Mutombo is Iron Man. Artest doesn't give what Mutombo gives. Mutombo is an energizer, and inspirer, and hopefully will give our team a lot more energy.
Good signing but will this be another Steve Francis type move?? I mean i know Francis was hurt but Deke is old. This team is not that athletic as it is and by signing a 42 year old Center that likely won't be used under Adelman's system is just a waste of a roster spot. I love Deke and the finger wag but we had him last year and he didn't play . I understand we needed a back up center but why Mutombo when he might not even get a chance to play
More importantly, Mutombo is someone who has locker room cred. I mean Artest and Alston try to infuse to some kind of leadership on the team but Alston has no credibility because he sux and Artest is after all just a newbie on this team and doesn't want to step on toes. Mutombo on the other hand is an established locker room presence. Hopefully he'll get on other people's ears when they start dogging it, kinda' like KG but without all the insanity lol
SPLASH!!!!!! if this is the first of many trades, i might be okay with it, but if this is the only trade for this season, i be pi$$.... rox basically traded SF3 and a high 2nd round pick(from memphis) for deke. And great way to solve the rox stagnent offense and injury laden guards/forwards.... Tmac, artest and battier playing with injury. Rafer, barry and von vafer is recovering from injury. So now the rox have sign a player to take 15 minutes away from yao/landry/scola. Who is in my opinion the most consistent and healthiest players of this season. Oh, and a player to help guard those speedy PFs that shoot jump shooters all day that hayes just cant defend. And for those saying that layup drills on rox will be prevented, i wonder what 15 minutes a night can do...
That is of zero significance. When last did you see Rockets depending on Deke's jumper on offense? Out of five players, Deke shooting a jumper has always been option #15. As long as he is physically fit, he'll be fine. And frankly, unless (God forbid) something happens to Yao again, he won't be getting a lot of playing time ... don't be surprised if you see a lot of DNP-CDs on his game log.
Only at starting PG, where the answer is on the bench, and a PF that can shoot the 3 ball....unfortunatly, he is in Europe....Maarty...... DD
Hayes isn't expected to make any jumpers, either, but you'd still expect him to be practicing them. And this season, there have been games where the Rockets couldn't protect the paint without Yao. Hopefully, Mutombo will help in those situations. But if all Deke did basketballwise for the past six months is play in the park with his kids, we should expect a lot of rust. For his first month, he may just be practice buddy for Yao while he gets his timing back.
This makes me happy as a Rockets fan, limiting Yao's minutes and helping out the second unit in rebounds and defense. Great to have Mutombo aboard, hopefully he'll be as productive as he was last season.
