Doomed to failure? When they were winning at a 55+ game season win rate when both Yao and TMac were healthy this season? And the majority of that was before the "new" Yao emerged from toe surgery? The Rockets (even with Juwan starting) are much better than you are giving them credit for. With a healthy McGrady, right now a Rockets' 2006-07 rotation consists of Yao, TMac, Howard, Swift, Bogans and Luther Head. That 6 man group will be augmented by: * A Lottery pick. * The 30th or 31st overall pick in the 2006 draft. I want to highlight this because Bogans was a #43 pick, Lampe was a Knicks' project at #30 and Hayes went undrafted. I would expect to see us draft a 3 or 4 year college player who is very capable of cracking a 10 man rotation. Or, since the contract is non-guaranteed, be turned into a vet who is. * A MLE player (or 2 if split) who isn't worth signing if they can't crack the rotation. * An inexpensive re-signing of David Wesley. (Or since we own his Bird Rights a Sign and Trade of DWes as part of something larger). * Possibly Sura. I don't know how you are defining "doom" but IMHO that's a solid 10 man rotation even with Howard and/or Luther Head starting.
I am skeptical on Luther Head being our answer long term at SG. I still think JVG wants more size and length at that position. Luther is 6'3" and is kind of skinny. Honestly I think Luther is best served as being a guard off the bench, part of our rotation. I will say that I am pleased with what I see in Luther recently. I think his game has been taken to a higher level simply by the fact he isnt just settling for the 3pt shot but is attacking the rim. This is caving in the defense and is leaving guys open like Yao, ready for the pass. This is something our team really needs, is guys that can break down the defense and attack the rim. This will also help Head's game because teams will have to honor his 'drive' and not just his set shot. Ultimately though, I think Luther is a rotational guard. I think he is going to still have problems defending "bigger" SGs. Wesley can get away with it "sometimes" because he is a bull, is thick and strong, even though he is short. Luther doesnt have that luxury and hence can get overmatched. I still think this team needs someone 6'5" and up at the SG spot whether it be in a trade for a Josh Childress, Mo Peterson etc or via the draft with a Brandon Roy or Rodney Carney.
I’m hesitant to declare anybody on this team, outside of Yao, our starting anything of the future, nor would I say it’s out of the question for any one of Head, Swift, or Bogans to be starting next season. It all depends on what is available to the Rockets in the offseason. The Rockets should be stockpiling as much young talent as they can in the offseason and if Luther Head ends up being the best fit with the starting lineup, so be it. I do think that Luther is adequate enough that we can gamble a little with our draft pick and pick a 2-guard with potential that we can slowly develop off the bench.
I like JH and have no problem with his playing a lot of minutes this year because Stro was a bust. But the fact is JH's performance has declined A LOT from last year. It's likely the decline will continue next year and he would be one of the worst starting PFs in the NBA. Some of the JH-haters here would say that about him now. Bogans would rank well into the bottom tier of starting SGs also. I would be completely disgusted with a starting lineup of Yao, Tracy, Rafer, JH & Bogans next season. That would mean we had another terrible summer. If we can't find starters better than JH & Bogans, then Rockets management has got serious problems. I don't care how good Yao & Tracy are if we don't have a viable 3rd option who can score when teams key on them. Plus we must get more athletic ad add shooters who can hit wide-open shots.Without injuries, our regular season record might be OK but we wouldn't be a contender. That is what I mean by doomed. A first round exit next year will be a disappointment. JVG's 3 years with Tracy and Yao would amount to just treading in water. That is not good enough.
I went to last night's game and Luther Head pleasantly surprised. Either he will make himself a fixture in our rotation or he has greatly increased his trade value. Unless we nab something in return that we really need, I hope we keep him....IF he continues to play as he has recently. He drives well, he shoots the three, and he manages to get the ball to Yao. And he flat-out hustles. Personal opinion? We will probably be drafting at around the 10 spot, so if we think realistically, Mardy Collins from Temple should fit the bill nicely, a 6'6" point guard who plays solid perimeter D. So, if Collins actually played at the 2, you'd get passing and D from that spot, and could keep Luther, nominally, at the 1.
