My only thought with KT at SF - In our offense, our SFs need to hit the outside shot. How well does KT hit from 20+?
Bad move for KT. Next year, when he has to and wants to be traded, teams will\consider him more of a tweener than he already was. Thin to play the PF spot,and too slow to play the SF spot.
Man this is great news. KT can handle the sf spot imo, and he will play similar to what he did last year. His D will remain solid he works to hard at it to expect anything less. He'll still set high screens for Francis, wont settle for long jumpers and will take it aggressively to the basket. He has adequate handles for the sf position in a halfcourt offense, just don't ask him to the lead the break I hope he doesn't think this is a green-light for him to start shooting 3s, but I doubt that. He had plenty of chances to do that last year and did not. This also means they have a ton of faith in Mo and Griff. And little or next to none in Rice. Still, this is the lineup I wanted to see and I'm happy to see them try it.
My thoughts exactly. I want an SF who Yao can kick the ball out to from the post, and Steve and Cuttino can kick it out to on the drive. Kenny just doesn't give you that, and this is the biggest reason I wanted Rashard so bad. Kenny can't be the long-term solution at SF.
Interesting as well from the article is the implication that the Rockets may try to re-sign KT, even before Oct. 31. If he works out at the 3, then you would think Rice would become nothing more than an expensive Matt Bullard. Also interesting is that the Rockets are so close this year to the luxury tax threshold. When Francis's extension kicks in next year, there is a good chance they will be over the threshold. Maybe that Rice for Coleman trade someone proposed (if we then cut Coleman, or banish him to the IR), might not be such a bad deal. This would free up $9+ million dollars next year, and room to re-sign KT without going over the luxury tax threshold (which Les said he would not cross).
Crisco, I'm so jazzed about this news, too. What I like is that they are continuing the SF experiment with Kenny to the point of starting him there in camp. The fact they continue to experiment with his role shows me they love his versatility and determination and he is making himself indespensable. Otherwise, I would think there would be no paragraph about Kenny playing a new role. Also, KT starting at SF is just perfect to me, not off the bench. I don't subscribe to the notion in this thread that KT can only defend bench SFs. First off, is Nachbar or Rice a better defender?? Seems like a energy guy, pure shooter like Nachbar is a perfect Turgoglu off the bench guy. Screw Rice if he isn't ready. Secondly, the SF position in the NBA is not made up of all Vince Carter types. There are just as many Mason, Fox's, Glenn Robinson, Malik Rose's, Corliss, who are the bigger brand of SF. SF comes in two flavors. Not everyone is faster that Kenny, and watching Fox play defense, hardly any of them are faster than him. Kenny will do just fine on defense....possibly even stellar defense. Crisco, Do you think "start at SF in camp" means he's the starter in camp, or just that they is were they are going to start his camp assignment? Do you think this is also a sign of their confidence in Griffin being strong enough now for him to guard the big PFs.
I think Rudy is thinking that KT will be a perfect complement to Rice at SF. Boki will bring an even different style to the 3 and he can play some SG too. It looks to me that they are just trying to be able to throw all kinds of options out there against different teams. Versatility!
Interesting article. KT even slimmer. Still unsure of whether he has the outside shot to play 3 and we'll see if he gains the speed to play 3 consistently. The plus would be he would give the Rockets another postup option while Griffin develops and another person to use as a pick. How would Yao affect how the rockets use a 3?
I'm thinking they are considering two teams. This is common when you have a real center. You have a traditional team to exploit the Center (traditional PF with a sharpshooter SF), and you have a team to exploit mismatches. We already have the 3 guard lineup with sharpshooter and Cato or MoT that has proven successful in short bursts, now it looks like they are going to experiment with a 3 PF lineup as the mismatch team. I do wonder about the "Sharpshooter" issue though. Yao is a sharpshooter, and it looks like Griffin will be too (as well as low post, we hope). Mobley is a shooter and so is Francis. MoT is as well. Everyone can shoot. They could be thinking that the 5th guy with Yao needs defense and added rebounding/low post play to allow Yao to play a high-post Duncan/Divac/Sabonis/Walton game. I don't think it necessarily means Nach or Rice is a nearterm Sharpshooter in the starting lineup. Nachbar seems a natural for energy guy off the bench as much as KT does. Joe Joe, Why does KT need an outside game to play the 3. We can field 4 shooters with ease. Francis, Mobley, Yao, Griffin, and MoT are all great shooters. What are we weak at....defensive intensity, low post play, and rebounding moreso that we need KT to step behind the 3-pt arc.
that was the part that came to mind first for me. i think yao's shooting ability allows for kt to play the 3 spot offensively. it's not a stretch to have yao floating weakside ccasionally while kt posts up. funny thought, but can anyone imagine yao feeding kt in the post?!!
