With MoT ineligible for the first five games and with KT and T-Mo on the injured list during the same period, will Collier flourish as the backup PF to Eddie Griffin? He played PF in college -- not center -- and that has always seemed like his more natural position.
In another thread I projected him as the backup PF for opening night based on how things are right now. I am happy for him.
My guess is that we will have no other choice but to put him there. With 2 of our 3 pfs out, Griff can't handle it all. (or maybe he could?) I assume we'd have to stick Collier there. Either that or if Tmo's healed up, which I'm not sure he will be, we can stick him there. Or we could go Twin Tower lineup with Ming and Cato. Darn...too many variations...even with injuries. Why did I say darn?
I missed that. I wonder if this will provide a chance to shine, becoming more valuable to the team as a two-position player.
Hawkins earned more playing time, he deserves a chance to make this team, but, Catos 7 minutes against the Magic seemed perfect. Jason seems capable of playing the 4 0r 5 equally well...err,,well equally !
I agree, but, with 4 fouls in 7 minutes in his last game, Kelvin was headed for an early exit, He must step up his game to help the Rockets in any role.
The Rockets might choose to go small for short stretches, using either Rice or Nachbar at PF. Rice played a lot of minutes at PF in New York, and he is perhaps the most effective post-up option on the Rockets (unfortunately). Also, Nachbar is listed at 6-9 and may be closer to 6-10, so he could possibly play a few minutes at PF as well, much like Vladimir Radmanovic, the player to which most scouts compare him. Still, I also foresee heavy minutes for Eddie Griffin.
I hope Collier gets a chance to prove himself. He's going to be a contributor in the NBA...whether its with the Rockets or another team. The move to PF would be good for him because of the apparent log jam at center. All in all, I think the Rockets are going to be good this year...and I think Collier has all the potential in the world to be part of the reason for that.
A 7-footer who has good hands, can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line, packs 270-lbs, can set a nasty pick and plays two positions is not an everyday commodity. Collier could well provide insurance as a 12th man C and PF. We can already see how injuries can ruin even a 3-deep position.
I think we should use Cato at center and Ming at pf. Cato being the better power player and better inside player (or maybe not better but exclusively rather) would be a better fit at center and having Ming who's more of a high post player and better shooter is a better fit at pf. Kind of like back when we had Ralph Sampson and Dream.
Collier competes. Hard. I like the guy. I'm rooting for the guy. When they go small I see Eddie @the '5'...Rice @the '4' (w/KT hurt)???
They could also go big with Ming, Cato, and Collier sharing 4 and 5 with Eddie at 3. Rice and Nachbar back up the 3, Norris and Hawkins back up the 1 and 2.
Yeah, but the Rockets have NEVER done anything remotely close to that. No matter how many times we've discussed the concept of going big, the Rockets have never run Cato out there at PF or done anything like that. Rudy is much more enamoured of the small lineup.
The point that I attempted to make (albeit badly) was that the Rockets are versitile enough to go either direction, which is a huge asset in a league that has as much variation as the NBA. Whether we go against a big or small team, we can counter in a number of ways and are not limited by personnel.
I hope they keep Yao at center and put Cato where he can do the most good... playing center (backup, I hope). LAfadeaway33 mentioned Sampson playing PF during the Twin Tower days, but Ralph was out of position, in my opinion, and always played better at center. Leave Yao at center, where he's used to playing. It's his position and he'll be most comfortable there. When he's been with the team for awhile then experiment and move him around, if Rudy thinks it a good idea. Don't mess with his position now.
