Good offseason moves, but can we get some guards now??

aahhh rocketsmac

welcome back to boards brother!

Senior member, elevated back from Rookie.

Congrats.

Aussie Rocket.

 

Now where do people go and think that we have such great shooting? Alston cann't shoot as well as Sura. Snyder cannot shoot as well as the 2005 Wesley. And NO ONE on our team can shoot as well as either Mike James or Jon Barry! You guys do realize both of them shot over 40% right?

Counting on Steve Novak to do that is a little premature. He's a rookie, and expecting him to even get some major minutes is a fallacy.

People need to realize that Alston, V-Span, and Snyder are NOT great shooters! The only shooter who'll probably get consistent minutes is Luther Head, and he should be improved over last season.

We have a great front court with Yao/T-Mac/Battier (yes he will be starting at PF most of the times. Some of you need to accept this as well). But our backcourt really needs more shooting. We need to trade for Korver. That's all there is to it. We can't rely on some of these scrubs to shoot 3's for us day in and day out. We need someone proven. We need a 40+% 3-point shooter. We NEED Korver.

 

Battier will play spen about a third of his total playing time at the 4, get over it

 

A backup 4/5 that can play against running teams would be nice and is needed (the role Swift had), but jus another backup C at least.

I am sure that Baxter and Cato would like to come back. Cato would be a good pickuo because he can play PF and bang for Yao and also because he can guard big 4's like Duncan in the post.

Right now C position is Yao/Mutombo and the only REAl 4's on the tam are softie Howard and 6-6 Hayes.

But certainly another combo forward that can hit the 3 is needed.

If you doubt that then realize that CURRENTLY rookie Novak and Ryan Bowen are dubbed for that role.

Basically the role Padgett had.

BOTH of those roles are needed MUCH more right now than another guard.

Also Spanoulis is better than people here want to give credit for. Many people consider the Greek team at the WC the best team other than the US, and most consider Spanoulis the best player on that team.

He is also considered the best guard from Europe at his age just about ever.

I think the reason people are so worried about the backcourt is because:

a. Worried about Sura's health
b. worried about T-Mac's health and if he in fact even if healthy can play SG
c. worried about can Lucas III and Spanoulis contribue anything

But be realistic, that's an issue of well what if they are hurt or what if some are not quite ready yet, versus the frontcourt needs which are GLARING.

Yao goes down with an injury with the current front court depth and the Rockets will probably be as bad they were last year with T-mac.

Another big that can play the 3 and 4 and shoot the 3 and another big that can play the 4/5 and guard big 4's in the post and preferrably run against smaller teams is way more important right now than the backcourt because it isn't a question of if or might but it IS obvious that it is too thin.

 

I think that if we are depending on Howard to back up Yao (assuming Deke goes downhill from last season, and he wouldn't have far to reach the bottom), then we are in trouble. Yao needs to keep his minutes down to last out the long season and stay effective. Here's hoping Deke surprises us with his play!


Having said that, I agree about the backcourt. I still think we are looking to move Head, based on Luther not playing in the summer league... that, and just a feeling, which is shared by some other folks around here, that he'll be moved. Snyder is a major wild card at the 2 spot, as is KillBill. We may get surprisingly good production out of them, but we just don't know. Head should be improved over last season, if he sticks around, but I see him as strictly a rotation guy off the bench. Nice to have, but far from a solution. Whatever we get from Sura is a godsend.

And no way McGrady plays more than a small % of his minutes at the two.

 

Look, Battier at the 4 for 40 minutes won't cut it.

Battier at the 4 for 30 minutes won't cut it.......

and the more you switch Battier back and forth from thr 3 and 4 the more you screw up Snyder's minutes, T-Mac's, Sura if he plays etc.

Right NOW the ONLY reason any fans are even considering Battier at the 4 is because so many want Howard gone.

But right now it makes no sense at all to actually do that.

If T-Mac refsues to play the 2 then right NOW it is more likely he plays PF than Battier.

 

I simply disagree. McGrady will be playing most of his minutes at the 3, with Battier playing a majority of minutes at the 4, IMO. Battier will also backup McGrady. The dude is going to be busy this season. How many minutes at the 4? Guess we'll see.

 

I've watched Battier almost every game the last 3 years he played.

T-Mac would be much more of a PF and do much better than Battier would.

Battier's defense is just about non existant when he plays PPPPF, and he is somewhat one dimensional on offense so there's really no difference.

Stand there and shoot a wide open 3 from Yao regardless of what spot he plays.

T-Mac with his bad back would still be significantly BETTER at D at the PF spot than Battier.

In fact Howard is a better one on one defender at PF than Battier is probably.

Fans here are getting ridiculous with the Battier PF talk.

He CANNOT guard people at that spot.

 

Agreed. Rox have major issues in the backcourt. Too many unknowns and no shooters. Rafer, Snyder, Vspan...none of these guys are can shoot the 3. Head is streaky at best. I get the feeling Lucas will be a junktime player. If Yao goes down I think the biggest problem is not his replacement (although a backup F/C would be nice, realistically Cato might be the best option) but the fact that none of the guards can consistently hit jumpers. Defenses swarm Tmac, and the Rockets are done.

 

We've got 8 guards for 2 spots now!!
what we need mostly is a backup 4 or 5.

 

azubuike is not on the roster. he doesn't have a guaranteed contract, so most likely he is just going to go to training camp and then end up in the NBDL.

i think we are looking for trade possibilities for juwan howard and/or a signing for a starting 2 guard and a backup 4. most likely luther head is gone though, IMO.

 

hmm...Why do I have a hunch that we will end up getting one of those trash NY pf's ? Choose from MoTay,Malik Rose, oh my!....I'll be happy if we get David Lee and Crawford --> possible starting SG only IF we wold still continue with our annual NY connection pickups...

 

wait 'til the season gets going and then address team needs

save our MLE/TE for now, and use them when they will be more valuable during the season

 

IMHO Melvin Ely would round off our roster nicely.

 

They may start out as spot players but I think if either/both are able to produce as they did in their respective leagues (Euro,Summer) then it wont be long before they start pulling down some serious minutes as they both provide elements in their games that we have been lacking as a team and sorely need. VSpan with his hard-nosed penetration and JLIII with his uptempo and shooting.

 

It seems that most are basing Rafer's 3 point shooting on what he did last season. He is actually a career 35% shooter, which isn't bad. 2 seasons he's shot over 38% and one at 37%. I think his terrible shooting last season was based on our injuries because he never saw any open looks from double teams. Give him a chance w/ healthy Yao and TMac and I think he'll be great for us.

 

Who would have thought Vernon Maxwell would be a starter on a championship team when that deal was made?? Didn't we just trade cash for him?? People booed the Robert Horry pick, too. I know its a long offseason...but this rush to judgment on players we haven't seen play together is just silly.