If the Rockets want to aspire to be an elite team we need to start defining the roles of our players. We should be able to answer questions such as: 1. Who is our defensive specialist or Kobe Stopper such as (Kings-Doug Christy, Spurs-Bruce Bowen, Sixers-Eric Snow) 2. Who is our rebound specialist such as (Pistons-Ben Wallace) 3. Who is our sharp shooter (Magics-Pat Garrity, Kings-Stojakovic, Pacers-Reggie Miller, Lakers-Robert Horry) 4. Who is our hard nose hustle player (Pacers-Ron Artest, Kings-Bobby Jackson, Lakers-Mark Madson, Sixer- Eric Snow) 5. Who is our great play maker (Kings-Mike Bibby, Mavs-Steve Nash, Spurs-Tony Parker) Sure, some of you might be able to plug a name or two into these categories but "No NBA Fan", unless a Rocket fan, would put any of the Rocket players as a top 5 in any of these categories. If the rockets want to get serious about contending for an NBA title then we need to start assigning these roles to our players or get players who don’t mind specializing. Until we start defining the roles better the rockets will never play as a team and will always be sub-elite even with Yao.
1. We need to get one. 2. Kelvin Cato. Hopefully Yao and Griffin will do that later on. 3. Sharpshooter...don't got one. We need one. 4. That would be the same guy who is #1. Right now...it's Hawkins. 5. Our great playmaker is STEVE FRANCIS! YEAH!
1. our kobe stopper is CAT! well at least he is our iverson stopper. also posey. 2. cato is our rebounder now, but yao, griff, and even mo are showing improvement. 3. rice 4. take your pick: steve, cat, posey, hawk 5. steve?
Hence why I've said repeatedly that regardless of whether or not this team gets the 8th seed, they need to use trade bait like Rice, Mobley, and possibly even Griffin and Cato this offseason to shore up the bench and get some quality role players. That's what they're missing right now. Guys who know their roles and aren't ego-driven streetballers(this means YOU, Cat!). I think it's absurd how 90% of this board is clamoring for the Rockets to try and acquire the likes of Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, and Gilbert Arenas when the last thing they need is more players demanding the ball.
Keep Joaquin:- You must be kidding- Hawk is about a 2mins a game player and deesnt belong in this league. Count dough Ku:- The reason that we are looking at Odom , Brand etc is because the present players that we consider our stars are quite frankly not good enough at their Job.. Francis Mobley Griffin Taylor Rice Moochie Hawkins Collier etc. Francis needs to move to the #2 Guard. Ther rest are open for debate, keep Yao Ming and Cato!
Yetti: I said Hawkins...because we need someone who is a good defender and hustles. Right now for our team, it is pretty much Juaquin Hawkins. We need one badly. But yeah...steve, cat, posey, hawk all hustle. We could fix the needs. 1. Don't know. 2. Antonio Davis and Kelvin Cato. 3. By the way...Garrity isn't that good of a sharpshooter. Anyways, Morris Peterson or Lamar Odom or Toni Kukoc would be fine sharpshooters. 4. Our whole team hustles! Just watch yesterday's game! Fantastic! That is of course...the 76ers' play is contagious. They made us play like them which was wonderful. 5. Steve Francis will continue to be our playmaker. Maybe Lamar Odom or Toni Kukoc may come to help him.
Hopefully Nachbar will pan out to be our sharpshooter. What's the deal with this guy, anyway? I heard here awhile back he wasn't panning out the way the Rockets had thought, but in the pre-season he was lighting it up. What's gives with Nachbar?
No, great teams have great players who make role players better. 1. Defensive Specialist- Cat has played well against Kobe and Iverson, and Posey and Hawkins can play good D. 2. Rebounder- Cato is almost at the top in rebounds per 48 minutes. Yao is averaging 8, I expect this to improve. 3. Shaprshooter- There aren't many better ones than Rice. Unfortunately, he doesn't get the ball on a consistent basis. 4. Hustle Player- Posey. He as had a couple of 5- steal games, he runs the floor like a madman, and he takes charges 5. Playmaker- This is supposed to be Steve Francis, but he hasn't shown the ability to get his players involved. He needs to move the ball around. If Yao gets the ball more, he will be a great playmaker.
haha on #1 Wasn't it Kobe who dropped 51 points or whatever, on Cat? Cat's a good defender, but he is too short to guard Kobe. Posey is probably the one guy who would pose, no pun intended, problems for Kobe due to his size.
