The more I review last year's games the more I am convinced..

I don't mean to take the thread off the path here, but I just have a quick question. SLA (or anyone else who may know), wasn't there a thread earlier this summer that stated in it that, more or less, the reason Kenny Thomas was moved was because he was showing signs that he didn't like Yao?

I thought Kenny was a fine player, but if he was going to hurt team chemistry, and the move to get Posey was, among other things, to maintain team chemistry, then Kenny simply had to go. It's ashame that we may lose Posey as well though.

 

OK, you're a dreamer.

Seriously, Rox competed with teams when the games meant more to the Rox than to the opponent. The Rox focus also was a big part of it, and was something somewhere somehow lost before Rudy's illness and very gone after.

JVG should be a great pick up. However, this team is less physically talented right now than last season. JPo is a loss which will haunt the Rox. He, being gone, makes Rox less. He, on the Griz, makes them more (than the Rox? Maybe yes, or at least the gap is closer to being gone).

Piakowski is a fine pick up. As an 8th or 9th man. Not as starter JPo's 'replacement'.

This team has to count on the edge of JVG + EG's and Boki's development + the continued improvement of the very big guy + Stevie 'getting it' as the PG -- to compete for the 6th place finish, tho low lottery is equally possible.

 

i see this basically has turned into a debate as to why we should or shouldn't retain James Posey. I liked James Posey and I'd have loved to seen him resigned but I can understand why the rockets aren't in a hurry to match 4 years 22 million. my brief summary of the situation:

if JVG gets this team to step up their team defense a notch or two as expected, then Posey won't be missed much and Piatkowski's shooting will be an asset. it's as simple as that.

 

More likely? Honestly, if the Posey offer sheet is too rich for our blood, I expect us to be very quiet about it, and leave Memphis wondering what we'll do come deadline time. I definitely don't think Posey gone is a done deal, as we saw the Clippers match Maggette after a week, and the Warriors matched Marc Jackson in the final 24 hours, iirc.

I still think that we don't really have a good feel for the JVG era. He handles things differently than Rudy, so I really have no idea what the current Rocket philosophy is. I wouldn't be too surprised to see us make a move to re-arrange our cap situation, then match for Posey.

hp- Charles Oakley is out there. JVG loved him (Camby was in the doghouse partly because he wasn't Charles Oakley), he was with Ewing in Washington last year, and he was with Ewing and JVG against the Rockets in 1994. I think TheFreak would blow a fuse if we added another ex-New Yorker though.

 

thats a bunch of hooey..

The reason that was alluded to was to relieve the "PF by committee" situation. They supposedly felt that Eggie needed the playing time to develop and there wasnt any way they could get Mo traded with him coming of the injury and a large salary.
So K9 became the fallguy of choice..it is a shame, cause KT had some great aspects to his game that we sure could have used later in the season.

 

I agree most of your statement but EG's defense is just horrible. He relies much on his physical talent but he has no idea of rotation.

 

You are correct about 00-01--NVE (70), McDyess(70) and Laffrenz(74) each played the majority of games for Denver, I thought McDyess missed more that year. But that doesn't take away that Posey's FG% and 3% were in the same ballpark as Francis, Cato, Manu and S Jack for us last year. Further, he certainly was the 1st or 2nd option for Denver most of the last 2 years however--I don't think it is reasonable to base his shooting on that. Quite a few swingmen like Christie, B Jackson, Bowen, S Jackson, DA, and Harpring have drammatically improved their FG and/or 3 point shooting when they have gotten simplied offensive roles and played off better offensive players/creators--I also still say Posey's trend is pretty strong that he is the kind of player to really benefit when others create mismatches--he never even got to benefit from the early season version of Yao either.

 

I disagree. It doesn't matter one whit if this team is focused, disciplined and prepared to the hilt. In terms of physical talent, as presently constituted, this is not a team that can contend with the top 5 teams in the West. Collectively speaking, their level of play - both offensively and defensively - is simply not good enough to label them contenders.

A lot of folks here are overestimating the level of talent on this team. There is simply no evidence to assume otherwise UNTIL the Rockets provide it themselves on the court. One must be prepared to face the fact that while JVG will have them working their asses off for 82 games, they may STILL miss the playoffs once more. But hey, maybe the new uniforms will look real cool...

