I like these three guys. The bring energy and hustle to the court everytime (much like Spoon). They don't make many mistakes and all three of them (ok... Pike is in a slump) can shoot the 3. I wonder sometimes if we just have a rotation problem instead of a talent problem. During the first 1/3 of the season when these guys were getting PT... the Rockets played good ball. Any thoughts?
I think they dont becuase lack of skill, they just dont have the skills to get 20 mpg in the nba. The only one that comes close is Pike i like his game alot.
Boki is given some chances in the early season. He must let JVG down. Pike is really in trouble in the games I watch (national televised). Padgett seems good, he is a weapon against some teams. I remember he even start once along with yao, but performes not so well.
Not 20 mpg, but how about 8-15 minutes? Padgett has done nothing but impress me this season, he hits open shots and gets a lot of rebounds for his size, he hustles and does a lot of small things that the Rockets need. Even though Pike's shot is in a slump, sitting him on the bench for 30 games straight isn't going to make it any better. JVG wanted to surround Yao and Steve with shooters and that's what Pike is. Boki is probably the only guy who deserves to sit the bench. Nothing against him, but the guy doesn't produce when he is in. I really do think that implenting Padgett and Pike more into the lineup would help this team. Remember when Padgett had that game when he was unstoppable? Teams don't come prepared for guys like Padgett and Pike, and it they could throw some defenses off.
Padgett SHOULD be playing a lot more. He is a good shooter and a hustle player who plays a good smart team game. I actually think he make the team better than MoT. DD
ditto on Padgett. this player has a Ceballos-like knack for knowing where to stand for opportunity baskets. He also improves our spacing on the offensive end.
Big Padgett fan. The man is a much better fundamentally sound passer then MoT ever will be. The "T" in Mo standing for turnover as far as I'm concerned. He spreads the floor with his 3 point ability and knows his limits and doesn't try to exceed them. He always seems to establish good position for boards and hustles for loose ballls on the court to try and tip to his teammates. As for Boki, maybe it's just been the garbage time he's been receiving but he's been impressive in those limited minutes. Again he's not going to impress you with flashy crossovers or size and speed but he's just a good all around player. He reminds me of Turkoglu as far as what his game could amount to. Never really watched Pike as a Clipper but all I ever heard about him was how well he could shoot the trey and he's been inconsistent at that all season. What I do like about him though is on a fastbreak he's smart enough to spot up for a 10 foot jumper oppose towards risking getting called for a charge by trying to force an awkward layup.
The one time I saw him do this, I cringed (although the shot went in). It's very unlikely to get a charge called against you on a fast break and a layup is a much better shot than the jumper.
dconover, it's good to see you are not too preoccupied with KKK activities and are able to find the time to post on this bbs Geez, with a fan base like this, I'm begining to understand the business sense of Les and his imposed quota of minimum two white scrubs on the roster all the time...
JVG plays a limited roster. Spoon is 'stealing' minutes from Padgett, and, to an extent, from Boki. JJax and Cat eat up the minutes. Francis sometimes moves to 2 for MJax. Thus, limited roster usage and max minutes for the 8 or 9.
I cringe when our backcourt forces a contested layup. I mean look at the front page picture of clutchfans with Francis charging Antonio Daniels. I'd much rather take an assured uncontested two points then trying to get a blocking foul for an unsure 3 point play, especially considering it just as easily results in a turnover assuming our guys are beaten for position and called for a charge. Francis did that atleast twice in the Sonics game with called charges and a third time where he just plain blew the contested layup. Cuttino did often against San Antonio on the road trying to draw a blocking foul and get a 3 point play and was called for charges on multiple occasions. And those haven't been the only two games where it's happened. It's been a season long struggle trying to find consistency on converting fastbreak opportunities, where often times I'd remember seeing the Rockets donation to Brakecheck (?) on how many fastbreak points they made for a game and seeing that it was only 2 points. That's ridiculous. I'm not saying they should always stop for a 10 foot jumper, but bull charging on a fastbreak opportunity in hopes of getting a blocking foul and a 3 point play isn't wise either. Mix it up.
JVG is not the type of coach who never plays ten-men rotation like Hubie Brown. Boki, Padgett and Pike are perhaps less reliable than the starters, but they do bring energy to the team and prevent the starters from wearing out. I just hope JVG can play them more and make the best use of them.
While boki might look like the odd man out now, i believe he has the most upside of the three, he needs minutes, he can be like that guy from Seattle, i think his name is Radmonobich or something like that, i see that type of player in Boki.
i tell you how to remember that guy's name. it is red mom no victory (Radmonovic). <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_1_23.gif' border=0></a>
I would like to see more of Padgett. Whenever the Rox aren't making their open shots they should bring in some fresh legs and let them have a shot. Padge has a good range.
