All are solid players... but that is one extremely slow team. Battier is a good on ball defender but I've never seen him as a lock down, tempo changing defender -- and we already know the others don't have that kind of quality (think Ron Artest). Doesn't really work for me...
This team can keep up with other teams because they have a good defensive strategy form JVG. I was pretty ticked off at the trade when I first heard it. But the more I think about it, it makes more sense because we needed a solid 3 point shooter. We needed a lockdown defender. And Shane Battier can do both of those things. I have a feeling our starting lineup will be rock solid besides Juwan Howard. Hopefully they'll be back to being one of the eleite teams in the west. Go Rockets!!!
Wasn't it "Howard (UGH)" who was scoring at least 30 points when both Yao and McGrady were out. Let me see the answer is YES!!!. So before we start knocking Howard lets knock on the players who didn't do anything for us this year like Wesley or Bowen
I don't care if Rudy Gay is just 19 years old. How old was Kobe when he got drafted? McGrady? Garnett? "Yea but they're different" Not really. All these players came into the draft with an immense amount of hype. No one knew what Kobe, Tmac, or KG would be capable of. The difference is that Gay has had one season of college basketball and, by the looks of it, could contribute a bit more than a rookie McGrady or a rookie Garnett did. It's a lottery pick for a reason: you take a risk on a rookie panning out. I already know all I need to know about Battier. Good solid player. But what does it tell you when analysts and basketball fans in general can agree that Battier's ceiling is where Rudy's floor starts?
Sted, But, he is probably not ready to contribute this year, and that would still leave us with crap around our 2 superstar players. Now we have another piece to play with, 5 solid starters, and a couple of bench guys in Luther and Hayes, and possibly Novak...that is a MUCH better team than last years. DD
I'll be OK with this deal if we address our holes in our lineup. In the playoffs, a 8-9 man rotation will work. This is what we have right now. 1. Alston 2. McGrady 3. Battier 4. (Hole) 5. Yao 6. Mike James (if we get him) 7. Juwan Howard (back up PF if we keep him) 8. (Hole) 9. Mutombo So we need a starting #4 and a backup #2/#3 Head, Hayes, Bowen, Bogans can help us through the regular season with each of them probably averaging 5-10mins. in the playoffs. I don't expect Sura and Wesley to be back with us.
No, it's not ... Plus, how many games did we win last year? I think we all agree, even with the injuries we should have won more.
I don't care enough to check, really, but I don't think Kobe was any good until about his third year IIRC....
He may score 30 points when Mac and Yao are out but does nothing when both are healthy and plus the fact that he is so damn inconsistent .
You probably right in a sense cause Under JVG he probably would have JVg sucks the life out of players esp offensive minded ones Rocket River
RRiver, How right you are.....You have to think Les gives JVG one year.....give him the Isaiah deal.... DD
Last time I check, he played college basketball and his name wasn't Malick Badiane. So the theory that "he can't contribute this year" is nonsense. If JVG cannot squeeze out 10/5 from him, he should be barred from ever coaching again. 10 points??? that's 1 ESPN dunk, 2 putbacks, and 2 FTs a game. We still have crap this year even with Battier. I am willing to bet that, if we sign Crazy James, JVG would not hesitate one bit to log all 6 of our top players major minutes. What does that mean? Burnout by playoff season. Our bench is nothing to hoot and holler about. Head, Hayes, Novak (?!?)...it doesn't really strike fear into the rest of the league now does it? FA market won't be kind to us either. We have realistically one weapon and that is the MLE...of which 26 other teams also possess. We need to make that MLE stick and hopefully it'll be James. Other than that, we have no trade commodity. Swift was one, but is now gone because the Rockets decided to be generous. Head was one because he had a #8 attached to him. Juwan Howard??? Please. For the 82,302 new members here, please put on your thinking caps and realize that, if you don't want Howard, what makes you think other teams will? He will not land you Drew Gooden, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Lamar Odom, Kenyon Martin, Bonzi Wells, Peja Stojakovic, etc The only way we trade Howard away is for 1. a head case that has no hope of turning his career around or 2. a player who's contract is so astronomically big, it'll put us in luxury tax land for the next 3-4 years. And I hope you would consider this opinion, DD: any team is going to be better than last year's team period. It was a 34-win ball club no matter how anyone spins it. So comparing whatever team to last year's is pointless.
Rockets both have a better starting line-up AND got absolutely dominated in this draft. Assuming Battier and T-Mac play the 2/3 together, given Battier's solid health, I see no reason why he can't get 35 mpg and can't produce at least what he already has. On the other hand, in the 71 games Wesley did play in, he averaged over 33 mpg...though Battier should be able to produce more and defend better on size alone. And Battier can shoot well, and does play consistently. 15/6 wouldn't be a complete shock, but people HAVE to stop expecting improvements from players just because they join our system - if anything, our system depresses stats even more. And, of course, we got raped in the trade, lost depth, traded away athleticism, got slower and more likely to produce even more boring games next season...
I believe the slowest team in the NBA just got slower. Got to love that when the teams above us...Spurs, Suns, Mavs were already a lot quicker than us.
Every time we add a guy most of the board says "expect ______ to put up better numbers since he'll be left open because of Yao and T-Mac." I don't know if a single player has actually improved their numbers. If anything players have to defer a lot more to Yao and T-Mac.
You are right, he may not improve his individual numbers, BUT, he will improve the most important number there is.....MORE WINS for the Houston Rockets. It is not about what Shane puts up on a nightly basis, it is the extra threat he brings to the table that free up Yao or Tmac for more shots, or if teams choose to shut them down, then Shane can have a big night. Shane adds another serious option to this team, and he fits in, I think the trade is ok, I think we gave too much, but so what. I will root for this team with Shane Battier, and hope that Tmac and Yao come back strong and healthy, and when they win their 58th game next year, I will be HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY with the trade. DD
