Good Question. I don't think anybody knows the answer. Rodgers may not be ready to play power forward and bang with the big boys. When olajuwon returns we will have this situation covered, but until then, we have a large problem. This is really going to hurt us. Somebody, who are the power forwards in the West? And how will we match up?
when Hakeem returns: Cato at PF when Mass returns: Mass at PF but for now: Thomas at PF Kenny has proven to have some good post moves, and right now, he's our best post-up big man.
Kenny Thomas should start, and Rogers should come off the bench. Rudy will probably start Rogers, though. I just don't think he's enough of a complete player to start at the 4, more of a garbage man type. Plus, Thomas is our 1st-round pick, and he needs the experience.
Use Tmass as a backup. I don't think this team will win this season, and the experience will be invaluable for Thomas. It will also show our young players our commitment to the future. Face it... tmass will never be a quality starter. Thomas may not, but I'm willing to find out.
Kenny Thomas has WAY more potential then Carlos Rogers, since this season is over, let's let the young guns play until they drop. See what we have for the future. DaDakota
DaDakota. I understand the frustration. But, you know, Thomas will get plenty of minutes. This "play to they drop" chime sounds more for effect than substance. 1. don't you think we need to field 8-9 players per game for a quality defensive system? Playing people 40+ minutes will create tired players that start developing bad habits, if not injuries. Especially low post players. We don't need that. 2. going at youth for youth's sake has nothing to do with fielding the best team now or in the future. that plan misses acquisitions like Mario Elie. Clutch veterans are a key ingredient for taking pressure off maturing youth. Rogers is good because he doesn't mind being a role player willing to give his all. I understand your point. Thomas could excel. But, I pretty sure Rudy has a good idea how to bring up youngsters: horry, cassell, harrington, dickerson, mobley and now thomas ranks up with the best recruiting from our low draft spots out of any team in the NBA. relax...Rudy will do Thomas just fine.
T-Mass as soon as he is healthy. We need some type of veteran leadership. Thomas and Rogers are both fine, but T-Mass has played before.
Haven, I thought T-mass did an admirable job starting last season. He started 35 of the 43 games he played in, and averaged 11.2 points in about 26 minutes of play. I'm not opposed to starting Kenny Thomas (it will be great experience for him), but I think T-mass will do okay if he gets the nod. I'd love to have Othella back about right now. But not enough to give up Steve.
I think you can construe Tmass's #'s from last year as the inevitable distortion of playing for a bad team. Is Abdur-Rahim better than Kobe? Probably not, but he averages more points because there simply aren't enough quality players on the team. Remember players liek Loy Vaught? They score plenty with teams like the Clips, then go into the real world, and suck.
Haven, I know the remarks about misconstruing tmass's stats weren't directed at me, but let me add: stats don't matter once you've seen results on the court. In tmass, i've seen a large man with a very confident turnaround fade-away jumper. I have a place on my team for that every day. I also agree that thomas needs minutes if he is to continue improving his sweet footwork moves in the low post, but his time and tmass's time must both be deserved. tmass has my nod for starting. i like thomas off the bench perfecting his moves against reserves on the other team. if you think about Rudy's philosophy, what it will boil down to is who gives the most effort on the defensive end. i can't tell who's best at the moment. but now, we will see.
I got a feeling it will be T-Mass. Thomas has shown alot of potential, but given Rudy's track record, he'll go with the experienced player. Kenny T. should get alot of time at the 4 though. heypartner, I was thinking the same thing. Maurice Taylor would be a great pick up for this team in the offseason. He's already expressed interest in leaving the Clips after this season. He's be a nice addition to the Rockets. Think we can get him this season in a trade since L.A. knows he won't be around? TraJ, I feel you man! It would be awesome to still have Othella to fall back on in this situation. Cato Harrington Williams Anderson Francis Not a bad lineup at all. ------------------ There is no offense without a good defense.
Play Thomas as much as we can stand it (we'll lose points at both ends due to his inexperience), and ask Barkley to spend the rest of this season teaching Thomas what he knows and infusing him with the Chucklike attitude that could turn Thomas from an on-and-off performer into a nightly force. Thomas has the talent. What he needs is Chuck's heart.
We shall build Kenny's confidence as high as possible, as only players with the utmost confidence can dominate, Kenny is the complete package if he can put the ball on the floor like Lamar Odom. Tamss is old and won't develope much, the starter experience should be allocated to Kenny Thomas as much as possoble, if he pans out well we can either trade him or keep him. If he can't handle the starter job then no need to waste time on him. Either way it works out for us. Young big men with potential are hot commodities, Kenny would have much trade value than Tmass and that's the main reason he should start. Rogers should be starting at the 3, along with Francis, Anderson, Kenny and Cato. Walt comes off bench while Rogers shifts to the pf, when Tamss is still healing.
Bravo will, this is exactly the point. From what I have seen of his game, he reminds me of a young Charles Barkley. Who knows how far he can go, he already has the confidence to succeed in this league. I want to see what we have for the future. Tmass is fine but he does not bring the energy or the defense that Thomas seems to bring. I like Tmass for the 2nd unit, as lord knows we need someone to score with that unit. DaDakota PS HeyPartner, Play till they drop means let them learn by being on the court, not from the bench.
Matt Bullard.. he has the size and he will be too quick to cover for those other power forwads. Watch out Duncan because Air Bullard is on the way. In all seriousness I love Bullard but Kenny Thomas starts now and I have to think we will be getting another player soon. I would bet a PF. We could get Rodman at our low point of the decade and make it a litlle bit lower. Maybe we can get Kevin Johnson I've heard nobody has signed him.
Kevin Johnson is officially retired, he probably is like what is Isiah Thomas right now, with a name but got no game.
on rotonews.com they say that rogers will probably get the start in place of barkley "Carlos Rogers (F) HOU Dec. 9 Following the career-ending injury to Charles Barkley, Rogers likely moves into the Rockets starting lineup. " if i remember correctly, didnt rogers start before during the preseason when barkley was out? [This message has been edited by Nutcracker (edited December 09, 1999).]
With the injury to Charles, who will be our starting power forward? Will it be T-mass? And if so, is he anywhere near being ready to play with his groin injury? Will it be Kenny Thomas? He's played well in the time given to him. Will it be Carlos Rogers? Power forward is the position that he's used to. I don't think he played small forward until coming to Houston. When Hakeem comes back will it be Cato? I think I'd rather have him backing up both center and power forward for awhile (playing starters minutes). Will we now make a trade of some sort? It's strange, I was kind of looking forward to life after Barkley, but now that it's here it doesn't look so good.
Hakeem when he is healthy. Thomas will back him up. Cato will play the C position with hakeem backing him up. Barkley for governor?
