QUIT THIS BLASTED ODOM TO HOUSTON TALK!!

I think it would be nicer to have a superstar with the potential to be one of the top players in the game as the starting small forward for the Rockets.

Yes, I'm speaking of Lamar Odom.

You speak of people "toking it up with Odom." Do you not think you are doing the same with an unproven juco player in Qyntel Woods? He's not going to come in and contriubte immediately, and frankly I don't buy these lofty comparisons for him.

Given a choice, I'd take Odom without even thinking.

But it's not going to happen.

 

We were healthy last year and still didn't make the playoffs.
Also, I'm not sold on either Woods or Butler. I'm not saying that they're bad, but they're not the sure things you make them out to be (especially Woods, who has all of 1 year of juco ball under his belt - at least Eddie played a year in a big-time program before we drafted him).
Anyway, neither of those guys are going to be the ball-handler we need to free up Francis, while Odom will pass the rock with great success.
Finally, straight isn't spelled "strait" - "strait" is a singing cowboy.

 

how are woods and griffing superstars?

one has never played an ncaa or nba game and the other hasnt even averaged 10 ppg.

 

Choosing between a player that has scored 16 pts, 6 rebs and 5 ast as a 20 year old rookie and now is only 22 years of age is much less risky than taking anyone at the 5th. Odom is a star, theres no denying it. I don't see how woods or butler can come in and average even close to what Odom has. I think the clippers would laugh at the rockets if they offered the 5th pick. Woods could be special but Odom already is.

 

"superstar" means alot. i could see "star" but he has ways to go before superstar.

 

What you don't realize is how Odom would fit in. You know Steve's turnover problems? Down. Cato's numbers? Up. Team's assist numbers? Up. Francis' scoring? Up. Team's record?


Odom is the missing link. Like if u have a chain that's broken, u add a link to complete it, you never add a piece to another piece just for the hell of it.

We have no place for Gooden or Wilcox or anyone.

I'm very high on Woods, and he seems like a workhorse too. But still, he's a draft pick. We KNOW what Odom can do, and all we need is what he's shown. He's young, he can offer even more. He's not a big-ego player either, so that's perfect for giving some minutes to Rice too.


List every single problem the Rockets healthy starting line-up has. Odom iproves 90% of those things.

I'm sure someone's going to try to bring out his FG%. Let me start by saying he was playing with an injured wrist. Let me continue by saying we're not asking for much scoring. Would you get mroe attention playing alongside Elton Brand, or Cat & Wink, the highest scoring backcourt in the league.


Also, like oeilpere said, we're looking for help NOW. No more teenage projects who can become somthing in the future.

 

IMO, it's a toss up.

With Odom, you do get 20 ppg and 5 ast but for how many games a season. He had more injuries and surguries this season than most players have in a career. It would be smart for the Clipps to trade him this off season for a #5 pick versus locking him up with a fat contract. Think about it, they could trade Odom who played a hand full of games for a player like Wilcox or Butler and look like getaway bandits afterwards. Those guys can come in and contribute right away. I used to be all for trading for Odom, now I'm alot more skeptical seeing how injuries can dessimate a team.

I would rather draft Caron and save $$$ to pick up some quality F.A. in a the future.

 

If we're going to pick someone up in the draft, it better be Ming.

No one else.


BTW, you don't get 20ppg with Odom. What we would get is probably 15ppg, 6apg, 6reb. Exactly what we need.

 

One mroe thing, he didn't have recurring injuries. That's a big indicator in career threatning injuries. His wrist and his leg I think. He played without problems before this season. Plus, he seems to be a gym rat, going to summer league games too, hoping to play.

 

I think Odom turned over the ball just as much or more than Steve did in their first two seasons and he didn't even have the ball in his hands as much as Steve. I really don't think Odom is that smart of a player. I'd rather have Rashard. Lets try and get some people on our team who can shoot.

 

Why would we continue looking for scorers? We have at the very least 3 big time scorers next season.


Difference is, when Odom handles the ball here, he'll have so many more scoring options than he ever did in his career. When Francis handles the ball, he'll have one more scoring option this seaosn. With 2 playmakers, the extra passing will catch on, like in New Jersey. It's contagious.


Odom can really feed off of this team, and vice versa.

I'm not too keen on Lewis. His weaknesses are known. Those weaknesses are everythign the Rockets lack. Why get him?


Lewis has much more work to do to warrant anything more than 5 or 6 Million. MUCH more. Would you really want Lewis for the MAX or ANYTHING close?

