Our players and their roles.

Everyone will get his role, no need to worry about that, it depends from the player himself.

 

i think well have to find out once, say December roles around.

 

Rafer is my dark horse all-star point gaurd!

 

You and Clyde.

 

I think on the offensive end:

Rafer: Job to bring the ball up the court efficiently and quickly in order to get the team in their offense with plenty of time on the clock. Will be expected to do less driving to the hoop with Artest on the team, but will need to be ready and willing to do so when his man doubles off of him to help double team one of our big 3. Has to hit the open 3 above 38% this year.

Tmac: His job will be to facilitate the offense in the half court set. He will be expected to drive more with teams less willing to double off of Artest than they were with Battier. He will have to get the ball out of his hands faster on double teams to a moving Artest or a set Rafer for a 3 pointer. Will still be the main player to drop the ball down low to Yao effectively.

Artest: His job will be to punish other teams for double teaming Yao or Tmac. Anytime his man leaves him, he will be expected to be on the move and catch a tough pass going to the basket to finish strong. Also, he will have to prove that he can hit the 3 pointer at least equally as efficient as he did last year as a set shooter when his man also wants to sag off of him without actually committing to the double team.

Scola: Will have the easiest job on the team. He will be expected to master that 10-12 foot jumper that will be open for him all game when in with the starters. He will be expected to crash the offensive boards and clean up around there with his man having to commit to help defensive a lot down low. If he is able to cut through sharply on screens, and finish strong, his averages will go up considerably this year while seeming to not need the ball or set plays for him at all.

Yao: Will be required and expect to get into his moves and attack on the basket sooner after catching the ball, while being able to pass out of the double team faster and more efficiently. He should get a lot more one on one plays this year with Artest in the lineup and Scola improving. It will be hard for teams to double team him at all if Rafer is having a good year shooting the 3 ball.

Off the Bench:

Landry: Same as last year. Hustle and finsh strong. Hit short jumpers.

Battier: Will be expected to be more aggressive offensively when coming off the bench. Will have an opportunity to show that he can still post lessor players up and be effective as a SF in the low post. 3pt % should go up in the second unit.

Barry: Will be expected to shoot above 40% from 3 pt land. Anything else is gravy.

Francis: Will be expected to provide the penetrating presence off the bench to open the floor for Barry and Battier, or our other wings. His penetration, finsihing, and around the basket passing will determine how many minutes he gets.

Brooks: If he sees time, he will be expected to hit the 3 pointer above 40% or he won't get much playing time due to his size and lack of defense. He will have to penetrate consistently and either finish effectively, hit the short jumper, or pass for easy layups or shots to other members on the floor, or he won't get off the bench at all.

Anything that anyone else does off the bench offensively will be gravy, imho. This is what I expect with the team we have now. If we make another trade before the season, some rolls could change depending on the player coming in.

 

Rafer: drive and flop is your only way to help this team. you must draw the contact using your and1 skills.

Battier:
needs to add dirty tricks and illegal defense like Bowen or your defense will never be respected.

Yao: practice midrange jumper. it is a shame that Stoudmare can shoot better than you from there.

TMAC: try to give up the ball earlier and do something when you don't have the ball.

Scola: already perfect, just dunk the ball when you are open.

Landry: get your knee ready.

Artest: crazy face is allowed but don't act crazy.

Barry: be happy, healthy, shoot the threes and make Jon's three finger celebration.

 

Nice. I agree.

 

Dark, really, really, really Dark Horse...

 

I'd agree with most what's posted on here.

I would rather have Artest come off the bench to provide a 2nd go-to guy when Yao comes to the bench with 4 mins left in the first quarter. I don't think we need Artest in the game as the 3rd guy when T-Mac and Yao are getting their touches. In effect, it would waste Artest's effectivness.

