http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2006/09/playing_20_questions.html September 24, 2006 Playing 20 Questions After talking to a panel of experts for a few days and getting their big-picture view of the keys to the Rockets' season, I have found myself thinking of the smaller item that could be crucial, or at least interesting. In no particular order, I wonder: 1. Can Rafer Alston shoot a better percentage, particularly on 3s. 2. Does he have to? Or maybe that should be, how important is his shooting? His job is to be a quarterback. If he does that well enough, maybe it won't matter too much if he cannot gun his way around defenses ganging up on Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. 3. Can Alston average 10 assists per game, assuming the scorers are healthy? 4. Is Shane Battier a four? He's not going to shut down the studs. They don't shut down each other. But can he make it tough enough to get the ball inside to make up for a lack of size once teams get it there? 5. Is Tracy McGrady a two? Barring Bonzi Wells signing with the Rockets, I would not be surprised at all if the Rockets finish games with McGrady in the backcourt and Battier and Juwan Howard both on the court. But can he play (which really means defend) guards full-time? 6. Who is the backup point? Unless Bob Sura comes back, which is a question in itself, I'm guessing Vassilis Spanoulis, but it's awfully tempting to put John Lucas' outstanding shot on the court. 7. Can Spanoulis play two (which really means can he defend two)? That would seem a way to get Lucas on the court. 8. Can Spanoulis and Lucas defend well enough to play much, much less together? 9. Is Kirk Snyder the answer at two? This is a key season for him and -- again, barring the addition of Wells -- he could be as big a key as any for the Rockets. 10. Will Steve Novak play? I'm thinking he plays very little. 11. Where does Chuck Hayes fit in? If Battier plays some four and Howard still plays big minutes, how do the Rockets get Hayes involved? 12. Does Dikembe Mutombo have another high-energy season left? 13. Who makes the team? Again, barring Bonzi Wells addition, it would seem Casey Jacobsen and Kelenna Azubuike are battling for the final roster spot. Azubuike is more athletic and was reliably productive in the D-League, but Jacobsen brings shooting range. 14. Is Tracy McGrady ready to reclaim a place among the top few players in the league? 15. Are the Rockets any better equipped to handle time without one of their stars? 16. How can I have gone so long without bringing Yao Ming into this? 17. Will Yao be the NBA's dominant center? 18. If he is, will he be recognized as the NBA's dominant center? 19. Do the Rockets need Yao to dominate or will a return to his post All Star form be sufficient? 20. If they remain healthy, if McGrady takes a place among the league's best, if Yao is as good as he was post toe surgery, if Snyder is solid, if Alston takes care of and effectively distributes the ball and if Sura comes back or Spanoulis or Lucas is a reliable backup, are the Rockets battling for a playoff spot, a solid playoff team, a contender or a champion?
I hope a few of Feigen's questions are rhetorical. I think his questions about Rafer are legit, and I still think he can improve drastically this year with a healthy roster.
17. Will Yao be the NBA's dominant center? Yes 18. If he is, will he be recognized as the NBA's dominant center? Unfortunately, not a chance
The answer to alot of those questions falls in one simple solution - keep Howard off the court. This isn't intended to bash Howard, but the most logical lineup for this Rockets team is one which does not include Howard. 1. We need to completely surround Yao with quicker, good passing players who can shoot. Battier fits that mold perfectly. He will get demolished defensively, but Howard does anyway, and he can atleast front the post and stretch the defense on offense. 2. McGrady is at his best at the '3'. This has become fairly obvious. He can't chase shooting guards around full-time. There's no way Battier comes off the bench, so he has to be the '4' with McGrady at the '3'. 3. Chuck Hayes was one of the lone bright spots from last year's team. Battier will play the '4' no matter what, the only question is whether he starts. If Battier doesn't start, Hayes sees no playing time. Benching Howard completely gives Hayes more time. 4. Howard gives us absolutely nothing at this point. He's a poor passer, slow, poor rebounder, and very poor defender.
#10 I hope you are so wrong about this and that Steve Novac gets the chance to showcase his great talent!! [Outside Shooting and Free Throws] #6 We all wish Bob Sura all the best of health but I consider it unwise to rely on the idea of a great comeback by him!
I think Juwan will play the back center role mainly and seen some time as backup 4 this season, making Mutombo the odd man out. By playing back-up center, Juwan will basically match-up with opposite teams' backup center. There arent many quality centers these days so i believe Juwan can hold his ground against other backup centers. Battier and hayes will man the 4 position. Depends on matchups, we will definitely see Yao, Juwan, Battier, T-mac and Alston for the big lineups!
19. Do the Rockets need Yao to dominate or will a return to his post All Star form be sufficient? "I thought he was dominant after the All-Star break. Do not understand the question." I completely agree with all of your analysis, but I am befuddled as to why question 19 should be asked by Feigen of all people. A critic of Yao would say his 2nd half last season was a direct result of interminable garbage time -ala "who else needs to be guarded?" - but for those that watched those games and saw what Yao achieved was fairly special. In today's NBA game there'es no chance for any real center to be as dominant as Yao was the 2nd half of last year or as dominant as centers could be 5 years ago. I don't understand why Feigen didn't ask "who can effectively get the ball to Yao?" Or "is Yao a 25 and 12 guy that won't appear to be dominant?" Yao's the best center in the league now and defenses are going to account for him and dare T-Mac to hang 30+ on them. But I do think if Yao's stats remain about the same (with more assists) and T-Mac's slightly decline it could mean we have a very good team. I don't understand the V-Span/JLIII thing though. If we have to worry about that it's going to be a long season.
Anything Juwan Howard can do as a back-up center, Dikembe can do better. The former has no inside games, blocked a grand total of 8 shots last season and only has the 15-ft jump shot. Even though Mutombo was running on his last legs last season, he still managed to grab a season-high 18 rebounds (how he does it escapes me).
I think the idea of Juwan playing backup center is nutso unless JVG enjoys seeing opposing players mercilessly attack the rim and he likes watching them play patty cake on the offensive glass while Juwan steps out of the way. declan, if Tracy is healthy, teams won't dare him to do anything very long. If they slack off of him to cover Yao he will kill them. If our spacing is correct, teams will focus on Yao AND Tracy and it's on the other 3 players to be efficient with wide open looks.
how could Feigen completely forget about Luther Head? outside of the starters, he is probably one of the most important of the rotational players along with Hayes.
Solid as a rock Jeff but I disagree with you on #s 10 & 18. I think Novak could be a better player than Padgett or Bullard but I don't expect much from him as a rookie. If you are right and he earns serious minutes on the floor we got an absolute steal. On Yao, just ignore Charlie Rosen and other complete ignoramuses who know nothing. The national media dissed Yao's spurt last season because it meant nothing at all to anyone besides Rockets fans. If Yao puts up great numbers over the full season AND we make the playoffs he will get his just due. Many in the NBA considered what he did late last season just cleaning up in garbage time. IMO, that is what I would expect from non-Rockets fans.
