Yao obviously at the 5. Battier is practically a lock at the 3. T-Mac of course at the 2. I think the rest of the lineup will be Francis at the point and Hayes at the 4. Scola could eventually start in place of Chuck, but I don't think Adelman will initially screw around with what the Rockets had in place last season. They did win 52 games with that squad(aside from Francis replacing Alston). The difference this season is the bench will consist of Head, Bonzi, James, Scola, Brooks, Snyder, and Butler. And maybe even Deke and Novak. Good Lord this team is loaded.
I don't know, anyone feeling like Hayes doesn't have a place anymore. I think Scola needs to get in there and build chemistry with the team. I would like to see more out of Novak if he can do anything in addition to his shooting. I really think Butler should get the majority of the back-up 4 minutes. He is bigger and seems to have a lot more upside than Hayes long-term. I love Hayes, but I just don't see him fitting anymore, and he isn't signed yet (I don't think ). Alston T-Mac Battier Scola Yao
yao scola battier mcgrady rafer butler hayes bonzi francis james brooks, head i'll admit i think we're kinda weak up front... if i knew more about harris or landry i'd be inclined to throw them on the end of the bench. would love to get snyder in the rotation somehow.... all in all, we need to make a trade to clear up some of this logjam.
Dang!....no wonder Spanoulis wanted out. this year he woudn't even have a seat on the bench! We have so many good players that it will be fun watching Adelman trying to figure out who to sit versus who to play.....How Sweet it is!!!!!!
C: Yao PF: TBA SF: Battier SG: McGrady PG: Francis Francis makes a better starter than James because of his history as Yao, and because he's more likely to pass and create than James. James will be a much-needed dose of scoring off the bench. That leaves Deke, Scola, Hayes, Wells, James, Brooks, and Butler as our bench, with some other spare parts thrown in due to trades and what not. Novak and Landry will be on IR. And of course, this is all under the assumption that Head and Alston are goners.
james mcgrady battier scola yao francis hayes alston head snyder/brooks i'm pretty confident in those picks but not sure between scola and hayes. chuck plays well with tracy and he can be a starter while still getting only 20 minutes or so. i'm not sure scola instantly starts but i bet he gets most of the pf minutes sooner rather than later. as far as the bench, adelman's not playing the whole team. nobody does that. it'll probably be a solid nine guys with another two rotating depending on the game. so i guess 9.5. if alston and/or head are gone i'll move brooks and snyder or perhaps a new pf into the solid rotation. no one really has a feel on what the rockets think about brooks as an instant impact player. i guess no one really knows until atleast training camp either. if he blossoms it might actually make things even easier.
1st Team PG: Steve Francis SG: Tracy McGrady SF: Shane Battier PF: Luis Scola C: Yao Ming 2nd Team PG: Mike James SG: Luther Head SF: Bonzi Wells PF: Chuck Hayes C: Dikembe Mutombo/Jackie Butler looks pretty good
James Francis T-Mac Battier Yao We go small but fast. Unreal, unreal. I dreamed of this day almost a year ago, I never thought it would come.
i'd rather have: 2nd Team PG: Mike James SG: Bonzi Wells SF: Kirk Snyder PF: Chuck Hayes C: Dikembe Mutombo/Jackie Butler
Yao/Deke/Butler Scola/Hayes/Novak Battier/Bonzi/Reed McGrady/Francis/Snyder James/Alston/Brooks 15 players 3 on the disabled list Brooks, Reed, & Novak. Trade Head & Novak for Haslem. JL3/Reed for Najera
That doesn't work... yo end up with too many players still. You have 15 at the top and you add Haslem and Najera at the bottom. Edit: never mind you trade two of the people in your 15... carry on
To Start the Season: 1st Team PG: Steve Francis SG: Tracy McGrady SF: Shane Battier PF: Udonis Haslem C: Yao Ming 2nd Team PG: Mike James SG: Bonzi Wells SF: Kurt Snyder PF: Luis Scola C: Jackie Butler After the All-Star break: Switch Haslem and Scola Of course this is after the: Miami / Houston Trade Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg in 37.0 minutes And either... Steve Novak 6-9 SF from Marquette 1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.2 apg in 5.5 minutes or... John Lucas 5-11 PG from Oklahoma State 3.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.7 apg in 8.2 minutes For... Udonis Haslem 6-8 PF from Florida 10.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.2 apg in 31.5 minutes