I'd rather have a 110% Artest for 30-33 mins than an Artest who floats around for 40 mins a la Pippen in 99. When Artest is in the game with one of Yao or T-Mac out, he can be aggressive which will carry over to his defense. By starting, Artest will be in a more passive mindset on offense which often times can carry over to defense for some players.

I think it's important to have Battier as the SF while Yao is in the game because of his spot-up shooting. If we have Barry and Battier in the game while Yao is in, it will really stretch out the defense. Artest's average to below average shooting range makes him more or a backup in our offense.

 

francis won't be in the rotation, wake up he's done

 

I had the good fortune, this past year, of seeing my 2nd favorite team, and favorite eastern conference team, win a championship. The early buzz in Boston after acquiring KG is eerily similiar to the Houston hype surrounding the Artest trade. I'd delve into that more, but that's a whole other post. This thread is about roles and that's exactly what I plan to address.

First off the entire game just changed. There will be NO game planning for Houston this year. No Rocket will be asked to do too much. Instead they will truly be able to be themselves on the court for the first time in ages. The best thing about having three all stars is that it elevates the play of everyone else on the team since they are now free to fulfill very specific roles. These specific roles will breed confidence in our players and in that newfound confidence a phenomena will occur in which our other starters/bench will begin to play outside of themselves. Offensively they will appear to be unstoppable, while also having a greater impact defensively since the TRIO will be carrying most of the load. Teams will become so frustrated with the Yao/T-Mac/Artest trio because when they aren't killing them on the courts the other starters and role players will be. This team already plays defense and for eachother and I don't see any of that 22 games in a row chemistry flying out the window upon Ron Ron's arrival.

T-Mac and Yao are the "Guys" on this team and will take turns dominating offensively depending on who has the hot hand or the better matchup.

Ron is our Defensive leader. All teams need one. Ron is vocal, emotional, and above all else competes like a Muther. He will bring the clamps every night and that will add more kerosene to our defensive inferno. He will also be our third option as well as our 1st or 2nd at times depending on who all is out on the floor. I mean take your pick at this point. The three of them will be seeing 35 mins a game. Which one won't receive the doubleteam? Either way we be scoring.

Alston has really turned the corner in our hearts. He's our PG and our leader out there, and this year we won't have to watch as he tries to set records for 3 pointers attempted in a season. Get ready for the show because the Rucker is coming to the Toyota Center for 50 plus games and he's going to be finishing more at the rim. But i3artow isn't there only 41 home court games? We'll be taking names come playoffs.

Barry provides us with an elite shooter with size and playmaking ability. Barry understands the game and will move the ball as well as set up teammates with some scoring assists(which are waay different than ur regular assist). All I can say is practice your RAIN DANCE. If most of you loved his brother on the Rockets as much as I did then you are going to want to Mannap this Barry. Simply put, having Brent on the court will bring a fluidity to our offense.

Scolandry will bring us exactly what we saw last year but in a bigger dosage. It'll be like exchanging your puny Halloween mini Snickers in for a King Size.

Shane "The Blanket" Battier will be able to go ALL OUT ALL THE TIME. Seriously this guy will be having so much fun out there he may even end up drawing more charges, hitting more threes, and feeling rejuvenated while doing it. Scary

The rest of our crew knows what to do. Dorsey will try ripping the rim off the backboard just to get noticed, and Brooks can be a sparkplug off the bench. Lanes to the hoop will be wide open and I expect him hitting them early and often.

Francis is our wild card since noone knows what we will be getting. I'm inclined to think he's going all out. He talked about wanting to push some buttons on our championship run last year and if he's in shape and regained his explosiveness then I'd still put him in the top 14 as far as just being able to get to the rim.

Deke, Chuck Wagon, and Harris will only add to this defensive monster we have on our hands and for whatever reason I feel as if Luther will regain that 3 pt shot now that he'll literally be standing on an island.

 

Completly agree. Best post eva'.

