Swift's Role and Why he will fit the Rockets

True,Swift is a piece of the puzzle that should fit like a glove, providing all of the above you mentioned. .He comes in already able to perform his role,but has the potential/upside to be an all star.I mean,the guy WAS the second pick of the draft.
...and at the MLE!

 

I think Stromile Swift will definitely help Yao Ming's development. Once Yao get his butt covered by Swift, he won't give out fouls that he's giving out before trying to close out on the guards then try to recover and rotate back to the low post and try to block shot or get rebound.

 

I totally agree. When training camp starts, the team will be split up and will have to play against each other. Having someone like Swift who's played both 4 and 5, he'll prolly be matched up on Yao. Sizing up and playing against Swift's speed and athleticism, Yao getting his much needed rest from surgery, PLUS playing together in the season, I definetly feel Yao's going to increase his game to the 20/10(maybe 12) player we've been waiting for.

 

I think going forward, JVG can put Stro on Dirk and Tmac on Haward and end that small lineup BS quick !

 

I guess that's fine, but then who does Yao guard? I think it's still not ideal because it still forces Houston to take Yao out of the game.

 

Yao guards the middle. Whoever is in the lane gets a big taste of Ming.

 

I can definately see Yao getting 20 points a game but i can't see him being a 10 to 12 board a night guy especially with Swift Vaccuming up his fair share and prolly a lil extra. i can see Yao putting up numbers in the area of 21 and 8-9 next year

Also the talk of Stromile being a big time rebounder isn't really that accurate. his rebounds per 48 minutes is only 10.3.... for comparison Yao's rebounds per 48 minutes is 13.1. The league leader is Seattle restricted free agent Reggie Evans at an amazing 18.8 rebounds per 48 minutes. Now there is a player i'd love to have coming off the bench behind Stro. Mutombo in less minutes per game averaged more rebounds than Stro. Al that being said i do think he is completely capable of getting 10 rebounds a game, but he has yet to put up that kind of production even in the playing time he has put in. Hopefully the lack of a dominant rebounder, and if mighty mouse replaces Sura the losee of those rebounds will open up enough of a vaccum for Stro to take over.

 

Swift should go a long way towards putting us over the top, or at least to the second round in the playoffs. One of the things that GATER said that struck me was that Swift is quick enough to set multiple screens for TMac and then still get into position for the offensive board. Add in the athleticism and you could see some serious alley-oops from TMac to Swift and vice-versa.

We are going to be very dangerous this year even if we don't upgrade the PG/SG spots until the trade deadline.

 

If Yao kills Dirk when they go small like that, they wouldn't do it. When the Mavs went small like that a deke was in the game, he played off and then got all the offensive boards. Thats what Yao needs to learn. Play of then on offense kill the smaller guy instead of shooting turnaround jumpers.

 

While I think Swift will start and brings a lot of these critical things, I highlighted two things.

Swift is a pretty average rebouder, not much different that Howard. Don't expect huge improvements on the boards, though at least defensively we were good last year to start with.

I keep hearing Swift is a good mid-range shooter, but the numbers don't beat this out. Guys like SAR, Walker, Marshall and our own Howard are in the 40s in effective jump shooting, Swift has been more around 30% the last few years (last year a very poor 28%). Looks to me we want him closer in to finish or draw fouls than settling a lot for jumpers. Compared to alternatives (Yao, Tmac, open 3s by guards), opponents are going to want Swift taking jumpers. I think JVG should be very deliberate about getting him in the spots he is most effective, they are are not the same as with Howard. How well Swift gets better percentage plays than his mid-range jumper within our offense IMO will go a long way as to whether he not JH is in there to finish games, and whether he plays toward the upper range of his likely PT (30MPG) or towards the lower range (22MPG).

 

Good post. I had taken it for granted that Swift has a very solid mid-range jump shot, but if not, we may be looking at the return of Eddie Griffin in a negative sense (Eddie never seemed to be able to high a good percentage of his jumpers)

 

I would not go so far to make this comparison (Swift to EG), nor Swift to Cato, nor Swift to Bowen. Swift has some offensive strengths and overall is offensively efficient per shot taken, unlike these guys.

Swift is much more effective than EG in the interior and MUCH better about drawing fouls. Swift is very effective in certain spots (EG is mediocre in his best spots like parking at the 3 line, terrible in others)--what will be key is whether Swift can get to those spots where he is efficient and be utlized well in our half court offense. Him at the elbow won't be a meal ticket like it is with JH, but he could be better than JH if it the right place (running the break, moving toward the basket off doubles in particular).

 

If swift can just take some of Yao's fouls/responsibility on defense, the rockets will jump from a first found exit to championship contender status. The next step is simply getting Yao's 20-10 production night after night. And the way to do that is to keep him on the floor not saddled with foul problems. This is swift's most important responsibility.

Obviously he needs to help on the boards/defense and get some garbage points/hit an open 10-15 footer with some regularity, but if he just keeps Yao out of foul trouble and on the court, this contract was worth it and so much more.

 

swift does have a decent mid range jumper. his low eFG% is due to poor shot selection. no player on the grizz gets doubled. he was never shooting the wide open shots we saw Jho take from the elbow last year.

with a summers practice + training camp + preseason, i think he can become very consistant from the elbow if he is left open.

 

Soothie, I'll watch for it and hope you are right, but his ejumper% has been poor to mediocre a number of years. I would have thought next to Gasol he would get some shots (Swift got about 1/3rd his PT at the 5).

Also, JH e-jumper % has been right above .40 even on teams much worse than Memphis (Orlando 04, Denver 03)--it wasn't noticiably better with us, it has just been very consistent low 40s.

I just really doubt Swift will be as good at the mid range game as JH. If I am the opponent and have to give up something, Swift's jumper is it right now unless he gets a lot more consistent at it--I'd much rather have him take that than an open guard 3 ball, Yao in good low block position or uncovered from the midrange (himself 43% on jumpers), or Tmac in good position 1 on 1. But if Swift can regularly get inside with the ball arriving for him to finish and/or draw fouls, that spells big time trouble for opponents.

 

What's exactly the size of Swift ?
I read 6-9, 6-10 and 6-11.
And the height between 225 and 230 (à little less important).

He is ONE player. The, he must have ONE size and ONE height.

 

JH has always had a great jumper. i am no stat expert, but I am usually a pretty good judge of talent (i scout for Hofstra University, ya know...speedy claxton college). i've seen his form and in a few games ive seen him get hot and hit a few jumpers in a row. i have faith. he is worse than Jho as far as jump shooting goes but with his form, age, and our coaches, he should be fine.

 

see http://www.hostultra.com/~lbrooks2/nba/2000pros.html