I think at this point I would just prefer Tracy to sit indefinitely until he's confident or the rest of the season. The drama is just becoming too much and its definitely hurting the team. With that said, this is not a Tracy thread more of a "time for a change with no trade in sight" thread. Therefore, I think its time Adelman addressed the starting lineup. It seems as though he wants Artest in when Tracy isnt in the lineup, which seems obvious. What kind of bothers me is that he starts Battier with Ron. I believe that its definitely time to take a look at a Yao, Scola, Ron, Wafer, Alston/Brooks starting lineup. Battier isn't providing much offense and Ron is horrible at dribble penetration. Wafer provides that relentless attacker and, while not great, he gives 100% effort on defense which we all know is sometimes lacking at the wing spot. This also takes the ball out of the "point-foward's" hands and puts it in the Point Guard's where it belongs. And honestly, if wafer got the amount of shots that Tracy gets I definitely think he would be one of our top scorers. All that while shooting a good percentage. This, of course, is all assuming that we go through the trade deadline with no deal done and stuck in limbo with Tracy. My other assumption is that this would be best option offensively.
I agree about moving Battier to the bench and starting Wafer instead. I know Wafer isn't exactly a lock down defender but he is improving defensively and he is the only player on this team with the size and quickness to stay in front of the more athletic SG in the league. Shane can come off the bench with Landry, Brooks and possibly Barry (with Scola sliding to the 5) and you still have a decent second unit.
I think Artest should always come off the bench, whether Mac's injured or not. Start Wafer and Battier.
I don't think Artest and Wafer should play together with Yao on the floor. They all need the ball in their hands to be effective. Wafer plays a healthy Tmac role on the team, i.e. attacking the rim and passing to the open man, so either Wafer needs to start with Battier or Wafer comes off the bench for Artest. Wafer's slashing ability is nullified with Yao and Artest on the floor, turning him into a standstill 3 pt shooter, i.e. Battier, so we might as well have the real Battier on the floor and his better defense.
GAR DAMN I AM SO SICK OF TALKING (AND READING TALK) ABOUT MCGRADY. ...Rare CAPS post from aussie rocket, only used in times in need of urgent, desperate emphasis.
Wafer looked great when Tmac went done 2-3 weeks ago. But, these recent games, starting with the game against Minnesota I believe, when he literally went 1 on 5 for the last 2 minutes of the game, refusing to give up the ball and playing selfishly, Wafer has not looked good at all. He looked confused out there last night against the Kings, allowing the Kings to mount a minor, yet futile comeback against the Rockets in the 4th quarter. When he had the ball in his hands he was looking to score and missing wide open people. He made a few bonehead plays by driving into the teeth of the defense, taking tough shots or getting called for the offensive foul. He also shot a hurried 3 point shot despite having a wide open lane to the hoop.
The point of starting Battier is to provide balance and defense. When you formulate a rotation, you look for balance. You can't have 5 scorers in the starting 5. That's stupid. It doesn't work. For ex... alston, tracy, ron, scola, yao... didn't work. Wafer is best coming off the bench, because he can become one of the main scorers with the 2nd group. With the first group, he's much less effective, especially with his defense.
if thats really the case then I would just keep Artest off the bench. There is a reason why our team did so well when Wafer was in the starting lineup. So saying that he's less effective with the first group in fact false. We had a winning record when he was a part of that unit. Not only that, if the Rockets really see Ron as that great of a defender, then the first unit would still have the balance that you speak of. Battier coming off the bench adds that balance into the 2nd unit with Landry, Brooks, and Scola at the 5 as our scoring options.
Young players have bad games. He's not getting enough minutes to make any kind of judgement and I think he'll be more consistent with playing time. Look at Head when his minutes were cut his shooting efficiency is down. Adelman doesn't have the nerve to start a bench player over vets like Mcgrady and Battier anyway.
Besides the Drama needing to end, this thread has nothing to do with Tracy. Sadly, Wafers trade value is probably a lot higher than some of the vets while getting significantly less minutes than he should. I don't know, I just think its time for Adelman to stop waiting for consistency in the lineup and just make the consistency himself. Obviously there was a point where the Rockets were doing well as a team and he needs to address that. Its as if he thinks he has no control.
I think at this point we should just keep making new threads that say the exact same thing about McGrady as the other 1578647545 McGrady complaining threads.
I guess you didnt read it and just assumed. The only thing I "complained" about is the drama that the situation is causing. My point was that Adelman needs to make a consistent lineup rather than wait for one. We're halfway through the season buddy and they're still juggling players in the line up. We need to go with what works best for the team assuming that there will be no trade and no Mcgrady in the line up. And Wafer has been effective when given the minutes, especially with the first unit. I apologize for adding a Mcgrady reference in the thread but it seemed proper considering that he's one of the reasons why Adelman looks like he has no control over this team.
At this point, it isn't who is playing with who's better or who starts or who's bench. we just need full commitment and full healthy team.
