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The Two-Superstar System: Fill the holes at PG, Swing, PF and... Surprise(!)

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by pcheung, Jun 21, 2004.

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  1. pcheung

    pcheung Member

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    The Two-Superstar system has been done... copied... and copied again.

    So, the other 3 positions? Fill-in-the-blank, dirty-work players that put out on defense, finish on offense. Forget the shiny, offense only players like Brent Barry. They are add-ons for later. These 3 guys MUST allow the 2 Superstars to shine on both ends. We need lunch-pail guys around our cornerstones.

    IMO, our #1 targets at each position are:

    PG: D. Fisher - 29 y/o - For his PNR defense as much as his clutch 3pt shooting and floor general ability. Who wants Yao chasing 6fters around the perimeter for the next 4 yrs? Trapping like Pat Ewing and Charles Oakley? Bleh.

    Swing: B. Bowen - 33 y/o - Again, 3pt shooting is the icing. The cake is Bowen taking the opponent's #1 scorer and allowing TMac to roam and help and save his back. How much did Elie help Drexler get steals? How many Jordan defensive highlights (hint: ALL of them) were roaming on help D in large part because Pippen took the other guy's #1? It doesn't hurt that Bowen is the perfect defensive complement to JJ's offense and solid play.

    PF: Kurt Thomas - 31 y/o - Otis Thorpe II. A strong, solid, durable, double-double a night. How do we get him? I. Thomas has frontcourt D covered at the C: Mohammed, Mutumbo, and wants Dampier. He needs frontcourt scoring. Mo Taylor + part of the TE + pick? Get it done we have a contender. Of course trades are hypothetical. Choice #2: Brian Grant. Mo + TE may get us a pick back, too. These 2 guys, the perfect complement to Howard off the bench.

    Built to allow TMac and Yao to do their thing on offense and defense:

    Fisher/Lue or Ollie
    TMac/JJ
    Bowen/Boki
    Kurt Thomas/Juwan Howard
    Yao/Any 7 fter.

    And the surprise?
    Who're the best Two-Superstar system coaches... leaders out there? There's Phil Jackson.... :( and there's one more...


    Think BIG. Think... well, think exactly like the Lakers....



    There's a man with the experience, personality and a better fit for this team than JVG.



    Oh, he's also got the "Heart of a Champion."



    Do it. Bring back Rudy. This is not lip service. This is not for nostalgia. This is a better coaching fit. Forget making TMac and Yao play lockdown, 5 man defense like the Pistons. TMac ain't Richard Hamilton. Yao ain't Ben Wallace. Let them help on D so they can dominate on O. That's Rudyball. Screw the Lakers. Bring back Rudy. Damn the cost. I'd call THAT a BIG SPLASH.
     
    #1 pcheung, Jun 21, 2004
  2. steddinotayto

    steddinotayto Member

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    PG: Fisher or Barry it doesn't matter to me. As long as they can run the team, take care of the ball and knock down the occasional open jumper i'd be happy

    PF: I want Brian Grant. His contract is huge but that TE needs to be used for someone. Brian Grant would be the 'muscle' that we need to compliment with Yao.
     
    #2 steddinotayto, Jun 21, 2004
  3. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost Member
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    Wonderful thoughts.. until the whole derailing at the end with the Rudy suggestion. :D

    I miss Rudy too, but I think it's time we let Rudy spread his wings and dance with the gal we paid for, so to speak.
     
    #3 DonnyMost, Jun 21, 2004
  4. H-Town Info

    H-Town Info Member

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    PF: I want Brian Grant. His contract is huge but that TE needs to be used for someone. Brian Grant would be the 'muscle' that we need to compliment with Yao. [/B][/QUOTE]

    can we trade mo taylor and te for grant and a filler
     
    #4 H-Town Info, Jun 21, 2004
  5. pcheung

    pcheung Member

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    Donny,

    I freely admit I love Rudy more than a straight man should love another straight man. :)

    But I'm serious here. JVG has a defensive system. It is Pistons/Knicks 5-man lockdown ball. Problem is TMac doesn't have Sprewell/Hamilton energy. Yao doesn't have Ewing/Ben Wallace type stamina. Rudy allows his superstars (Drexler/Olajuwon) to play passing lanes and help in the lane. Did Dream ever show on the PnR? Was is because he wasn't athletic enough? No way. It was because he was far more useful in the lane.

    We need all 7'6" of Yao standing in the paint with hands up after Fisher hustles around the pick.
    We need TMac sagging off Devean George and playing the passing lanes while Bowen chases Kobe.

    We need a coach with that philosophy.

    We need Rudy.
     
    #5 pcheung, Jun 21, 2004
  6. StevieFlight3

    StevieFlight3 Member

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    sign dampier withe 6.9 exeption

    barry for mle

    C:Yao/Weatherspoon
    PF:Dampier/
    SF:Tmac/Boki
    SG:JJ/Piatowkasi
    PG:Barry/Wilks

    cabooom championship
     
    #6 StevieFlight3, Jun 21, 2004
  7. Hmm

    Hmm Member

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    Yeah, hate to point out something here. But, you're right, T-mac is no Richard Hamilton defensively, Rip doesn't have lockdown defense. ;)

    Actually, his defense is mediocre at best. Anyway, sure that wasn't the point. Just felt like pointing it out. :D
     
    #7 Hmm, Jun 21, 2004
  8. steddinotayto

    steddinotayto Member

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    has to be at least 8 mil. the contract he's opting out right now is paying him in the neighborhood of 8 million. so a S&T would have to be done. and i have my doubts about a player playing so well as of late coinciding with his impending FA.
     
