(No, not Pau) Looking around the BBS, all the projected lineups look like this: PG: Brooks, Lowry SG: Martin, Lee, Lowry SF: Battier, Budinger PF: Scola, Hill, Hayes, Patterson C: Yao, Miller, Hill I don't know if I missed something, but last I checked, Chuck is a better player than Hill, and I haven't seen anything from him to suggest anything has changed over the summer. Chuck was playing injured and out of position last season, and he still held his own. Plus, I hear the dude has been tearing it up in camp. Chuck is playing ahead of Hill this year. Not much of a stretch.
I don't know...maybe..... I think it will depend upon matchups and both Hill and Chuck will split some games and both with have DNPCD's as well. They are both situational players on this roster, right now. DD
I think it depends on more who we are playing and what we need at the time. Also I doubt Patterson is behind Jeffries. At least not for most of the year.
With the addition of Miller, Hayes will see his minutes at the 5 decrease drastically. I expect him to return to the role he played in 08-09, getting in most games as a situational defensive specialist and playing 10 minutes per game. If Hill improves his hands and can learn to stop leaving his feet on every ball fake, he could become a very interesting player. Remember, he didn't start playing organized basketball until his junior year of high school, and improved every year at Arizona (despite the program being a complete mess). I'm hoping for big things out of Jordan this year.
Does Chuck playing well in camp really matter? We know what he can do. Excellent D, 0 offense. Unfortunately, he is not only undersized as a 5, he's also undersized at the 4. With Yao back, Chuck will be your situational defensive specialist at either position and not your typical everyday backup. He'll be extremely valuable, but to answer your question, the #2 PF in terms of mins will most likely be Hill or Patterson.
"heydude" ... if patterson or hill or even those two combined have more minutes than chuck on avg each game i will be extremely surprised.
i expect chuck to only play the 4 unless an injury happens to either yao or miller, but chuck will be the first guy coming off the bench when scola goes out. i guarantee it.
Actually I think Hayes will get spot mins. If you remember when we did have Yao, Hayes only got spot minutes, when we needed someone on a Dirk or Garnett. Other than that I don't remember him playing much. In fact 12.1 minutes that year. 21.6 mins last year. Of course the 08-09 Year we had Landry but still...I feel like a combo of Patterson/Hill can give us what Landry has.
Chuck was originally a defensive specialist that was brought in for spot minutes for special defensive plays/situations. I don't see that changing unless Yao goes down again.
Last I checked, the Rockets don't mind playing undersized players. If you're better, you play more. At this time, Chuck is a better defender, passer, hustler, and leader. Plus hes a smarter player, which goes a long way in this system. I hope Jordan beats him out, since he has so much more potential, but I'm not encouraged after his unspectacular summer showing.
WRONG chuck was not a defensive specialist, he was a starting power forward. defensive specialists are guys brought in for a few minutes a game like 1-5 mins to guard guys in certain situations. i think guys like to label chuck as a defensive specialist just because he is so good defensively and way below average on offense. chuck came to the rockets on a 10 day contract, then earned another 10 day then earned the rest of the year and then has been a rocket ever since. he has earned starting positions with two different coaches. i think this team has enough fire power on offense for chuck to get significant minutes.
I think Patterson, hill, and Taylor will be sent to the d league to get more playing time and improve their play instead of warming the rockets bench.
Hayes by a mile. I expect to see him playing extended minutes given the talented big men in the west and Yao's limited minutes. Expect him to anchor the post D and cover the bigs as he did last season. I suspect that he'll even become more of an enforcer covering more physical big men to help smoothen Yao's transition back. 3rd in time logged behind Yao and Scola.
yea i would say chuck is the primary backup 4. jordan hill might find some minutes at the 5 since yaos minutes wil be very limited and since brad miller is getting up there in age.
If this posting is not placed her deliberately by the Rockets Management to condition our minds into accepting Chuck in a new role then.... May I say I believe that Chuck will have a special role... He will be used sparsely as a defensive specialist, the role may be increased during the playoffs. Now we have so much talent to expect Chuck to be stretched into a major role player.
I'm hoping that it was because he was playing the 5 spot which I don't think he is suited for or comfortable with. Last year Hill did ok at the 4. But Chuck is a silent good player and you know what you are getting when you put him in there. Unfortunately his O is all from 2' or less. Pre-season and matchups will make the decision on who comes in for Scola.
Chuck is a valuable contributor to this team. He has shut down opponents many times but the trick is not to play him too much. Backup 4 is definitely his role right now, with PP taking what he can as a rookie. Hill will be the 3rd string center and occasionally at the 4 spot when minutes are available.
