No way Artest sits on the bench, Battier does. The team has many options because several players can play several positions. I would like to see TMac at the SF and Artest at the SG. I assume that the other starters are Yao, Scola, and, yes, (grit teeth), (cough and choke), Rafer. I am hoping that Barry takes some of Rafer's minutes and virtually all his shots. The bench is then stronger than ever with Battier, Brooks, Barry (the Killer B's) and Francis, Dorsey, Novak, Head, and maybe Mutombo (so he can get a ring). Will Harris be here? How about Landry? This team NOW has the talent to do something special. Can RA mesh the ego's and recover the chemistry of last season?
PG: Alston (22), Barry (18), Brooks (8), Francis (0) SG: T-Mac (34), Battier (14), Head (0) SF: Artest (34), Battier (14), Novak (0) PF: Scola (30), Landry (14), Hayes (4) C: Yao (30), Dorsey (10), Mutombo (8) My projection .
Starting 5: SF Artest PF Scola C Yao PG Alston SG McGrady 2nd Unit: (first three off bench in bold) SF Battier PF Landry C Dorsey PG Brooks SG Barry Depth: Francis (3rd PG/SG) Hayes (3rd PF/C) Mutombo (IR) Head (IR) Harris (IR) Novak (traded) Wow, this team is deep. With Barry, Brooks, and Battier we might have our version of the "Killer B's". Can't wait for next year.
Now that you break it down by minutes it is crystal clear that we are in desperate need of another backup C.... I'm not comfortable with 18 minutes per game btwn dorsey and mutombo a night at the 5 spot.
Lots of options. Defensive lineup. Mutombo Dorsey Artest Battier TMac This gives us great d but still 2 really good scoring options. Offensive lineup. Yao Scola Artest TMac Barry This gives us a scoring threat at every position. I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!! So many lineup options with such a good coach. We just went from pretendars to contendars.
Like the OP, I think we can keep the original starting five because they're extremely efficient and have a ton of chemistry. Bring Artest, Barry, and Francis off the bench to provide a huge scoring punch while the starters get some rest. Artest can have a lot more free reign that way by working with the second unit and won't take the ball too much out of Yao/T-mac's hands at the start so the two can get their engines running. We can finish the game with Battier on the bench or Artest and Battier both out there depending on who we're playing. I think Artest should play more minutes overall than Battier but Battier should start and be out there for a few key stretches just because he's a huge glue guy. Battier can guard the star players with the best of them and having to face the physical Artest off the bench right after getting shut down with the fundamentally sound Battier is going to give other teams nightmares.
How the rotation is set is all dependent on Artest's mindset when he comes to camp. If he is fine with being the first of the bench then he should b put there. He would provide instant scoring. With the second unit he can do what Bonzi wuz supposed 2 do last yr score in the paint and drive w/e he feels like. He would have a free reign and be the first option evrytime up the court. However it all is dependent on his mindset entering camp.
ROCKET FORMULA FOR SUCCESS 2009 Rockets components Dominant Big Man: Yao - Dream [Check] Hard Working 2nd Year PF: Scola - Horry [Check] Crazy Hardnosed Defender: Artest Madd Max [Check] Smooth Shooter/Star: T-Mac - drexler [check] Grizzled Veteran on the comeback from injury that made them less than they were: Francis - KSmith [check] Young Backup Shooting Guard: Brooks - Cassell [check] Grizzled Gritty Vet: Barry - Elie [Check] OverAcheiving Back up PF: Hayes/Landry - Chuckie Brown [Check] Grizzled old Back up Center: DEKE - Charles Jones [Check] hhhmmm .. . did i miss anything? Rocket River
I love Shane Battier but I would trade him, maybe for upgrated pg. he has high trade value and we can use it. But even if we didn't trade him I would be pretty happy. He gives this team a lot. Rotation? I don't see Ron at 4. It still should be Scola and it means Battier would come off the bench whan would be great especially playing against Cavs, Lakers, etc...(guarding Kobe, LeBron)
I think the most important thing for us with this trade is the ability, to let T-Mac and Yao play <30 minutes per game. They don`t have to carry most of the load anymore. I`d really like to let Artest come of the bench, similar to Ginobili. If not Battier will be the first of the bench. Backup PG? I`m not really sure... I don`t know how much Brooks has developed (especially his D), and I have no idea if SF will be able to compete next year. If we can trade for a good PG I´d be up for that! If not, Rafer can control the game, defend and will be in the game for a lot of minutes! Barry will play 10-15 minutes per game, playing smart, hitting open shots and passing the ball. If we keep Landry, he will come of the bench and bring a lot of energy to the table. Actually with the addition of Artest, Landry might be trade bait. Actually this trade gives us a wholte lot more flexibility, and takes some pressure off our players.