 

odom is an athletic sf who supposedly can pass... but his TO's rank among some of the highest i believe for front court players (someone check?) ... his scoring is limited, can't shoot ft's well, is a decent defender and can run... but i feel he's severely overrated

more importantly, this type of guy is going to come out of the drafts more and more... we shouldn't be giving up much or anything long term if we do acquire him

plus, the toke/injury stuff is an unknown. it can go either way and as long as it's an unknown, it's a risk.

the rocks don't need any risks right now for another higher priced player

 

I just simply disagree that Odom is really going to be some calm, reliable playmaker like some of you seem to think. When him and Steve were both healthy, Odom's assist to turnover ratio was worse than Steve's. He turns that ball over a lot, he likes to make the fancy play, and he is not a spectacular outside shooter. To me, this is compounding three of the biggest problems the Rockets have.

We only had one player this season who could hit the outside shot. Steve can hit the outside shot too, but he had an off year. Lewis rarely ever turns over the ball. He'll catch it, shoot it, and swish it. There won't be any dribbling involved. And as a result Steve's assist numbers would go up now that he would actually have a spot-up shooter to kick the ball out to when he penetrates. Plus, Lewis runs the court well. What exactly are his weaknesses? I think Rashard will eventually be the best 3-point shooter in the NBA.

 

Lewis' weaknesses:

Ballhandling. The reason he doesn't dribble, is because he CAN'T. Can't create his own shot.

Defense. His reflexes aren't that good it seems. But, he might eventually, in years, become a decent defender. Out of experience of course.

No Post game. His post-game is very weak, and lacks any creativity. This is something Odom does better.


I fail to see why everyone says Odom is overrated. He really isn't. He hasn't done anything yet, and hasn't been given props for anything. I explained about the TO's. Odom is not half as flashy as Francis, Cat or Mooch. If he brings scoring, that's great. I'm just saying we won't NEED it that bad. As you can see, he is quiet about his role, and shows leadership skills. He takes responsibility for his actions and his team.

With the teams Odom played with, I wouldn't be surprised if he had more TO's than assists. But what about when he has 3 bigtime scorers? Even this season, all he had was Brand and sometimes Richardson.

 

We don't need scoring? This team currently has two scorers. And that's about it. For all the talk of Mo... he didn't manage to score that much 2 years ago.... only on a very bad Clipper's team without other offensive options.

I would go this far: we need shooters, more than guys who can create their own shot. That's why Lewis would fit in so well. He's a deadly shooter... and that's what we need to compliment guard penetration.

 

You're insane, I'd take Odom on this team in a heart beat! The Rockets need a consistent 3rd scorer, Odom gives you that. The Rockets need better passing, Odom gives you that. The Rockets need more frontcourt rebounding, Odom gives you that. The Rockets don't need anymore ball-handling, yet Odom gives you THAT to! Odom is a star, and one injury wracked year doesn't make you an injury risk. I doubt if Rashard Lewis will leave Seattle, especially with the team winning like this, but the Clippers are willing to let Odom go. Odom turns the ball over some, but that's because the Clippers didn't have ball-handlers until this year. The years before those were young, inexperienced players in the backcourt for the LA Clips.

 

RocksMill, I agree with you about getting Odom, but I do wonder how easily he can be that 3rd scorer. For the Rockets, the only type of player I can see being a 3rd scorer that fits with this team presently is a pure shooter who can spot up from anywhere and hit, like Rashard. Odom is horrible for that role. Ideally, Rudy T and the staff can organize the offense to capitalize on Odom's strengths without detracting from other players' abilities to score, but to me, that's something that needs to be worked out and shouldn't be overlooked.

We also need some smarts, and just because Odom averages as many assists as Francis does not mean that he can make better decisions. Whether or not he can, I don't know, but there's nothing in his stats that suggests that he can more than can't.

I want Odom, but I do feel we need a pure shooter that would thrive feeding off of Steve and Cuttino, if not starting, at least high up on the playing rotation. But those can be gotten, just like bruisers and energy players.

 

Granted, Odom doesn't bring much defense, and granted he does turn the ball over alot, but IMHO, he's the classic 'catalyst' type guy that you run your offense through, a type of guy that Mr. Francis hasn't quite[/b] proven himself to be yet for me.

Remember how many turnovers Hakeem used to have before he learned to recognise the double team? Those turnovers didn't quite tell the whole story of his importance to the offense. Odom would be either a guy that you could post up and run the ofense through, or you could have him distribute from the top of the key to Steve and Cuttino off of low screens, and even have him preform as a spot up shooter.

Beyond this team's noted defensive shortcommings, I am struck by their last place standing in assists per game. Odom is a guy who can anchor a different offense that would remedy this.