 

I see 3 18ppg scorers. I also see Tracy deferring a lot more and Ron being in the post more. People want to make it seem like Ron should just wait till a double or something to get involved. I want Ron aggressive throughout. That doesn't mean he should shoot all the balls, but he doesn't nor he shouldn't defer and wait. What going to make this thing work is being proactive and not reactive. They will have options early and late in the offesnse. This bring Artest off the bench stuff is really bs. The he should wait is bs also. The rox should have a consistent attack puttng pressure on the other team very quick. They can come out and get up and rest guys late in the game. Forget all that feeling out stuff.

 

I agree with pretty much everything you say, except the following:

I still think that, unless Rick Adelman is convinced that Ron Artest is vastly less effective coming off the bench, Shane Battier will start at SF for the Houston Rockets next season. Shane's role will be the same as it was last year: to guard the other team's best wing player, to hit the open three-pointer and to facilitate ball movement around the perimeter. Battier will need to improve on slashing to the basket, since this will provide both him and Scola with some additional easy baskets with Yao in the high post.

I also think the Steve Francis will need to show a lot (as in, more than just that he is somewhat healthy) before being handed a spot in the Rockets' rotation. Aaron Brooks will likely be the designated backup PG, albeit the weak spot in the current rotation. But your analysis of Brooks is spot on (although I think 3-pt shooting in the area of 35% should still allow him to see the floor).

 

Ron Artest is the perfect fit for the Rockets. He brings great defense and a 3rd scoring option. Notice how Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Rafer Alston, Louis Scola and Shane Battier are all around the same age. We even still have a good window for the next few years with this squad.

 

Now for my ideas on the defensive end:

Rafer: Rafer will almost always have the toughest job on our team on the defensive end. There are just too many elite PGs out there. His job this year will be to try and keep those PGs in front of him at 15 ft and under. He should learn to not try to play so close to them beyond that point, giving up the outside shot in order to protect our big men from foul trouble due to his man driving to the basket too often. He can afford to play less help defense and keep a strong eye on those elite PGs, because if they catch the ball when he is double teaming and then trying to hustle back to them, they will kill him breaking him down and getting inside the lane. Ron will be a bigger beast on the inside, and instead of taking charges, will put some hurt on PGs driving to the basket on us with his "NO LAYUPS" mentality. Rafer's job should be easier, although still the toughest.

Tmac: He will still get to defensively play the other teams weakess wing player. This being his luxury again, he should focus harder on playing defense all together with a monster attitude like Artest in the game verses mild mannered "Clark Kent" styled Battier. Artest is our superman and Battier is his alter ego "Clark Kent". Both have the same powers, but one is more direct about showing it. Hopefully Artest will motivate Tmac to play harder defensively.

Artest: He will be the game changer for us defensively. Some may not think his team defense is as good as Shane's, but none will doubt that his man on man defense is better than Shane's. Plus, he is just as quick and much stronger to guard a wider range of players. The biggest defensive change that he will bring to the team is his attitude and "NO LAYUP" mentality. Teams will no longer look at the Rockets as soft and will be looking to see where Artest is before driving to the bucket. Hopefully some of his strong willed mentality and roughness will rub off on a few other Rockets, especially Yao!

Scola: Will be a much better defender this year after getting his feet wet last year. He is severely under rated in his defensive abilities. He will be better than last year by simply getting the respect from refs and not getting so many ridiculous calls to go against him. He will continue to be one of the top charge drawers in the league. If he is able to player PF exclusively, his time backing up C last year will help him in defending some of the elite PFs. His hustle also can't be taken for granted, so expect him to average around 8 rebounds per game, with maybe almost half of those on the offensive end roaming under the basket as his man tries to play help defense against our Big 3.

