I hear ya. Scola is good for 4-5 just ridiculous hustle plays, rebounds or loose balls a game. Imagine him cleaning up the glass while Yao is down low going to work. Not to mention, imagine Yao and Landry playing together too. We have plenty to look forward to in the future should we leave the playoffs disappointed this year. Yeah, another first round exit is going to kick us in the nuts and make us all cough but at least we can hold our heads high knowing the future is bright, we won 54 or 55 games and during that process we made NBA history. Not a bad story considering we played half of the season without our best player.
I like scola, but he's not going to be a boderline all star. He's isn't going t be as god as everyone else 3rd best player. I mean just in the division between Sa and NO, he's not going to be as good as peja/chandler nor parker/manu. Now u have every right to believe that, but he's not on par with those guys. He's a good rebounder and hustle guy, but he's a 4th type of guy to me. DD- I agree with u on Beno and disagree on Artest. I think he's perfect with his sheer grit and matchup flexibility the rox would have. He's tough and a little crazy, but that not such a bad thing on this team. Tracy is the type of guy that don't really care about being 2nd or 3rd. Personally I don't think Artest doesn't care either. The rox probably can get him without giving up Battier. If they do have to give up shane, u can always have tracy/ron at 2/3 and get a guy like azibuke as the 26 min swing guy or childress. That lack of a quality 3rd guy is going to kill the rox until they get it solved.
First, foremost & IMHO...the Rockets will never be able to acquire Artest without giving up Battier. Given how much Morey has "invested" in Battier...you can immediately dash all hopes. Artest is too much risk for a $Ball calculation. Secondly, Scola and a healthy Landry together provide enough oncourt value that, while they may be a 4th "level", it's a very strong 4th level. But dissecting that obscures the real issue. If McGrady and Yao are your 1-2 punch, the #3 level player IMO has to be a PG. So if you share that opinion (and you've figured out Francis might as well retire), then the PG upgrade logic very easily flows in 5 options... 1) Aaron Brooks starts in 2008-09. 2) 2008 draft. 3) 2008 FA. 4) 2008 trade with some combination of BJax expiring, Head, Hayes, Alston, Brooks, or Novak. 5) Add Battier to the list in #4. This IMHO is the cold, hard reality no one wants to face up to.
IF yao and tmac are healthy you don't really want a 3rd guy to jack up shots. You just want a bunch of role players. Look at lakers a few year back they didn't win until they let go of Eddie jones and NVE. I think we are solid at 3 with battier and 4 with scola/landry. We need to focus on getting a point gaurd who can shoot as well as handle the ball.
Gater- I agree and it is kinda sad a non basketball guy in morey is controling a basketball team. Air Langhi- u can hold onto this old tired 2 man and role player theory, but that day is over. It works for the reg season or if tracy and yao were as good as shaq/kobe, but they're not. At this point of they're careers, the arrow is level heading down. The rox don't have enough multi talented basketball players. I applaud the fact they play to their ceiling, but everytime the shot clock is running down, who do they give it to? The rox need talent upgrade and players that can play. Ask yourself this, how many 3 tool players do the rox have? Go down the list and find me guys that do 3 things well. That old formula has expired. The rox need players that threaten other teams without the presence of yao and tracy. I mean the jazz have 7 legit players on their team. I mean u could argue milsap is better than scola, but he plays behind boozer. Forget all these limited 1 skill players, get basketball players.
Welcome to my world !!! I completely agree, but I would add Francis as an expiring as well as Harris and the big Woods. DD
I talked to Ian Eagle via full court press and off air, he said everyone on the nets is availible. Now thorn isn't going to give anyone away, but some of thse expiring contracts might be tempting. DD- Lee or Sterling?
I agree two players and scrubs don't work, but Scola is good, battier is good, if we can add a good point gaurd then I think we will be good.
From La Marque and we would always kick yall ass . I asked Ian off air about jefferson, he said a lot. 1st rd pick,expiring contract and a decent player. They want flexibility going forward. BTW, Boki has turned out to be a ok player. I think he's a free agent.
This is exactly the point of emphasis which has driven me out of my mind since the Battier trade. Like the point leebigez just made...how many players do the Rockets have that (paraphrasing) create match up problems for the other team? Seriously, unless you are absolutely intoxicated with intangibles, what on earth does Battier give you other than intelligence-inspired half court defense? In transition O, he runs to the short corner and parks his arse effectively negating any man up advantage a running team would have. To me, we overpaid for him. But the damage is done. The only way to upgrade is to use Battier and change to get a solid PG. A PG that at least can break even when the competition is Williams, Nash, CP3, B Davis, J Kidd, J Terry, etc. Once you have narrowed the PG gap (and assuming you are comfortable with Scolandry as your 4th level), it's much easier to tackle the 5th level player. You only need a Bowen/Obierto, Grant Hill, Dampier, Beidrins, Mo Pete, Walton/DFish caliber. DaDa - I'm not sure I'm truly "in" your world. You basically love Battier and regard Rafer as trash. My position has never varied. If any 2 of 3 of Hayes, Battier and Alston are starters, they are another 1st round exit. That has NEVER varied. Take your pick...it matters not. Richard Jefferson for Battier and change and let Rafer/Brooks handle PG? I'd take the minority opinion and do it because RJ can run with Brooks and RJ provides more athleticism on the defensive end. But if you keep Battier (and TMac and Yao), everyone else HAS to be on the table. And I truly mean everyone else. Re-stated, if in transition 2 of your 5 starters are slow and 1 is average...the remaining two must be fast.
I agree with you that even with Scola and Landry we lack a 3rd scorer. Luis is not as good as Parker/Manu,or Peja as a scorer. Tyson Chandler is a far better rebounder/shot blocker/ and has speed/quickness along with good defensive skill as compared to Luis. However I believe that Scola is at least as good as a scorer as him if not slightly better.Having CP3 would improve his scoring average and Landry's too,but we would still need a solid 2/3 scorer who can defend/pass. Another need is another center to help Yao out,especially with his injury history and Deke's eventually retirement. Until these issues are solved and it's not going to be easy by any means we will remain a 2nd tier team.
Im down =) I even thought of making T-Mac the point guard and Battier the 2 guard before and having Mike Miller in the rotation would be a expirement and i believe it will work. Remember Penny Hardaway did this with Shaq down low, Dennis Scott was the shooting forward (Mike Miller) Battier playing the 2 guard (Nick Anderson post/spot up/defence) with T-Mac playing the point guard (Hardaway) because he has the handles and passing abilities like Hardaway. Then we can have Scola playing the Horace Grant Role because they have similar styles on offense and Yao will replace Shaq. There 6th man was Brian Shaw i think big combo guard with point guard skills the only player out their like him would be Livingston but this is just a thought. If Bobby Jackson dont get traded or Alston than they can be the young Darrell Armstrong. I think this model is a better model to use instead of the mix Lakers/Spurs model. 95-96 Orlando Magic model.