With MoT's suspension for first 5 games, I hope the starting lineup looks like this: Steve - PG Cat - SG KT - SF EG - PF Yao - C That should make for an interesting if not exciting start. I don't think the Rox have much faith in Rice and so it makes sense that they are grooming KT and Boki to be the 1-2 guys at SF. Rice and Terence Morris will most likely fade away after their contracts are up. To quote CD: "Now we have a lot of pieces that after this year, the team will change very little from now on," Dawson said. "They will have a chance to grow. The chemistry will build. Instead of major pieces, there will be tinkering." This reveals the most of the Rox intent to keep KT at SF.
<blockquote>Originally posted by verse funny thought, but can anyone imagine yao feeding kt in the post?!! </blockquote> I can imagine Yao feeding everyone in the low post, including Steve and Mobley slashing by him. You would think they want to groom Griffin for that, though. however, it really is odd (in a refreshing way) to think of KT no longer needing to pull bigger guys away from the basket to use a feed. I presume KT has excellent low post moves from the low block, given that he played center in college. That right and left hook he has might just destroy SFs from the low block. I could see KT killing single coverage from SFs in the low block, while Griffin and MoT keep the PF at bay on the weakside with their shooting threat. Then when Boki plays, MoT and Griffin go to work in the low post with Yao at the high post, and Boki keeping the SF at bay to enable single coverag for Griff and Mo to abuse.
With Yao, Griffin and Taylor having the ability to nail the outside shots, Kenny could even spend time posting up smaller/weaker (most will be smaller/weaker than KT especially with his post up ability) SF's similar to what Bonzi and J.R. Rider do. I think KT's foot speed on defense isn't as key as an issue, though he may get burned by some quicker SF's, we have the twin towers of Yao Ming and Eddie Griffin waiting in the midst. I'm glad they are looking at pushing Kenny into the SF role and not Griffin as many wanted. I think Griffin's strengths are more noted for a power forward, he at 19 years old was our best true rebounder and shotblocker last year. He has a great array of post up moves if you watched his college days, and just needs to gain some weight to be able to show that in the Pro's. Griffin is our PF of the future, I see him as a Rasheed Wallace type player; one that can post up, or go outside if needs be. I think next years lineup will look like this after the All Star Break: Ming Griffin Cato Griffin MoTaylor KT Rice KT Nachbar Morris Mobley Francis Maddox Francis Moochie Maddox I think the odd men out are Collier, Morris and even Cato to some extent. I think with Griffin at 6'11 and bulking up a bit, we will see him at center while Ming is out. He is already a much better rebounder and shotblocker than Cato and actually has hands. I could see the rockets actually starting MoTaylor and having Griffin come of the bench to back up both center and PF. With the watered down center position, i'm sure Griffin can handle it, and when Ming leaves the floor, the other starting center probably will, giving Griffin the 2nd center matchup. I don't think Yao will be the elusive super scorer in his first few years in the league. What I truly enjoy about watching Yao is his desire to win, and that means he does not take a shot unless he is open or has a very good chance to make it. Aka not a Mobley in which I've never seen Yao force a shot. I think he is the perfect addition to this team in that he seems the consumate team player. He will rebound, block shots and score on putbacks, a few post up's and a few jumpers i could see our main guying scoring about this much Points Rebounds Assists Blocks Ming 12 8 2 3 Griffin 16 10 3 Taylor 13 6 KT 9 5 Mobley 17 4 Francis 22 6 I think we will be a scoring monste with these six player combining to score close to 90 points a game without guys like Rice, Nachbar, Moochie and the benchers.
