My theory on why we see the 3 guard lineup. Rudy is trying it out this season since it is a lost season anyway. If it works then we will keep it for next year if not he wants Moochie to pad his stats so it will make trading Mooch this offseason easier.
The 3 guard line up sux. If that's the reason Rudy is using it then he should be traded in the off season.
Feigen was on 610 this morning and he said the reason we'd seen the 3-guard rotation so often was twofold: 1. Putting them out there almost always creates a mismatch for the Rockets at one of those positions. 2. For quite a while, there was no 3 on the team to rely on. He said, quite bluntly, that EG and KT do not have the skills to stay with 3's on a regular basis. I don't know if this was his opinion or his observation or what but he was very clear on that point. He said that Walt coming back has helped to open up the offense because it allows them to run plays that other guys don't run well but Walt (and Glen Rice) does.
And just as often a mismatch against them. Am I the only one who thinks Steve is barely even in the offense when he isnt running the point. Even Moochie plays less effectively when in the 3 guard lineup as oppossed to when he just comes in and plays normal backup PG minutes.
I couldn't help but notice that with a healthy Walt availalbe, Moochie has not gotten the fourth quarter minutes that he has been previously. I think Rudy is willing to put his best five players on the floor, position be damned. Youthful mistakes and veteran "cool headedness" considered, come crunch tim Mooch may be one of the top five. That may be part of our problem. It is a bonus that he seems able to make the game winning basket if necessary.
No team is stupid enough to take Moochie and his large contract , I doubt that we would be able to trade him for something .
Denver always seems to fit the bill in accepting "Stupid" trades....The Knicks always amaze in this category as well.
I think you're exxagerating his contract a bit. He's a good player that would make any team's 8-man rotation. The contract is long, but I don't think he's terribly overpaid. He won't be a throw-in for this reason, but a team trying to solidify their PG position would trade for him if it didn't cost them too much talent in return. But, we need him to solidify our PG position, so I don't see why we'd even shop him.
No, you're not the only one. Moochie usually controls each possession when he's in the game. All you get out of this is Steve Francis out on the wing with his hands on his knees. Not a good thing. I have to agree with Feigen when he says our not having a consistent and capable small forward is the main factor for the 3-guard lineups fruition. During the begining of the year - if i recall correctly -- the availability of Glen Rice usually smothered any opportunity for Rudy to implement his patent three-guard lineup. Now we're seeing the same thing with Walt. When Walt is hot the whole offense seems to click. A tall lanky wing man who can fill it up seems to be the definite X factor for this team. This is leads me to believe that it is absolutely essential for the Rockets to trade for -- or draft -- a reliable small foward; one that is capable of burying the three-guard lineup into the ground, forever. Some said last year that the small forward position was the least important position on the team -- I even went along with that bet and agreed. Im going to do a complete 180 now and say: It is, without a doubt, the most important position for this team(to mend).
I think the Rockets, Golden State and New York would be stupid enough to sign someone like that to an expensive long term contract. See Cato, Moochie, Rice, Shandon, Eisley, Antawn, Houston, etc. New York is trying to improve on the Rockets short man game by going to a five guard lineup soon.
Why don't we use an Iso for Steve as much as for Cat? I think Steve has better ball-handling skills and is quicker but he still gets most of his points from pulling up with his man back-peddaling.
