by the sounds of it rice could suprise alot of people this season, including me. is 17 a game out of the question?
Yes. I'm jsut as excited about the "leadership"/"veteran role he seems to be taking alraedy by being vocal, etc.
true, i will take the 17 back and say he'll avge 16.9 points per game .yeah 17 did dound a little to high
Did you mean 17 games? I'm glad to hear that Rice is healthy and ready to contribute, but I'm still skeptical about how he fits in with the team. Rudy seems to want a 3-point specialist off kickouts, and that has never really been his strength. It just seems like we haven't been able to bring in the right guys from other organizations (Pippen, Shandon, Rice) to man our long-running hole at the 3, but I hope Rice will prove me wrong.
I disagree. Rice has never been a 3-point specialist simply because that has not been hsi role in the past. He's had to be the main scorer in Miami and Charlotte and he was unhappy in NY because they didn't use him right. But, now his job is easier: he will thrive as a 3-point bomber because that's what he does best. Contrary to what critics think, Rice is a team player, and all he wants to do is contribute to a winning team, even if it as a 3-point shooter. But, based on Clutch's reports from training camp, Rice will likely be used as more than just a 3-point specialist.
Shooter, that’s well put. I'm very glad to see someone who hasn’t forgotten about what the coaches/players were saying last year when we got Glen Rice. Some of the things clutch said is exactly how the rockets were describing him once he became a rocket. I say Glen Rice is one of the older (veteran players) that still has the respect of his younger team mates. I remember what Barkley was saying that so many of the new comers to the league don’t have respect for the guys that deserve it. That’s going to be huge down the stretch. Because when the going gets tough I see Rice as being more of a player/captain to this team. He is basically all that the other guys have on the team who they can look up to with any major playoff experience. I think he is going to be more than willing to offer any thing he can to this team. The guy still wants to win and play hard and we need to give him a chance.
Here are his stats from NBA.com: 01-02 - 20 games 30.3 min. .389 FG .281 3FG .800 FT% 2.40 RPG 1.6 APG .60 SPG .15 BPG 1.20 TO 1.70 PF 8.6 PPG There's your answer.
And my answer that would be that he was injured, and didn't know the system yet almost SCORED 10 ppg. So now that he's healthy and knows the system how can you say he would be lucky to score 10 ppg. He's a veteran player so he's going to get a ton of touches.
Hey RoxME. I'll bet you $20 in the tip jar at the end of the season, that he doesn't score 10 ppg or play more than 65 games this year. I know he is a vet, but we have a lot of 'vets' this year. Steve, Cat, MoT, KT, Mooch, and even Eddie now. How is he going to get a 'ton' of touches because he's a vet? Do you think he's going to get more touches than Ming? I don't know, I just don't see how they are going to get a guy involved who only scored 12ppg when healthy two years ago with the knicks... and he was their 3rd scoring option, he'll be 5th or 6th on this team. Does everyone here really think rice is going over the 10ppg mark while only being a 3 pt 'specialist'? Again, I just don't see it, but we'll see.
I won't take your bet but I will bet he averages more than 10 points a game for the season while he is on this team. He is bound to have some bad games where he doesn't score 10 pt but I'm sure he will have so 20 point games to offset those.
Unless I'm mistaken, Rice is the only "vet" with significant playoff experience and a ring. That alone makes him valuable.
Bold prediction: Francis & Rice finish 1-2 in scoring on the team this season. Reason: Rice, when healthy & ready, is the most well-rounded offensive player on the team. He can slash a little, has a solid low-post game (which he couldn't display last year with the added weight and injuries), can get to the line, and, of course, can shoot with anyone in the league. I can really see Cat & Steve defering to Rice if he's on top of his game, plus with the added 'muscle' inside, his shooting will be just the thing to keep the pressure off the youngsters inside. Think Peja, but older. If all goes as hoped this season, I think we'll see a team filled with several players who can\will score, one that will share the ball, and one that'll be the most balanced Rocks team we've seen in years. Steve may be the only 20 PPG scorer on the team, and yet there will be numerous guys in or near double figures. And NO!, I'm not taking bets on this.
I'd be estatic about these numbers <table><tr><td>G</td><td>GS</td><td>MPG</td><td>FG%</td><td>3P%</td><td>FT%</td><td>PTS</td></tr><tr><td>77</td><td>76</td><td>28.7</td><td>.455</td><td>.472</td><td>.878</td><td>11.6</td></tr></table> Anything involving 75+ games, 25+ mpg, and 44+% 3pt% is all we need. imo, if he scores much more than those Steve Smith numbers, something is wrong with the team, not right....that is, something is wrong in a 2001-2002 kinda way, and--no--I'm not going to mention the "I" word or "I" acronymn.
Everyone is talking about how good Rice looks - even Clutch. Look at the picture of him. The guy has really been working out. He had almost a year to rehabilitate and get fresh again. He talks about how he really is younger than his age because he didn't get to play much for two-three years. He obviously has worked hard on conditioning, he didn't lose 20 pounds of muscle. The three spot is his to lose. By the looks of it he won't and has the desire to come back and excel. This is a good fit for him skills wise and he couldn't have a coach that likes him more. I'd be surprised if he didn't get 30 minutes a game. I don't think a point every two minutes is out of the question for a guy like Rice. How are you going to guard Steve, Cat, MT, Rice and Yao Ming? You can't stop that! You just pick your poison... And, we didn't bring Rice here just to camp on the 3 point line. He's a tall three with really good back to the basket post up moves. He cuts baseline around picks and pops really well. Healthy, he could be a big factor in preventing double teams on other players - the opponent will have to respect his ability to score. With a tall frontline backing him, his defense should improve now that his mobility is better. With all the hype surrounding the other players he emerges the first couple days as the "surprise". I'm not surprised. I agree. I would really like this team to play so that 7-8 guys are scoring double figures night in - night out. Then defer to whoever is hot at the time. We are loaded that way. Why can't Steve, Cat, Rice, MT, EG, KT, Mooch and Yao at least get to double figures on a regular basis?
The playoff experience will be helpful if he can stay healthy enough to actually make it to the playoffs. I don't see how a ring makes him valuable...he rode shaq and kobe for it. Would Mark Madsen be valuable for us too?
Comparing Glen Rice to Mark Madsen is just wrong. Rice was the 3rd scoring option with the Lake Show during that initial Championship in 2000.
Rice should be a factor. But he won't be a stud. We'll need him, yes, and he'll contribute. But we have plenty of offense on this team. (Make that both pronunciations of the word: OFfense, and ofFENSE). In Clutch's write-up, Rice mentioned how he feels good, but if he has any fear, it's about the potential for break-down during the season. (A natural fear, I think.) In any case, Rice probably won't average more than 24 mpg, big contract be damned. When he's en fuego, he'll of course stay out there on the floor, but I'm gonna say he'll generally get around 24 mpg and maybe 9 or 10 ppg. Boki will get about 18 mpg (Rice will miss some games), T-Mo will get 6-9 mpg, maybe, that sort of thing. I did see one Rockets game last year and that was before Rice went down for the season. His shot wasn't there, probably because he could get no lift, but he contributed in other ways (team defense, believe it or not). It was a game against Dallas in which each team trotted out jacked-up lineups: Walt at center, Rice might have been the 4. Unconventional, but fun to watch, especially since the right team won (by a landslide).
