Thompson plays his role, he stays ready, 100% effort to go out there set screens, no ego, just crash boards play defense, he arguably can even put the ball on the floor when needed and score at a better rate than Howard. Morey you told him straight up we didn't need him to score that much, after we have him a chance. Still gets paid $22mill & still complains talks ish about our organization, pouts, complains about touches etc But then says I just wanna win a championship I'm tired of watching guys hold up that trophy???!!!! HOWARD Do you notice that centers don't take their teams home anymore ??? They do the dirty work and play team ball, you can still get a MAX contract, hell by playing ya role and doing it well at center in today's NBA a max is even more guaranteed than random scoring numbers. MOREY LES please get this guy off the rockets ASAP it was a disgrace having that parade having all the veterans and the city come out in that heat that summer when we signed him, he didn't deserve none of that, he was the most ungrateful player to ever come through here, and still got paid the max and shiiiied on us basically!! Rant over
That's all you got out of it is that I hate Howard ??? As much as harden gets flack around here I'm still riding with him but Howard I won't pay to see a rockets game if he's back, I said what I had to say already
funny how the reactions are after thompson put up these numbers against a team that had no consistent starting center.
Actually I was thinking about a play in game five by LeBron and Thompson. Thompson had played solid defense then ran the floor on offense. LeBron rewarded him by throwing a bounce pass to him as he was coming in to the lane and he threw it down and GS takes a time out. I realized at that moment that if that would have been Howard instead he would have botched that play, probably losing the ball out of bounds.
Thompson understands what he brings to his team. Dwight doesnt... Dwight is obviously the vastly more superior player...but his mindset wont get out of the way in order for him to accomplish his goal at being a champion.
Bogut isnt a rebounder and Kerr sat him alot in the games he was available. If OKC played cleveland then Thompson wouldn't had been a factor.
Not sure if serious... Btw i think Dwight is still a bigger factor overall if he's 100% (or close) healty and focused but yeah, two big ifs...
If DH embraces a similar role to what OP describes he can become a Ben Wallace/Dennis Rodman type SUPER role player during the twilight of his career. AND make a lot of money doing it. Not likely though. I honestly wonder who it is that DH thinks he is as a basketball player. I'd like to hear him describe the nut and bolts of his game, through his own eyes. Just to see how far off the mark he actually is.
He kinda did this in that ESPN interview. He wants post-ups and he wants to be encouraged to take jumpers. He might actually be a crazy person. I actually think his days of being a SUPER role player are behind him; just too many injuries and no actual basketball skills. Physically, he can't get down in a stance anymore because of his back problems, and (at least last year) he only managed to play with a spring in his step when it was against a team who might offer him a contract this summer. Skill-wise, well, obviously he is lacking. At this point he's relying entirely on is defensive BBIQ, which is no doubt good, but I don't think it's enough to be a SUPER role player. For all these reasons and more, I'd take Thompson over Dwight.
Dwight can be a great player if he swallows his ego, but he won't. He's an idiot who thinks he's a lot better than he actually is. That's why he's a cancer.
Thompson and Howard have two completely different playstyles. Thompson's primary objective is hustling and rebounds. Howard, from his Orlando days, has the skillset to be a force in the paint on offense, but since he's been declining, he hasn't been able to let go of that mindset and focus purely on being relevant on one side of the ball.
At least Thompson makes his free throws. Hell Thompson started shooting them with his right hand just to get better at it. Howard is all athleticism and little brains.
Howard would still be the best player on this team, by far. He was the main reason that Rockets reached to WCF.
