What positions do we need to upgrade to become a championship contender. Don’t worry about what trade do we have to make, who will we lose, who will we gain, etc, but specifically what positions do we need to upgrade (starters/backups) and why. I think small and power forward. Small forward-starter: Shane lost the little offense that he originally had and lost his edge on D and chase not quite there yet….but close. Power forward-backup: Scola has no developed backup. Please excuse my writing at the moment; I am in Amsterdam….. Cheers!!!
At PF, we have inarguably the best depth of any position. 1) Scola - Stud 2) Hill - Talented but raw 3) Hayes - solid contributer who started 82 games last years 4) Patterson - talented first round pick. I think you're forgetting Hayes is a PF by nature, not center. He's not an offensive threat but he's definitely a solid backup. I'd prefer beefing up the center backup position. Sadly enough I'd really like it if we signed Dampier. Who knows if Yao will make it through the season or not. Having Miller @ backup C is better than Hayes but that position is still one that could be shored up some more.
You have a good point, but come playoff time, yao will play 40+ minutes, also we are in a better position in center than last year (even without yao). The problem with power forward is that we cant wait for patterson to mature. If he takes longer than a year, then he is off sync with yao and scola. We really only have this year and next before we have to completely demolish and rebuild this team.
I would like to see an upgrade in the SF position with a superstar that can draw double team. And PF that is tall and athletic that can rebound and block shots. Scola has everything except intimidation. Defensively he doesn't scare anybody. Battier are not athletic enough to drive and dunk and create his own shots. The reason it works for Scola is because Yao covered him. And the reason it work for Battier is because Brooks and Martin and Yao generate enough offense so we do not need him other than being just a spot up shooter.
Besides the common response, Small Forward, I think Point Guard is where we need an upgrade the most. I love Aaron and Kyle, but I think we need a single PG who can consistently have 10 assists per game.
For sure. Fisher, Rondo, Parker, Billups....none of those guys averaged 10+ assists a game the year they won the championship.
I think all good points. Each player in our starting lineup has distinct advantages over other players in the league but tend to lack something crucial to put them in the upper echelon at their position (minus Yao). The great thing about this team is the intelligence, aggressiveness and team work mentality that raises their effectiveness. The players can be interchanged in a myriad of ways and still produce quality team ball which keeps us playing at a higher level throughout the game. In my opinion,the Rockets are all about the sum of the parts. Brooks - Great scorer but average defender, undersized. Martin - Great scorer but below average defender. Battier - Great defender (on the decline), mediocre scorer. Scola - Great scorer but average defender. Yao - Great offense and defense but highly injury prone. Lowry - Good defender and average scorer. Lee - Good defender and average scorer. Budinger - Good scorer and average defender. Hayes - Great defender but poor scorer. Miller - Good scorer and average defender (old). Taylor - Average scorer but below average defender. Jeffries - Good defender and average scorer. Hill - Average scorer and average defender. Patterson - Unproven. Smith - Unproven.
Position is almost irrelevant when it comes to upgrading the Rockets talent. Star level talent is. Whether this player is a PG like CP3, PF like Bosh(going back to FA), SF like Melo, it doesn't matter. I want to say we have no need for a center, but that's mainly because no centers are ever available anyway.
i was the 100th vote .. do i get a prize? everyone that says we need a upgrade at Center .. who is avail that is better than a effective yao playing 24 min. and brad miller as backup?
What are u going to do when yao and/or brad is injured (which will inevitably happent??) I didn't vote for that, but I'm guessing that's what they're thinking.... (although the "who is avail" is always tricky at center)
I vote small forward because- if Yao goes out so badly that Mlller and J-Hizzzy are not enough as backups, then we're screwed in the playoffs anyway, and might as well start rebuilding. Assuming Yao stays healthy and awesome (no homo, knock on wood ), small forward is our weakest position.
Great post, sums up everything I had in mind. I feel like we could use an upgrade in any one position - we're kinda deep and decently talented in each one of them that it doesn't really matter which one.
Aaron Brooks - 25 Chase Budinger - 22 Chuck Hayes - 27 Jordan Hill - 23 Courtney Lee - 25 Kyle Lowry - 24 Kevin Martin - 27 Patrick Patterson - 21 Jermain Taylor - 24 Really? Only this year and next before we have to completely demolish this team? We have an excellent group of young developing players AND players that are just hitting their prime. In two years all of those players are still in their 20's. Talk to me again about demolishing the team when we don't have so many young, talented players on the team.
Agreed, although I've never been crazy about any of the stars you speak of. That said, I'm a fan of many of our players and don't want to see them go, good thing I'm not a GM. None of our guys are really a liability overall, they are just fine.
In Adelman's system 10 assists/game on a consistent basis from any point guard might be tough to come by. Assists come from all positions, from PG to C, based on what the defense gives and the reads and reactions by the players. Sure a "pure" point would be nice to have in some situations, but one must wonder if all of those calling for a pure point take the system into account or if they just want the big name.
