Nachbar sounds like a versatile SF who can do a lot of things like driving and finishing around the basket, shooting as well and passing the ball. He can good size and sounds fairly athletic too. We haven't had a player like him as a forward and that makes me excited because I think he will cause a lot of problems in the future for a lot of teams. I really wish that Mo-T and Rice will be able to regain full fitness as soon as possible.We really could score quite a lot of points in spurts with them on the court.
This is interesting, and even though it is still just preseason, I can't help but be a little bit concerned that a team consisting of Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Eddie Griffin and two unnamed others had to go to overtime to beat a team consisting of Moochie Norris, Oscar Torres, Glen Rice, Steve Goodrich and Jason Collier. That second team is not exactly an All Star squad.
Norris reported in great shape ready to go, Torres is hungry for one of the last spots, Rice is healthy and will probably start, and Jason's ass is on the line. It just shows how deep and determined we are. Maybe with Goodrich they ran the motion better too...
Why? A win is a win. That's like the Lakers barely beating the Bulls. We all know they're better, they just had to use a little bit more "effort".
You can't take those games seriously, 2nd teams always give first teams trouble in practice. The games arent' taken as seriously as a real game since the players don't want to get hurt, 2nd team players know the first team player's tendency since they work with them all the time, and it's preseason. I don't even worry about those matchups.
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_Training_Camp_2002-54293-34.html Rockets Training Camp 2002, October 6th Steve Francis, stepping up his team leadership role, has looked impressive at camp. Day Six: October 6 NEWS & NOTES Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis were very impressive during extensive scrimmaging.....In 12 minutes of play, the pair combined for 18 points, five assists, five steals and a pair of blocks.....Eddie Griffin also was effective down low.....The first team was Francis at point guard, Mobley at shooting guard, Kenny Thomas at small forward, Griffin at power forward and Kelvin Cato at center.....Maurice Taylor sat out again Sunday, as trainers "baby" him along.
Well, that answers who will start for MT the first 5 games. KT will be the first man in at either forward slot.
Clutch, great work as usual. How has Tito looked? And has Boki seen any minutes at 2? He looks to be fast enough to play some 2 (granted, he doesn't seem to be quick enough to defend there), and the Rocks could probably get away with him defending the 2 with the shot-blockers on the team.
RL - don't share your concern. Something tells me that the second unit has the following advantages: 1) Moochie is a true PG and has had to learn many offenses in his many non-Rocket seasons. When a team is in a good set, Mooch will be a lot less likely to dribble out the clock. Moochie is a starter on at least 1/3 of the NBA teams. 2) Oscar Torres is a very capable defender and is also used to learning new team offenses (as a member of the VZ NT). 3) A non-fatigued and somewhat healthy Glen Rice can create problems for KT at the SF position. I wouldn't expect this for a whole game but for a short-term scrimmage Rice is comparable. IMO, Rice is no dummy as far as learning a new set. 4) As mentioned prior, Goodrich knows the new offensive set better than any other Rocket. 5) If you paid attention to the SoCal Summer League, you'll recall that Collier had some very good games late. I'm not saying Collier starts over Cato, but Collier is the type of player that can frustrate Cato. (Remember how much trouble Dream had with Mark Eaton?). One lesson that may have been forgotten from the recent WBC's - teamwork is in! Even if it's second team teamwork.
thacabbage, That's a camp photo of KT from rockets.com. Yeah, his chest and shoulders look rock solid. Did you read the Rockets Summary in the Chronicle today. Feigen said the 3 experient is over: Kenny IS a three. SwiftRocket posted it. I agree that there are not enough fast Pierce, Carter and McGrady types to worry about. The power, small forwards can do well, especially in the West. I'd like to see Peja take him on. Look at the playoff competition: Fox Smith/Rose Nowitski/Finley Kirilenko Peja Odom Battier?? Joe Smith Not one of those guys is going to be faster than Kenny, to the point of a mismatch. Nowitski will beat him with moves and a height, not sheer driving ability, but Nitwitz should be playing PF anyhow. Obviously, not to say we win each battle, but I could see Kenny abusing Peja, for instance.
Who is taking Odom's place? He's out for good stretch. I totally agree KT can handle the three. Just like Dallas, I think a lot of teams are going to use more powerful small forwards. Our advantage is the guard tandem and overall offensive punch. Adding a little power in KT to the 3, and having different looks in Rice and Nachbar is great - can't have too much depth and versatility, especially in this new offense.
If Kenny's outside shot has improved as we are hearing reported, I would love to see him at the 3 as well...as long as he understands that ball movement is the key this season. None of this fake-a-shot-and-hold-the-ball-a-while stuff that drove me crazy last season.
Yea, that was lame. But, that was part of that ISO in a limited offense with not much healthy talent around.
the other thing is he won't be needing to hit 3 ptrs. Everyone on the team has range, now that we have a Center with outside range, and PFs with range. Yao can pull the center out and KT can play low post like usual. Also, a 5-man game (I refuse to call it "motion offense" anymore based on Rudy's quotes to Clutch--see the front page) is supposed to support a lot a seams and midrange shots, perfect for KT. I'd like to see our 3 pt shot attempts go down a few notches anyhow.
Yes, I'm hoping our five-man game will produce open seams to the basket as opposed to open shots. Nets and Kings, when playing their best, produce layup after layup. I think we have the personnel to make it work. Lots and lots of layups and dunks, baby.
A few notches, heypartner? Hell, they need a 50% reduction in 3pt attempts. I'm tired of seeing opposing players enter the 4th quarter with 2 or 3 fouls because no one is attacking and drawing fouls. I suppose the new philosophy (I refuse to call it a new offense) will go a long way towards rectifying this situation, as will the added size up front and (hopefully) on the glass. Just tired of seeing the Rocks take the terrible, 'lazy' 3 vs. working and creating good shots or opportunities to score some 'easy' points.
Clutch, Reading your daily updates are really getting me pumped for the season. Looking at the starting lineup and the firepower on the bench leads me to believe we can compete offensively with anyone in the league (except maybe Dallas) if we can gel. But what about the defense? Have you seen anything the team is working on that would lead you to believe that they will actually have some type of effective defensive scheme vs. last year's watch the other team shoot and put your hand up to his waist? Thanks.
