I like the hustle of Kenny but I think this could also be done by Tmo.We need to give some playing time to him and boki..I'd love to trade him with Moochie but I don't know for whom...whom do u think? I
KT is a good role player, but he cannot play the 3 effectively? Eventhough his outside shot sucks, he still continues to brick them up. KT does hustle and plays well in the paint, but he is no SF. It should be intersting when Tmo returns to the lineup. If he continues where he left off in the preseason, then KT's days are numbered (or at least his minutes). If the Rockets really wanted KT, they would have offered an extension to him. I know they have limitations with the luxury tax, but not offering a contract was a clear sign of where he stands in the Rockets future. Moochie's reduced minutes is a sign from god, THANK YOU!!! That 3 guard lineup has lost more games, then won. Hawkins replacing Moochies minutes has really helped this team get to the next level, defensively. Rice is just a game away from retirement, hopefully!
IMO, the offense seems to flow so much better with MoT on the block as opposed to KT at the elbow. That being said, I'd still like to see if Mo can rebound and D up consistently. If that were to happen, then I think Mo should start and Kenny should come off the bench. I'm not sure if Kenny will accept that role quietly, however. I don't much like starting KT at the 3 because he is just not a reliable outside shooter, especially past 18 feet. If we are going to lose him after this season anyways, then I wouldn't mind seeing him traded provided we can get something decent in return. Otherwise, he can still be valuable to this team in certain matchups.
Already 8 games into the season, and trade talks are already escalating. I thought by now, being one of the top 5-6 teams in the west that we would be beyond these types of things. Oh well, I guess I can't blame anyone. I mean, I would love to trade away some of our "extra baggage," but believe it or not we need them! Without them we would be an injury away from being kicked out of the playoffs. Look at the Kings, they are injured up the wazoo and they are still racking up the wins. Now when you look at the Lakers, Shaq's gone and he is replaced with a scrub (you might compare this type of player a Dan Langhi type) that can't man the position. In other words, be happy for all the depth the Rockets have, it the future it will help us win those type of close games that we lost last year.
HR, where I might agree with you on KT, you cannot be serious about Moochie and Rice. We have already seen what happens if Moochie takes over the starting point guard spot (we loose). Rice is past his prime, and has not hit consistently from 3 point land in years. I have no idea what we would do without Francis, but Moocie is not the answer. We should of kept Damon Jones from last years training camp (over Tier Brown).
No argument here. Mooch and Rice are NOT difference makers. I have yet to see them come into a game and give the team even a shot of momentum. If a possible trade scenario does currently exist out there for both these players, then the Rox should do it without blinking an eye.
How many games has Moochie won for us? How many last second shots? Moochie hasn't had a "great" first couple of games so far this season, but all it will take is one game winner and he would prove his worth. I agree that Rice is pretty worthless, but there is the fact that he brings a type of maturity and leadershipto the team that we sorely need. Considering he is the only player on this team with any "real" playoff experience, it might be nice to have him around when the time comes. In other words, Rice is like an extra cheerleader... a very expensive cheerleader...
Outside of some last minute shots, how many games did Mooch win for the Rox when Stevie was out last year? How much production has he put forth this year and if it's because he's not playing much, then is there a reason he's been benched? I like Mooch personally, but you really can't make a strong argument to Moochie's worth. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1081324 Norris, 28, the last of the Rockets' seven free agents from last season, had refused the Rockets' offer of $13.3 million over four seasons. But after several days of renewed talks, the Rockets added two more seasons for a deal worth $22.73 million over six years. He quoted his worth and the Rockets overpaid! He's just not worth keeping.
Blameing those losses on Moochie isn't going to help. He was trying his best to replace Steve, but no one can do that. Maybe if we had Gary Payton or Steve Nash, we may have won a few of those games. But our offense, even after Steve left, was still dependent on our PG for a bulk of the scoring. If you want to balme anyone, try Rudy for being too stuborn to change the offense scheme. Look, I know that a lot of our players are over payed: Rice, Cato, Moochie. Just before the season started, Cato was on the top of everyone's hate list untill he started playing well. If Moochie brings what he brought last year, he will be at least some what worth what we pay him (though not really.) We should be glad to have a PG that plays with as much heart as Moochie. Plus he is the coolest Rocket of all time
