Please forgive me if this has been posted, but I haven't seen it yet. Anyway, take a look at what the author had to say. I felt it was pretty accurate, unfortunately. Houston Rockets Stan McNeal The Sporting News Midwest Division Dish WHAT'S NEW If it wasn't a nightmare summer for the Rockets, it was close. First, they lost Hakeem Olajuwon, in a parting that was much more bitter than it should have been. Feeling unwanted by the Rockets, Olajuwon fled to Canada for a three-year, $17 million deal with the Raptors. That's a pretty good contract for someone the Rockets hinted was close to retirement age last year. The club's bad news got worse when the team's third best player, power forward Maurice Taylor, blew out his right Achilles' tendon in a pickup game on Sept 3. Taylor, who last month signed a six-year, $48 million contract, is expected to miss the entire season. The Rockets did gain some players: Glen Rice came from the Knicks for Shandon Anderson and rookie Eddie Griffin, the seventh overall pick, was acquired from the Nets for the Rockets' three first-round picks. BURNING QUESTION Should the Rockets have given Hakeem Olajuwon the kind of deal the Raptors gave him (three years, $17 million)? What the Rockets should have done was made Olajuwon feel a little more appreciated last season. For all he has done for the franchise, would it have been so bad to massage his ego by telling him they needed him back and then paid him accordingly? If the team's hierarchy had been on its best behavior, the Rockets could have kept the greatest player in franchise history without giving him a three-year deal. As good as he once was, Olajuwon was not worth the kind of deal he got from the Raptors. He is 38 and though he played well down the stretch last season, he has perhaps one more good season left before he becomes the next Patrick Ewing. Read what fans have to say! REASONS FOR HOPE The backcourt: Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are as good as it gets and there's not much of a drop-off when Moochie Norris enters the game. Francis spent the summer taking classes at Maryland and playing pickup games. He will want to be in top shape to show everyone the mistake that was made in leaving him off the Goodwill Games team. The talented Mr. Griffin: For a while, Griffin figured to be the top pick in the draft. Somehow, he slipped to seventh and the Rockets are glad he did since they were able to trade for him. With Taylor out for the season, Griffin will have a chance to play significant minutes right away. Griffin is certain to struggle but his game should develop quicker than it would have if he had spent the season playing behind Taylor. Jason Collier is healthy: He's not going to make anyone forget Olajuwon, but the 7-foot Collier at least gives the Rockets a potentially decent alternative when Kelvin Cato disappears. Collier reportedly has shed his baby fat by spending the offseason in the weight room. Of course, the fact that the Rockets are counting on Collier speaks volumes about the team's expectations. REASONS TO WORRY Kelvin Cato is no Dream: Think the Rockets regret giving Cato a $42 million deal when some of that money could have been used to keep Olajuwon? In 35 games last season, Cato never scored more than 15 points and he reached double-figures in rebounds only twice. He's athletic and a good shotblocker but has never been consistent enough to prove he is anything more than a solid backup. Rules changes: No team will be impacted by zone defenses any more than the Rockets, who relied on isolation plays in their offense as much as any team. They encouraged Francis and Mobley to break down defenders by going one-on-one, inviting teams to play illegal defense. This year, the Rockets are going to have to run real plays and move the ball. That could take some adjusting. Power forward outage: Without Taylor, the Rockets will turn to Kenny Thomas and Griffin at the power forward position. At 6-7, Thomas is too short and at 19, Griffin is too young, weak and inexperienced to hang with all the elite power forwards in the Western Conference. Projected Starting 5 No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. 3 Steve Francis PG 6-3 193 Already among the league’s elite, he now must start toning down his exuberance (hot dogging) a bit. 5 Cuttino Mobley SG 6-4 190 Is he a potentially great player or merely a gunner who has the green light? Must get teammates involved more. 13 Kelvin Cato C 6-11 255 Has more commas in his paycheck than on-court accomplishments. With Olajuwon gone, this is his big chance. 21 Kenny Thomas PF 6-8 260 With Maurice Taylor out for the season, he and Eddie Griffin likely will split minutes at the No. 4 spot. Shoots too many jumpers but works hard on the boards. 41 Glen Rice SF 6-8 220 Will be waiting to hit open 3-pointers when Francis and Mobley drive to the basket. Robert Seale/TSN PIVOTAL PLAYER: Glen Rice Rice is happiest when he is shooting the ball. He wasn't all that happy last year. He shot a career-low 10 times a game with the Knicks, resulting in a career-low scoring average of 12.0. He also averaged a career-low 29.5 minutes. This season, all those numbers should go up. Rice will be the starting small forward and could benefit from Francis' and Mobley's skill at driving to the basket. At 34, Rice may have to face the reality that he no longer can get off his outside shot with the accuracy he once did. His shooting percentage should provide a good indicator of the Rockets' success. When Rice's shot is off, the Rockets will have only two scorers in the lineup and are certain to struggle. BOTTOM LINE The Rockets have as good a backcourt as any team in the West -- and as weak a frontcourt. Expect Cato, Thomas and Rice to be outscored and outrebounded every game. Francis made a tour of the playoffs last year to learn how Shaq and others lead on as well as off the court. It will be at least another season before Francis can put any of his lessons to use in the postseason.
