 33% of the time we have two superstars locked down. We should be aggressive and try to deal Asik for an upgrade at PF. To be fair to the organization, I can't see a very good opportunity to make that happen right now so we really have no choice but to be patient. It's not the worse thing in the world to hope for T-Jones or D-Mo to have a breakout year. Think of the early careers of Chalmers, Haslem, Ariza, Danny Green, Brandon Bass, etc. These guys developed because of hard work and because an opportunity came up where they could face minimal pressure in a game situation because of the stars around them. Our guys are talented and I'm sure at least on of them would pan out for this team eventually. I'm just nervous about wasting one year of the Howard/Harden combo just waiting for a role player to develop.
He's great in the post, but still.... the coaching staff wants him to stretch the floor. He needs to improve his 3pt shooting.
DMo, at worst, will be a really good back up at the 4. I expect him to really contribute this season.
I like Smith at the 4 as a back up. Hustle, rebounding and size at that position. I think he was out of position at the 5. Plus he is another 6 fouls.
I agree that he's another 6 fouls, but that's about all he is. He has no post game, he can't shoot, and he can't defend without fouling. He's an emergency center and nothing more, I honestly expect him to be traded or cut.
Center: Howard, Asik, Camby Power Forward: Jones, Montiejunas, Smith Small Forward: Parson, Casspi, Williams Shooting Guard: Harden, Garcia Point Guard: Lin, Beverly, Brooks, Canaan Center and Power Forward Positions:Howard has range and if allowed to shoot the 15 footer he can hit it. Howard is also quick enough to gaurd power forwards. This would allow Houston to get its value out of Howard and Asik. Smith can fill in at center on blow outs. Gaurd Positions Lin's game has been compaired to Harden's. It would be great to have the game run through the SG for the entire game. Having Lin back up Howard would allow Lin to get his LINSANITY ON. Small Forward is up in the air for me. Center: Asik 30min, Howard 18min Power Forward: Howard 24 min, Montiejunas 12min, Jones 12min Small Forward: Parson 36 min, (Casspi, Williams, or Garcia) 12 minutes Shooting Guard: Harden 36 min, Lin 12 min Point Guard: Lin 18 min, Beverly 15 min, Brooks 15min
