http://www.sportsradio610.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3109028 If someone wants to recap, knock yourself out.
*most important news* Steve Francis practiced yesterday and looked good, long ways from playing, but If an injury occurs to brooks or rafer, you'll see him on court
I listened to some of it. I was really surprised to hear that he is downplaying getting any big man to back up yao, or anybody with size. He said that deke barely played last year until yao was hurt, so there is no real need. Also, went further in explaining that there is no big man out there that they can get that will play. He and adelman discussed that the current frontcourt gives them the best chance of winning. I dunno bout all that, but I still think we need at least one more big man.
Announcer:Injury situation with Big 3. Morey: All 3 guys they are still evaluating. Tracy looks like same injury still dealing with. Game time decision. Twinged injury at the end of practice... Bringing back Shane slowly so he is ready at the end. Ron just got an ankle sprain a little bit high sprain so it's painful. Yao MRI results came back today. Yao is starting to get back in sync after last years injury. Yao has had some really good shooting nights the last few games. He says Dallas is startingto get their confidence, Dirk is playing better we should still win at home. Brooks stepped up while Rafer out. In terms of throwing him in there we liked alot of what he gave us. AB's roll is a spark of the bench. But rafer is still the man that gets the offense rolling. Dikembe could be signed if they free up some room. Steve Francis Status, practiced yesterday. It is going to take an injury out there for him to get out there. No time table on Shane Battier. We won't Know how his foot acted after practice. But if he responded well he could out there sooner than later. They are starting to get Ron the ball in some better spots, on the move is better for him. He is passing the ball well. He contributes in many ways. Compared Stackhouse to toddler. Vin:The inside is weak. What is the status on Deke. Morey: We are looking at Deke. The bigs we have now are doing the job. Ocho Texto: I think highly of Von especially with Tmac moods. Morey. Obviously with Tmac in and out Von has been taking advantage. Question:Why is it everytime Tmac get hurts the team players better the start to gel but when Tracy gets healthy they don't play so well. Then when Tmac comes back the team has to sacrifice. Morey:We don't see that obviously when Tracy goes out players step up. All that said for us to be there at the end we need tracy to be there at a high level. Question:After this season if the Rockets don't do anything with Tracy is it time to part ways? Morey:With Tmac and Yao they have some injury issues. Obviously people call in say trade Tmac but we win at the end with Tracy.
Am I the only one who likes seeing a small, quick lineup on the floor when Yao is out? It changes up our offence instantly, from just a half court game to a full court game. I'd like to see us get some more fast break points while Yao is out.
Notes: - Still evaluating all the big three for injuries ... game time decision - Tracy still dealing with his knee injury. He felt bad after the game, better at beginning of practice, but twinged it again at end of practice, so we don't know about him. - Focused on having these guys at the end, for the playoffs, so we'll limit minutes on and off the court. That's why we have depth. - Bringing back Shane slowly - Ron ankle sprain a little high. good prognosis, but very painful. - Yao waiting on MRI results. Should know today. - Yao is starting to get back his scoring touch, and playing better. He was off for so long last year, that he's just now starting to get his game back. - Dallas is starting to get their confidence. Carlisle is a great coach, and they are starting to get their stride, and adjusting to his system. Dirk is getting better. But, we do expect to get the win at home tonight. - Aaron stepped up when Rafer was out. He felt he wanted to do better. But, we liked what he gave us. We expect his role to be a spark off the bench this year. Rafer really makes our team function. - There's no bigs that we would play that we could sign. Until we have an injury, we wouldn't play anyone, even Dikembe, who we love. If we free up some room, we'd bring in Dikembe. But, we feel that our current bigs are able to get the job done better than anyone we could sign. - Francis practiced yesterday, and is feeling better. With the play of Rafer and Aaron, it'll take an injury for him to get on the floor. But, he's working hard to be ready for whatever happens. - We'll know if Shane's foot has reacted well from practice yesterday, and if there's no swelling, we'll probably see him sooner, rather than later. - We don't have any issues with Artest's slow start. He's better if he gets the ball on the move in the post, and we want to get him the ball in better spots. He contributes in a lot of ways, even with an off shooting night. - We're happy with what Von Rafer has given us. Coach is happy with him, knowing he can put him in there, when he's needed. With Barry and Rafer out, it gave him an opportunity, and we're happy with what we saw. - With Dirk, the key is who we have on him to stop him. We had Scola, Chuck and Ron switching on him the last game, and we won. The transition game of Kidd, Howard and Terry, we have to slow it down. They beat us 38-4 in transition last game. We'll lose it, if we do that again. - With Tracy and Yao, you have injury issues, but to win in the playoffs, you have to have great players, and even though we take risks with their injury past, we don't think anyone would be better during the playoffs. We'd rather have great players 70% of the time, than players with 70% of the talent all the time. - Brent Barry brings experience to the locker room, having won some titles. He really helps Aaron, and deserves a good bit of the credit as Aaron's stepped up. Barry is also day to day, btw, and has issues with his leg. - On the court, we're dealing with chemistry issues, with 4 new rotation players. But, as the players get used to each other, we see an upside. - Coach is one of the best at adjusting to the talent he has, and things are getting better on the offense, such as getting over 100 points against Kansas City. - We've thought of the D-League for Joey Dorsey, but are waiting until we get another big, after we free up some space. I don't expect him being a major contributor this year, barring injury.
