Why Did We Even Trade for James Posey If We Are Never Going to Play Him?

Larry Brown let KT play a long time in his first game. The Sixers' offense is more simple than the Rockets' team offense. They just isolate and let AI do his stuff. That's what they did with KT and Kenny Thomas did a good job. He is going to help the Sixers.


Rudy is a great guy but why doesn't he let people play? He likes to stick with set rotations. Bostjan Nachbar just sits there! He's too afraid to put Posey in as well. Instead, he puts Terence Morris in. Rudy is still doing a wonderful job though. He's just stupid at times. We need some consultant that tells him everything that people are saying.

 

And Marcia Clark should work for you?

 

Yeah, huge mistake, is it 2 or 3 more years for that contract. Maloney was actually a good fit with the Hakeem-Clyde-Chuch Rockets. He just had to get the ball to those guys,play good D, and hit the 3. He was alright his rookie year. Maybe Rudy and Carroll just thought the guy had more potential. Oh well, can't win them all.

And nineteen...WTF! I never said anything about Rudy and Carroll being smart. Heck, I'd be one of the first to tell you that their past decisions have really been short-sighted. But you know what Mr. Rocket hater, they got this team back on track even with those moves. So spew your sh*t somewhere else cuz this team is going places!

 

Posey is a long way for McGrady or Garnett. He is closer to TMo than those two. Yes he is an upgrade to Rice and Tmo but he doesn't know the scheme. Would he have made a difference in the Hawks game? Would he have been able to stop Garnett in the Minnesota game to allow us to win? The answer to that question is probably not. Posey is a good player, but he is not a difference maker.

That being said, I would expect to see more of him tonight because he has had a practice with us and the Russian and Harpring are going to kill Rice.

 

If you truly believe that the Rockets offense is "predominantly watching Francis and Mobley go iso on people with the occasional token passes to Yao," then you probably would regard advanced calculus as nothing more complex than Junior High algebra. How much more advanced you are than most of us here!

The fact is, if the Rockets offense is so simple, why would it take so long for most of the players on the team to learn? If Francis can't execute it consistently after 25 games into the season, what make you think that Posey can just come in and play?

Besides, Posey was traded on Wednesday evening, got to Houston on Friday. Then the Rockets played two games in less than 48 hours after Posey passed his physical and suited up. Two games in less than 48 hours, how much practice with his new teammates do you think he's got during that time?

 

I still believe if we had just picked up a halfway decent point guard who could play an ounce of defense in'97, we would have beaten Utah and met the Bulls in the Finals. Derek Harper all but begged the Rox to get him from Dallas before the deadline that year. But dumbass rudy felt Maloney's 3pt shooting and our offense was more important to winning. That and his daughter's crush on Maloney. We ended up signing Sedale Threat later in the season, without whom we probably would have lost the Utah series 4-1.

 

What the heck do you expect?

Posey is never going to be like Garnett. And I think Posey's only 25, right?

And Posey is not making 21 million a year. Posey doesn't have to be our leading scorer. Look at Yao. He gradually earned more playing time. Rudy likes to take it slow... like Bostjan Nachbar.

 

Just to add to what rockbox and Easy are saying. With the way our zone defense works, positioning on the court and the rotation of our defenders is vitle. Players like Yao and EG still struggle from time to time and get caught out of position. I wouldnt behoove the Rockets to throw Posey right in without being familiar with his zone assignments and responsibilities. In fact, it would probably have been a disaster.

In the end, Rudy is right for not playing him much the first two games.

I would agree that we should see a lil more of him tonight with a practice under his belt. Maybe 10 mins or so?

 

codell,

first of all, it wouldn't take days and days for a defensive-minded player like Posey to be able to pick up his zone assignments adequately enough to contribute. and, if he is playing and looks lost out there, THEN he could get taken out. you don't know what you are going to get with a player if he doesn't get the chance. Who knows? He could have been the difference-maker in that wolves game.

The same with Boki. Who knows how much he could have been contributing right now? The guy hasn't been given a chance to succeed or fail. Rudy is stubborn, and his coaching is currently the only thing holding the team back.

 

This is sad that this is actually a conversation. Why is it not understandeable that Posey doesn't know the plays?

How is that a who cares?

Of course I'd be pissed if we had Garnett or T-Mac and they played 5 minutes. Why? Because when you have those 2, the OTHER players play AROUND them. But when you have Posey, he plays around OTHER players. When he doesn't know HOW, then he doesn't play.

10 minutes tonight is understandeable.

BTW, if you expect him to be twice as good as Rice, then you'll never be satisfied.

 

Our offense is much more complex than the Sixers'.
AND don't you all know that Rice is the all time leader in three point field goals? And he used to be a franchise player?

 

Sane,

I guess we are all too stupid to understand that he doesn't know the plays.

Now, since you are such a genius, tell us this:
How long does it take an NBA player to learn a new teams plays?

Also, surely the offense can be simplified to what he knows when he's in the game, can't it?

