Great post. Absolutely LMAO at those of you stacking down names in the form of a depth chart and calling it "depth." It's only considered "depth", if the players are good. Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but we're over here raving about a guy who's greatest accomplishment in the NBA has been summer league play, a guy who has yet to set foot in the United States, an undersized tweener that can't pass, a guy that has been GIVEN AWAY twice in a 2 year career for nothing (Snyder), and Alston who I personally like but must admit is among the bottom half of starting point guards in the league. That is not depth. That is a sh*tload of question marks, not a single proven, legitimate NBA player, and still a roster with only one guy who can get his own shot off the dribble. There's a reason why McGrady keeps breaking down and management has dropped the ball yet again. You guys are way too forgiving and way too easy to please.
I can completely agree that if we run with this backcourt all season long, there had better be some surprises up our sleeve because there are issues all over the place. However, these guys are not as bad as you make them out to be. I for one am expecting nothing out of Spanoulis or Lucas this year, so either Sura needs to be healthy, Head needs to be ready at the one, or we need to make a deal, even for someone like Damon Jones (not a fan, but he would at least give us an experienced shooter back there). Head gave us more as a rookie than anyone imagined, so why would expect less out of him? It's pretty reasonable to suggest he will improve markedly like most second-year players do, If he moves to the one, we need a guy liek Korver or another longer wing who can shoot, thus allowing McGrady to stay at the three mostly. Luckily, we still have 1/2 MLE and the large TE, which can get us the players we need. Then, if Snyder can do for us in rotation with Head, Korver, or some other wing what he did last year, then those 20 minutes will be full of a long, athletic wing who can defend and, yes, create his own shot. And going back to teams who could not create off the dribble, how many people on all three of the Lakers' championship teams or last year's Miami team could create of the dribble? One each--Kobe and Wade. Jason Williams was a spot-up shooter last year, while the best athlete Kobe had next to him was undrafted NAIA-product Devean George. Those examples are far more relevant than other recent champions because we are constructed most like that pair of teams: dominant inside-outside game with a back-to-the basket low-post scorer and an athletic, slashing wing who can hit his jumpers.
I prefer to finish your statement with the word 'hope'. I want to be optimistic, I do. I want to be, so I 'hope'.
Sam, I think the biggest question mark and possibility for improvement in the backcourt is Rafer (not very exciting, but I think the most realistic). He would easily be the most bankable and complete player in the backcourt if he could get his shooting percentage to a decent level. I'm not putting money on it since I haven't heard of any Rocket's aquisition of a shooting coach this summer, and looking back at his career stats isn't very encouraging (he's shot worse in 4 of his 7 seasons). thacabbage, that is my main concern also. When McGrady isn't in the game, or is injured, who is going to do his job? Yao can't handle every possession on his own. The one thing we know JLIII can do at the highest level is outquick most bigger players. Hopefully that can translate to some shot creation. Spanoulis has some potential in this category as well, but like the rest of the backcourt, is unproven. Both excellent posts. All I can say is, we have to cross our fingers and hope for some magical chemistry with this roster because no one player is going to put up any serious offense.
