[But the game is on] Rockets should go after Iguodala

If we were to get Iggy, worst case we trade Cbud and keep Shane. However, maybe Philly wants a veteran to stabilize a younger team (Collins is the new coach).

 

It's an interesting concept. I don't think the problem is related to physical fatigue, unless you have an aging team like last year's Boston squad. Good coaches would know when to rest his players while approaching the end of the season to be playoff-ready. If a team is playing all out just to struggle for a playoff berth, then it already says something about the team's capability to win it all, even before taking account of physical fatigue and contributing that as a key factor.

The mental factor, however, cannot be discounted. Players at that stage of the season is accustomed to the number of minutes they play, when they get their rest, and when they come back in to finish games. We are all too familiar with the occurrence that a couple of early fouls could throw a player's rhythm off for the rest of the game. Also, a coach is not inclined to take key players out of the game for poor performance in the playoffs, since it says something about the coach's confidence and trust level in the said player. The regular season is to fine tune the lineup you have and learn player tendencies, and come playoff time it's best not to tamper with what's proven to work.

A deep rotation in the regular season will get you through stretches of injuries and 4-games-in-5-nights, but in the playoffs, with rotation set and no back-to-backs, the key is to squeeze the most out of your best players without tiring them out, and therefore the bench depth is less beneficial. I'm no coach or good player even, but I'd venture to guess 8 just happens to be the magic number that works for the fitness level of NBA players and the duration of the game.

Pistons might've been a special case, because there were no superstars, the talent level doesn't fluctuate much between player 1-10, and the pieces are interchangeable to some degree. But just because we have an anomaly in the Pistons doesn't make it the easiest or the most desirable route to reach the destination. Not saying it's impossible by any means.

P.S. after I typed all that up... I found this...

Pistons player minutes 03-04 against Lakers in the Finals:

Code:

	     Game 1	Game 2 (OT)	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5
Billups     	39	47	36	37	33
R. Wallace	29	34	26	41	21
B. Wallace	41	43	38	39	42
Prince     	35	47	36	40	38
Hamilton	43	47	43	44	45
Hunter     	13	12	16	11	13
Campbell	18	9	13	14	14
Williamson	11	7	15	5	14
Total      	229	246	223	231	220
Possible Min	240	265	240	240	240
% by Top 8	95.42%	92.83%	92.92%	96.25%	91.67%

Game 3 and 5 were blowouts before 4th quarter. Game 2 could be credited to it being overtime, players in foul trouble, and fatigue. Game 1 and 4 were 5pt and 0pt (tie) game going into 4th quarter. So even the Pistons only relied on 8 players :grin: You may ignore everything I said previously!

 

They are waiting too long. By the time they get serious about moving Iggy. Which is a mirage because they say the same thing every year and never do it? We will have moved on bythen andthey settle for some smaller offer that doesnt make sense and doesnt meet their way too high of a price tag for him. If they could come down or get serious? Then the Rockets would probably talk.

 

You mean Iguo, Scola and Yao an interesting front court

 

I'd rather have Iggy than Carmelo, for what we would have to give up...

 

Iggy + Martin > Melo + Martin

 

Nah, Melo is by far the better player.

 

Thanks for posting, Hayesfan.

It is a well stated opinion. And I remember the buzz a few weeks ago about possibly landing Iggy and I hoped that it would happen. But, I think the word was that Phili was asking too much.

And recently all the buzz has been about Carmelo. At first, the thought of 'Melo in Rocket Red was not completely appealing to me. I mulled it over, read all of the posts/articles and decided that he would be a great addition to our team.

Now, it seems that Denver is trying to extract too much from other teams for 'Melo. It appears that the yahoo article releases this Thursday evening is a spin coming from the Denver camp with the intent of trying to get Morey to give more (that's my guess, anyway).

And when it comes down to character, Iggy is more of a Rocket than 'Melo. That character issue seems to be more important to the Rocket's organization that others. Playing defense is part of that character and, though 'Melo has the ability, he seems to display it rarely. Iggy has more heart and desire to play 'D' than 'Melo.

The argument made in this thread that 'Melo would be better in playoff-crunch-time is a valid one. And your counter argument, Hayesfan, is equally valid. I concur that the '04 Pistons model could work for the '10-'11 Rockets.