this is assuming the roster will look like this next season pg - rafer/steve/brooks sg - tmac/barry/head sf - ron/shane/ (i dont care who starts ) pf - scola/landry/hayes/novak c - yao/deke/dorsey i think steve is nba ready again. hes gonna work his ass off in training camp and be one of the best backup pgs in the league, if his body is up for the challenge . i think it will be ready for more than that tho so its ok . he does all the things a pg sposed to do, adds rebounding and can score. and w/ this team he'll be able to play defense. not lockdown defense but stay in front of his man and contest the shot. he has a rep for bein horrible at defense but cmon, yao and deke in the paint, shane/artest/tmac even barry gettin your back, and a very good defense system, hes more than capable. i think we should keep luther. hes only bad in the playoffs but thats cuz he scores off of dobule teams from yao or tmac, he cant make his own shot. in the regular season teams double more often and he's one of our best 3pt shooters. hes only been in the league for 3 years, so he can still improve, but we wont see him do his thing next season obviusly. i dunno if were gonna keep harris or hayes or either of them, but ima homer on hayes, i dont think hes shown us all he can do yet. i think rafers a lot better than most pple think he is and he'll prove that next season, specially when he doesnt need to score our points anymore . can i get an AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but still hes a smart player but for some reason he makes terrible decisions. our pg situation is fine. we dont need an all star caliber player at every position. lakers and celtics didnt ahve an all star pg but still made the finals. but if steve isnt ready next season and i doubt brooks will i guess rafer and shane'll be traded for ALLEN IVERSON?????????????? wtf? ya right, but i can see a trade for a pg if the team needs it.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jBx8LSwqRpE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jBx8LSwqRpE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> i found this video on youtube its ron artest against the jazz. and if he hates the jazz fans like that then i already think this trades a succes. i couldnt make a new thread cause im a rookie so i had to leave it as a reply
this is assuming the roster will look like this next season pg - rafer/steve/brooks sg - tmac/barry/head sf - ron/shane/ (i dont care who starts ) pf - scola/landry/hayes/novak c - yao/deke/dorsey i think steve is nba ready again. hes gonna work his ass off in training camp and be one of the best backup pgs in the league, if his body is up for the challenge . i think it will be ready for more than that tho so its ok . he does all the things a pg sposed to do, adds rebounding and can score. and w/ this team he'll be able to play defense. not lockdown defense but stay in front of his man and contest the shot. he has a rep for bein horrible at defense but cmon, yao and deke in the paint, shane/artest/tmac even barry gettin your back, and a very good defense system, hes more than capable. i think we should keep luther. hes only bad in the playoffs but thats cuz he scores off of dobule teams from yao or tmac, he cant make his own shot. in the regular season teams double more often and he's one of our best 3pt shooters. hes only been in the league for 3 years, so he can still improve, but we wont see him do his thing next season obviusly. i dunno if were gonna keep harris or hayes or either of them, but ima homer on hayes, i dont think hes shown us all he can do yet. i think rafers a lot better than most pple think he is and he'll prove that next season, specially when he doesnt need to score our points anymore . can i get an AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but still hes a smart player but for some reason he makes terrible decisions. our pg situation is fine. we dont need an all star caliber player at every position. lakers and celtics didnt ahve an all star pg but still made the finals. but if steve isnt ready next season and i doubt brooks will i guess rafer and shane'll be traded for ALLEN IVERSON?????????????? wtf? ya right, but i can see a trade for a pg if the team needs it.
I could see various starting line ups. For example, verse Dallas, Scola could come off the bench. If it comes down to Artest and Battier starting, I would prefer Battier. Only because Artest would be able to absorb more minutes when Tmac is on the bench and we could use the extra offense. Similar to Manu, it is not always about the better player starting.
We told the Hornets we'd take Bonzi for some Head. ...was I supposed to say that? Turn the camera off...
Something lik that: PG Alston 33 Francis/Barry/Brooks 15 SG TMAC 28 Shane 10 Barry/Head 10 SF Artest 22 Shane 20 TMAC 6 PF Scola 20 Artest 10 Landry/Dorsey/Hayes 18 C Yao 33 Scola 8 Deke/Dorsey 7
straying a bit off-topic. but just dawned on me the potential of running a small ball lineup could include: brooks - francis - tmac - artest - dorsey/landry adelman proved last year he is not afraid to fiddle with rotations until he finds a good one, i wonder if we'll get to see a lineup such as the one i proposed, i hope we get to see adelman experiment with some interesting rotations in preseason, cant wait!
