Give him a little time. It's a quarter of a season and with all the injuries, he is not playing like the role player he was picked up to be. Now that Yao is sideline for 8 weeks, it's going to look worst for him. Was it a mistake to pick him up? Not really, Young and athletic was the priority and he fit the bill. The other 2 free agent PF were not. Basketball IQ for the poor fellow is a bit low but he could jump and had a mid range game (which he is not showing). Give the guy a season with Yao and then judge him. TMac thinks he will be a good addition to the team and I trust him. Just wish we didn't have the best injury team in the league. Do you think the Rockets injury list team could beat some of the weaker teams in the league? That's 3 starters and the #1 backup center and #1 backup PG out of action. We are going to be losing games for a while. Bob Sura was the starting PG, D Anderson the starting SG and Yao the center. Ralf the #1 PG and Dek the#1 Center off the bench. This hurts.
TMac said those things when we were recruiting and initially signed Swift. We haven't heard diddly from TMac since then. It would be nice that if TMac still believes in him for him to speak up especially now when we need him to step up so badly. I think the bench job the other night says a lot. Did anybody else think the other Rockets' players and coaches reactions to Swift lying on the floor after the infamous kick to the jewels may have been an indication of how they feel about him. On TV it sounded like Juwan walked up to him and said something to him about gutting it out while the other players and coaches were very nonchalent in their concern for the seriousness of his "injury". Nobody seemed to concerned or interested or even caring about Stro. Could it be he's already worn out his welcome? Just wondering.
I said the same but was bashed and everything else about Swift vs SAR. The reason why i wanted SAR was to be that solid 3rd option and on some nights a 2nd option when Ming is tripping. Most people wanted this athelete who couldn't do anything but dunk and be out of position. The rockets should have sign and traded for SAR using either Baker or Spoons contract and offer Gerald Wallace the mle to get more atheletic at the 2/3 to cut down penetration and give the rox someone who gets to the rack. Hey, but thats just me.
I agree with you 100 percent. Take the Kings game for example. Juwan was clearly struggling, but yet JVG refused to put Stro in during the 3rd quarter. Sometimes it is as if JVG has a preconceived notion about StroMile
A little time? He's been the same suck-ass player for 5 years now. He's shown nothing to prove that he gets "it". One highlight dunk or block a game does not cut it at this level. Guys like him piss me off.
Keep it up, big man! If he can string together a few good games, I'll be convinced. I remember I though Carlos Rogers was the Rockets' savior at PF a few years back after one awesome game. We ended up waiving him after that season. Jury's still out on Swift...but it looks promising...
And now MemphisX is sitting behind his PC and wondering why he could'nt play like that for us? he is avge 21.5 points and 13 boards in the last 2 games.
I'm not a Swift hater, just a skeptic. And I'm definitely not ready to eat crow yet. He had two good games in a row a while back and then reverted to form again. Hopefully he's turned the corner and will be a reliable contributor every game. I said at the beginning that Rafer and Stro are the two main keys for our season. That was before the injury bug.
It's not about hating on Swift. All the Swift supporters are just finally coming around and seeing what Swift really is. I'm not sure why, but half this board was convinced that Swift was some sort of tough defensive-minded with an enforcer mentality that would throw down highlight-reel dunks and drain 15-ft jumpers with consistency. Fact of the matter is...only the part about the dunking is true. All he is...and ever has been for going on 5 years is an aggressive finisher on offense. Swift has NEVER been known as a tough player, nor a defensive-minded one. Ever since we started entertaining the idea of acquiring him, I had my doubts. I have no idea how anyone would think Swift could toughen up this team. He's been soft his entire career with an endless string of phantom injuries in Memphis. It's not completely his fault because he's just plain undersized. In a league where power forwards all weigh 250+, he's giving up more than 20 pounds. There are small forwards in this league that are bigger than he is. He's at a severe disadvantage going up against the elite power forwards in the west every night. I still think he can become a solid contributor eventually....but to be completely honest, he avoids physical contact on defense a bit too much for my taste. Constantly going for weakside blocks will get you highlight reel plays every now and then. From a team defense standpoint though...it's bad.
