These two atletes have just demonstrate a consistency on their games, night in and night out, Both aggressive on the defense and offense. I'm really impressed of Kenny's footwork down low and Eddie's timing ability on swatting the ball and on rebounds. Other team will have a hard time shooting the ball against this guys and at the same time guarding both forwards. regardless, we lost tonight by 1 point from the blazers. Houston......I think they have a problem!
I think the issue is not them winning individually. But will mesh in together. Will they have enough playing time.......and you haven't thrown Cato, MoT, Rice, Boki in the mix. Will they trust eachother. And finally how much will Cat and Wink share with these guys, if they start outshining our dynamic duo.
It's amazing to me how much Eddie changes the game for us defensively. As soon as he was subbed out, the blazers attacked the rim without fear. But when he was in, they definitely thought twice. How bout that vicious rejection on Wallace?
Griffin and Kenny each impressed me in the game...I particularly like each player's movement throughout the last game against Portland.
It strikes me that Griffin, Taylor, Thomas and Rice have all been solid in the preseason. Griffin has been nearly spectacular. Thomas is consistent as ever. Taylor and Rice are showing that they can shake off the injury rust. Now, if Nachbar can overcome the setback from his injury and improve and if Morris continue to play solid basketball, that is an awful lot of talent in the frontcourt and that doesn't even count Yao and Cato. I have to think that Cato is the guy that is going to lose minutes. If they decide to start Thomas and Griffin, they could easily sub Taylor for Cato or Yao (whoever is at center) and then bring Rice or Nachbar in for Griffin or Thomas as your secondary group. That is not losing much at all coming off the bench. In fact, it is adding offense in some respects. If Rudy can manage to get his rotations down and get everyone comfortable, this team has some serious talent.
oh ma gawd, i get chills thinkin' 'bout this lineup. i mean straight up, didn't kenny get like 5 steals last nite? so much for kenny not being able to defend at the 3 spot! and griff could be 6th man of the year! and with ming? hell, it don't matter that he missed most of the preseason, this year he will be our defensive stopper and get double digit scores on putbacks and offensive boards. with the franchise shootin for mvp, mo-t healthy, and cat droppin 22 ppg, hell, it is on! wow, i need to lay down, i am dizzy.
I would be very excited about the Griffin-Ming-KT front court if Kenny works on one more aspect of his game -- dishing off to an open man. How many times has he been called for traveling when he could have had an assist instead? However, I believe KT can learn to do this if he puts his mind to it.
Since TMo was showing great improvements in the preseason I thought he would be able to sneak into the rotation, but it looks like a door has opened for Boki, because TMo suffered a severe high ankle sprain (remember Cato) and will probably be out 2-3 weeks.
Man Jeff, I agree with you. This team can be very deep. It should challege for a playoff spot, at the least. What really gets me excited is that this team is young. Despite Cato's, Rice's and Taylor's contracts, we are not in a bad situation vis-a-vis the salary cap. Each of these guys will contribute. No dead weight, although one could argue that they are overpaid. We have not mortgaged the future and traded away future picks (although we owe the Grizzlies one first rounder this year). So we can watch the young talent grow, mature and develop chemistry. Then we can watch Rudy and CD tweak this line up in the future. With some luck, we could contend for a title in a few years. I have not been able to really say that since Barkley and Hakeem were here.
The great thing about the Front line of KT - GRIFFIN - MING is that this is our best defensive line up and only slightly less offensively than any other front court [Rice - MoT - Ming might be SLIGHTLY more offensive. . .but honestly i would argue that] Ming - Griffin and KT [with his new shot ] are good out to at least 20 ft the biggest thing is on the Defensive end .. the other teams offense has to LOOK AND SEE where they are KT and Griffin can switch on SF and PF every time down with out much loss in defensive intensity. I think Ming and EGriff will be able to do the same at the PF/Center positions. I think this could cause a bit of confusion for some offenses in the League. Francis - Mobley - Ming -KT - EGriff will be our best line up backups Brown.Maddox - Torres/Tmo - Tmo/Rice/Boki - MoT/Collier - Collier/Cato I think that is a Really strong team. I really like how KT and Egriff are playing together Rocket River - Is that better . .
