The reason Kenny has been doing so good is of course, Larry Brown!!! And Allen Iverson. His coaching style fits forwards. They have so many forwards on that team. And they all know their role. The opposing team is focused on Allen Iverson, so Kenny and his buddies just get offensive rebounds and putbacks. Once in a while..they will pass to Kenny to score. I will see today. I don't think Kenny is any different. But their game plan fits him I guess. He still stands around and stuff. But on defense, their defense is great. They are undersized, but they all help out. It's good defense. Good coaching. Like Matt Harpring. Harpring was on the 76ers. He wasn't awesome. But now he is with the Jazz...and now he has improved everything a lot. Kenny is gone. There is no way we can get him back. Now we're stuck with Eddie Griffin, James Posey, Glen Rice, and Maurice Taylor. They're not horrible...they just need a coach.
[quote[First, I read the article twice. Where did Feigen say Thomas was beating out Griffin in practice?[/quote] Excuse me, my bad. I just figured it was in that article. It was in the <b>Rockets Summary</b>. You know me...I read the actual paper not the reposts here. Feigen has Thomas and Griffin as the <b>"Matchup to Watch" </b> <blockquote><hr>Jonathan Feigen Griffin, who playing in his hometown, always struggled with Thomas' strength inside at Rockets practices, and the matchup could be a test of Griffin's growth.<hr></blockquote> This is not the only time this has been said. And even Griffin admitted to it. That's why Kenny felt like he wasn't given a chance. I don't think that's just a counterargument either...I think your point is the whole deal. Difference from history is: When is the last time Rudy picked a 19yr old in the trade? btw: Kenny did in fact become the starting PF this year anyhow, as Hawkins/Rice were starting. Who got the DNP-CDs this year. Not Kenny. Eddie and Mo both got them as Kenny was chugging along giving all he could. What happened was for once in his career, Rudy started someone based on potential who clearly wasn't the best player at the moment. Griffin even said that Kenny was playing the best of the 3 PFs. Don't you remember that quote? Are you saying Philly didn't want him? Feigen again says that Philly had been after him for years. Larry Brown said it. Further, Philly has way better depth at both the 3 and the 4 than we do, and Kenny is getting the minutes. Kenny is a medium PT starter...like 28-31 mpg. That's what he is getting. Plus he's had nagging injuries, like two starts where he got 3 min game and 5 minutes with a broken nose and sprained ankle. He also had a deep thigh bruise for a 5 game IR stint, and in all those returns to the lineup he got less than normal minutes. The other thing about this injuries is they are all blue collar, hustle injuries. He is playing at the envelope of physicality, and he's bouncing back quickly from warrior wounds. I can't believe you are actually going to say Eddie matches up based on stats. Who disputes that Eddie is one of the worst PFs in the West right now? Eddie is just potential. By my count, he is about 15th in the West. Kenny is clearly the better player right now....at two positions. Kenny is also shooting 56% over the last two months and will be a 48% shooter over the last 2 years. Larry Brown also calls him a rebounder to the level that you just can't teach. <blockquote><hr><b>Larry Brown</b> On Kenny Thomas’ rebounding ability “There’s nobody in the world that can teach rebounding. You have to have some heart to go after loose balls. He doesn’t assume shots are going in. He plays every shot like a missed shot. He’s been watching Ben Wallace’s films. Kenny just has instincts for that, and he wants to rebound the ball.” <hr></blockquote> Now you tell me: What does Griffin do consistently well? And don't say blocks, because he is not consistent, because his defense is just nonethingness--like his personality. He can't hang at the 4...to the point that it is a big problem. If you can't see that our defense is more inconsistent now, and we don't seem to be able to play zone like we could with KT, then I don't know. The stats don't show KT's value, and if you want to get into a stat comparison, KT is significantly better statswise since leaving Houston, anyhow. Philly is 12-0 in Kenny's last 13 starts (I throw out the 3 minute game he had with the broken nose--that they lost). Griffin, by comparison, is a clear problem with our offense and defense, right now. I still have patience for Eddie, believe me. And probably more than February of next year, like you. But I didn't want to bank on him this year getting artificial minutes as a starter, at the expense of making the playoffs. It was too risky.
It may or may not be true that the MCE will suit Thomas just fine. But, it always opens up options when the team with your Bird rights actually wants to keep you. Philly only got the one MCE, so if they had to use it on Kenny, they couldn't use it on anyone else. Now they have the option of keeping Kenny and getting someone else. Or, he can force a sign-and-trade. Or, he can sign an MCE flat-out with someone else. He has a lot of options.
