What might change your argument, albeit too late, will be if and when our PGs get dominated in a close playoff series. I still believe that Cassell would be a helluva backup for Alston (or primary when Alston's having an off night), and be worth more a lot more to the playoff roster than Sura + Bonzi + JLIII + a pick.
Alston plays good enough defense. Nash never goes off for 40 against us. Parker plays well against us, but our strategy against San Antonio usually is to let him go off and shutdown Duncan. And there really isn't any other PG that gives us trouble in the West other than AI. The odds of that playoff series happening is low anyway.
I have to believe that CD and Co. knew how much this team needed another PG. If they didn't get a deal done then it was not for a lack of effort. I'm actually glad we don't have Mike James. He is a has-been who won't accept that. We didn't need a chemistry killer on this squad. Having said that, I'm one of the people who thinks are chances of getting to the Finals are slim to none if we don't have another ball handler. Luther cannot play PG at all and Tmac shouldn't have to handle the rock on top of all of his other responsibilities. Maybe Yao's return will allow Tmac to take less of a scoring role and leave him some energy to bring the ball up the court but that's really a desperate act for a team who has a goal of winning it all.
I am still hopeful the Rockets will pickup a pg. I don't know if the Knicks will buy out Francis but that would be cool if they do and Steve comes back to the Rockets. I for one would not mind it at all.
We could have used some frontcourt depth. I really don't like the idea of Hayes playing a primary frontcourt role in the playoffs. That's why I think the Kleiza for Lucas deal would have been ideal. It would have given us insurance if nothing else. But as far as that, I'm glad we stood pat. Bonzi's intriguing enough to let him finish the season, and our only concern is that JVG needs to realize we have some bench players who can contribute more than they have been, such as Novak, Tsakalidis and Snyder.
You know, I'm also glad. Now that I've really thought it over, I'm quite glad we didn't trade Bonzi. Though I'm disappointed with his lack of production over this season, I realize that, should we want to trade him in the offseason or next season, he is going to be EXTREMELY valued. Whoever trades for him gets a GOOD, quality player for a year for very little with a soon-to-be expiring contract. That is trade BAIT right there.
If I remember right, next season is at Bonzi's option, so he could be opting out this offseason if I'm not mistaken. Why? for the 30MM+, of course. Why not? Would you wanna opt out after your team won the title?
I'm happy we didn't end up trading Bonzi, the offers I as hearing for him were nowere near acceptable so I'm glad we didn't trade him. However, I would of liked to of seen a deal for Mike James get done that included Sura's contract along with JL3 or Vspan as this would of benefitted the Rockets big time when the playoffs come around this year. But at the end of the day, no deals were done so the Rockets will remain as they are, the big news is that the Rockets still have a 7'6 center to come back and noone in the league is going to get any better then that
How is mike james a chemistry killer again? He was a pro in detroit and in milwaukee, and had no problem here the first go round. I haven't seen him handling his demotion in minnesota poorly either. Remember, the rockets only traded him in the first place because they thought they needed a pure pg(which I never will nor did agree with considering the makeup of the roster) and they were worried about james impending FA the next season. This james wouldn't pass to t-mac myth is as dumb as the sura won't pass to Yao myth that was started two years ago.
This team though, as it stands now, is greater than the sum of its parts. I don't think we have anybody that is really tradeable that nets us more than we send out. Take JH, he's been huge for us, but he's 35 and not going to bring much in return. The rockets are playing good solid team ball. I love James, but I don't want him back. He hasn't been much since he left here, one good season i think. I mean I'd love to add a PG or a PF. But I don't see what we can offer. I don't want to offer a draft pick, because we will need to add depth next year and our draft pick should be low enough that its affordable. Bonzi is the only one we could really afford to lose, or maybe snyder. But Bonzi figures in too much until Yao comes back as our 2nd or 3rd scoring option/spark plug etc. And Snyder is going to be a nice player in a couple of years. Let him learn from the best and watch he and tmac play together in the future. Mike
Why hasn't anyone thought of McGrady playing the point in the playoffs if Rafer is seriously playing that bad? Yao Howard Battier Bonzi (against smaller guards/matchup with Mavs posting guards) or Head (when outside shooting is needed) or Snyder (defense and penetration) McGrady... can go in the post all day long or easily get his jumper off.. Maybe there's a reason why this idea hasn't been entertained before but i'm not too sure... In theory it seems to be ok... But again i'm not sure if this has been a tried and failed process Yao Battier Bonzi Head/Snyder McGrady is another... Having T-Mac run the point creates a myriad of lineups ... Just not too sure as to how effective they would be in a game All i know is that i'd love the ball to be in Tracy's hands at the end of game On a side note: when we're inbounding and the other team is fouling to make us shoot free throws - wouldn't it be effective to have Ming stand at the baseline/sideline and let the inbounder pretty much handoff/throw it to his outstretched hands??
This has been mentioned many times. T-Mac does essentially play PG occassionally, but it is really asking too much of him. In the playoffs, especially, we'll need him to have enough energy to play defense and drop bombs/dunk over 7 footers. Also, Rafer controls the offense very well for 30+ mpg. There's no reason to decrease Rafer's minutes significantly for any marginal gain you get from playing T-Mac at the point.
Sorry should've clarified. By no means was i intending to reduce Rafer's minutes because i agree with what you're saying he's a solid (most of the time) PG. He helps the Rockets out dramatically when he can nail the triple as he did against Miami yesterday. My lineup was intended for when Rafer was playing absolutely dreadful or when he's being 'torched' by the other 'elite' PG's that he'll face in the playoffs as many people here seem to think. On another note, because of his athleticsm and size - is Snyder a solid defender? Because if so; Battier would naturally assume the task of the opposing team's designated scorer - but if the situation is there - i'd like to see Snyder take their next 'best' player and have McGrady take the 3rd option.. This rests him a lot of the time on the defensive end which as you said keeps his energy for when we need him the most on offense (especially in the clutch) I LOVED it when he nailed the back to back bombs and was obviously pumped yelling "lets go" as he walked back up the court against Miami yesterday.. However it brought a tear to my eye seeing Rafer go baseline and throwing up his infamous teardrop LEFT handed.. At first i was than the realisation sunk in on what he had actually done than i looked at the score and realised we have McGrady
So far so good. we do not need to trade anymore, look at our bench, 2 future stars: VSPAN+NOVAK, I wonder if JVG can give them more time on the pitch. well, SURA, good memory... the only thing we should focus on is, keep on playing like before, and waiting for BIG YAO's back. I am so sure that the rockets can go to the 2nd round of Play Offs, at least.
