It would benefit the team to run a little bit and let him perform in the open court. If you look at Kwame now, its not that he's all of a sudden great on D, but the offense allows him to get garbage points, and easy catch and dunk passes from being wide open. If JVG would change up his offense a little to see if it would help, he continues to force stro to try to be a carlos boozer. Not going to happen, and if its motivation he needs, then it wont happen from this coach. We've all seen how great he is at that.
Stro would foul out well before 40 mins. He is not smart. That's all there is to it. You need more than talent to survive on the court, you gotta have that iq.
With T-Mac and Yao on the floor, Swift will perform at a good level. Wait until next season to pass judgement.
I believe SWIFT just doesn't fit into half-court system. If he went to SUNS, he would play like 80% Amare. JVG defense is too much for him and he always falls into foul trouble
After having the chance to see him regularly, I think we are now more qualified to analyze Stro and where he is in his progress. It's good to see people having a lot of thoughtful posts, instead of the banal 'he sucks, trade him!' dreck. To offer up my two cents: Stro is not a 'natural' basketball player. Stro looks to me more like a young tall guy who can run and jump, and who has begun learning a skill which does not come naturally to him. He could just as easily ended up a wide receiver in the NFL, or a track star, or any other kind of sport which places a premium on his God-given talents. But his God-given talents do not include basketball. But that's ok. It just means that he has to be taught. He is going to have to make up for his lack of natural instincts with imprinted technical skill. So the question is not whether he has the physical tools to be able to do the job; no one disputes that he does. The question is, does he have the cognitive ability and the work ethic required to develop? The coaches have to recognize, of course, that Stro needs to have the kind of relentless concentrated teaching/coaching that has now helped Yao turn a corner. Maybe now that Yao has got it firmly in his head that he has the ability to dominate, coach Thibodeaux will be able to devote the same kind of time to Stro as he has to Yao. Unfortunately, this single season, coupled with the lack of knowledge of just exactly what coaching strategies the Rockets have used in dealing with Swift renders us unable to adequately answer the question of whether or not Stro has the capacity to both grasp the need for technical development as well as the willpower and determination to apply himself to the task with the needed level of dogged determination. Since we never really saw Stro on a consistant basis before he came here, has he shown ANY progress over his years as a Grizzly? His stats would seem to indicate a 'No' answer. Has he shown any progress over the course of the season? Well, it's possible, but it's hard to interpret. I do see Stro trying to make use of some of the same kind of effective spin moves that Yao has begun to use this year. Of course, lacking Yao's technical skills, those moves usually end up in a missed shot. But is it at least a sign of progress? Or has he always had that move in him? I don't recall seeing any of it in the first part of the season, so.. 'maybe'. It would be interesting to hear exactly what the coaches have in mind for Stro over the summer. The hope is, of course, that the Rockets are going to do everything possible to help Stro be successful for the the team, instead of just trying to dump him. Assuming they do, then perhaps a truer test will be if and how much he manages to progress next season. I would have to say, if he does not manage to show any growth after that point, then it would be time to seeka trade partner and get whatever we can for him. But for now, we need to hope that he is finally shown 'the Way', and manages to wrap his brain around what he is supposed to do and how he is supposed to do it. Opportunity is knocking, Stro. Please answer before it goes away and knocks on some other guy's door.
Thing is they havent done everything they can. They didnt even do everything they can to put together a better team this year. I just dont have that kind of confidence in JVG. I dont think he's a great motivator, and his teaching doesnt seem to translate into more offense
Its the Coach and the way he coaches. the need is to find out exactly what Swift can do well, then make plays for him to perform and then develop other thing. Swift has been drifting along through the whole season without having any set purpose in the games. If he is to be useful he must have defined purpose through set plays. I wonder if this article is setting us up to sit back and accept that the Rockets are not trading him away?
we need to let him play more I think he can do it, this system is new for him and he is still learning thank god he is young he has a nice touch for a big guy, he does look lost at some times, but I think that's because of the system JVG is setting up... Yao loves him, we all seen it...he is a guy who won't cause trouble and is willing to learn give him more minutes
Stro shouldn't just be given minutes. He has to earn them. He still does stupid stuff out there, fouling for no reason, or launching crazy shots on drives. He seems too weak to defend against power forwards. He gets injured a lot. That said, I have noticed improvement in his game. His jump shot looks better, and I've seen better post moves from him. I even saw him try to execute the Yao baseline spin (he got called for hooking), so I think he's willing to put the work in. I've seen him use his off-hand to get shots up. For the price, I think Stro was a decent signing. I just think expectations were unrealistically high.