If it wasn't a nightmare summer for the Rockets, it was close. Even without Mo Taylor, I still wouldn't call replacing Shandon Anderson, Mo Taylor, and Hakeem Olajuwon with Glen Rice, Eddie Griffin, and Terence Morris a "nightmare". And you know there is still one move left for a big man.
I really don't know anything about zone defenses because I don't watch college ball until March, but could our smaller quicker forwards actually work in the zone to make up for the difference in size with the bigger forwards?
If the Rockets can get Mark Jackson and trade for Jahidi White we are in great shape. But if the Rockets can get a medical exemption and get Mason, and sign Marc Jackson it's all playoffs baby!! And a pretty good seed as well!
<i>The Rockets have as good a backcourt as any team in the West </i> Puhleese. That he'd keep saying this ruins an otherwise well written synopsis. Kobe is all-world, put a trash pg next to him (dfish is no trash pg) and he still trumps the rockets backcourt (here come the parade of stats...upfront I'll say stick it...it makes no difference). As good as any in the west? No. LA would never have rolled the West Coast and virtually swept the Sixers with Cat and Wink in the backcourt over Kobe. If Penny is healthy, I'd say he and Marbury are close to being better too...but thats a big IF. <i>One big man away from the playoffs</i> Yup. Shaquille Oneal, Karl Malone or Chris Webber. Who ya trading for?
One big man away from the playoffs Yup. Shaquille Oneal, Karl Malone or Chris Webber. Who ya trading for? Dude, I think you need to stop commenting on the Rockets unless you watch them play. If you honestly think we have to have one of those guys to simply make the playoffs, you're either extremely misinformed or clueless.
You are an odd little thing, GB...sometimes you seem normal, others, you are very troll-like. You also seem to not understand language. The writer was not saying Houston has the best backcourt, but essentially one of the best. And, yes, Kobe does not constitute a backcourt. Sure, he is one of the best players in the league and makes up for shortcomings, but if you are talking backcourt that is different. Marbury and Penny (if 100% from 4 years ago) are "close" to being better? Sounds like you agree with the writer...they are one of the best backcourts in the West, or, more casually..."as good as any." Cat covered the other comment. Anyway, sometimes you try to hard to be what you are...it shows. Grow up.
How do you understand this: <i>Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are as good as it gets </i> ? They are not as good as it gets. I'm betting Penny and Marbury are better too. Hows that for language?
GB, Hmmm, that reads about the same. In case you are really this dense...these are *general* compliments meaning that the Francis/Mobley backcourt are really good, one of the best tandems in the West. For an unbiased opinion, I asked my wife how she interpreted those two statements, without giving a reason why...she came to a similar conclusion as I. I then told her yours and she said, "that is wrong." If you want to get really technicle, your assessment on a Marbury, Hardaway backcourt is too dependetn on Penny's big "if" to be too authoritative. I would agree, though, that if Penny returned to his form of some time ago (20=ppg, ~5assist and rpg) then that could be tops...but the Rockets would still be "as good as it gets" and "as good as any" in the true sense of those statements.
And, as I've said, on a short list, no, they are not She married you. Yeah, that's pretty doggone unbiased. She married you. Gee---that says mounds anyway.
fine, branded, enlighten us as to what tandems out west and in the nba you can say without a doubt are better, or do you just post to tick us off because you have nothing to be happy about in bulls land
D. Fish/K. Bryant S. Nash/Mike Finley S. Marbury/P. Hardaway Just off the top of my head. Two of these are better taken as a whole than individual parts...
kobe and fisher-uh huh, i thought it was the some of the whole, and kobe isnt that much better than francis even alone, then mobley kills fisher-edge rockets marbury and penny-if this was the penny of old maybe it can compare but francis is all around better than marbury and mobley is better than penny esp considering pennys injury trouble, although im willing to say if he comes back healthy it could be closer than most expect nash and finley-this is the one if any, i may give you, but then francis is on the same footing as finley in my opinion and mobley is better than nash, nash just has had one good season-of the 3 this would be the only one id strongly even think about
Ima stop right here. You mean to tell me that you would want the rockets to turn down a Francis for Kobe straight up trade?
thats isnt what i said and you know it, i said they arent worlds apart, and mobley kills fisher-can you deny that??
I would never want someone like Kobe on the Rockets. I think he is highly overrated, who only plays as well as he does, thanks to having a safety net like Shaq in the middle. Put Francis in his place, and the Lakers would still be champions. I'd take Mobley-Francis over Fisher-Bryant any day. Shaq is what makes the Lakers tick, not Kobe.
Some of his best performances have come with Shaq on the bench or on IR... But cool...we differ on opinion there. I think your rocket fandom has caused just a bit too much bias to rise up in you.
And I think that your Bull fandom has caused a bit too much dementia to rise up in you. Anyone can score a lot of points. Look at what Stackhouse did. How many shots does Kobe take when Shaq doesn't play? 35? 40? Yeah, he averages a lot of points, but those points never lead to wins when Shaq isn't playing. I'd take Carter, Iverson, Francis, McGrady, or even Jordan at his current age over Kobe.
Penny hasn't been healthy in 2 or 3 years, and Penny and Marbury have never played together in the NBA so how can you say they're the best backcourt when Penny's health is an issue and he and Marbury have zero chemistry!?
