One of my favorite times of the year, as a basketball fan, is the time leading up to training camp and speculating what the opening day roster will look like and who the starters will be. Here is what I think: Small forward: I dont like the idea of Glen Rice on this team. He does not fit at all and he is obviously way past his prime. Im not sure what his current contract is like, but I have to assume that he is still owed alot of money or else one would think he would be released. That being said, he will obviously be on the opening day roster. I think Nachbar will be starting by years end or serve as the teams 6th man (he seems to be the perfect makeup for a 6th man). I dont see Griffin as a 3 so I am not including him in this part. Ultimately, I do not think there will be room for Torres on the roster and thats a shame. If Rice werent on the team, I would love to see him and Nachbar split time at this spot. Its a shame we cant get Rashard Lewis signed. Griffin, Ming and Lewis would make an interesting young front court. Power forward: We obviously have too many mouths to feed at this position. I feel Taylor will have a disappointing season coming off the injury and his documented weight problems. But hes is just barely into his new contract so hes here whether we like it or not. I love Kenny Thomas with a passion! This guy has some of the best footwork in the league and he makes up for his lack of height with his long arms. There was a column in the Chronicle last Xmas where the columnist stated that he would give Kenny Thomas Kelvin Cato's height and Kelvin Cato Kennya Thomas' heart. How true is that?????!!!! Eddie Griffin has the tremendous upside. I would like to see more of him in the low post than out near the 3 point line and I feel he should be the opening day starter. How about Griffin and Ming defending the basket? The last time we had that kind of shot blocking was back when Akeem and Ralph were terrorizing the league in the mid 80s. (Does Griffin remind anyone else of Rasheed Wallace? ..hmmmm..). I can easily see the Rockets shippin g off Thomas for a future 2nd rounder. I feel he will be the odd man out. Center: I have this strange feeling that Cato will be the starter for the first part of the season, even though I dont agree with that. I think with Yao missing a good part of camp and the fact that Rudy and CD will want to bring him along slowly translates into having to watch Catos lackluster performance for at least the first few games. I dont see Jason Collier making this team. He has a nice outside shot and has suprised me with his rebounding, but I dont think his athleticism (or lack thereof) will mesh with this team. Shooting guard: We all know this spot will belong to Cuttino for at least 40 mins a night, barring injury. Again, I would like to see Torres on the roster to server as a swing man between the 2 and 3. Point guard: Obviously, the strongest position on the team. The Franchise, as of today, will be here for the next 7 years. I never thought much of Moochie until midway through this last season when he made a habit of pulling game winning shots out of his hip pocket. I still think he shoots and dribbles to much. But hes a spark plug and gets the often lackluster Compaq Center crowd going when needed. Is there a place on this team for Tito Maddox? Possibly. If so, I see Rudy hiding him on the injured list most of the year with a strained hip flexor. So heres my summary: Opening Day Lineup SF - Glen Rice PF - Eddie Griffin (possibly Kenny Thomas if he isnt dealt) C - Kelvin Cato (for at least the first 10 games) SG - Cuttino Mobley PG - Steve Francis Backup 3/6th man - Nachbar Backup C - Ming Backup 1/2 guard - Moochie Backup 4 - Taylor Backup 4 - Thomas Backup 3/4 - Torres 12th Man - Collier Injured list - Maddox Playoff Lineup/End of the Season SF - Nachbar PF - Griffin C - Ming SG - Mobley PG - Francis Backup 1/2 guard - Moochie Backup 5 - Cato Backup 2/3 guard - Torres Backup 4 - Thomas/Taylor (surely one of them will be gone by the end of the season) Backup 1 - Maddox (i think hell become the "sympathy srub" by the end of the year (i.e. a fan favorite) 12th Man - Collier Well there it is! Let me know what you guys think!!!!!
Im assuming there will be no free agent signings. If Rudy or CD saw someone they liked, they would have signed them a few months ago. The only one left that would be a good fit for our team is Lewis, but it looks like his attitude will land him back in Seattle.
codell, I like your post and agree with most of what you said. There are just two items that I disagree with you on. 1. Kenny is worth more than a second round pick and I think the Rockets will get more if they deal him. Perhaps a lottery protected 1st or maybe a good sixth man that can bring something of value off of the bench. 2. I don't think Cato will be the opening day starter or at least the opening home game starter. There is too much marketing at stake and Ming is just a whole lot better than Cato. Nice post.