I dont think so,,Im pretty much a Rocket fan only, but I have Nba league pass..and I watched a lot of KTs first games with the 6ers. He was clearly better than most of their big men from the begininng, at the 3 and the 4, even while he was still learning their scheme.
When KT was still in Rockets Yao Ming said in an Chinese interview that he "really admire" KT. Because KT "is strong and tough although he looks like a skinny guy. He always goes after the boards." Another player that Yao Ming praised in the public interviews is AI. "It is almost impossible to defend him. He is a genius." I have to put this on the game thread. Cannot wait to see tonight's game.
This is directly from Philly Inquirer, I think it is very true of what KT thinks of US. Revenge motive. Tonight will be the first time since he was traded to the Sixers that Kenny Thomas will face his former team. Like just about any player getting ready to face a team that traded him, he is pumped up. "It's kind of personal, because when I was there, I didn't get the kind of respect I felt I should have gotten," he said. "I'm just going to come out and just try to take it a minute at a time, and, hopefully, I can keep doing what I've been doing." Thomas has started the last three games and 20 overall for the Sixers. He has posted six double-doubles in the last seven games and 10 overall. He is averaging 9.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, although those numbers have gone up significantly over the last seven games - to 13.7 points and 12.9 rebounds. "I think I've committed to stepping up and taking my game to another level," said Thomas, who will be a free agent after this season. "And then, once I get to the playoffs, I'm going to have to take it to another level."
I see a lot of you saying that KT was the best forward out of KT, MoT and EG, and I tend to agree. I am a big Kenny fan. He's all heart, and from what I saw, worked harder than _any_ of the players on the Rockets during his stay here. That said, what you have to remember is that great individual players do not make for great teams. I think what the Rockets were going for via the trade was what you would call "addition by subtraction". At the time of the trade, we had three better than average PF's (if you include the Eastern Conference), a good but past-prime, oft-injured SF in Rice, a servicable SF in KT. Morris and Hawkins, while having utility, were typically serious offensive liabilities. In any case, from what I saw, KT did not typically get his points in the flow of the offense -- he got it by changing the flow. After the trade, we have two better than average PF's in MoT and EG, and VERY servicable forwards in Rice and Posey, both of whom are capable of putting up _serious_ numbers within the flow of the offense. In fact, our SF position is no longer a serious liability because we can actually afford to have Rice get injured now that we have Posey. We couldn't afford that with KT. So in essence, while KT may be better than either MoT or EG... KT + MoT + EG + Rice < MoT + EG + Rice + Posey And really, I think that's all she wrote. It doesn't matter how much better KT was individually than any of the power forwards, if those power forwards complement the TEAM better, well, then they're the ones that stay. IMO, MoT, EG and Posey all complement the team better because _none_ of them demand the ball in order to produce, unlike KT. MoT can step in and hit shots quite accurately in very little playing time, EG can block shots and nail a reasonable 3pt% hanging out on the arc, and Posey is a damn good defender, good from 3pt, and good on the fast break too. And not one of them changes the flow of our offense while doing it. We already have two players (Cat and Steve) dominating the ball, and long term, you can expect Yao will too. There just isn't room for four people dominating the ball, heck, there really isn't room for three. So, really, given that, the choice wasn't between MoT, EG and KT, but it was _really_ between Cat, Steve and Yao. Steve and Yao would be staying no matter what, so it would have been between Cat and KT. That's a judgement call, really -- who do you think will be able to produce when neither is able to dominate the ball anymore? Cat or KT? The equation leans in Cat's direction when you consider depth at each position, so KT is the one to go.
Well. I think James Posey, Maurice Taylor, and Eddie Griffin all did well. So did Kenny Thomas. They all playled great today. James Posey had 19 points and 9 rebounds...I believe. He made important shots. I'm starting to sort of like him. Maurice Taylor knew Kenny so well. He almost stole the ball every time. He predicted everything out exactly. Mo also had a pretty good game offensively. I like how he started the game. Eddie was off the bench. Eddie still misses all those wide open shots, but he made some treys and was very energetic. I am kind of starting to like him too. Kenny. MOST of his baskets were because of good setups by the guards. He was usually open. And most were from putbacks. He has improved his perimeter shooting and free throw shooting too. I miss him. But I like James, Mo, and Eddie too.
