I like the idea of having the flexibility to defend any team. But we really need to make teams adjust to us, because we have the biggest mismatch in the league. I think when its all said and done, traditional lineups still work the best. I'm old school like that. When you have an unstoppable matchup in the middle eg. Shaq, Yao it makes the other team adjust to you. Dirk has begun to recognise when to post up and when to take it outside, so we definately need a defender with enough size and quickness to stay with him....not many around. If we draft Brewer, i'm thinkin' he'll try his best Bruce Bowen impression on Dirk, but it will be to little avail, seeing as you can't even touch the guy anyway. I actually think Stro can stay with Dirk, but he needs tutoring. He has the length, size, quickness, height and athleticism to give Dirk trouble. A defensive coach could do wonders for him, i've seen Stro play some pretty good D here and there this season..he may be what we need.
Tracy needs to stay at SF or SG, and we need to find another player with similar size and athleticism to compliment him so he doesn't have to waste energy on defense all of the time. Stromile is athletic and big enough to play the PF and should be able to at least somewhat containt the likes of Dirk, Brand, Amare, etc... We need a Josh Howard type player at SF to guard the likes of Kobe, Manu, LeBron, D-Wade and then move Tracy to the SG. That is why I think Rudy Gay is the best possible fit for the Rockets. He's got PF size at 6'9 220, SF/SG quickness and athleticism and balanced offensive game for when the double teams come on TMac and Yao. You could then have the flexibility to put Yao at C, Gay at PF, McGrady at SF, a guy like Mike James at SG, and Alston at PG. A guy like Gay could give you Phoenix like flexibilty.
Why does everyone keep saying that this concept of going with a quicker, more skilled PF changes anything in terms of how we attack teams with Yao. That it will in anyway inhibit our biggest mismatch with the big fella. Quite the opposite. It can only make things easier on Yao. Instead of having a "traditional" big man whose role would be to shoot the midrange jumper, and score on putbacks and maybe post-up occasionally, we could have a swingman type whose range could be out to 3, or could put the ball on the floor and slash to the basket, or create for others, or possibly all of the above. This can only help Yao in the lowpost by increasing the skills and offensive abilities of the lineups around him and eschewing guys who duplicates his abilities (i.e. post up players) When teams go small, rarely are the downsides on the offensive end. It's usually the defensive end that negates the advantages of playing "small ball". But the way the league is set up now, they are giving such an advantage to the perimeter game (via strict enforcement of the handcheck rule and zone double teams on low post players), that teams all over our conference are taking advantage. You say that a dominant lowpost presence can still trump this flash in the pan perimeter stuff. Fine, but let's have it both ways. Let's dominate with our low post big man, but still retain a quick and skilled lineup around him. That would provide the best of both worlds.
Smallball has not been proven to work yet, it has regular season success, and good playoff success. But look at Miami, they have a traditional lineup and it's chemistry has improved immensly. Ideally (if you have a look at some of my previous posts) i'd like both, a traditional power forward, preferably 6'10 who can shoot the three and rebound the ball. I understand the logic of having the 3pt shooting PF, i really do. Having Tim Thomas would be great, but he'll give up as many points as Juwan while grabbing less rebounds. There aren't many of these guys around, which is why i think Troy Murphy would be a great fit in a perfect world. We simply will not outscore opponents the way Phoenix and Dallas do, JVG's offense just isn't that free flowing. We need somebody who can defend the many traditional PF's in the west, guys like Brand, KG, Duncan and Amare to name a few. Dirk is the only superstar PF who can burn us with his outside game, should the situation arise where we play Dallas, then we adjust to them with the flexibility this thread has been discussing and we are hoping to add in the offseason. I initially wanted a Shelden Williams type, but have come to realise that he is not what this team needs. Not for Yao to be effective. I agree we need the flexibility to defend whatever a team throws at us, but i am not about to have this team throw away their D because we will not be a successful team if we try outshoot opponents, not without a radical change in team philosophy and personel. Simply surrounding Yao with swingmen will get us destroyed inside, and unless we come out firing away at 45-50% every game (not likely with streaky shooters such as TMac and Alston) we will be punished.
