A little Rice with your Yao Ming...

If Rice continues his hot shooting then he will become Yao Mings biggest asset. If teams have to guard Rice at the arc then Yao Ming will have a much easier time in the paint.

 

I wasn't thrilled with the game he had against the Mavs, but it was encouraging. Last night he was huge. I don't think he can keep it up, but if he does I'll be happy to write a 10 page letter of apology.

Ricerocket, forgive this reference, but what I've liked about Rice and MoT is their maturity and court awareness. Mo's has looked beyond rusty, and Rice had looked like "the mind is willing, the body's not going there". Maybe Rice is feeling good now, he darn sure looked good last night.

Watching the Mavs game I was thinking "Rudy's seen some stuff in practice" and particularly didn't like Rice's slo-mo post-ups that were anything but that last night.

So, Rice in the last 2 games has looked like a good overall fit into the Rockets equation. Props galore, and I appreciate his hard work.

I still say, assuming perfect health, I have no idea of what our 8 man rotation should be yet, and neither does Rudy. If Rice plays well, he is serious gravy.

 

Rice can possibly be a good compliment to Apocalypse Yao, as he can shoot the ball after Yao kicks it out from the double team. He can be one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, along with Franchise, MoT, and Griff.

 

I still can't bring myself to hop on the rice bandwagon quite yet. He still can't play a lick of defense, and, he's playing over 30 minutes/game just to camp out and jack 3's (which he's doing adequately, I'll admit).

But, hell, if the formula's working, I ain't complaining.

 

Rice has done well for 2 games, I'll give him that. That was a sweet pass to Hawkins for the open 3 in the Wiz game. I've said Rice will have the occasional good game, but unfortunately the season isn't 2 games long.
He and Yao work well together, he doesn't hog the ball when he sees Yao in the post and he knows where to get open when the defenses collapse on the big guy.
I think its kind of a knee-jerk reaction to say Rice is the MAN for 2 games...just as its a knee-jerk reaction to say Mobley should be traded over 1 bad game.

 

NACHBAR COULD DO BETTER

 

i love rice!
i've supported him since we acquired him.
the guy may be old, but with the game on the line, I'll take his Hall of Fame jumper over many many many other options...

and frankly, i think all those years on the bench has given his body a bit of rest for what now appears to be a second spring... plus added a hint of maturity and humility (and VETERAN LEADERSHIP) perfect for our young team.

i had asked whether he's an albatross or a star this past summer, and his recent performance has been all the answers i needed!

go rice!

 

You gotta be kidding....if Nachbar could do better, Nachbar would be playing.

 

I've supported him from day one, and now just because he's nailed 8-18 from 3 in the past two games, everyone's gonna start ridin him.

 

Nachbar is healing and he is a rookie. He will be way above Rice on the sub list by next year, when rice is making 9 mill.

One important stat from what was supposed to be Rice's great night:

40 minutes played - 1 rebound

Moochie had 2 in 16 minutes.

Rice just doesn't do anything except jack up threes. Even guys like Steve Kerr grab lost balls and try to play defense.

And once again, I would just like to point out, the main problem with Rice is his damned priced tag. He is playing the role of a perimeter shooter like kerr and ellis and bullard and others who have played such roles and he should be making that kind of money. He is making the kind of money team leaders and guys who have all around games make.

 

I have been a Rice supporter since we got him from NY. You guys that bash him don't understand that for the most part of his short career with the Rockets he has been hurt or coming back from an injury playing out of shape. Rice is now 93% healthy (His Words) and is working his way back into shape and getting his timing down. For those who don't like him in the down in the post, I ask you this,

Does he score on a higher clip in the post than Kenny?
Can he pass out of the post if doubled better than Kenny?
Can he spot up and shoot at a higher clip than Kenny?
Can he pass to Yao Ming down in the post better than Kenny?

And for those who say he doesn't play any defense watch the up coming games. You will see Kenny is scored on more than Rice. I am NOT saying Rice has good defense, but to say that Kenny is head & shoulders better at defense than Rice is stupidity. In the Dallas game when Kenny came into the game the first play was him one on one with Avery Johnson heading to the hoop and Kenny swatted at the ball. Avery made the layup and was sent to the line. Two players later he picked up Nash out on the elbow. Nash drove on him made the layup and Kenny fouled him sending him to the line. I often see Kenny swatting at the ball only the catch it falling from the bottom of the net. At this stage I think Kenny has lost to much weight to play the defense he played last year. Rice and Kenny are near equivalent on the defensive side. Don't believe me than analyze them the next couple of games. The only advantage I give to Kenny is his rebounding. Even still in the game against the Wiz he totaled three rebounds and didn't go after a few that clearly looked like he could have brought down had he tried. I believe the rebounding would be about the same if not for Kenny playing inside while Rice is playing mostly outside. My opinion is Rice should start over Kenny most nights depending on match ups. Rice will get even better as he gains his wind and strength back.

One thing that is not comparable is his leadership and emotional contributions on the court.

 

The Rice/Yao combo has worked well. I wonder if Glen is treating him to dinner. Yao has a knack for finding Glen open and his hitting him with some nice passes.

 

Point out the teams that do not have players making more then they [in some peoples eyes] are worth? At least the Rockets did not sign Rice to that contract it came in a trade while doing the right thing for someone that we did not need and had made a promise too. As for too big a contract, that is all I heard about Cato last year and this year it is never mentioned. Funny how sometimes the team management knows better then fans.

Since we are over the cap and will be for the forseeable future with the age of our team, if Les is willing to pay Rices salary and still sign the players that come up to be resigned [Francis] why is it such a big deal with YOU?

 

I don't think it's a coincidence that Rice's resurgence came right when Yao started getting some decent minutes. Defenses can no longer afford to play our perimeter guys tightly, as they have to sag into the middle to help out with Yao. Consequently, Rice is seeing some wide-open looks.

Once Cuttino figures this out, he'll heat up, too. His drives to the basket don't make as much sense when you've got Yao and 3 defenders clogging up the paint.

 

I like to see Rice dish it to Ming... Rice looks like he has confidence in Ming or likes getting the rookie involved or both!

"Rice to Ming for the slam" has a nice ring to it...


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You know what's so special about Rice? It's his experience with Shaq. He played with Shaq for a year, and he is very familiar with that inside-outside game.

Rice is a pretty good spot up shooter himself, and with that experience with Shaq, he's a keeper. He'd help spreading the floor a lot.

I don't like Rice's defense but with Yao playing more minutes he would cover Rice's weakness a bit.

 

Ricerocket, I was trying to give you and your guy props, and you come up with this? Well, I love the guys that hit the stat lines before they have an "informed" opinion, I guess I should appreciate guys committed to guys with creacky knees and an impressive pedigree too. I commend Rice's effort, but in no way is that to be confused with 'D'. But wait until Rice busts out for 20 and hits a game winning shot before you even mention his overall game. I'll try to be around to give you and your guy props then too (sigh).