I agree Rocket. I also like the way he gets better every season, but he's a backup player in this league. As far as his not passing, blame that on the coach who thinks he has at least 3 jordan's on the roster with the iso plays. He's a product of a failed offensive system, but I think othe than improving his range, he's maxed out.
KT has a terrific spin move and is good at creating shots. Sadly, not enough go in. I'm not willing to say yet that those shots will never go in. If they do, then KT could be a servicable starting PF. You lose something in height, but he's a slightly above average rebounder and plays respectable defense. Probably not a championship caliber PF... but then, Kenny Smith was hardly a championship caliber PG. If Griffin surpasses KT, great... but right now, KT's got more muscle and more moves.
KT's your typical overvalued Rocket, I mean he shows some real signs of being a pretty damn good player, you don't want to give up on the guy because he could become something really good, but once you end up trading him for a better player, you suddenly realize that he's not going to get any better once you play against him on another team.
I actually think KT could be a fringe starter, if he can make a higher percentage of his layups. Like some have said, he does a good job of getting to the rack, it's just a matter of finishing. However, I don't know how he could improve upon this, unless he grew a few inches taller or was able to jump higher. To his credit, KT has gotten much stronger from last year, but he is still weak, by PF-standards. At best, KT could be a Rodney Rogers-type.
I see more Malik Rose- Jason Caffey type, but its pretty much the same. Elton does well because his wingspan is very long similar to Barkley. Elton seems quicker and finishes very well among the trees. Either way, I think Thomas is a backup. Truthfully, Cat, Francis, and Griffin are probably the only Rockets that can start on other teams in the nba. Even with the poor centers and lack of 4's in the east, other than the Bulls, where could Taylor,Rice,Cato,Williams,and Thomas, what other teams in the nba could they start for? This is what I mean when I say we are thin on talent.
To say that Kenny Thomas is a waste of time is a bit harsh to say the least. KT hustles, and thats more than alot of players do. In fact, if you took the hustle the KT puts forth, and poured into Cato, Cato would be pretty damn good. KT would be a great bench player. In fact because of his lack of size, he will be a bench player, period. However this recent streak of his where he is holding onto the ball and looking for a shot, or in some cases forcing a shot up is getting real old real quick. Hopefully KT will pull out of this selfish streak and get back to playing decent ball.
I don't know what the hell y'all are talking about. Kenny's the only player on the team, besides Eddie, that has performed above expectations. In my opinion Francis, Mobley, Rice, etc...aren't doing as good as I expected them to. Why bash a guy who has obviously made great steps forward this season, which is more than I can say of Francis and Mobley.
I take it you were only listening to the game. Harrington was guarded by everyone. Cato guarded him; Willis guarded him; Griffin gave up the two embarrassing dunks in the 4th; and lastly Kenny guarded him because we went ultra small and Griffin could not maintain any semblance of positioning on O'Neal. Does anyone notice this??? How did Kenny become the only one to guard O'Neal simply because he was on him for the last 5 possessions that O'Neal had it. And those 5 possession ended up in a fantasctic steal of O'Neal by Thomas when O'neal was backing him in; two passive passes because O'neal couldn't back him in; one short bankshot; and a really hardworking turnaround baseline for the win. 4 points. And this bbs remembers all the dunks and all the points against Kenny.
Kenny had a nice offensive game tonight. However, he was ATROCIOUS on the defensive boards. Othella made him his b!tch tonight on the glass. KT never was able to get any kind of positioning whatsoever. KT better not ignore the boards so he can make his offensive stats look pretty.
crispee-I missed the Indiana game, but I saw an ESPN highlight with under 5:00 in the 4th, where O'Neal received the ball in the post, turned and slammed on KT as well.
I think he really worked on his Offense over the summer, he is also in much better shape and a lot quicker. Defense is coming. It is only his third year. He picks a lot of pockets.
For those with thick skulls, KT is not your problem. If you can find another four players to make similar contributions to the team, we would be sitting on a seriour winning streak right now. Why do you start a thread calling much needed attention for Walt to find himself on the bench. Why does this guy continue to start? What is it suppose to accomplish? Why would we start Walt and bring someone like EG off the bench?
So you will go as far as saying that KT provides the Rockets with inside toughness, rebounding, and defense? He doesn't give us any of those. Walt Williams sucks too. Does that make you feel better?
Good point Dear Rock. Rudy has to find away to get Griffin more than 30 minutes a game without cutting into Kenny Thomas minutes. Kenny is an awesome player and by far the toughest cookie of this bunch. I'd like to see Rudy sub Griffin a little earlier for Cato or Walt, giving him 35 plus minutes on most nights. His interior presence is invaulable. This team cannot survive with him on the bench for too long. Tonight against the knicks he barely got 30 minutes. Thats not nearly enough and it almost cost us the game.
One of the many things that impresses me with EG is that he is a 19 yr old controlling the lane. For those who says he is weak and easy moved around, I just do not see it. When the game was on the line, he repeatedly claimed the rebound like the lane was his. RUDY, do not be a fool, start the man!
wow. bandgeekmobster had the shortest and most correct response to this topic. kenny = othella. good but no great. can score but can only score when fed. decent rebounder. but does not make the difference on a high-quality team.
The attitude on this thread seems to be that because KT is not McDyess, Webber, etc., he doesn't deserve to be a starter or get starter minutes. I agree he wouldn't start on many, if not most, NBA teams. But you know what, we don't have those other guys, and KT's the only one getting it done inside on offense for the Rocks. The guy just plain hustles. EG is still mostly a perimeter offense player, and if and when he steps up his inside game, great. If and when we get a healthy, 80-90% Mo Taylor back, and if MoT ever gets going on the boards, great. Then we can start talking about cutting KT's minutes down or trading him. Besides, it seems like the best thing for EG's development might be to make him fight for more playing time - another reason to keep a prominent role for KT.
