Disappointed in this one. Not with Collier, but the topics discussed. They spent about 5 minutes rehashing the Bobby Knight angle that was thoroughly covered after he was drafted last year. They did NOT ask about his personal goals for the season, or what kind of production he expects out of himself. They did NOT ask if the coaches have given him any indication as to what they expect out of him, or told him what his role will be. They did NOT ask what he thinks the teams' playoff chances are. They did NOT ask what he thought of the new additions - Rice, Griffin and Morris. That said, props go to Russ Small who did ask him about Cato. Collier said he worked out with Cato yesterday. He said they haven't discussed the upcoming season or Cato's state of mind. They asked the typical "What did you learn from Olajuwan?" question. blah blah blah. They rehashed the game he had against the Lakers. blah blah blah. They did ask him about his rehab and how it's going. Collier said he's playing without pain (he was on his way to play a game at the time of the interview). He confirmed that he's added about 20 lbs of muscle and he's broadened his shoulders a bit. He was asked about where he was at, percentage-wise, and he said 85-90%. I'm not sure if that's just conditioning or rehabing the knee. He said he'll be ready for the season. He also mentioned that he's recently married (about a month and 1/2) to Katy Collier, a non-local girl (Georgia or Indiana?).
Unless you're from Arkansas... But Achebe, since you are in Utah, what are your thoughts on poligamy?
A couple of things on Collier: 1. As thge local media just demonstrated ... they do not think highly enough of him or his game to ask indepth questions. They simply underestimate his ability or worth to the team. 2. Collier is a very quiet kind of kid. Unassuming is probably the best word. 3. Collier is very coachable and trustworthy. He is also driven and a hard worker. He is well liked by CD and RT too, by the way. 4. Collier has a broad array of talents for a bigman. (I'll not use the idiom phrase "white basketball player".) He is ripe for being underestimated. 5. Collier will surprise a lot of teams this year, because like our local media he will be taken too lightly. A fluff piece. A filler until the "real" Houston center shows up. I expect some respectable numbers from him this year. Point is though, some teams will not be expecting numbers from him.
OP, You expect numbers from collier, you suspect numbers from cato, and yet you also think we're going to trade for a third center who will see plenty of court time. How can this be?
TMO 1. I think Collier will surprise a lot of people this season. But he will not be a 15 and 10 guy. Maybe closer to a consistent 10p & 6r performance off the bench. A stronger defensive set. He will not be a push over. 2. I think Cato may be heading for a breakout year. To me that is translated as consistent defensive presence without all the moaning and groaning ... A nice respectable 8p and 12r and 3.5b offense showing would be great too, but Cato has been hired to do yoemen's service by protecting the key. Swatting and intimidating. If he can get some put-backs and dunk a couple ... well that's okay. But make no mistake they want him to anchor the hole. 3. Suspecting that RT and CD need a third pivot man is axiomatic. Given the above(#1 & #2) we still need some offense out of the five spot from time to time. still need some meat to take some fouls. Just so I can understand your post .... if Cato got 24- 26 minutes in his defensive role, Collier gets 8-12 minutes in a combined role, do you suggest that RT wants to insert a light rookie(Curry) or slide over his starting/premiere PF(Mauriuce Taylor) for the remaining 10 minutes? Night after night? Clearly we could use another pivot. Clearly that five could be either a defensive or offensive threat with equal effect on the team needs. Clearly we are overstocked with WaltTMO/Griffin/Langhi at the three. Answer: Trade a three, get another five.
Williams for White - Oil man? Maybe something bigger is in the works with Cato involved... Steve said we needed another big man and that is why Cato is so important... maybe he is important in that trade! The games I saw Collier in he was a scrapper, a hard worker around the bucket. With more strength, he should do real well. He seemed good at getting the garbage bounds and buckets...
OP, The reason I thought it strange was not that we are looking for a center per se, but--especially in the case of White--that we seemed to be looking for a center to log at least 25 minutes, which is what I meant in using the ambiguous phrase 'plenty of court time'. Unless the NBA will adopt my suggestion to extend games to 60 minutes, one of the three centers will get little more than garbage minutes.
Any bets that Collier will outperform Cato?...(chirp...chirp) I have higher hopes for Collier than I do for Cato. Prove me wrong Kelvin.
Collier is a better player than Przbilla. He will work out fine for the Rockets. Pops how come you bring up Willis again?
I like Pig Miller too and have said recently that I'd like to see him return to the Rockets, but Kevin Willis would be a better, more reliable player throughout the course of the season.