Not one of your better years, Stro? Dude, that was not one of *my* better years. Have a better year next season, please. So we can trade your ***.
Stro is nt Gonna flourish under gundy. Houston requiers there big guys to be able to creat open looks for themselves. Stro is a less talented Amare. Amare would look likew a normal player in a system where he would have to creat his own shots. amare is a finisher. put Stro on the Suns, and he'll be a 18 and 8 player.
Stro will forever be described as having "talent" and "potential" because the people describing him are his coaches and hometown reporters, and they need to make sure he's described in ways that make it possible to trade him.
You cant deny the guy has Potential. it's his lacksydaisical mental attitude which is hindering his BB-Ball developement.
I would say that after 6 years in the league he has developed all the potential he has to develop. Name me one guy that has suddenly blossomed after 6 years in the league. This is all you're going to get out of Stro, overpaid career backup, the guy has lousy hands, no motor and a low BB IQ. Stro supporters that said that JVGs system was his problem because it is so hard to adapt to have no clue. After 6 years in the league, Stro should know how to play the position.
The biggest problem Stro has right now is his defense, one on one and rotation. On rotation defense, he's got better, not as clueless as the beginning of the season. But still often late and fouls too much. Maybe JVG's defensive scheme did give him trouble. On One-on-one defense, he would naturally have trouble guarding big PFs, but I think he should stick to more fundemental defense, stay closer to the man. He has better success guarding face-up players. On offense, I think Stro is mostly fine, as long as he doesn't try to do too much as pull out wide moves. And I think he should play with Yao more. In the scheme of offense, JH is counted on for 8-10 points a game with his mid-range jumpers, and one successful low-post move a game. Stro can easily substitute that. I've seen Stro can knock down some jumpers now. (And man, does his jumper have unnaturally high arc or what). He can make some moves with his dribble given the space. However, mostly, Stro plays closer to the basket than JH. He's not looking for that jumper. With Yao drawing double teams, he can easily get 1-2 alley-oops from the weak side (when Tmac was playing, he's more than willing to toss Stro that alley), he can also play off the pass from double-teamed Yao and score. He can grab some offensive boards with the attention Yao is getting on offense. All this can help keep opponents thinking twice in doubling Yao. And Stro can get JH's 8-10 points a game without having ball in his hands. In short, if Stro can improve his defense, I think he's a better fit with Yao (and Tmac) than Juwan-despite his limitations.
Stromile does a piss-poor job running back for a slow team like us. Not so sure he'd necessarily thrive on a running team like Phoenix or Denver. You have to be committed to running on every opportunity with those teams.
1 How much more do we have to see of Stro to "find out what he can do" or to "see what's possible"? Someone please answer. He's at 21 mpg. What is 9 more mpg going to show us? 2 Comparing Stro to Yao is crazy. Yao has it within himself to work hard and develop his potential. Stro does not. No amount of coaching can do that. Some people are driven; these folks usually end up being good at what they do. Other people are very unmotivated and that is just the way they are. This is nobody's "fault" but the person. Maybe you could blame Stro's parents. 3 Why would you run plays for someone who has very few offensive skills? Stro's post moves are a joke. His jumper looks sweet when it goes in, but it isn't reliable at all. When Stro gets the ball, he hangs on to it way too long and doesn't know what to do. Players don't develop their offensive talents during NBA games. This happens over the summer and during practice; so this is another thing that cannot be blamed on JVG or the other coaches in Stro's past. 4 If Stro "just doesn't fit into half-court system" he doesn't belong in the NBA. Yes, some teams score more fast break points than others. But if a player cannot contribute consistently in the 1/2 court, he isn't worth a dime. Some maybe are thinking of Stro in the same sentence as Shawn Marion. The fact is Marion was a very good player before D'Antoni & Nash came to Phoenix. Nash's arrival has helped him but he isn't much above his career averages. Marion has hustled and played very hard in each of his 7 seasons. Stro has not. Concerning Stro's potential, when you look only at his jumping ability it's seems like he has great potential. But when you factor in his lack of basketball instincts (esp. rebounding), lack of basketball IQ, lack of developing any real skills in 6 years, then reality emerges. He's probably not going to get much (if any) better than he is now. When his option year comes up, he may pick it up a notch.
