Navarro is a short SG who can handle the rock, shoots with percisely, and can penetrate if needed. Exactly what we need beside tracy.
Most definately...and he would be a big upgrade...but notice I didn't include "passing" in my synopsis.
I really like Kyle Lowry. He is a penetrator/finisher. Not a great 3 point shooter, but I'm confident he can shoot it just as well as Rafer. But the thing that stands out about Lowry is he slashes to the hoop and draws a ton of fouls. With him on our team combined with guys like Yao and Landry, we should be able to get other teams in foul trouble early and keep them off balance. Lowry takes almost 60% of his shots inside 15 feet and takes almost 50% of his shots at the rim. That's a lot of penetration. Conversly, Rafer takes only 38% of his shots inside 15 feet and only 30% of his shots at the rim. Pretty big difference. And because of Lowry's relentless penetration, he gets a lot of fouls called and gets to the line a lot. It makes his points per shot launch up to around 1.34 pps as opposed to Rafer's PPS barely above 1. That equates to an extra 3.5 points per game if you give Lowry the same amount of shots as Rafer gets. Back on Ridnour. I'd gladly trade for Ridnour if we could send them Rafer. I really think the time to trade Rafer is this offseason. One deal that I think would be doable would be to move Rafer, Luther, BJax, and Francis all to Memphis for Miller, Cardinal, and Lowry. This would be big salary savings for Memphis. Especially if we threw in some cash for them to buy out BJax and/or Francis. Another possible deal would be to send the same guys to Seattle for Ridnour and Collison. This gives us a legit backup big man to go with Yao along with an upgrade at the point. Seattle, of course, saves the cash.
I believe, if Morey wants to move Rafer this summer, he will sign a pg who is significantly better than Rafer, such as Calderon, Harris, Pepe... Otherwise, he won't do it.
^^^^^ I'm really high on Lowry as well. He's a tough competitor who can make big plays.....with sort of a Mario Elie mentality to his game. He's kind of a streaky shooter from outside, but maybe he can improve on that in the offseason.
He is also a weakling that doesn't play good defense. All he is really is an outside shooter. Not much different than Head other than better bball IQ. He is not the answer for us. We need more athleticism and someone that can truly finish around the rim and break down defenses with the dribble.
Harris isnt a free agent this summer, he signed an extension while he was with Dallas. The only problem I have with Lowry is that he's still undersized for the PG, and that he can't shoot the 3ball well.
Doesn't every team want a smart, think-pass first PG?? What team doesn't? Rafer has shown considerable improvement this year, and IMO, I think he deserves just a little bit more support from his own fan base sometimes than he gets.
Lowry is short but not undersized. He is very powerfully built, like Deron Williams, and will take the contact and finish at the basket. He don't go in there avoiding contact. He takes the contact and puts up the shot. Not to mention, he's in his second full season and his 3 point shooting is a bit weak, yes, but improvable. He can still spend this summer working on it and improve it. We know Rafer ain't improving in that department. About 40/35 is what you are gonna get from Rafer over the course of a season and then when the playoffs roll around, you can drop another 5-10 percentage points off those numbers. See my sig.
The most important thing for the rockets' starting pg is pass the ball to Yao! I am not sure Lowry has that ability, and Morey won't gamble on it.
Everyone throws Head out there for comparison to other shooters, he's really overrated. Head isn't a great shooter, he just looks that way compared to the rest of the guys on our team. In addition to that, he is a terrible passer (way below average for a SG), he can't dribble effectively, he's unatheletic for a guy as small as he is, and he can't get by his man ever. If it wasn't for these things Head would have fit perfectly with tmac in the backcourt. Navarro may have better bball IQ but he is also a much better shooter, passer, and penetrator. He can break down the defense he is just not a true PG similar to a poor man's Jason Terry. I'm not saying he is the best man for the job but I would much rather have him, an atheletic wing, and a backup center than just a good PG.
I share your interest in Lowry. Granted, he's obviously not ideal given his size and shooting percentages but the guy's like a bulldog. Very intense, physical and scrappy. He's pretty much your ideal backup. A guy you could bring off the bench for 20-25 minutes a game for a defensive and momentum spark. The best part of that idea is the fact that Lowry is much more than a 6'0" Ryan Bowen. He's lightening quick, he's aggressive and knows how to attack the rim. His speed stands out when he’s on the court. He's also pretty decent at pushing the ball up the court too -- something we don't really do enough of.
Only Artest or Calderon will be a major difference next season. Ridnour is no real upgrade over Alston because he is a terrible defender Alston is the superior defender over him. Ridnour does not do enough to compensate what Alston does his defense is lousy. He also is not even a great enough shooter to make a huge difference if he goes after Ridnour then he is half steppin.
No way Jose. I dont want to give other teams more flexability just to bring in pieces that are soft, bad contracts, or not proven enough to make the move. Miller would be good but soft no defense. Lowry would be good off the bench but not proven in big games. Cardinal is a bad contract not even worth taking on for the other 2 players. Ridnour to me is not a major upgrade that is going to be a huge difference and not even Collison who wont be seeing much playing time anyways next season. Mutombo is still better. It would tell you something about Ridnour who has trouble staying on the court on a losing team. A proven point guard who has been to the 2nd round? The Rockets are thinking championship beyond the 2nd round next season and Ridnour is not the answer imo. I would rather keep our pieces that gives us more flexability if anything and stay with the group that has atleast helped us get into the playoffs then risk the chance on Ridnour and Collison that play very little part on a losing team. Alston is better than Ridnour. These moves just took away defensive pieces who work well together and brings in people who play no defense.
What improvement exactly? He is right at his averages for Houston.....sure he has been hot for stretches...but the cold stretches even him out. If a guy can not shoot 40%, he should not be starting....PERIOD. DD
