I would prefer Martin and Shane start, and Budinger gets the majority of the minutes off the bench. And, I would prefer Trevor is part of a sign and trade deal this offseason. DD
And you prefer Brooks, and Scola surely... but we have to play some more defense to be up there with the contenders dude.
Here is the starting lineup I prefer. PG - Aaron Brooks SG - Kevin Martin SF - Shane Battier PF - Luis Scola C - Yao Ming Yao guarding the rim makes our defense that much better, and ever single one of those players is an offensive threat. That is 5 deep, 5 wide basketball..... Then from the bench. PG - Lowry SG - Budinger /Taylor SF - Budinger PF - Hill C - Hayes/Andersen/Jeffries or a Free Agent signing/Draft pick (depending upon offense or defense) I would only play Hayes, Jeffries, Taylor, or Andersen situationally. The primary 8 man rotation would be. Brooks Lowry Martin Battier Budinger Scola Hill Yao DD
Im with DD, but I like Trevor coming off the bench. Assuming our roster isnt shaken up through trades next year, I like: Brooks - Martin - Battier - Scola - Yao starting off the game with a low post Yao centric offense. with Lowry- Taylor - Budinger - Ariza - Hill running physical defending team off the bench. Hayes and Andersen situational with specific matchups.
I just think either Trevor or Shane has to go......I would prefer Trevor, but if it is Shane, so be it. DD
With Brooks+Martin+Scola you are far from being one of the best defensive teams. I'm not saying you need to be the best defensive team to win a championship, but sure one of the betters. The team could be very good offensively, but you have to be realistic, more defense is needed. At least I think so.
Rockets need to upgrade at SF. Keep Budinger for his potential and 3pt shooting. Both Battier and Ariza should be traded away if the Rockets can find an elite starter there.
u kno wat, a few weeks ago i woulda said ur crazy, but after these last couple weeks as hes been gettin extended minutes and flat out producing AND holding his own on defense, I agree whole-heartedly Chase D isnt worse than Trevors imo, he doesnt gamble and he doesnt get frustrated I tried to give Ariza time to get his act togetther but lets face it this guy kinda suck.. he cant dribble, he has to be standing still to hit a 3 pointer, he doesnt make his teammates that much better.. trevor should NOT be starting next year i dont give a dang that if it will hurt his make him made he has no rite to be with how much he has proved he doesnt deserve to trade trevor and keep shane i dont give a dam about the age
DD, are you not tired of shane being a no show on the road in the playoffs? Shane is a 20 minute bench player on any team trying to win a title. He's posey,matt barnes type of guy. Go tell me what he did in the playoffs on the road and get back at me.
His contract is expiring, since Yao is an uknown, if you keep Battier, you have both Yao and Shane's contract to trade which could net you a disgruntled superstar, if Yao can't get all the way back. $25 million in expirings is a great deal.....just look at what Morey did with similar baggage this year. DD
Ariza is 24 and makes mle money. Even if the team needs to restart, you have to have some players making money. In the event this turn around will be 3 years, ariza is 27. I know you want him gone as much as i want shane gone, but he can be part of any plan you have. Is he great? No, but he has shown he can step up and take and make big shots and make big plays that lead to winning. I agree he's a 5th option and if he's the 5th option, you have a pretty good team.
Oh I completely agree with you that some players are born with abilities that allow them to be great defensive players. If Hakeem did not have the ability to transform into a human pogo stick and if his hand eye coordination was not so good (though this could be argued to be a skill developed from his days as a goalie) he would never have been the legendary defender we all view him as. This is why I said "defense is MOSTLY attitude and polished by experience and intelligence" as no matter how good your abilities are, they are still ultimately useless unless you are motivated and you learn and develop. Though I hate to do this, think of T-Mac for example. He has all the abilities to be a great defender (huge wingspan, great athleticism, beyond great court vision, and a very high level of basketball intelligence). Hell, there have even been times where he showcased his great defense (locking down Dirk), but the biggest thing that was holding him back was his attitude (and work ethic) where in his mind he thinks, "Why should I have to defend all the time when all it does is take away from my energy to score?" This is why I believe that D is mostly determined by your attitude and ability to learn and adapt.
Absolutely ridiculous to take Chase's best (or one of his best) games of the season and use it to justify him starting. WIth Yao/Scola/XxX/Martin/Brooks There are no more shots. There is no defense. Ariza has shown over the length of his career that he is a good but not great defender. He is undoubtedly the type of player who would benefit more from Yao's presence behind him than Budinger would. Game on the line, do you want Ariza or Budinger defending Kobe? Yao would foul out in minutes if Bud was inserted into the line-up. I would support Bud being in the line-up if the move was countered by Lowry replacing Brooks in the starting line up. At the moment, I'm super impressed with Bud and love seeing him come off the bench. He is a great player so far and complements the second unit well (Lowry + Hill). I say we get rid of Shane and maybe Scola. Although they are two damn good players who have been nothing but professional, I'm thinking this team has to RUN and they are not really guys who run. Plus, the value we would get out of Scola right now, we may be able to replace him with an equally effective but different kind of player. Not sure who that would be though.
Keep Battier and Scola. Battier should start and orchestrate our defense. Budinger should get significant minutes off the bench - he will start enough games anyway whenever Martin takes his 20-30 games off per season. I am ok with keeping Ariza, for the same reason, but if we could get a star and would have to include Ariza in the package, no problem. leebigez' odd hate for Battier is legendary. Fortunately, Morey and Adelman recognize Battier's value to the team.
I agree with DD, Shane should be the starter. I don't understand how some of you think Ariza can replace him so easily. Shane is STILL far and away the best defensive perimeter player on the team. The gap between Ariza and Shane is GIGANTIC. Shane can guard elite perimeter defenders and with Yao back, he will be fine. Ariza has not proven he can keep up with any elite players, he can only play the passing lanes. Trev's offense is also not any better than Battier's. I would like to see Ariza moved in the offseason. If Battier doesn't start, I would like to see Chase start
This game tonight against Indy is just exposing how poor Trevor is as a basketball player. I mean, the Lakers absolutely jobbed us. He was a 20mpg player last year and only started like 20 games. I am sorry, but man...we SERIOUSLY overpaid for this guy. Shane is MILES better than him....MILES. DD
DD, don't overreact. I wouldn't say Ariza is SERIOUSLY overpaid. And I wouldn't say Shane is MILES better. Ariza can be a decent player, even decent starter. But I do agree that too many people think Ariza can replace Battier. He can't the biggest difference between them is the brain. Ariza is just not a very smart player. He relies on his physical attributes and doesn't make good decisions on the fly. I think intelligence is grossly underrated for basketball players.
100% agree, I am just tired of watching Trevor Gump this year, and can't stand to think he will be here 4 more years...ugh. DD