TMO It seemed like your basic premise is that if Jason improved and if Cato showed up to play then there would be no minutes for any real or imaginary third pivot. I think Collier will improve. I think he may take minutes from Cato. I am hoping this is a breakout year for Cato. The difference is that Collier's improvement means we get a well balanced five on both sides of the ball. Cato improving and even "breaking out" still will limit him to mostly a defensive presence. My point is we still need another offensive or defensive threat -IMHO. This can not necessarily get relief from the equation simply by adding either or both Griffin or Taylor. Not when we have the whole season to plan for .... (Yes they both may get some brief minutes at that role, and yes it will be exciting to watch. But when planning a season strategy: 1. why give extended minutes to risk Griffin getting beat up in the middle, wouldn't it be more prudent to move him in and out of the lineup at various spots as a "shocker" in specific matchups? 2. or, why put your starting Power Forward in a defensive posture when that is not his forte? Again the question is not that he won't get some isolated or incidental five minutes when faced with speciic matchups, but why plan a season stratagem with an abundance of threes, yet the five depth includes only a second year guy and a perennial underacheiver. I wil restate my positions: I think Collier is undervalued and he will surprise a lot of teams this year. Read that as: Jason being a lot more effective than last year. I think Cato may be primed for a breakout year. Read that as: Cato has the opportunity to move to the forfront this year. No barriers. Excellent opportunities. I think the Rockets will get another five that is comfortable in both a defensive and offensive role. Read that as: Even if they are pleased with Collier's promise, and even if they see Cato as more aggressive this year they will still need another five. Rocket Pimp: Kevin Willis ..... now he would be the perfect addition. Better than most of the guys mentioned in most of these threads.
OP, I COMPLETELY AGREE, with the Kevin Willis take. It's a funny thing that you mentioned it because a couple of days ago, I was thinking about when we had Willis he gave us quality minutes. If only we had him now. In fact, in '98 he really stepped up when Hakeem was injured for a large stretch of games. He is EXACTLY the type of player we need. His skills address all of the current needs we have for a big man. 1. Rebounding 2. Intimidation, enforcer type (The guy is HUGE) 3. Adds some post up scoring 4. He could start at the 5. 5. Valuable veteran experience. The rebounding alone would be such a HUGE dimension added to this team. If there was some way to get this done...
OP, IMO, Cato's biggest obstacle is his mental game. he has all the talent physically to excel. What is your opinion? Is this part of your assessment on his breakout year? A mixture of increased PT/experience to get him over the hump? I think Cato's game suffered last year due to all his various injuries, and hopefully he can get confident with the starting role to start the year off. Cato seems to need to be "The Man" and maybe the starting role is what will help. I like Collier's game. It is well rounded, and with a lot more PT he can become VERY serviceable at the C position. He may even overtake some of Cato's min.s if he doesn't "breakout" of his funk. 3 mil for Kevin for his Rox/league exp. off/def would be a good fit. What would Denver want in a trade for Willis? All 3 would want/need as much PT as they could get. Could we keep them all happy?
I feel like you were a little harsh on the morning show guys. Remember that their fan base superceeds Rocket only guys. I thought they handled him perfectly. The guy hardly played last year and they introduced their audience to him professionally and cordially. I kinda wish they would have stayed away form the Knight angle as well but it was a newsworthy part of his past and therefore fair game on a radio interview. The one guy you gave credit to was Russ Small for asking the "tough" Cato question. You felt that was informative? I can hear your hands clapping when Rusty asks that pivotal, "Are you going to miss Colson?" question. Bottom line--I didn't know who the hell this guy was before the interview, and now I do.
Thank you John Granato. Seriously though, I realize their fan base is more than just bball fans, however, if you schedule an interview with a Rockets player, you should have a better line of questioning prepared. Translated - "They didn't ask the questions I wanted answers to, so I'm pouting." About the Cato question, I gave Russ credit for asking it, but Collier's answer wasn't the most informative. I don't expect Russ to harp on it considering it's a Collier interview and not a Cato interview. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, and I respect you for yours and having the courage to voice it - especially being a newcomer. Welcome in.
Hey O, Was that a slip? Did you mean Griffin, or is there a deal for Eddy Curry in the works? As for Willis, what is he, 50? Why would people want him when they're worried that Rice is too old? Sure, KW can still play and would probably give us quality minutes. But there's no future to developing a team with him on it -- unless you expect to win it all in a year or two....
Willis would give the Rockets veteran depth without requiring huge minutes or big bucks. Willis keeps himself in superb shape and would go strong for 10 to 15 minutes, maybe more on some days. He has my vote if he were available.