I think you just made an absoutely excellent point that really isnt mentioned much. With KT, Griff and Ming all on the court at the same time, we can contantly rotate them all defensively so 1) They all stay our of foul trouble and 2) It will hard for the other's teams offense to get comfortable because they front court could have different players guarding them every time down. Griffin can guard 5s, 4s and 3s. Thomas can guard 3s, 4s and on occasion (if the other team puts in a small lineup), 5s. Ming can definately guard 5s and 4s and if say, a Paul Gasol or Kevin Garnett is playing the 3, he might just be able to guard them too! Thats why I like Griffin over Taylor, even if its just based on potential. Eddie is VERY versitile. He can shoot the 3 on offense and is starting to show he can work down low. He rebounds and on defense can play a guy in the post or go out the perimeter and use his quickness. Mo is a nice player. He just doesnt have these skills though.
Rocket River -- I realize you are a near 4,000-post kind of guy, but please learn to spell Eddie's name right -- it's Griffin (think of it this way: Griffin has two "eyes," not just one).
I started the following started a thread about our depth and some of the things it means. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42639 River, I like your point. You have outlined a scenario that is now possible. Another one that I have posted is the way to use the point guards. Clearly by now, for those who had doubts, TB has the tools. He is no Wink but he certainly has the skills to more than hold his own in this league and more importantly, run this team. Last night was just the lastest proof. Proposed PG Rotation Francis plays the first 8 minutes at almost break neck speed. Run, Run, Run. Moochie replaces a tired Wink for six minutes spanning quarter 1 and 2. Run Run Run. Wink come back for another six minutes. Run Run Run. At the 4 minute mark, Brown comes in for more run, run, run. I am thinking by the time Brown comes in the opponent would be tiring and may just allow another 6-10 points to the lead. At the end of the half, Francis would have played 14 minutes and Moochie six minutes, both in good shape for the second half. Second half: Wink 8, Moochie 8 and back to Wink for the final 8, as and if needed. I am dreaming of playing cohesive, up tempo basketball for 48 minutes without wearing out any player. This is something that is not done in basketball today. The better team just gradually wear you down, operating at modest rates walking the ball up, dribbling uselessly, or over power you in the 4th Q. Based on the depth we should be able to pace a game to allow us to score at least 25 point in each quarter.
With all this talk about the frontcourt rotation, I am surpirised about the lack the name Terence Morris in the conversations. Even with the injury, Morris as played very well in the preseason. Everyone talks about EG's upside, but Terence is just as loaded with potential, ask Stevie. Granted, his rookie year looked like he was walking on egg shells, but this is a talented player. He is a good rebounder, will block some spectacular shots, and has a good shot, which is improving with his confidence. On top of that, he is an unselfish player and an excellent interior passer. He was also the best post-entry passer on his team back at UMD. His rookie year did not provide much evidence of this, but I watched him with a very close eye for four years at Maryland and I know what he is capable of. I am not saying he is the savior of Houston basketball, but he will be a vital part of the frontcourt rotation. With him, Mo Tay, EG, Kenny, a heathy G-Money, Cato, and the progress of Yao and Boki, the Rockets have the deepest frontcourt in the league.
How is KT's shot? Sorry for going a little off-topic, but I haven't seen any of the games. I know he seems to be doing well guarding SF's, but I still questioned his shooting ability. It would be nice for that question to be answered. Yes....yes....yes.
Suprisingly, Kenny has only been taking shots deep in the post, but I do recall him taking a couple (3 of 4) of 15 to 20 footers in the whole preseason, and I don't remember a miss.
Speaking of Cuttino, I think it's interesting that he's not necessarily been as persistant on scoring so far in the preseason. He is only averaging a little over 10 shots per game thus far (and in the 3 games he played he has got decent minutes - average of 32 mpg) as compared with last year's over 18 shots per game. Even if you factor the increased mpg (he averaged about 42mpg last season), the Cat is still taking only .33 shots per minute as compared to last years .44 - personally, I wouldnt be surprised to see Mobley's average drop to anywehre between 16-20, and to hear no complaints about from him if we're winning.