Well, originally I thought Kenny was worth a #1 pick too. But if you think about it, #1) Hes not top flight starter in this league. On a good team, hes definately a backup, although what a great backup he would be. #2) Hes a tweener. Only great players can be 6'6" - 6'7" and can start at the 4 and put up consistent numbers (see Charles Barkley). I think if he had 2 more inches on him, and with his footwork and long arms, he could be a 18 point per game/9 reboud per game player easy! So ultimately, I think teams would love to have him, but as a valuable backup. And we all know, teams shouldnt give #1s for backups.
Ive never been a big fan of his. Maybe its the image in my mind of seeing Jordan torch him in the playoffs over and over again. lol Im sure Rudy or CD might think different though. Who knows?
nachbar = Lewis???? We dont need him.... Nachbar still young rite?? we can use him for rox young frontcourt...
I still to this day don't understand why the Rockets aquired Glen Rice. It was a horrible boned headed decision, that might even have played a factor into why they didn't pursue RL. No team will be stupid enough to take either him or Cato, unless the Rockets either: 1. accept a bum in return 2. throw KT into the trade to sweeten the pot Either way they're boned. Oh well, at least the GL contract is almost over, unlike the Cato situation which will continue to drag this franchise down for years to come. Raven
Codell - I agree with your opening day roster, but I think that MO will start over Griff. He's getting paid starter money, he should start. I do see Griff getting more minutes though.
Rice is like a lion in winter. He's been hiding in the bush, getting well and ready to roar one last time. With Ming and Griffin protecting the basket and Steve and Cat zigzagging across the floor, Rice is the ideal spot up shooter. In time, Boki will earn that role, but for now, Rice is going to be a man among men once more (pardon the mixed metaphor).
Lewis not coming here has nothing to do with Rice and everything to do with the fact he wants the max. And Mo is actually close to his playing weight so if he has a bad year it isn't because of weight. I think Mo will have a very good year. Rice fits this team perfectly fine. We need shooters, and Rice gives us that. Rice also gives us a post scorer and a guy who is good at keeping an offense flowing. I also think that he would explode in the playoffs. Here's what I think the opening day line-up will look like: Griffin Rice Cato Cat Francis By December it will look like this: Mo Rice Ming Cat Francis BUT if Rice is playing like the Rice of old or even close, then I would start Griffin because he adds defense. I would only start Mo if we need lowpost offense. Having Mo coming off the bench gives us a big offense punch off the bench. Looking at last year Rice came out looking sloppy at the start of the year because he had to sit out the entire summer because of surgery. Looking at last year, if Rice is anywhere close to his usual self the start of the season the Rockets are on fire to start the season. Francis, Mobley and Rice are an awesome perimeter offense, and combine that with solid lowpost talent like Ming, KT, Mo and Griffin? 50 plus wins and the playoffs!
Having all this talent makes me wonder if we could package a couple together for one superstar? Depending on the SS, it might be worth it.
<b>Backup 1/2 guard - Moochie Backup 5 - Cato Backup 2/3 guard - Torres Backup 4 - Thomas/Taylor (surely one of them will be gone by the end of the season) Backup 1 - Maddox (i think hell become the "sympathy srub" by the end of the year (i.e. a fan favorite) 12th Man - Collier </b> Why would the Rockets get rid of Mo or KT, they need as much help off the bench as they can get. The Rockets also LOVE Maddox, and he will probably get a minutes at the 2 spot and the PG spot.
I disagree. I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that Lewis would jump on a $50 million deal if it meant coming back home to Houston. The exubarant price he's asking from Seattle has to do with both greed <b>and</b> a lack of interest in playing for the Supersonics. He's never been thrilled about playing in Seattle. If this was a team he liked to play for he wouldn't be jerking them around this much. I'm not 100% sure if we'd be in the position to sign Lewis to a $50 million deal if we didn't acquire Rice, but I know that it definitely eliminated the possibilty. But, it's all in the past I guess.
I'm gonna go out on a limb...the Rocks are gonna waive Collier. It makes sense even though he has 1 yr left on his contract. This could server 2 immediate problems. We can now see the future of our 5 position. We don't need to develop that position, we only need protection against injury. Well, MoT and Griff are both capable of playing some minutes at 5. So why burn a spot on the roster for Collier. Instead, our 2/3 spots are the most in question right now. But we have several excellent prospects that have yet to prove themselves (TMo, Tito, Nachbar, Torres). We should keep all 4 of them to see who will stick Right now, we don't have roster spots for all 4 if you keep Collier. Collier has no long term prospects, why risk dropping any of our 'potential' guys?
Cato Taylor Rice Cuttino Francis Ming KT, Griffin Nachbar, TMo Torres Fro baby, Maddox Rox usually keep three guards so i think TMo is on the backburner. I don't want to see KT traded. Maybe he could play some at the three spot.
