Houston Chronicle: Griffin not starting

I'll explain to you what it is. It's plain STUPID. TMO has shown nothing that would grant him a starting position over EG.

 

Probably Rudy's trying to boost Tmo's confidence. I'm sure Rudy's not considering this as a long-term option. Griffin will always play as much or more than Tmo.

 

Griffin isn't a small forward. That's probably the reason.

 

What article is it that has the starting lineup? Its kind of strange, but i think Morris is a 3, but it seems that during this season Rudy was afraid to have he and Eddie out there together.

 

Was this on houstonchronicle.com? I couldn't find it.

 

Yeah, where is it?

I have decided to stop questioning Rudy and be very generous in giving him the benefit of the doubt. It could be that Tmo is doing well in practice. It could be that the rotation and minute allocation works better with Griffin. It could be that Tmo is the better passer and ball-handler and that is what Rudy wants from his 3.

Having said that, I would have started EG myself.

 

Thank you!

It's that simple. Morris plays the 3 and the 4, Griffin plays the 4 and the 5.

Why is Kelvin Cato starting over Moochie Norris?

 

It's in the section of the Rockets summary where it puts the two starting lineups vs. each other (today its Rockets vs. Pistons).
I would assume he is not starting because Rudy promised KT he would not lose his starting spot to injury and Rudy doesn't want to play two 4's and he doesn't see EG as a 3.
I think EG and KT would do nicely vs. Williamson and Wallace because I don't see either of them as a typical 3(with an outside shot).
Oh well hopefully EG continues to get 30+ minutes and will start soon enough.
TMO hasn't shown me anything yet except his ability to use his long arms and rebound but he deserves more minutes then he has gotten this season.
And remember its not who starts the game but who finishes it(see Cassell's response to Kenny Smith starting over him in the championship years).

 

The person that has a right to complain about not starting is Torres, if he's healthy (I've lost track of all the injuries).

 

while i definitely agree that griffin is more of a 4/5 than a 3, i also believe that given griff's production, you HAVE to find minutes for him on the court. i don't care what the label is. label 19/10/2 any way you want. just label him "on the court".

if he doesn't start, i'll be disappointed, but i'll get over it. but if he doesn't play 30+, i'll be rioting and - once again - questioning rudy's coaching abilities....

 

I'd really like to see Oscar start, but I'm thinking he's hit the wall for the last couple weeks...

Apparently he's been playing basketball all year and the Rockets are thinking he might be slowing down and could use some time off.

He's clearly not as energetic or effective as he was earlier in the year, so I'll assume the Rockets know more than I do.

After saying that, Tmo sucks...

Why not try an experiment and run out a line of Francis/Cat/KT/EG/Cato?

I guess that might weaken our bench, but damn, Tmo is an offensive liability.

Hell I'd rather Lanky start because he can sometimes hit an open shot...

 

Please get off the starting thing please! EG is going to get at least 30 minutes barring injury or foul trouble so he will have his chance to do his thing.

Why do we not see it as an opportunity for Tmo to turn the corner. The only, and I repeat, the only thing wrong with Tmo at the moment is his shooting. He may breakout of it tonight. Remember he will be playing with his boy Steve. If he gets 12 tonight, I hope people will get off his back.

 

What he said. Tmo is missing wide-open jumpers that he clearly could make. He just needs to hit one or two of these (almost harder to make than when you're being guarded). Then the defense will start stepping out (as with Griff in his breakout game vs. the Lakers) and then it will be like playing in a competitive game again, instead of getting the ball only to be dismissed by the other team as incompetent.

 

How reliable are the starting lineups the Chronicle prints? I always thought it was the journalist's best guess at the time the paper hits the press. Interestingly, Williamson didn't start starting for Detroit until three games ago. I guess they've been starting him because of his offensive output. Yeah, I don't know who the best guy to stick on Williamson is. TMo does seem to be the better perimeter defender between Eddie and him. But isn't Williamson more of a low-post player? He's not a three-point shooter, that's for sure.

 

DearRock, exactly.

Folks said a few weeks ago we should give up on the season and develop our young players. Can't make folks happy, I guess.

TMO has a lot of potential that hasn't bloomed yet. That'll come with confidence and PT.

Griff and Oz have their proverbial rookie monkies off their backs. Lets work with TMo to jump start his season. In the long run, we'll be better off. It's not like the season can get much worse.

 

BTW:

Kenny's line in his last 4 games is:

20.3 ppg at 52.3% at 8.8 boards

that is 20/9 at 52%

No wonder he wants to start and Rudy is giving him the nod. Thomas must be rewarded for that production, case closed. It is a player management blunder to give it to Griffin when Griffin can still get 30+ minutes by eating into the center minutes. Thomas is feeling the heat from Griffin. If he rises his energy and concentration to continue doing even 16/8 on high percentage, you have to reward that. That is what depth chart competition is all about...the younger guys making the vets play better. You bench the vet, and you might lose his production. Why risk that when you can give the rook minutes in another way?

 

Eddie will get his 30 MPG. He got them off the bench in Golden State, and will continue to get them.

Eddie's "skills" at the 3? Considering his ability to put the ball on the floor is basically nonexistent at this point?

Griffin will get minutes at the 5...since he's started getting minutes, Rudy's played him there. Rudy is just waiting for Cato to give him an excuse. As we've found out, Cato has a very fragile ego, and losing his "title" could be a knockout blow. Mine as well let him keep the title for now, break Griffin in at 5 slowly, and get him the minutes. Everyone's happy.

Oscar has been banged up lately, which could explain it. I think he's been more successful in general at the 2 than at the 3.

 

I noticed that in the GS game RT went out of his way to keep TMO in for the short time Francis was playing. I kept wondering to myself that TMO had been in for quite a while considering his poor play at the time and at every timeout I'd think..."Allright Rudy has to pull him out now for sure."

Maybe Stevie really does have more influence on the roster/rotations than he should.