    #8 steddinotayto, Jun 21, 2004
  9. pcheung

    pcheung Member

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    Barry would be great off the bench and an offensive luxury. But look at it this way: Barry instead of a defensive PG costs Yao Ming ~1 extra foul per game chasing little guards off the Pick and Roll alone. You remember the stupid fouls 25 ft from the basket this year.

    No one wants Yao sitting on the bench except when he's resting.

    Sign Fisher.
     
    #9 pcheung, Jun 21, 2004
  10. pcheung

    pcheung Member

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    Rip also doesn't have a bad back at 25 y/o from trying to do everything. Rip didn't beg his management for perimeter defensive help (He already had Prince). Some guys can do it on both sides for 40 mpg: Sprewell, Kobe. TMac can't. Switch him to the #1 scorer late in the 4th. But for the first 3 1/2 quarters...

    SIgn Bruce Bowen.
     
    #10 pcheung, Jun 21, 2004
  11. JPM0016

    JPM0016 Member

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    well he's held up just fine so far. Never missed more than 15 games in a season.
     
    #11 JPM0016, Jun 22, 2004
  12. RNuss02

    RNuss02 Member

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    Stevieflight3, did you just put Weatherspoon as our back-up power? A 6'-7" center in the west isn't going to cut it! :confused:
     
    #12 RNuss02, Jun 22, 2004
  13. dharocks

    dharocks Member

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    Trenton Hassell is available as well, I believe. He's much younger than Bowen and may yet develop into a serviceable offensive player.

    I still think we should trade for Snow, though it looks as though I haven't changed anyones mind. Everyone talks about Fisher being such a great defender, but Snow is better (all defense second team two years ago, almost made it this year), and he's bigger. He has a big contract, but he is younger than Barry and only a year older than Fish. A shooter he is not, but then again, Stevie wasn't exactly stellar from beyond the arc last season. He could contribute more offensively than Fisher because he's such a good (and smart) passer.

    Juwan will be okay at PF. He's actually a pretty crafty defender.

    I'd love to get Dampier, but it probably ain't gonna happen. Our best bet for a backup center is Foyle. He's injury prone and is just as bad as Cato offensively, but boy can he block shots.
     
    #13 dharocks, Jun 22, 2004
  14. gucci888

    gucci888 Member

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    Better knock on wood. :)
     
    #14 gucci888, Jun 22, 2004
  15. steddinotayto

    steddinotayto Member

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    we need perimeter guys that can knock down shots though. If Francis knocked them down, i doubt he'd be traded.
     
    #15 steddinotayto, Jun 22, 2004
  16. dharocks

    dharocks Member

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    Then why are we trading Eric Piatkowski, a career .400 3pt shooter, for Kevin Ollie, who's made less than 10 threes his entire career? I think this tells us whether JVG's more concerned about shooting or D.

    My ideal linuep for next year:

    Snow/Lue/Ollie
    McGrady/McKie
    JJ/Eric Williams/Boki
    Howard/Taylor
    Yao/Foyle

    Trade Spoon, Griff, and part of the trade exception for Snow and McKie. Sign Eric Williams to the minimum, and use the MLE on Adonal Foyle. Based on salaries from last season (other than Williams, who would be making essentially what AGriff made) our salary is around $55.4million, the same as it was last season. If Maloney's contract comes off the books, it's at about 52.4.

    Oh, and we get a bunch of intelligent veterans who hustle and play great defense, to boot.
     
    #16 dharocks, Jun 22, 2004
  17. steddinotayto

    steddinotayto Member

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    Because honestly Pike sucked. He never panned out. Like one game, I think Bill Worrell said it best: "Pike has to be in the game for more than couple of minutes at a time for him to be effective. He needs to warm up and get into the flow of the game" And with the guards that we had, there wasn't any minutes left for Pike.

    As for Ollie, your guess is as good as mine
     
    #17 steddinotayto, Jun 22, 2004
  18. dharocks

    dharocks Member

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    Well, since he apparently hasn't played for the Knicks yet, here's my guess: Because he's a big PG who plays good defense and takes care of the ball. Snow is too, which is why I believe he'll be our starting PG next season.
     
    #18 dharocks, Jun 22, 2004
  19. blazer_ben

    blazer_ben Rookie

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    Juwan has a nice Jumpshot on him, but i'm worried bout is, rebounding. with cato you had a enforcer who would do the dirty work and let yao operate! Juwan is a Finess player, so it'll mean Yao will have to improve his Rebounding Imput dramaticly!
     
    #19 blazer_ben, Jun 22, 2004
  20. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    I'd LOVE to see Eric Williams on our roster. I think he's exactly the type of tough, all hustle team player that we need. I thought the Cavs raped Boston when they stole Williams and Battie for that idiot Ricky Davis.

    Bruce Bowen or Trenton Hassell would be great as well, but I think I really like Eric Williams the best of those three for whatever reason. I've just always appreciated his game.

    Adonal Foyle would be a nice replacement for Cato too. The possibilities have me really excited.
     
    #20 Williamson, Jun 22, 2004
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