I think a big part of our success last season was because we had big gaurds in Sura,Tmac,Barry that could all rebound and defend against other teams with postup gaurds hurting us to much. Sura was averaging 6 rebounds and 6 assists a game for us last season so I hope this entire season off gets him healthy and ready to play next season. I think Sura will be back as he'll only be 33 I think and since these surgeries have repaired the damage to his ailing body and he has been resting them along time he should be healthy and ready by training camp. Does anyone agree or disagree with that? Also to finish this post we need big gaurds to compete in the west for rebounding and in postup defense against other gaurds. One of the big reasons Dallas beat us in the playoffs was because they posted STackhouse on WEsley alot and while Stackhouse couldn't move WEsley from his spot he could jump over him and thats what happened. Also people forget Sura played that entire series with a bad back and on one leg basicly so a sura at full strentgh stays with Terry and gets alot of rebounds in the paint area. Barry did very well in the playoffs but I think that was his last go of it unless he can come back healthy and make his shot consistantly. Anderson must go but Alston and Head and maybe even WEsley I'd like to stay next season. Go Rockets!!!
our turnaround last season started when t-mac was moved to the 3 and wesley started at the 2. and i wouldn't associate barry with defense or rebounding.
Neither Yao nor Tmac are exceptional rebounders, so a big guard that can grab a few is extra help. We also need a lot of help on guarding penetration, so we want a guy with a some lateral speed. Some size and toughness are required in a defensive game. Antonio Daniels is languishing in Washington. He wasn't a good fit to play beside Arenas. He was really good next to Jesus, though, so I'd think he'd fit with Tmac. He could do the same things he did in Seattle - help on defense, bring the ball up and dump it off to the star. There's this guy Ron Artest, too - he's got those skills.
Antonio Daniels ... 1. is too old 2. has a MONSTER contract I would personally go to CD's office and stab him repeatedly with a blunt spoon if he ever made such a boneheaded move.
Antonio Daniels is 30 years old. He has a contract for 5 years at 30 mil, or avg 6 per season, 4 seasons remaining. He is a better player than Juwon Howard, who has a similar contract, but whose production is declining with alarming rapidity. Juwon was never a good fit. What if we could do Washington a favor and trade Daniels and Etan Thomas for Howard and Alston? We could add and expiring and take Chucky Atkins, if necessary. Their season is over, much like ours. They want out of Atkins and Daniels. They need an affordable backup pg. Alston is suited for their game. Howard is a vet that can do some things, esp score, and could help them through the end of his deal. You may now seppoku with the blunt spoon, and stuff the form down your mouth.
Just where are we going to find the $6 million? Surely you don't think we should trade away our #1 PF for a guard, leaving Stro as our only viable option at that position.
I absolutely would trade Howard for a guard, and be very happy about it. People get fired. Howard is not a fit with Yao. He's not a fit with Tmac. He can't run a pick and roll. He can't defend. He can't rebound. We are better off cutting him loose now, than later. That will just make room for opportunity. You cannot fail to act from fear, when you know you have a failure. You must cut the loss, or it will bleed you to death. Howard, Swift, Alston, DA, DW and Moochie should all be gone in February. None of them fit. Pick up guys that fit where you can. Yao a power 4, with fundamentals, rebounding, post skills, pick & roll with Tmac. Tmac a big 2 that plays killer defense, can score the ball a big 1, combo, that can defend, bring the ball up, dump it off to Tmac, and hit a jumper. Yao and Tmac need some tough defenders to help them out. They need teammates that can board and play d and hit jumpers. Alternatively, we can get a tough, rebounding, defending 3, and let Tmac score from the 2. Stop making excuses for pieces that don't fit. It's a waste of time to try and force them to be what they are not. Get rid of them, and find new guys that have that make-up naturally. The big fundamental votes Daniels over Howard :
You're basically describing David Wesley there. I would think by now after seeing what this team is like without Mcgrady and Yao, that people would start to realize that we're never going to go anywhere with a bunch of guards that simply dump the ball off to Tmac and spot up to take jumpers all game long. We absolutely need more creators on the floor with Yao and Mcgrady. NOT more deferrers. Rafer Alston is one of the few players on this team that is a creator/playmaker and I see him as a great fit for what this team needs at the point. Either starting or coming off the bench.
I think the bigger we can have this team get the better. The championship Bulls had a huge backcourt. Ron Harper, Pippen, Jordan. Jordan was 6'6. Harper I believe was 6'7. Pippen at 6'8. That's alot of long arms to clog up open lanes and force contested shots. The Pistons are very much in the same mold. Hamilton, and Prince are very long and big perimeter players that force a lot of deflections, contest shots very well, and help close gaps in lanes. Billups while not 6'5 in height is a very strong individual in his own right and very tough to push around. There's something to be said for having size, youth on a teams backcourt.
This has always been a problem with the Rockets. Why do we keep getting short guards? Always 2 or 3 inches shorter than the other teams guards.
