The Mutumbo deal makes the Rockets a 10 deep team. Let's all just wait for it, but it appears the deal is almost done by the way people are talking about it; let's just hope it doesn't involve any draft picks. There is going to be a solid backup to every starter. Of course of playing time will be up to JVG and the way players respond. But Mutumbo backing up Yao makes perfect scense to me. Taylor backing Howard is solid as well. Nachbar is poised to have a solid season backing up Jackson. Surra has good veteran excerience and will be McGrady's primary backup with some backup at SF and PG. And Lue will be a solid backup to Ward. Plus the end of the bench guys of Weatherspoon and Gaines does have potential to help in case someone gets hurt for a few games. Yao Howard Jackson McGrady Ward Mutumbo Taylor Nachbar Surra Lue Taylor and Surra will likely be the most important guys off the bench.
I think good depth is a team that has legit NBA starters coming off the bench for them. Like Portland, Dallas, Minnesota, last years Sacramento etc. Teams with depth like the ones I mentioned are able to plug their holes and overcome injuries. I just don't see our 2nd string as quality depth. Too many question marks. We don't have that player like Bobby Jackson, Antawn Jamison, or SAR on our bench. Though I think we will be a better team this year than last, I still think we may be a year or two and a player or two from seriously contending in the west. I'll predict 5th seed.
I dunno Mark...Mutumbo, Taylor, Nachbar, Sura, and Ward/Lue are, to quote you, legit NBA starters. Albeit only in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Golden State; but those are NBA teams As far as a Bobby Jackson/Antawn Jamison-type sub, Mo was getting recognition for 6th man last year as well. Add another offseason of strengthening that Achilles tendon and he might actually be the best power forward on this team. Nachbar showed some flashes late last year and seemed to be gaining the confidence that was holding him back in his few appearances to date - who knows? This could indeed be one of the better benches especially with the versatility brought by Sura, T-Mac and JJ all being interchangeable at the 2 and 3, with a glut of decent 4s that won't have to guard Shaq or any serious playoff center (they'll have to guard Duncan at the 4 anyway). That is, unless the team encounters Indiana or Miami in the postseason, which would be fine with any of us no matter how our bench fares.
DT......Like I said, too many question marks. We'll see how Nachbar does. I don't think our depth is bad, but more like average. As for Mo T. He for sure will contribute the most off our bench. His name may have been mentioned, but I think the only serious recognition for 6th man he got was from Bill and Calvin. I do agree our bench could start on some of the celler dweller teams, but's that's why ATL, GS, and Orlando our the worst in the NBA. The guys I mentioned like B. Jackson, Jamison, SAR etc. could start on almost any NBA team except the ones they are on. Remember how much Sacramento missed Jackson in the playoffs last year? And we have Ward as our starting PG? I don't remember him getting off SA's bench last year. (Another team with quality depth.) If we stay healthy, it will be an exciting year. No doubt. But, I'd hate to have to start Lue or Nachbar for an extended period of time. The West is just too good, too deep.
If the Motombo deal goes down, where are we going to get the 3rd string center from? free agents? private workouts? CBA?? I know for sure Motombo wont make 82 games.. 60 is a generous estimation. Our PFs cant really fill in that hole when necessary.. we have weak PFs anyways!!
The Pistons didn't have any of those bench players who would've been starters on most other teams. Ditto the Lakers in the second two threepeat years. It's nice to have starters off the bench, but it's possible to win with just very good bench players. Number of championships won by the team with the league's Sixth Man of the Year since 1987: 1 (Kukoc)
If we get Mutombo and we make the NBA Finals, we would eat the Heat up. Seriously, we would really kill them. JJ can handle Jones, and T-Mac can surely handle Wade... Mutombo and Yao can handle Shaq... But can they handle MoT, Juwan Howard, Lue, Sura, Ward, Boki? I'm pretty confident we can beat anyone from the East. Even Detroit or Indiana. As long as we get out of the West, which is as difficult as ever.
The Rockets would have a strong bench. Detroit's bench wasn't full of "legit starters". A good bench isn't loaded with "legit starters", it's loaded with guys who can start in spots but know their roles. I mean really, look at the Spurs and Pistons and Lakers and teams like that, how many of them had players that could start on other teams? Or the Rockets and Bulls teams that won championships? Those teams won championship not because they had players who could start on other teams, but because they had players that knew their roles. The Rockets bench is fine.
Most teams that have bench players who could be starters all seem to implode at one point or another. Too many egos circulating make it hard for each team to play like a team. Look at Indy, Harrington was a legit starter, but was never really given the chance to start. He complained and it hurt the Pacers. Now he's gone... Good role players can be just as important as good starters.
Taylor alone gives us one of the best benches. Everyone else is a maybe, but Taylor is a legitimate starter.
A good bench isn't one with legitimate starters, it's one with specialists. These specalists either mirror the starters or provide a stark change in pace. Mutombo: rebounding and shotblocking specialist MoT: can score very quickly, in bunches Sura: ENERGY, change of pace from Ward Boki: Energy, size as opposed to JJ I don't think we're the deepest, but we're definitely deep. We have MORE than adequate depth for a winner. We'll probably use 3 or 4 subs: Mutombo, MoT, Boki, Sura (assuming we trade Pike for Mutombo) Solid 8 or 9 man rotation. I'm guessing most bench minutes will go to MoT and Sura, with Boki/Mutombo/Lue all getting somewhere around 10-12 minutes.
well the Piston had great starters and a deep bench of role player and it worked for them Dallas had a team full of NBA "starters" and they couldn't get past the first round
