WOW! If there was a difference maker- it was definitely not Bob Sura- it was Jon Barry. That is the strange thing about this talk about Bravado- funny when some of these guys act like punks we diss them - but with bob Sura somehow we think that it is a plus. A healthy Bob Sura- maybe? But for some kind of Emotinal BS- no, absolutely know. IF we get the Medical Exception we can add one more younger and Athletic piece- a Trevor Ariza or A PF or both if we actually spend some money. Let me be the first to take on this Myth of what Bobby Sura did- Did we forget the finals? Did we forget what happened with Yao when he was the Ball Handler. Great spirit- yes, Occupying a spot and not contributing much except pre-game antics and towel waving- absolutley NO!
With Sura signed, we now have: PG:Alston/Sura/JLIII/ SG:Synder/V-Span/Head SF:McGrady/Bowen PF:Howard/Hayes/Novak C:Yao/Deke Thats 13 players all of whom could expect some minutes. I wonder if that means we are done for the off-season. Personally, I would love to see us add someone who could play some minutes at the 4/5, and I am somewhat disappointed that we haven't really gotten any better when it comes to shooting, although it still remains to be seen how much help spanoulis and novak will bring in that department. I think it would be nice to use the TE to bring in a shooter who can play shooting guard or small forward and then sign cato for the min, but that would be 15 players, and only 8-9 can really be in the rotation.
gostros, I don't think depth is much of a concern, or shall I say over-depth. There's never enough depth, defense or rebounding. However, I feel 2-4 of them don't warrant rotational time and that's Vspan, Novak, Lucas III, and Sura. They get spot minutes. I'm still not 100% sold on Sura, I posted that in the other Sura thread, that we expect too much out of him, let's not get overexcited and claim he was a bust after the season.
say it ain't so sura, say it ain't so i thought his career was pretty much over, but at least he's giving it one last shot i don't think he's gonna be effective and have much of an impact and might end doing more damage to his body. i hope i'm wrong
You forgot about BATTIER , who all signs are pointing to starting at PF. Novak will play at the 3 until he bulks up, i remember jvg saying something about him not being near strong enough to play pf yet. Agreed about adding another 4/5 type, shot blocking, big body. The thing about our guards is that sura, vspan, and head can play both guard spots, which in a way could be considered "depth" b/c its at least versatility.
I don't think you could be more wrong. Do you remember the first game Sura played 2 years ago? He had been hurt for the first few weeks of the season, then came in one game and went absolutely nuts for about 10 minutes before he was completely gassed. This was before Jon Barry...not saying that Barry wasn't big for us, but Sura was just as big if not bigger as the starting PG. "Did we forget the finals?" Not sure what this is referring to. The biggest myth was the belief that Sura did not get the ball to Yao. Several people as well as myself on this board watched the videos R2K put up, and Sura passed it into Yao plenty when Yao had position. That was more of a Yao problem 2 years ago...he had trouble getting position. And trust me, the Rockets aren't going to activate him unless he can contribute physically. He's not just going to sit on the bench and take up space if he can't contribute. If he can, his emotional lift is exactly what this team needs (based on last year). And unlike Mike James, he's not a total nutcase. Sura may act like a punk, but this team needs that. He's one of those guys you hate until he gets on your team, and then you love him.
Haha, I knew I was forgetting someone. OK, so thats fourteen. Draftboy, I agree with you about 2-4 being spot players, but I hope that V-span is talented enough not to be one of them. Hopefully if we get cato or someone else who can be a 4/5, Deke will only get spot time. I think a really good scenario for the remainder of the offseason would be cato with the vet min and ariza or stephen jackson any way we can. (TE, remaining portion of MLE, whatever)
Sorry to split into two posts, but that would look like: PG: Alston/V-Span/Sura/JLIII SG:Jackson/Synder/V-Span/Head SF:McGrady/Bowen/Novak PF:BATTIER(sorry again)/Howard/Hayes C:Yao/Cato/Deke I would thinkthen the rotation would be: Alston, V-Span, Jackson, Synder,T-Mac, Battier, Howard and Yao with Cato, Bowen, Novak, Hayes and Sura all competing for extra time
The bold part, I will be talking about. I saw at times Sura being frustrated with Yao that he couldn't get better position. Infact, I saw a premiere passer of all-time, Mark Jackson, be hesistant on giving him the ball, because Yao could not establish himself properly. Fortunately, that is over. Yao can get inside. However, I did see Sura pass up on Yao several times, even when in position, and good enough. Whatever clips can be up, someone can easily pin point him being open and Sura not getting the ball to him. It sways both ways, but no one can deny Sura at times overlooking Yao. I know it was nothing on Sura's intentions, I just think Sura had bad ball-handling, where he had to look down at the defender or the ball, never over his head to see the court.
I would love a debate with Stats to prove what I am saying. Rafer Alston was the First PG- and I know we had Mark Jackson- Who actually gives the Ball where it needs to be. Just see the on-court off court nos- and you will be surprised Clarence Weatherspoon, was better than Sura- he was not as much a Drag as Juwan- but if we start comparing people to Juwan - God Bless the Rockets. I am a realist- you have a 33 year old guy, who basically wont be Starting. See the trend in the recent deals- at 3.8 Million that is like another TE ( if we get the medical exception). Bob Sura is past his prime- that is the fact. We just need to move on. Just show me some facts- I will be happy to concede that he needs to be back!
I hope he can really contribute, because if he can't we just lost out on that cap room due to retirement and injury exceptions. DD
Go Bobby ! I know he probably won't be as good as he was 2 years ago, but he can bring a "mean attitude" that the Rockets really missed last season.
Let me be the first to say, you have no idea what you are talking about. This team in 04-05 played completely different when bad boy Bobby was on the court. If he can come back healthy, then YES he can definitely make a significant contribution to the teams success. In case you forgot the numbers ... with Sura 42-17 without ... 9-14 I rest my case ...