Who out there now is better than Walt? I think moving KT to SF is not any judgement against Rice. I think they concluded that Thomas was worth more to us than Walt Williams, who could have manned the SF cheaply and well this season. I know a lot of folks don't think Williams was worth much, but he was decent last season and can really hit the 3-pointer and stretch defenses. That they'd give up on their only reliable legit 3 in favor of Kenny Thomas speaks well of his future with the team. Even out of position, they want him around. Does anyone else get the feeling they've been wrangling with Kenny's agent for months and it has been kept very, very quiet? I don't know why so many people read, "starting training camp" as being a starter at training camp. It reads to me like they are going to start out training by seeing how Kenny fairs at small forward, without saying anything about whether he'll be a starter or a backup. I think Rice will be the starter still, unless he proves otherwise in training camp. I don't think Kenny needs a 3 point shot to be a small forward. "Rudy's SFs are always 3 point specialists" doesn't cut it. His strength is in the low post, so I'm sure that's where he'll play. I doubt he'll look much different than he did starting at SF last year. He can post up small forwards. If Yao is playing high post, their positions won't clash. And Yao's presence will prevent double-teams. Also, if Yao is playing high-post and Taylor also playing a midrange game (and being generally bad at rebounding) it'll be nice to have someone in there (besides Francis) to grab a few offensive rebounds.
Yep that's him, and he would be a great addition off the bench. I'm assuming Rice will be available, but if he isn't available why aren't the Rockets pursuing Jumaine Jones!?
First, why is there the thought that Kenny does not have an outside game. Forget about his 3pt% last year, he will nail that shot; not like Rice but you will have to respect soon. If he did not have an outside shot his penetration would not be so deadly. Another implication is that Rice can play some 2-guard for those who are unjustificably concerned about our depth as the 2-spot.
the way i think it will play out is that kt will man the small forward spot this year while boki has a chance to develop. if boki's the real deal, you can either let kt walk or trade him (assuming we've resigned him). if boki is not ready, sign kt to a shorter contract (1 or 2 years) until boki is ready. rice is essentially what the wizzbang was last year for us: instant shooter off the bench, but not relied upon too heavily. if rice comes back into old form (doubtful, but hey) then he & kt split minutes and boki gets some backup 2 guard minutes and reserve 3 minutes. overall, i like the move of kt to the 3. i think it takes us one step further from a perimeter oriented team. those that say we need a sf that can hit the 3, imo, are missing the point: WE DON'T NEED TO BE 100% PERIMETER ORIENTED. francis and mobley can still penetrate and dish. it just won't always be to a 3 point shooter. it may be for an 18 footer. or maybe a pass to a 7+er that can actually CATCH! this move, imo, is extremely important. it shows a well needed change in offensive philosophy.
This doesn't mean he is the "starter." This means he will enter training camp LISTED as a SF. Everybody is so quick to discredit Rice. Rice is likely our starter unless he is hurt. Have you heard anything about an injury? Not me. But Rice is probably gonna avg 20-25 mpg. this season. So use Rice to spread the court and then use KT to create some mismatches down low. We can't count on Boki this season except maybe create spark off the bench sparingly or to match up with a quicker SF for stretches. I think this is a good move, albeit risky, for KT. If it works, it really serves to streghten this team and his career. This will be interesting to watch as it develops.
With that Line up we would be HUGE!: C - Yao 7'5 PF - MO 6'9 SF - Griffin 6'11 SG - Bokie 6'9 PG - Steve 6'3 That would give us an avg. height of 6' 9.2." If the Rockets ever want to go big, now they have a good reason to (compared to the past.) This is also a little incorrect becasue Griffin has supossedly grown a little bit... Their small line up was only about 6'4.3." That's a good 4.9" taller than last years "small" line up. I can't wait to see how smaller teams stack up to our big line up. PG - Moochie - 6'1 SG - Steve - 6'3 SF - Cat - 6'4 PF - KT - 6'7 C - Griffin - 6'11 This of course allows us to matchup to almost any team in the leauge. Teams like the Lakers and Mav's have a hard time playing vs smaller teams because of how quick they are. And other teams, like well the whole East, have trouble with big teams. If we are going to win vs. some of the harder teams in the league, it will be based on our COACH'S strategy toward a certain team. Sorry about the math lesson, but I just finished Pre Cal at school...