Also, why is Kenny Thomas playing over 20 minutes/game already in Philly?

Surely you can answer all these questions.

 

rocketfat,

I strongly disagree. I can only assume that you dont know the intricacies of a matchup zone. You cant just throw a player, whether hes defensive minded or not, right into a matchup zone that he has never played before and expect him to know all of his assignments, responsibilites and rotations. It not that easy. Look at what happened to Yao when he came in without a training camp and wasnt familiar with our schemes? He was frequently caught out of position and blew assignments left and right and its been said that he has the best BBall IQ on the team. Thats why Yao received very little minutes his first few games and they only increased once he grasped what Rudy was preaching on D. This is why Posey is not getting minutes right away but will once he learns his our defensive system.

Also, what does Rudy gain by playing Rice and Morris over Boki, if Boki is the better player than the both of them? The answer is, hes not! Not right now. Rudy has always been fair with young players and ALWAYS has given them an opportunity to play once they have earned it. Rice is the best option at SF right now. Morris is not a very good player and that is why Posey was brought in.

Despite what many of you think, Rudy is not going to jeopardize the future of this team just because he is stubborn. There is a reason why Posey hasnt played and there is a reason why Boki hasnt played.

Rudy knows what he is doing.

 

When a player leaves one team for another, he has to cleanse himself and his mind of what the plays and philosophies that he learned while he was there for a whole new set of plays and philosophies. IMO, this takes several, if not, numerous practices and at least 5-10 regular games, if not more.

So lemme get this straight, youd rather simplify our offense at the expense of getting a role player (Posey) a few extra minutes???

You wanna adjust the offense around a new player instead of making that new player adjust his game to fit the offense?

Makes no sense.

Also, KT played because the Sixers have no depth and if they hadnt played him, they would have had only 2 healthy backups to the starting 5.

We have depth. Therefore, playing Posey wasnt crucial to our rotation.

 

COMMON codell, I wanted to trash him myself!!

More than one practice.

Maybe you don't mind losing, but me and Steve Francis, we don't like to run the offense stagnant to put in a player who wouldn't have that much of an aderse effect on the game. Glen Robinson was contained in the 2nd half of the Hawks game, and Garnett didn't explode, what he did, he would've done to Posey too.

Same reason the whole trade happened. Sixers need depth. Sixers lost Monty Williams to injury, and KT was their last option on the bench. Because the Sixers are Allen Iverson, and everyone else tries to get the rebound. We, now, have one of the most complex systems in the league, and, as I recall from an article, have probably the most plays in the league. Think about it. Francis gets his plays, Mobley gets his, Yao gets his, and Rice even gets his.

My pleasure. But I'd like to point out than there are tons of smart people on this board that could've figured these questions out for themselves without me answering them.

 

Of course, T-Mo might be getting more minutes lately because it's that time of year, boys and girls, when certain contracts on certain teams can be traded. Look at Fizer suddenly getting minutes with Da Bulls, and playing well (oh, sorry, it's a Midwest thing, we see more of Da Bulls than we would like). This after getting DNPs.

T-Mo as cap fodder in a larger trade?

Hmn. And Eddie got a hall pass for the last two games. Hmn.

No, no, I won't start this. But Posey better start getting some serious minutes soon. Put him out there for some perimeter defense: we always get mugged at the 2 and 3 spots; isn't that why we acquired Posey? To alleviate that problem?

If Rice wants to cry about losing minutes, Rudy, let him go look at his bank statements. That should dry out the tear ducts.

 

codell,

first of all, you are contradicting yourself. KT is playing in Philly because they don't have depth. But, you are saying the Rockets do have depth at the 3-spot. Who? Rice has lost every basketball skill he ever once posessed, Boki doesn't play, and TMo sucks. You said that yourself. Seems to me that would indicate that they don't have depth at small forward, WHICH IS WHY POSEY WAS BROUGHT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!

also, i am confident that you aren't as familiar as you think you are with regards to the "intricacies of a matchup zone", but, I am also willing to bet that Posey has been more than exposed to these intricacies at some point during his basketball career, whether in high school, college, or in the NBA over the past 2 years since zone defense has been allowed. Tell me codell, since you know it so well, what is the traditional waiting period for the learning of the intricacies of a matchup zone, and being game-ready?

And, I'd hate to break it to all of you who subscribe to the "Rudy is always right theory, because he is an NBA coach, and we're not" theory, but that is a stupid thing to say. There is no cookie-cutter method to how a team has to be coached. Other NBA coaches would be coaching this team a TON differently, in ways that we all would find much more sensible and prudent.

I like Rudy, he's a good guy, and has been a great member of the organization and city, but I think there is little doubt that he's lost his edge as a coach, and is doing a poor job this season.

 

I agree with Rocketfat

 

And you are criticizing that Rudy's method is wrong because he doesn't do it in your method? What kind of logic is that?

BTW, no one is claiming that Rudy is always right.