Exactly i thought this was a site for rockets fans with good ideas i dont think that post fits the bill that being said i do think we could use a josh howard dont need everything else though
Thats my favorite post of the offseason it completly made me change my ideas about this offseason all we need is Gay and MJ maybe a trade to add depth thanks for the knowledge!
Why can't other folks see this? You must have been reading my mind. The NBA game being played today is all about matchups. The Rockets are a bad team not because they are loaded with bad players but because they field a team that does not matchup well against their competition in the Western Conference. This team simply has no versatility and lacks the ability to dictate the style of play on the court. Opposing teams don't really have to worry about how they match up against the Rockets because it's the Rockets who are always being forced to adjust to what the other team is doing. Sad to say but without a major overhaul of this roster, you can look for this situation to continue for the next several years.
OK, now how come you can see this but our so-called GM and the rest of the Rockets organization can't find a clue...
Good concept, bad execution. Phoenix and Dallas work because of Marion and Dirk. You just can't stick a SF at PF and get the same results. Those guys are basically double digit rebounders so there is no dropoff on the boards. T Mac is a SG/SF, if you want to create matchup problems then play him at SG. The key to running with Yao is to have 4 players around him with ball skills. Each capable of leading the break, taking there man off the dribble and sticking the 20 foot jump shot. Another key is to be able to defend multiple positions and get back on defense to slow/stop fast break chances. Houston wants to be able to force people out of small ball with Yao. Hybrid SF/PF cannot contain Yao in cross matchups. Phoenix beat the Lakers because they lacked the offensive players to exploit the matchups. Did you see the looks Kwame Brown and Smush were getting vs. The Suns. The way you stop small ball is to not give their turd an out. What I mean by that is you have to have 5 capable offensive players on the floor so Steve Nash or Dirk or whoever can't hide. Houston has T Mac and Yao. They need to get three more explosive offensive types around them. That means you want players capable of going for 30 vs. bad matchups. Mike James would be good for that and getting two others in the draft would be good. You want pure, unconscious scorers or volume 3pt shooters. Defense can be taught and concepted. Offseason targets for this argument: Mike James (MLE), Randy Foye/Ronnie Brewer at #8, Steve Novak in 2nd round
I agree. McGrady at the top. James on one wing. Redick on the other wing. Yao in the middle. Troy Murphy or Raef Lafrentz baseline extended. THat lineup beats Phoenix 130-115 and is extremely entertaining on top of it. However, we still need at least one more strong, physical post player like Shelden to go with it and another lengthy perimter player that is a decent shooter and very athletic to bring the defensive presence. Somebody like say, Ronnie Brewer. That way we can mix and match against all styles of play. Add Mike James, Brewer, Shelden, and Redick. Subtract Howard and all the other scrubs and we are fighting for championships year after year.
Memphis, Great post. You catch a lot of crap around here. I enjoy your insight particuarly from a competitor standpoint. It's good for the BBS to have someone objective, someone that doesn't sleep in Yao Ming pajamas, with an opinion of the Rockets. Thanks for contributing. (You guys all sleep in a Pau nighties right? Kidding. Goes to my point though. )
why should we stop with those scrubs? if we're day dreaming, why not call for Gay, Roy and Aldridge? That team with Yao and TMAC would compete for the Championship. Are you proposing that somehow we squeeze three top 15 players out of this draft. You'd better be ready to give Head in any deal.
I honestly would not mind having TMac play the 4 but only in certain matchups. I agree that small ball will be a way to go at times but I don't think it is a permanent solution. I would hope that the rockets are looking for a power forward that can hit the outside shots but also have the size needed to bang with the rest of the power forwards in this league.
I concur. Ronnie Brewer at #8 and Mike James in FA would really add a lot to the Rockets roster. The concept of Tmac at the 4.......well you can just stick Brewer there at times and go with an Alston,James,Tmac,Brewer, Yao lineup. You have 4 ball handlers with PG skills that can penetrate and dish (2 of them with size at 6'8" and 6'7"). And Tmac and Brewer are good rebounders even if they aren't that bulky.