I hate those Morey's interviews. He always seems to make something out of nothing. Hopefully Tracy Yao will play. Ron needs to sit if he is sore.
They are basically still checking out Yao, T-mac, and Artest. They are still a game time decision. Tracy still has the same injury. He'll be a game time decision. He said that T-Mac looked good in practice for the first 40 minutes. He said that he became sore towards the end. He said that he is very glad that they have enough depth right now because all the injuries. He doesn't want to rush anyone back. He wants to make sure everyone is 100%. He also wants to limit minutes. He said that Artest is still a game time decision. He thinks he should still play tonight though. Yao had a MRI last night. They are waiting on some results from that MRI still this morning. He feels that Yao is starting to come around in his play. He said that the Mavs are tough. He also said that they are starting to play better. He thought Brooks really stepped up while Rafer was out. Brooks felt like he could of done better than he did. He said that he wants Brooks to be the spark plug. He feels that Rafer is makes this team function. He doesn't want to sign any bigs yet. He wants to cut some salary before they do that. He said that Rick feels good about what the team has right now and feels that the bigs that we have are the best chance at winning. He said that Francis did practice with the team yesterday. He said that Francis is working really hard right now but he doesn't see him playing unless something happens to either brooks or rafer. Battier doesn't have a timetable yet. He did practice with the team yesterday. They are waiting to see how he feels today and if it's good then the expects Battier to be playing pretty soon. I think within a week or so. Artest is starting to get the ball in better spots. Thinks that his passing has been great and his shooting will start to be better. He said that Artest is not a player that will beat you off the dribble. Billups has been great for Denver. It's a better fit. He thinks that they will make the playoffs this year. He believes that Oden's offense will pick up. He likes the Blazers alot. He's happy with Von and like what he has brought to the team. Didn't expect him to play. He's only playing because of barry being hurt and because of the suspensions. Caller ask why when Tracy is out, the team players better and when he comes back, the team struggles again. Caller stated that Tracy doesn't try to fit in with the team. Morey basically said he didn't see that and brought up the 22 game winning streak. He said that the rockets need to hold Dirk down tonight. He thinks chuck does a great job against him. He also mention that Scola can guard him as well. He said they need to make sure they stop the transition game tonight. If they dont, they will have a hard time winning. Caller asked about trading T-mac if it doesn't work out this year. Morey said he doesn't want to trade yao or t-mac. He feels like he isn't going to get back what he deserves. He's not trading for 80% talent back. He feels that T-mac and Yao are what this team needs. They brought in Barry because of his rings in San Antonio. The experience is what is really needed for this team. He's been great for AB and has been teaching him the game. He said that the team has some chemistry issues. He said part of that is because of adding three players into the system. I'm thinking he's including Yao as well. He feels that there's going to be a lot of upside once they get on the same page. Caller asked about Dorsey and asked if he is going to play for the D league. He said that once they get a big, he will move to the D league. He does feel he might get some minutes in a month or so. Doesn't see him playing this year unless there's an injury. Thats it.
I agree with Morey and Adelman that the current frontcourt does give them the best chance of winning, but only against 90% of the league. Does it give you the best chance of winning against the Lakers, Jazz, Blazers, Suns and Spurs.
No, you're not. I don't understand the fixation on this board in acquiring a traditional backup big. Anyone obtainable will undoubtedly be a stiff and not nearly as effective Landry, Hayes, Scola.
With the info on Shane lately I get the impression it will be a while before he comes back. I still expect Francis to start making a move in late December/early January. He will be working his way in to the rotation by february. sounds like the Yao MRI is precautionary more than anything. Tracy is, Tracy. Ron will play through it. Looking for Von Wafer to run with the Mavs tonight. Should be fun to see. In the OKC game it looked like he was winded a bit, and that was taking away his shot.
Not against everyone. The better bigs like Duncan and the Lakers front line gave us problems. Shaq had his way and you also can't expect Amare to play that bad again. Small lineups work sometimes, but you will eventually need a legit center to hang with the better big men on the NBA.
