I am okay with Rafer starting but Aaron Brooks has been simply amazing as of late. IMO he is such a clutch player down the stretch "ala Sam Cassell" that he needs to be on the court. If you concede Tmac, Battier, Yao and either Bonzi, Hayes or Scola at the PF than who finishes at the point? My vote is for Brooks.
I could see an Alston, Brooks, McGrady, Battier, and Yao lineup at the end if opposing teams go small. Adelman seems to be playing Alston and Brooks together a lot more.
Interesting question. Assuming it's a close game....I think Rafer gets the nod at this stage since Brooks is still learning. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Brooks and Rafer in with T-mac at sf and Hayes at pf.
TMAC, YAO, Rafer, AB, and Battier. I don't like Chuck in there. He doesn't do anything on offense. Teams don't even defend him.
I think it really depends... If Rockets are up, Yao/Hayes/Battier/Mac/Rafer. I think AB's defense is a bit too suspect, especially on bigger PGs...although I would love to see him against CP3. If Rockets are down, and need scoring, Yao/Scola/Mac/AB/Rafer. Battier if he's hot for three, but damn, if he's not, Shane really is an offensive liability imo.
Depending on matchups either AB/RA/T-Mac/Battier/Yao or just go with AB running the show at PG. I do like that 2pg small ball with Yao manning the middle, t-mac finishing and battier providing defense and 3 point stroke. Could be a problem rebounding with just Yao at the middle though, might have to sub in RA for Chuck if we need rebounds.
Matchups will continue to dictate how we end games, but I do think that for most teams we should be able to get away with the small ball to close out -- move Battier to the four and McGrady to the three. Either way, it's great to finally have the backcourt flexibility we were looking for coming into the season ... we just didn't think it'd be coming from the Alston/Brooks combo.
Depends on the matchups and how each guy is playing. As the season progresses and AB continues improving, he will finish more games.
tmac needs to play with in the team and not hold himself up on a pedestal as king.......then and only then will the rox take off rather than watching tmac clang outside shots and play 1/2 court game only,
Its great to see some suport for Rafer i knew hed prove all the haters wrong...but anyways i love to see rafer and brooks play together...
Head Bonzi Francis Hayes ... jk Brooks/Alston/McGrady/Battier/Yao works for me. Then possibly Scola or Bonzi for Battier depending on matchup and night's hot hand. You know what you're getting with Yao, Battier and Alston. Brooks can be given a rookie exception for erratic play. McGrady is the actual wild card of the group. You figure McGrady to be a scoring jump shooter and good ballhandler. But then you don't know if he'll balance facilitating and chucking trying for the home run 3, penetrate for easy scores, move without the ball, if he'll play sturdy defense, dive for loose balls. If he'll stay actively involved in the game if the ball's not in his hands basically.
Having Brooks at the 2 really adds to our depth and flexibility of lineups. It does allow for us to move Battier to the 4, and depending on who has the hot hand, utilizing Scola and Hayes off the bench, or moving him back to the 3 when TMac is out. But, I'm not sure Battier could take the beating at the 4 full time. He'd have to play multiple positions, and hopefully Scola can start taking more and more of the brunt of the bruiser 4s in the West. Bonzi can come in at the 3 or 2 also. And, Head is starting to work his way back at the 2. I wouldn't have thought of Brooks at the 2, because he's so short. But if Tmac will allow Adelman's offense to distribute the ball, instead of him, we could be pretty impressive. I'm thrilled with how Brooks is coming along. He really adds speed and penetration I had hoped Francis would provide. As long as Alston stays hot, he should get the nod, but if he goes back in a slump, we now might have a replacement. I think Francis and James might be out of the lineup. I'm really disappointed with them both. Their careers might just be over. Deke was impressive in there too tonight ... So, once TMac is back, I'd like to see ... Yao/Deke/(Scola) Battier/Scola/Hayes/Landry TMac/(Battier)/Wells/Snyder/Novak Brooks/(TMac)/(Wells)/Head/James Alston/(Brooks)/Francis
