What we considered good in the past, is not good now. Yao has raised the bar of excellence. Thus, some players are not needed (don't fit) anymore.
I've always liked Kenny Thomas as well. Unfortunately, he does look somewhat out of place. For the first time in years, the offense actually seems to "flow." It's not just a series of individual plays anymore. The players actually seem to have some sort of chemistry, and it looks like there's a plan on offense. Unfortunately, when the ball goes to Kenny, it looks like the "plan" goes into abeyance. Kenny gets the ball, makes a post move, then shoots the ball. Nearly every time. He'll occasionally kick it out, but he's pitiful at finding streakers, etc. And also, the defense seems to know this is going to happen... as do his teammates. The team seems to go to sleep when Kenny has the ball. I feel for Kenny. He's playing for the contract. I wouldn't be surprised if he's afraid GM's wouldn't notice his good ball movement... just a lack of points and boards. I wonder if he'd be playing differently, had the Rockets resigned him this summer...
Kenny is fine. The problem is he's not been untilized in the right way. Some say he shouldn't be set up for isos. I agree with it because a player who can't dominate shouldn't be set up for isos. It's the last resort that teams dying for points to employ, like the Knicks used to set up Larry Johnson with a bad back in the post. Kenny should get his points in the flow of offense, not out of it. The Rockets should design some plays that create open lanes to the bakset, let Kenny get the ball and quickly slashes to the hole, takes the defense off guard, uses his spins and fakes to either score or draw a foul. The blackhole offense Kenny is doing now is a result of the lack of such plays.
Kenny is indeed devoid of emotions...I stood in utter disbelief watching him just sit there after Lanky's breakaway slam vs Minnesota in the 2000-2001 season finale. Unreal! Maybe I'm misinterpreting his behavior...maybe it's just Langhi withdrawal. Hell, maybe Moochie is having Walt withdrawal, and his piss poor play is some twisted homage to him. Whether or not Kenny is letting outside variables affect his game, can you at least agree it's almost a guarantee this is his last season with the team? This argument bears no meaning in the end, because the Rockets refusal to give him a contract extension was a tacit "Happy trails..." and he knows it. The problem with players like Kenny and Cuttino is that they see the court in black and white terms when they have the ball in their hands. Cuttino can be repositioned in the offense to make up for this; Kenny can't. On to Moochie...anathema as he is, I doubt the coaching staff gives up on him, even though there's plenty of tell-tale signs he doesn't fit in with this team at all. Their idea of commensurate value (ala Kenny Anderson) probably differs from the fan's (Milt Polacio).
I think by the trading deadline one of the three PFs will be gone assuming all three are healthy. At this stage, it seems that Rudy is trying to figure out who fits the team the best. There is one major hole this team has which is a third guard. I think the plan will be to move one of the three PFs and add a third guard that can pass, shoot, handle the ball etc and has some size (atleast 6-4 or 6-5). This will enable Rudy to completely bench Moochie and play Steve and this other guard together a good amount of time. I dont think Mobley will get moved this season (though I would be perfectly ok with it if he was), but I think instead the Rockets will change his role and add another player to the backcourt that fits the team concept a little better.
If the Rockets wish to resign KT next year, they simply have to match any offer he gets as a restricted free agent, to date, KT has said he wishes to remain a Rocket. Unless that changes he probably will. There is no problem with Cuttino or KT that RudyT has acknowledged....
