given that Juwon is the starting PF, does anyone thing that Stromile has the skills to play the 3 spot even for smalls stretchs? he definitely has the speed and athleticism, and his size is actually closer to small forward. maybe he can play the 3 on defense and Juwon can play the 3 on offense. heck, the Rockets could just go ahead and use a big lineup of DA, TMac, Stro, Juwon, and Yao, with DA and TMac sharing PG responsibilities. i think it could work.
I question this lineup's spacing and ball-handling ability against even decent defenses. I know JVG likes using different lineups sometimes, but this might be a bit too fancy. I'd rather just put out a regular PF out there and T-mac at the SF. Either that or a small lineup, with 4 guards/swingmen and either Yao or Swift.
I doubt that he would use Stro at SF but I can see this lineup being run by JVG.... C - Swift PF - T-Mac SF - DA / Bowen SG - Barry / Wesley PG - Rafer / Head
first of all, he doesn't have to. Juwon would be the one doing the mid-range shooting. second, Stro's shooting isn't that bad. also, Tmac, DA and Yao are all excellent passers. Juwon is underrated as a passer. people forget that he was compared to Scottie Pippen the first few years he was in the league. judging from the preseason, Stro even seems quite adept at passing the ball. Tmac is one of the rare players who can play two positions equally well (2 and 3). he can also play 1 and 4 more than respectably. KG can play 3 and 4 equally well, and Marion somewhat. Iverson might be the best PG and SG. Lebron can play all 3 skill positions very well. Duncan and Amare can also play 4 and 5 at the highest level. anyway, most of the Rockets are very flexible regarding where they can play. the only starting Rockets who are stuck at one position on both ends of the floor are Yao and Rafer. i think the goal of coaching is to put the best players on the floor whenever feasible as well as when circumstances or matchups dictate. if Juwon is playing well enough to get around 30 mpg at PF, then Stro is going to have to get his minutes somewhere else. it won't be at center with Yao/Dikembe taking up all 48. my proposed secondary lineup actually gives better rebounding, scoring, and maybe even defense.
The goal of coaching is to put a unit out on the floor that will be successful. The lineup you suggest is very unlikely because the mix of players doesn't work well together. There is no natural PG and it's about the slowest lineup we could put on the floor. The offensive spacing would also be atrocious. As the preseason has shown, Yao & Deke will NOT take up all 48 minutes at center. And Stromile's 2nd position, not SF. At SF, he would average about 3 fouls/minute.
i guess we'll never know until we see. what i do know is that the preseason is rarely ever indicative of the regular season. last year, Yao and Deke combined for just under 46 mpg and that was with Yao averaging less than 31 mpg. and also, nine of the last 15 championships won were with teams without a natural PG or remarkable speed.