I suspect that we will get one or the other. And for that, I am grateful. A potential 'Melo trade would make us more offensive minded and cost us more assets. Whereas, a potential Iggy trade would make us more defensive minded, more balanced and also a better rebounding team. Also the Iggy trade would cost us less assets and thus, allow us to be more flexible for future roster changes.

But, unlike the opinion of the blogger's cited article (that CBud would be part of the deal), I suspect that it would be Battier instead of Bud going to Phili. Doug Collins has made no secret that he covets Battier.

Perhaps Morey is just going thru this negotiating with Denver to somehow grease the wheels for an Iggy trade? IDK, but I believe that Morey will make a move, it will improve the team and we'll all be ecstatic.

 

I don't think Sixers decide on him until well into the season. They might as well see how he and ET work together and whether Brand gets better this year than last. After a bad 09 10 season, value of Iggy Iguoda. Is not great and Brand is poison contract.

 

True, but Iggy would fit the line-up better playing with Martin. With Melo and Martin in the line-up, the starters would get beat up defensively.
I have always said if we get Melo and still have Martin, they should start Lee and bring Martin off the bench.

 

If we get Iggy without giving up anyone in the starting line-up, we should totally jump on it.

With this line-up, we would enhance our balanced offense and shore-up our defense. If Morey could get this done, we'd be much better off than giving up AB or Kmart for Melo. Melo's best on the blocks and we already have Yao and Scola. But Iggy would complement the rest of the line-up much better.

 

If Iggy wasnt be floated about for the same package as Carmelo Anthony that would make sense. They basically are talking about the same players though involved for the swap. To which I say? Hell no. Phillie always overvalues its players so we wont have a deal with them. We have to swallow the poison pill contract of their grossly overpaid powerforward to go with Iggy who is also slightly overpaid. In addition they want a Martin or Brooks also in the deals or all our young assets including picks, Budinger, Hill, Battier. If they want just some reasonable swap? that could be made a case for Iggy. They are asking superstar trade though to teams just because they are paying him superstar money. Unlikely these guys can seriously make a move with their demands.

 

I don't think we could get Iggy so cheaply, but the East is so full of hamburger that a team can be at the beginning of rebulding and still make the playoffs. So I can't guess what motivation would lead Philly to do this, but it'd be cool.

 

my prediction

1.melo gets traded to nets within 2 weeks
2.we stand pat
3.we trade for nobody at the deadline,no taking on Iggy or Wallace
4.we cut costs at deadline by trading jeffries/pick/ or battier to get under lux tax

 

Did this prediction come from?? Shall we say.. A higher power?

 

I completely disagree because of what we would have to give up. We would have to give up far more to get Melo, and like the original article stated we probably wouldn't have to give up any starters to get Iggy, in which case i think I'd prefer a deal with Philly.

 

I don't think it will take well into the season for the Sixers to make up their minds. Either Turner will show his potential for greatness or he will bust, and the door will slam close in a hurry for that trade, and my prediction is we'll know about 20 games into the year whether or not we have a shot at Iggy by the deadline. Then again maybe I'm just drunk and 20 games is what you meant by well into the season :grin:

Either way, Jeffries + Bud + Hill for Iggy is >> Martin/Brooks + Jeffries + Battier + Bud/Hill + Knicks pick for Melo, IMHO.

 

Honestly, if the Rockets get Iguadola in return for bench players (and maybe a pick), that would be one hell of a consolation price for not getting Carmelo Anthony.

However, I always wonder how Carmelo will do in a "high character" setting (aka the Rockets). Will he be more team oriented? Will he increase his defensive intensity? Will he start to care about winning and working as a team for it? Frankly, the Nuggets wasn't (and still isn't) the best of "settings" for a player of Carmelo's... mindset...

Also, the bottomline - that we stay still, and do nothing, is also hell of a good outlook to look forward to anyway. Unlike the "taking steps backwards Nuggets", we have always been going forward under Morey. I would love to see how our current bunch of folks do for this upcoming season

 

Id rather have Iggy a million times over Melo. Partly because Melo is trash partly because we would have to give up less for Iggy.

 

Iggy- much better fit for the Rockets, both as a player and as a person.
We should not trade AB or Martin