Agree that he'll be gone by next season? Either KT or MoT will undoubtedly be gone before the trading deadline. Something like this: KT 75% chance of being traded MoT 20% chance of being traded Griffin 5% chance of being traded The thing about KT is, the best part of his game is defense and when he takes his man on ISO's. He's lost so much weight that his defensive abilities have become useless for something like 60 games a season. How many time will he face brand? Jamison? Now how many time will he face Webber, Duncan, Garnett, Gasol, Nowitzki, Wallace? That's just off the top of my head. KT can't guard any of those guys. Once you take away his defense, and you don't want him going to ISO's, then he's almost a liability. Plus, as I've been saying for a while, these inconsistent minutes for the F's are killing their flow, and hence their FG%. It's time for KT to go. Trade him for a VET player with a one or two year contract. In fact, package him with Moochie and our Chicago obligation for Jamal Crawford and a protected first rounder in the future. Then just sign some journeyman PF and put them on the Injured list. Some options: Obinna Ekezie Chuckie Brown AC Green Tony Massenburg Antonio Harvey (6'11, 250 btw) Pig Miller My pick would be Ekezie, and here's what we'd look like: Cato/Ming/Collier MoT/Griffin/Ekezie Rice/TMo/Boki Mobley/Hawkins Francis/Crawford Crawford would develop nicely and may or may not be the perfect eventual replacement for Mobley. At worst, he'll be an athletic big guard off the bench who can get to the rim. Don't tell us MoT tweaked his Achilles. It's not like we're can't get someone else is we trade KT. There are tons of people out there who can play the minutes he SHOULD be playing.
I know you meant Cuttino and Steve, but this is funny. Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde? When Cuttino (the near all-star) shows up to play, let him have the ball. When Mobley shows up to play, tell him to take a seat.
I said it before..but here it is again. I think that Oscar Torres would have been a better FIT at the 2 guard for a Francis & Ming team. He moves without the ball, and shoots coming off of screens better then Mobley. Too bad we waived him. Cuttino has to make the biggest adjustment to his game. He needs to become effective WITHOUT the ball. Dan Langhi could not do it, I sure hope Cuttino can. DaDakota
Dakota, I agree to a certain extent. The problem with Oscar is that his shot stopped falling b/c it just was not very consistent. I agree with the notion about having a SG that moves well w/o the ball is what this offense needs. If Mobley cannot develop into that role and be effective with less shots, then there are plenty of SGs in the NBA that are capable of playing well off the ball that could eventually be acquired via trade and have a more dependable jumper and better defense than Oscar. I have no problem with releasing Oscar b/c the team needed to keep Hawkins.
I don't think we've been watching the same team this year. Kenny can body up defenders, but he is slow on rotations and is addicted to that little swipe move instead of raising his hands on defense. He is severely undersized and the better forwards have no problem shooting over him. He is not a shotblocking threat and every time he is in the game, I feel like the opposition is throwing a party at our rim. You're right that Griffin struggles against physical forwards like Brand, but in those instances, there is no reason to not go to a zone with Griffin and Yao. If we need a more physical one-on-one defender, we can bring in Taylor. KT is not a vestige. He's a cancer and he needs to be removed.
Good thread. I'd like to trace back the roster discussions since the past offseason. Guards: Everybody knew Francis and Mobley were going to be the starters. Some suggested to move Francis to SG and acquire a "true PG" through trade or FA. I didn't think we really need a "true PG" as long as we had the whole team playing team ball. Francis and Mobley just needed to play smarter. They didn't need to be replaced. In fact, I predicted that Mobley would be the most transformed player. So far, I think he has tried. He is not doing it well consistently. But there is hope that he can be the role player that I want him to be. The real uncertainty in the offseason was the backups. We knew Moochie would be the main backup guard. We were guessing who among Torres, Brown and Maddox would make the team. We were surprised that we picked up Hawkins and Mickeal. Hawkins is a great find. He is the perimeter defender I've always wanted for our team. (I even wished that somehow we could get Doug Christie from the Kings.) His jump shot scares nobody other than his own team. But he moves well w/o the ball and is a decent passer. In other words, he is not a liability on offense while being very useful on defense. I've never liked Moochie's game. I thought he should never be used more than 15 min. a game. So far, his play confirmed it. If we can trade him for a vetaran PG, I am all for it. We are pretty thin at that spot. Forwards: This is the most complicated position. With Taylor coming back, we all saw in the summer that the logjam was coming. Since Griffin was projected to be the future star, most people felt that either Taylor