He's THAT OLD?!? Man.....he must have came to the NBA late then.... Okay....Forget about it. Kurt Thomas??? Elton Brand.....we can't get him. I wish!
SLA, et al... Sorry, in the midst of work and the political debates, I sort of forgot about this thread... Yeah, SLA, from an immediate needs standpoint, Antonio Davis fits the bill to a "T"...especially as he adds a genuine veteran leader, and he's a JVG type pf player. His age is also not that much of an issue...he's in amazing shape, and I anticipate a Kevin Willis like extended career. On the down side, however, he's got a heft price tag, and would command pretty decent trade value on the market. I would only let go of what it would take to get him, say Griff and Cato and something for him and Peterson...if, and only if, we decide that Griff just isn't gonna get it done here. I am not a short term gain long term loss kinda guy...but JVG might be.
To make up, you can stay away from the political threads...I give you permission...For some reason, I tend to always agree with you on Rocket-based threads...
MacBeth, I don't get a chance to see many Houston games so I can't comment on the consistancy of Francis' defensive effort. He does, however, have the physical capabilities to be an absolute hound on that end. Furthermore, he's tough as nails; his rebounding (note his quickness to the ball) and basket attacks show his willingness to bump chests. Whatever, we know he CAN do it. Regarding his willingness, well, I hardly think myself an exuberant optimist to suggest that Francis ought to fullfill his defensive potential with a more demanding coach. Also, regarding suggestions that he might bristle at JVG's designs. Has he ever displayed this kind of temperment before? Other than the Vancouver situation, has Francis ever played the malcontent? I only know as much as espn and the chronicle say, but I've never heard any such suggestions. Mostly he sounds like a frustrated cheerleader who doesn't know why his team keeps losing. I think I'll give my thoughts on player stuff/JVG effect in a seperate post. I was just curious about these comments about Francis. Thoughts? Am I wrong about Francis? Mike
My take is Francis is a good guy. Not a problem player. He plays his tail out for the most part and he has the quickness to play defense. He just does not know how or he forgets a good part of the time: . He plays with hands and not with his feet. Opp. drives by him because he likes to reach in. . Once he gets beat, more often he does not get back in the play. . He does not seem to know the tendencies of the men he guards. He plays up on guys that likes to drive and backs off from those who can hit outside shots. . He turns and watches the ball if it's away from his man.
Good observations....hopefully JVG can change this and tell him about the players he is facing and the gameplan and the strategy and how to play defense.
MacBeth, I agree with most of your points. However, here are the points I disagree with: 1. I shun at the idea that Steve Francis would gets more shot attempts in the half court offense. Francis is not a good perimeter shooter. 2. Eddie's weight is not the major issue; I think it's about effort. It's amazing how much a player improves once the expectations to improve is staring you right in your face. 3. Mobley should be starting, to much defensive talent to be coming off the bench. I agree, this guy needs to focus on passing/ defense before ever throwing up another brick.
I think you will also see the Rockets compete better and force the issue on defense. Last yr when the Rocket fronted the post, the guards didn't put ball pressure on the ball. If you rewind the JVG days, they fron the post, put ball pressure on the gaurds and once the dribbler picks up his dribble, they jump the passing lanes. On the comments about Yao and Cato. Personally, I see Ming playing more and Cato less. Even the banged up ,bad knee'd Ewing would play 35 mins a night, so i expect the same from yao. I also expect the Rockets under JVG to be more effecient offensively. People will look at those JVG Knicks and even though they had Ewing, they really didn't have many players who were regarded as great defensive players. Houston and Johnson come to mind about the lack of defense. After Ewing left, they were still a good defensive team beacuse they funnel the ball baseline and put good ball pressure.