My first post ever...I'm sure the vets will jump all over me I think Head is a great backup...the Rockets need a legit 3rd scorer at the 2 with size, a proven nba player imo...My proposal is to trade Juwan Howard for Jamal Crawford...Crawford has everything that Houston needs at the 2, shooting, penetration, can hit clutch shots and wide-open ones for that matter, good 3 pt shooter, and has size....i know he doesn't play much D, but I think the advantages he would give the Rox outweigh his weaknesses....The Knicks were shopping Crawford heavily before the trade deadline and he expected to be gone....Knicks would go for it, because Juwan only has 3 years left on his contract and Crawford has a long term deal and the Knicks have way too many guards...Crawford's contract gets pretty expensive towards the end, but for the next couple of seasons it's comparable to Juwan's deal (Crawford is going to make only $1 million more than J-Ho next season)...If Les is willing to spend to make Houston a contender, which he has said he is willing to do, then this deal should be no problem for him and it'll definitely not be a problem for JVG since Crawford is a Knick...lol The trade also went through on realgm This would be the lineup for next season then: PG: Alston, VSpan SG: Crawford, Head SF: TMac, Bogans PF: Swift, Hayes C: Yao, Deke
Good post but that would only be a dream scenario for us to be able to get rid of Howard's contract. I don't think NY would do it.
Just curious.. who else would u compare Bogans to right now... He plays very good Defence and most of the time he can hit the open 3. i am not saying that he is on B. Bowen's level because he is the best Defensive player in the league. But i think saying that Bogans is a poor mans Bowen is accurate..
Knicks are crazy enough they might go for it, it's worth a try, acquiring J-Ho's contract would actually provide the Knicks with cap relief
J-Ho makes less than Crawford, plus, no matter what the Knicks do they're gonna be over the cap so I dont think that's an issue for them...they have a bunch of guards and remember they took Mo Taylor's big contract off of the Rockets' hands so it's worth a try
Yeah, there is nothing wrong with this assessment. This was exactly what I expected him to be when we got him, and that is exactly what he has been for us -- a poor man's Bruce Bowen. They are alike in every way, just that Bowen is generally better. Both play great perimeter defense (Bowen is better), both are hustlers (Bogans is probably more of a hustler than Bowen though), both can hit the open 3 (Bowen is more deadly), and both suck at FTs (Bogans is better). The assessment is dead-on.
Bogans needs to work on his shooting. He is not even in the ballpark of Bowen when it comes to shooting.
I think that has quite a bit to do with him being forced into starter minutes. He was much more accurate when he was playing as a backup to T-Mac. But still, he does need to work on his shooting and raise his pct a few points.
Bogans is a very very very poor man's Bowen. Maybe. When Bogan's can at least attempt to guard Jirk (Bowen, FYI, makes Dirk look foolish) let's talk. Bowen is much longer and versatile on the defensive end. On offense, all Bowen really has is the 3 point shot, and he's very very good at it (43%). Bogans is very good at finishing on the break (Bowen is not) and is pedestrian (35%) from 3pt. Bowen is long and lean at 6'7, 200 lbs. and is a dirty player. Bogans is stocky and very strong at 6'5 215 lbs and uses his strength on defense as opposed to his knees, elbows and hands. He plays defense more like Ron Artest than Bowen. If you want to say they are similar because both are noted for playing hard on defense, OK. But other than the defensive mentality, their abilities are different. Is Rafer a poor man's Nash because both are PGs who have great handles and can't play defense? I guess we have to disagree. For all the years I've watched Bowen on the Spurs, I just don't see much of him in Bogans.
Bowens game has developed over the last couple seasons to include the dribble drive when the defense plays too tight or dives out too far on his shot.
Position FGA eFG% FTA iFG Reb Ast T/O Blk PF Pts PER* PG -2.6 -.007 -2.3 0% 0.2 -0.8 -0.3 0.0 -1.1 -4.5 -4.7 SG -4.7 -.002 -1.4 -2% -1.3 -0.7 0.1 -0.3 -1.1 -5.7 -5.4 SF 3.7 -.032 1.3 0% 0.3 1.7 -0.4 0.2 0.3 3.3 +2.3 PF -1.1 +.015 -1.1 6% -0.8 -0.9 0.1 -0.5 -0.4 -1.1 -1.1 C 3.5 +.038 2.1 12% 2.5 -0.3 -0.5 0.1 1.1 6.9 +6.7 (from http://www.82games.com/0506/0506HOU5.HTM) This is the net production of Houston Rockets by position(comparing to the opponent), thx to Yao and Tmac, we have advantages on C and SF. Obviously, our weakness are both PG and SG. We have Tmac and Yao, we can take advantages of C and SF, but the others have to play good defense (like Bogans). According to the data, Lurther Head is a good rookie, but he still has to improve his defensive skills.
The Rockets need an athletic, at least 6'5", SG who can score to take pressure off T-mac. If we have a viable 3rd scoring option wing player, than that will allow for Tracy to take it easy until the late stages of the game when he can take over(we'll have enuff offense w/Yao, NEW SG). Also, this more athletic SG will be able to guard the other teams best wing player when needed to give T-mac a rest. We'll have enough chips in offseason w/1st Rd. Pick,MLE, trade pieces to get this NEW SG. As far as everything else....Jho/Swift are adequate, Rafer is fine, and we won't need to lose much/if anything to get this NEW SG.
