Okay, I'll be the first to admit. I have forgotten all about Snyder lately . With all the props going to Yao's dominant performance, hopes of Tmac returning full strength and the excitement of Wells' return and improvements in Heads' game I completely forgot we even had Kirk Snyder. Does anybody have any updates on when he should be back? I have not seen a thread on him at all. Oh ya by the way we are deep as hell!
Worrell said the other night that Snyder expects to return to practice after the first and will probably need 2 weeks after that before he is ready to be back in the lineup.
hm....when everyone's healthy again (cept sura cause I personally think he's done) who's gonna be riding the pine? I think the active roster will look like this: Alston/Vspan Tmac/Head/Snyder Battier/Wells/Padgett Hayes/Howard Yao/Mutombo With Sura nursing his injury, that leaves Novak and JL3 on the inactive. I hope JVG rotates the end of the bench to give the newbies some more time to play and put the stiffs who can't score/space time on the bench again.
I can't wait to see all these guys back and healthy. I think the last time we had our full roster we beat the mavs 107-76. A perimeter rotation of TMac, Battier, Wells, and Snyder is about as good as any other in the league. I hope the chemistry will be there when everyone is back.
Our team is pretty darn deep at the 1 2 3 positions, Battier plays PF sometimes too so our 4 is okay as well
With the way Juwan has played this season (can't believe I'm saying that) I'm more than happy with the 4 spot right now. Hayes/Howard/Battier, while not individually impressive, is a very solid rotation at the moment.
We are a solid team right now, without T-Mac. Our role players are doing their stuff, and when Snyder returns (by then Tracy should be back too) we can't go anywhere but up.
Really? With a 40 year old backup C who can't be played against uptempo teams like the Suns, Raptors, etc., a sometimes starter usually backup vet PF that is part of every fantasy trade proposal on this board, a rookie backup PG who is fresh from the D League, a Euro League backup PG/SG who has yet to prove he can consistently hit an outside shot, a backup PG who hasn't played in 18 months, a one-dimensional rookie PF/SF who (in spite of being a coach's son) looks totally lost on defense, a vet PF/SF who knows the rotations better than his rookie counter part but lacks enough athleticism to do much more than know the rotations, and a backup SF/SG who until recently was a super malcontent...that's deep? Deep is what the Spurs and Mavericks are...the Rockets are not deep at all. A deep team wouldn't be struggling with McGrady injured. Snyder? Nice player, like his energy and he finishes reasonably well on a break. But he's under 20% from the arc and shoots FT's under 70%. You know that 82games +/- stat that has now become the Gold Standard for player evaluation? Snyder was at minus 12.2 before he was injured. Just trying to be real here.
Way to be positively sarcastic over a team that is 6-8 against the WC. Who I cheer for doesn't blind me to their faults...being a fan never stopped any of the "Fire Gundy" threads now did it? If you want to wear rose-colored glasses, that's your choice. Mine is to be a realist. The Rockets are not a deep team.
15-9 is ok, but we could reasonably be 18-6 or better if we could just close out games. San Antonio The Lakers Golden State etc...etc...etc... The Rockets have a long way to go......and a short time to get their....east bound....... DD
Once Snyder gets back he'll probably take some minute away from Head and I doubt we'll see VSPAN play. I wonder which one would come off the bench first... Snyder or Wells? Who would JVG play more? I would pick Wells personally.
The Rockets ran mostly a 9 man rotation pre-Bonzi with Rafer, T-Mac, Battier, Hayes, Yao, JHo, Head, Snyder and Deke. Deke would split time with Padgett or Novak depending on matchups, but the constants off the bench were JHo, Head, and Snyder. When Snyder comes back he's either going to get very few minutes or eat Rafer's minutes, which isn't a bad thing. VSpan has been so up and down that Van Gundy doesn't trust him yet. While Snyder is not a 3pt shooter, he has athleticism that the Rockets sorely need for half court defense, transition defense, and transition offense. Also, when the shot clock is winding down, Snyder has the ability to take it to the hole and get to the line (sadly he's been missing from the line). Plus/Minus aside, I personally think Snyder is more valuable to this team than VSpan. And now that Bonzi is in da mix , he's here to stay. Bonzi's scoring ability and rebounding ability are too important for this offensively inept and undersized squad. I think ultimately, the Rockets are heading down a path of maximizing Defensive line-ups. That means Yao, Hayes, Battier, Mac, and Head or Rafer. Once everyone is healthy, I don't think there will be anymore Head and Rafer combo backcourts. With a small backcourt, the Rockets are not long enough to defend, not tall enough, and not quick enough for their size. It hurts half court defense and transition defense. This also means that our 3pt shooting is going to be anchored by Battier, T-Mac, and Head/Rafer, with only 1 small guard on the court at a time. Battier's 3pt shooting has stabilized back to his good percentages. For a big chunk of the season, Battier was in a shooting slump going like 22% from 3pt land...he's never been a volume 3pt shooter before this year, so it's an adjustment for him, but now he seems very well adjusted. I hope he doesn't slump again. Battier's resurgence allows for 2 strong 3pt shooters to be on the court at all times without sacrificing backcourt size. I see I've gone on quite a tangent here. Sorry, just wanted to state my opinion that when Snyder comes back, if he sees time, then it will mean no VSpan in those games and less minutes for Rafer. That's a scenario that's probably best in my opinion, because it puts forth the best defensive rotations.
Deep is what the Spurs and Mavericks are...the Rockets are not deep at all. A deep team wouldn't be struggling with McGrady injured. well without tmac is one thing. not having snyder and bonzi in addition to tmac is another. the rockets have not been at full potential yet this season and are still posting a solid record. Plus, and i think most importantly, even though the rockets have lost without tmac, the games have still been very close and competitive. everything isnt great, but everything isnt bad either.
But who's fault is that? It would make sense that a team up 20+ points at the half should easily win the game. We had a whole offseason to get deep. We got Battier, Snyder, and Bonzi. On paper that should be more than enough to at least win a few games without Tmac. Like you said, every game has been close and competitive. You do realize, we were in position to win every one of those games? I have to agree with GATER on this one. You need to be realistic when it comes to this subject. We aren't winning the championship anytime soon. Not as long as Deke is our only backup center, Rafer is our point, and JVG is our coach. Its simple logic. We aren't as deep as Utah, Dallas, or SA. It's the truth. Especially Dallas. I can't believe people believe we are a better team than them!? Of course everything is not bad, but you have to realize our time needs to come soon. If this was 5 years ago then I would be ecstatic. I've had enough playing the waiting game with this team. Anyways, Synder will definitely help us out when he gets back. I don't care what 82games says about his +/- numbers.
Why can't we compete with SA, Dallas, or Utah? In a 7 game series, i believe we can win 4, if we are at full strength. We can win with Deke as our backup, because in the playoffs the pace is more to his style, as well as JVG's. Now rafer, thats a different story, however with bonzi back, and tmac coming back, we can hide his deficiencies by taking the ball out of his hands.
Tough to compare the depth with these two teams, because they are built a different way. Some would say the "2 star Model" we have is constricting when adding depth, and the "Pistons Model" that both the Spurs and Mavs have spreads more of the salary cap space amongst the role players. I think with our model, we have done a HELL of a job in the draft if you get past the recent mistakes of Pryzbilla, Collins, and Griffin, and with the draft day trade bringing Shane we are better prepped to be w/o McGrady for a strech. Depth Last Year: This Year: Bowen Snyder Barry Novak Wes Billy Deke Padgett Chucky Juwan Maybe not "deep" yet, but improved for sure We are deeper than most.... and getting better.