Yao: Yao will be required to stay out of foul trouble with his minutes decreasing hopefully this year, so that Adelman can use him exactly as he wants to, instead of re-adjusting for foul trouble. It will really be important for Yao to stay out of EARLY foul trouble for our rotations to get to work properly. Yao's shot blocks should go up some with him not being the sole interior defender with the help of Artest, Mr. No Layups. Yao will have to learn to be smarter on those pesky Pick N Rolls that every team will have to go to in order to get a decent shot off against us. He can make up for his lack of lateral movement by playing smarter, not faster. Adelman's job will be to figure out how to keep Yao from having to guard out on the perimeter in PnRs or against teams like Utah that use a C that can shoot the 3.

Adelman: Other than what I just said about Yao, his job just got a lot easier with the addition of Artest and the ability to bring off the bench a top defender such as Battier. His primary job will be to figure out how we will defend the Pick and Roll against the elite teams with elite penetrators and elite big men. If he can map that one defensive strategy out for us successfully, other teams will have no chance against us. He can cut down other teams abilities that run alot by simply cutting Yao's minutes down from 40 or 41 a game, to around 32 mpg; thus putting in a quicker transition team while keeping Yao healthy and fresh for the end of games and the end of the season/playoff run.

Landry: Will have to learn to stay out of foul trouble and crash the boards consistently as he did in his best moments.

Deke: In his spot minutes, he will be required to close the lane completely as his famous finger waving self. Continue to get rebounds and throw a few elbows so that no one thinks they can steal the ball from him after he rebounds it.

Hayes: Unfortunately, probably won't be on the team, or 3rd coming off the bench at best at PF, unless we have major injuries. But will be great insurance if we keep him. We know what he can do defensively regardless of how terrible he is offensively.

Francis: WILDCARD. If he is healthy, gets some of his hops and explosiveness back, although never considered a top defender, he will be our best option at guarding larger PGs one on one. Not as good a team defender as Rafer, but bigger and stronger one on one.

Brooks: The weakest link defensively. If he gets playing time. He CANNOT let his man take him to the basket or post him up. It would be better for him to let them shoot 18 feet to the 3 point line over him. If he gets posted up, or driven on in any game after first arriving in the games, expect Adelman to pull him after two minutes everytime.

Dorsey: Although a Ray Lewis with a basketball, if he sees any playing time, expect him to be called for every ticky tack foul imagineable during his rookie season. Therefore he probably won't see much time or effectiveness in his rookie season barring injuries. But if given extended time for any reason, it would increase his first year effectiveness.

Barry: Expected just to hold his own and get a steal or two with his BB IQ in playing the passing lanes.

 

You make some very good points and observations. Although I am not sure that Barry will see many minutes at the PG. I just don't see him as quick enough at his age to play effect minutes there on a consistent basis game in and game out.

I agree with you on Aaron, which is why I think that he is trade bait just like Hayes and Head, although all of them have desireable qualities; that's what makes them good trade bait, and not just items to get rid of. If we can't make a good trade for them that helps our team, we won't be hurting to keep them because they all bring "something" to the table.

As far as veteran leadership on our team goes:

Francis: If not able to bring the physical aspect needed of his game, he would be the veteran hype man on the bench.

Artest: The enforcer, the touch man, the "NO LAYUPS" mentality, the "You don't want to start a fight with our team" beast, the veteran that will not let our team play "soft" again.

Deke: The father figure. The one who will keep the balance of the force. The ego checker.

Barry: He will be the this is how championship teams do it. This is how championship teams react. This is how championship teams dig deep. This is how championship teams never give up. All these mentalities will be invaluable.

Yao and Tmac: They will bring the veteran "Im so hungry" mentality. This team will not lack for hunger.

Adelman: Mr. Cool. He will bring the never panic mentality from the coaching position. The man never seemed to have a worry at all most of the time last year. He knows how to get to the top.

So I think we have enough veteran pressence on this team. While Brooks, Hayes and Head may be expendable, I don't see us trading them for a veteran just for leadership vocally off the bench. I more see us trading them if we can get some young to medium aged help at PG or C that would add more value to THIS team than they might, imho.