or Thomas would be moved. I was kinda torn between the two. Thomas was a better bench player, while Taylor was a better starter. Since Griffin would eventually start, it made more sense to keep Thomas than Taylor. But Taylor's contract made it a lot more difficult to trade. I never thought Thomas's jump shot would be good enough to be an effective SF. But I guess seeing the logjam coming, he worked hard on his shot and shed some weight. During the preseason, he showed signs that he could be a good starting 3. His offense has not been very good so far once the regular season started. I don't think he deserves to be starting now. The problem is, can he accept a role off the bench. I never put much stock on Rice. I thought he was washed out, declining skills, declining health. He had a good training camp. And in the past few games, he was playing very well. I am still holding my breath. If he continues to be in this form, he will be the starter, no doubt. Morris was another surprise in the preseason. He was making shots I never thought he could ever do. Unfortunately, injury prevented him to show whether he was for real. Nachbar has also been a surprise, towards another direction. (Yes, there are so many surprises to me at the forward positions. ) I thought the SF position was thin and Nachbar would contribute immediately. I couldn't be more wrong! Now he is the 12th man on the bench and might soon be put in the IR doghouse. Now he has 3 guys in front of him at his position, no to mention Hawkins also can play the 3. Centers: This is the simplest of all. Everybody knew Yao was going to be the future starter. The only question was how soon. Now that question has been answered, more or less. Now the only question is whether Collier deserves to be on the active roster. And, yes, Cato is a surprise. But I don't think he is indispensable as some people has indicated lately. Conclusion: The center position is pretty much set. We have a surplus in the forward department and is somewhat thin in the guard department. So, it makes sense to trade a forward for a guard (preferably a PG since Francis can play both). Thomas seems to be the tweener that falls through the crack. I think he is a good player. But a tweener (does versitile player sound better?) is useful only in situations where 2 positions are thin (like our guard situation). But Thomas's 2 positions are both crowded. That is just unfortunate for him. Who are the vestiges? In terms of Will's definition, here is my list, in the order of the most "removable" formerly useful parts: Moochie, Thomas, Rice, Cato. Sorry for so long-winded.
Rocket Addict, Yes, apparently, we haven't been watching the same games. Kenny is no longer undersized, anymore than Shane Battier. Do you even watch our zone with Eddie? That is what we were playing the 1st Q against the Clips. And explain to me again what this lack of rotation Kenny shows. Like that is why Rudy and Carroll have both praised his d. Watch the game. Guys like you apparently don't know how to read defenses, because there was one reason and one reason only that Kenny got 42 minutes against the Clips (with everyone healthy), and that is because he was the best frontcourt defender out there. <b>Kenny is a vestige if you don't care about defense/rebouding.</b> He is a cancer if you like soap operas, because it certainly doesn't look like Rudy thinks he's a cancer...nor anyone else on the team. <blockquote><hr>If we need a more physical one-on-one defender, we can bring in Taylor. <hr></blockquote> Laughable, and it just proves you are speaking from petpeeves and not reality.
Cutino Mobley is a Shooting Guard- He shoots the ball- thats what we should expect from him. His only problem is shot selection, he tries to attempt to be the greatest player that ever lived. He must learn to only shoot the high percentage shot!(Francis as well). When he drives and is guarded by two or three players he MUST pass out. I think with INSTRUCTION Mobley can master this situation! Rudy T MUST insist upon it in a very definite way. You do it or be taken out of the starting line up! Rudy T should try out more players like Nachbar and Morris and use different starting players for different games.KT will adapt, Moochie a lost cause, just does'nt have it!
I think there is more reasoning by the opposition than you've mentioned before. I think part of it is that KT is not regarded as a SF offensive player by the other team any more than Griffin is considered a PF. The defense would like to keep it's 4 man nearer to the basket, and obviously Griffin's outside range, most notably 3 point range, must be respected moreso than KT's. If Griffin can ever start taking advantage of the situation, we may see changes in this philosophy. Personally, I'm not liking how KT is fitting into the offense, I think to this point he's been destructive to the offensive flow, but I'm giving it a little more time. Same with Mobley, but in his last couple games he wasn't so much destructive as he was more or less absent and confused, and his ability to be a threat wasn't there. With Mobley, he's not being kept around for his passing and defense, so he's got to be a threat, or he's useless. As far as Moochie, he's about as useful as a 3rd nipple at this point.