JVG's Rockets will play the kind of tough, suffocating defense that opponents hate. He certainly gets players to improve their one on one defense. Consider Larry Johnson. It's true leebigez, LJ played D on his heels in Charlotte, but became a legitimate stopper in NY, despite the back. JVG also uses effective team D schemes, masking the truly hopeless (Houston) with excellent help (and Ewing/Camby blocking the middle). That said, I expect every Rocket with the physical cababilities to play excellent defense, if they are legit players, stand up guys. I expect Stevie, Cutino, Cato (finally added to this catagory this past year), Posey (already a force) and Yao to improve on the defensive end. As we all know though, D is more effort than anything else. JVG will make sure his players have the skills and are prepared. Therefore, the effort put forth by Mo Taylor, EG, T Mo (unrestricted free agent right?) and Nachbar (a virtual unknown) is going to tell the tale of the season. Mo Taylor is an awesome athlete and highly skilled 4 who rebounds like a cripple. He plays defense with his toes at 10 and 2 o'clock, sliding his feet reluctantly, with a look of disdain on his face, too lazy to even keep his hands up when his man has the ball. I thought he was something in U Mich, but I can't stand him now. With a superior effort, with real dedication and a few inches of the waistline he could stand toe to toe with any 4 in the west. Will that happen? Well, if it does then JVG is a genius and we have an allstar at the 4. EG stands to gain more from JVG's presence than anyone else on the roster because, like Mac says, he could go either way. I know absolutely nothing about the guy's head or his heart. That will make all the difference. He's got Rasheed Wallace level talent and after two years in the league, he's almost as much an unknown as Boki. We'll find out pretty soon what he's made of. I completely agree with Mac's take on T Mo. He's someone who's barely been in the picture, but could really make his mark with JVG. Boki? Who knows? I'm very curious about the offense, but I'm really not worried about it. I really think the world is making too big a deal about JVG's style with the Knicks. I absolutely believe they'll be more effective and less iso oriented in the the half court setting, but will they run? Of course, everyone runs if they can, dunks and layups are the highest percentage shots. Any team with the talent and physical prowess to run will do so. Running is the result of forced turnovers, blocked shots, big men who can make good sharp outlet passes and guys who can run the break catch on the run and finish. What part of that do the Rockets lack? Just because JVG reins it in with the half court doesn't mean the Rox won't run when they have the opportunity. Yao will be the best outlet passer since Walton (or better) - with his court vision, height and passing ability? I can't freakin wait. Why didn't the Knicks run? What big man did they have who could pass, much less run and catch the ball on the run? Even in his prime, Ewing played wearing slippery mittens. Camby, as athletic as he was, was surprisingly ineffective on the break unless the ball was laid up for him to throw down. Hell, even Houston was a slouch on the break. Basically Sprewell was their one man break. With Yao initiating (I don't know anything about EG's passing abilities, anyone know?), the Rockets are going to break like crazy. Well that's my take in brief. I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait.
This is true. The Rockets did not play defense as one unit! 1. When we front the post, the guard should put pressure on the ball. 2. When we play behind their center, the guard should back off to crowd the post. I've seen 2) sometimes but almost never 1). Our opponents, especially the Lakers, fed the post with alley-oops with ease. (On the other end, when opp. fronted Yao, we couldn't get it in there) We seem to guard the passing lanes once in a while when the individual felt like it, not as a part of a big scheme of things. Playing the passing lane has 2 purposes, 1st is to get a steal of course, but killing the clock is equally important. We also need to let the inside men know when we play the passing lane so they are ready to help on the reverse cut/ back door.
Well that was a good take in LONGetevity! I never really watched JVG's teams...but I hope that he can improve our defense....which has already been one of the top defenses in the NBA already...according to stats. But yes....pressing...and trapping and more pressure and tight play with help a lot! And yes...Terence Morris is a free agent. I don't know if he's unrestricted or restricted. I don't get why Mo Taylor is such an awesome athlete but rebounds like a cripple! Maybe jeff Van Gundy can change that...Mo Taylor is overpaid but he was very entertaining to watch during the season. He was pretty much unstoppable for one period of the season with his jump hook...and he always talks trash. Eddie...well I hope he SURGES into STARDOM! Probably not......Bostjan Nachbar....UNKNOWN! Eddie....when he is not high...can pass pretty good. He has a good entry pass....BUT sometimes when he doesn't think, he passes the ball to the other team. But he does know to throw the ball ahead of the player....which is a pretty good principle! I hope we do run!!!! Posey will benefit! AND I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!! IT SHOULD BE EXCITING!!! New arena too! New uniforms as well!
1) Half court shots is not exclusively a perim shot thing, but there's also this about Steve's long range shooting; most of his outside shots thus far in his career have been of the shake your man, curl around a pick ( with the ball ) , stop pop and drop variety...An offense running through Yao would allow him more free looks, and even more catch and shoot jumpers...Now this is not a guarantee of success, there are actually guys who shoot better off the dribble, but generally for long range shots, the C&S are easier in terms of setting your feet, squaring, and getting full body arc extension. 2) I agree that weight can be overcome, to a degree, when desire is entered into it; cases in point, Rodman, JYD, Bo Outlaw, Garnett, etc...but generally those guys are either pt players who can go 110 mph in limited minutes, guys who have a degree of compensatory sthleticism that Eddie lacks, or both. I think that desire would help, but when you'e playing against a man like Malone, Antonio Davis, Tim Duncan, etc...and you're that much below their weight, if they clear out for him often enough, the scale tells the tale. 3) The thing about Mobley not starting is that it would be in favor of Posey and say Morris...better defenders on a consitent basis. Mobley's defense is waaay overrated, IMO. He hustled a lot more last year, and if that continues it's a plus, but I think people are comparing him with what he was before and Francis, rather than decent defenders. I certainly am not sold enough on his defense to consider that the reason not to bench him...but if he keeps up the pace he played last year, and incorporates JVG's scheme, it's also not necessarily a reason to bench him either.
1) Excellent point re: fromting and pressure...the best thing about JVG defeses in NY was the cohesivness, and he got that from Riley. 2) Re: Yao vs. Cato's minutes....I'm not so sure Yao can handle that yet...Ewing was always a stallwart, and JVG got him involved when he was healthy, let him ease into the game when he wasn't. I just think that when you consider that Yao's endurance was a problem last year, and that we will be depending on him a lot more this year at both ends when he is inthe game, I don't see the mintes being drastically increased, at least not while keeping him effective.