 

DR,

Once again, I really feel you are overestimating Mo's value to anyone, the Jazz include. You are assuming that Utah is so desperate, that they are willing to take on a player with a substantial contract who couldn't even beat out one of the worst starting PFs in the league (Griffin) last year. Utah could just sign someone like Gary Trent, Marc Jackson or Samaki Walker for the minimum and be contend with their facets at a cheap price. While Mo is better than those players, is he worth $6 MIL more than them especially considering the Jazz are rebuilding (btw, say what you want, the Jazz have no delusions of granduer this year)??

You also still overestimate EG's D. You can't equate his shot blocking skills into being a good defensive player. They are two entirely different animals. As Smeg says, the book on Eggie is, he plays for the block. That means he is quite often caught out of position on D and it is quite obvious by watching him, that overall, he is an average defender when it comes to footwork, positioning etc. which is much more important than being a good shot blocker.

Last, you are making the same mistake this year than you did last year by comparing players 1-12 with the Lakers, Mavs, Spurs, etc. in justifying why you feel we can compete with them. Its not what you have 1-12, its really comes down to your two or three best players. We have no Kobe, Shaq, Dirk, Garnett or Duncan. You are only as good as your best players and Yao and Francis are nowhere near that class that I just mentioned.

 

I was looking at some of the stats for the summer leagues that the Spurs played in. Tmo didn't have "outstanding" stats, but he did do a little bit of everything. One to note is that he was in the top 5 or 10 in blocks per game. Think of a front court of Yao, Griffin, and Tmo. Each player can avg. more than one block per game easily.

Tmo played great in the preseason, but he didn't get a chance to shine once the season came along because of injuries. He runs the floor, he can handle the ball, he can shoot, and he can defend. If we don't pick up Posey, Tmo should at least be given a call.

And for Posey, I really want him back. The worst thing about letting him go now is that he would be going to a team that some consider is on the "rise." I would rather not help a team in the same conference that is trying to get the same playoff spot as you.

 

I just finished readinghthrough every single comment, and I still haven't heard anything that says "yeah, we can do without Posey".

Our fastbreak dies without Posey. Sure, JVG will teach them how to run a textbook fastbreak, but who can compete with Posey as a finisher?

I was reading abotu someone saying the Rockets expect Boki to pick up the rebounding and finishing from Posey? You've got to be kidding me. That is not the type of player Boki he, nor is it the type of player he is projected to be. He is most certainly not a rebounder or a finisher.

The thing I'm MOST concerned about is the fastbreak, and finding someone who worked just as well with Yao. Posey would cut to the basket often, and Yao always seemed to catch him. At first, they had some chemistry trouble, but as the season started coming to a close, they seemed to work great together.

Reading how Posey's not numbers are MORE than decent when not being an offensive option has opened my eyes EVEN more to how much value he holds.

Think about Posey. If you had to pick ONE coach for this team that would make Posey use his skills to the MAX, who would that be? JVG or Pat Riley, no doubt about it. Think how much more effective he'll be when the rest of the team is helping on defense regularly, andJVG teaches the guards to run a better fastbreak, further enhancing Posey's effectiviness in the finishing department.


What I dont understand is people who say he's not worth the money. I don't get it, it seems like a BARGAIN to me. it's 5.6M on average, and 4.( in the first season, for only 4 years. We can trade him before he hits the 6M mark, since he'll only hit 6M in the final season, and we know how teams LOVE expiring contracts.

 

Thats what i dont get Sane. Before he signed the offer sheet, people were saying anything around the mid level exception would be fine. Others were saying dont include too many years. Well, he is at the mle and only 4 years and people are complaining?.......what am i missing??

 

I know that Nachbar has potential, but as more and more Europeans players are getting drafted, some are turning out to be busts.

He doesn't look to be much improved from the summer league recaps. And it doesn't happen often that someone hits their stride midseason. But if he ever turns into the player that they envisioned when he was drafted "long SF, runs floor, shooting stroke" then that's what the Rockets need to get in the playoffs.

 

Nachbar's reputation, according to Rudy at draft time last year was that he's a great finisher. He is supposed to be fast and athletic. And he's 6'9" playing SF. All these indicate a good fastbreak guy and a slasher to the basket. And due to his height, we may assume that he can get decent amount of rebounds too.

Now, I understand that none of us have seen him do any of these things. But saying that we expect Boki to pick up the rebounding and finishing is not "kidding you" according to Rudy's scouting.