Why not a topic on the latest Houston Rocket? After watching the Wolves game, let me say again, I bet we see Braggs getting decent minutes from him from here on out. We are struggling at the PF spot in terms of quickness, energy and rebounding and I dont think JVG will hesitate to put ANYONE in there to do the job. The fact JVG actually put Deke in there WITH Yao last night tells you he is really REACHING at this point at the PF spot. Total desperation! I think it is entirely possible that Braggs has at least A shot at being a starter in the next few weeks, or at least playing starters minutes. I am not saying it is going to happen, but he has a chance. The Deke/Yao experiment cements it for me.
ehh Deuce http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93140 http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93121 but still good threat
d*mn Thread(how many time do i have to write this wrong, andhow many time will i hear a joke about this Miss spelling
I'm all for Yao/Deke in the right match ups. If TB is a starter then this team is in trouble. He was an energy sub. Has he been transformed into something better? (Man, I hope so.) BTW - does this not speak volumes about VB???
I posted a response in the "will start in Minny" thread but I think a "general" thread is warranted and not something specific to Minny. Also the other thread is more about the Braggs Signing. That's not what this thread is about. Anyway, I figured an opened ended thread on Braggs and what he can bring to the team would be warranted, especially after seeing how the team is doing at the PF spot after the Boston and Minny games. Basically, we are in desperation mode here at that spot!
Our lack of rebounding at the PF is a gonna be a huge hole for us, hopefully Braggs can somewhat fill this hole. But we really need Yao and TMac to step up. Our stars have been pathetic the last 2 games: Yao grabbed 5 rebounds lastnight while TMac had his worst shooting night.
Probably about as often as you'll hear people tell you that you wouldn't have these problems if you donated a few dollars to the tip jar.
Van Gundy should have had Deke in there a lot sooner. You can't stop KG. The best you can do is to guard the paint and force him to take the outside jumpers. If Deke had been in major minutes, we would have seen a lot less of KG dominating the paint and a lot more 18 footers which would have been more favorable than KG from point blank range.
KG was abusing Deke when he was in. Deke was playing on his heels to entire time and there was so much attention on KG. He shot the ball very well lastnight, was finding the open teamates, was drawing fouls. There wasn't a whole lot Deke could have done lastnight, we just played poorly as a team.
Yeah i know i'm trying to. The problem is that i do not have a credit card. And i do not live in the USA. I'm going to my bank and try to donate this month. Deuce ok that is cool by me. i like Braggs alot, he worked hard and he can rebound. I hope that he gets some playing time. i was disapointed when he got waived last year.
Exerpts from following link http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3094853 "He has a little bit of an understanding of what we're doing," Van Gundy said. "I know he'll play extremely hard and he'll try to get us some offensive rebounds, and he can make a 17-footer. And frankly, I screwed up last year in releasing him. ... We've got our rotation. But when he gets settled and learns what he's doing, I would have no hesitation putting him in the game." Upon hearing Van Gundy regretted releasing him last season, Braggs said: "I take it as a compliment. I try to work hard, have fun, put team first and that's a compliment to me that he had the decency to remember me. ... That speaks volumes about him and showed they appreciate the work I put in."
Keep in mind even as a starter, Juwan Howard was getting under 29 minutes a game. Padgett will continue to get his 10-15 minutes a game, possibly more if he's playing well. I think Bowen may see a minutes increase at the 4, and we'll go with TMac at the 4 when matchups allow us. The question is how much longer Spoon stays in the rotation. I see Braggs topping out at 20 mpg- his brief NBA history says he's very foul prone. I'm intrigued by the Deke at the 4 experiment, but only against certain teams. Putting him at the 4 against Garnett just isn't fair- I'd rather him on KG than Spoon, though. I think it could work well against a team like Miami- Haslem doesn't have the range or quickness of KG. Of course, the most interesting would be against San Antonio- Deke is traditionally very good guarding Duncan. I think having Deke guarding the goal may free Yao up a little bit on the defensive end and vice versa. It could work against Seattle with Evans and Fortson but not Radmanovic or Lewis. Now that Sacramento no longer has Webber, it could work on them too- though KT's first step could make it dangerous.
He's loyal to a fault to those who play hard for him. See Charlie Ward. I think we can expect to see guys like Barry, Padgett, and Bowen hanging around the Rockets roster for at least the next couple years.
I still haven't read it - have we signed Braggs for the remainder of the season now? Or just a 10-day contract??
I've got the same problem too. It might seem incredible to some people, but I've never used a credit card, and I'm 36! I live in a small town in Nigeria. We simply do not use such things here (I used to live in Germany though, but I never used a credit card there either). I'm now trying to get ten dollars (that's not so easy here either) and post it to Clutch.
I can't wait to get him. One statistic that really hurts: Did you know? The Rockets are 1-4 in games in which Juwan Howard has not played this season, 7-14 in games he did not start.
Maybe i'm missing something, but the blaring problem that pops up in my head is, then who is the back up 5. Yao can't play buttloads of minutes as it is. He is in foul trouble a bit (although seems to be better about it lately). I mean unless you plan on sliding deke to the 5 when yao goes out and then go with a "true" 4. Yes, that is used VERY loosely. But then Deke's minutes may be too much. I guess in special situations like last night, sure, if nothing is working, F' it...do whatever it takes. But i don't anticipate us seing Yao and Mutombo in at the same time too much. Those are our only two C's. Or am I forgetting someone? :/
I dont disagree with much you say Deuce...but I gotta disagree on KG abusing Deke. For the short amount of time that Yao and Deke were in there together...Deke frustrated KG several times. When he first came in on KG while Yao was in....KG tried to iso on him...and Deke managed to stay in front of him and get his arms up...KG missed a couple of times...and I distinctly remember after one miss..MINN got the O Board..adn KG got it again at the top...adn slammed the ball down before resettting the play. Check the highlights...I found that so funny I included it. Im not saying that Deke is the answer...just that he did a pretty decent job for a old guy on one of the best in the league.
I totally agree. I saw that. When the Rockets began their run with Deke in, you could see the frustration developing. I saw the ball being slammed by KG.
