Yao Likes Celtics to Win It All, Thinks Rockets Need to Get Bigger

There a flaw in your logic because you have basically "frozen" time to give Morey accolades. Both Landry and Brooks played 4 years of college. If you believe John Hollinger (and I do on this subject), 4 year players come out better prepared but have a lower upside. To put it into perspective, take a 19 year old college Soph and send them back to play against HS players.

Landry is nearly 2 full years older than the youngest of the comparative trio (Fazekas). Further, one of the reasons Landry dropped was speculation about his knee. That aspect still worries me.

I'd apply the same 4 year "ceiling" to Hibbert. He played 4 years, was eaten alive by Oden in the NCAA's as a junior and looked very bad in this years' tournament. I'm hoping Hibbert is a last resort pick.

The Rockets need to get big...but they don't have to do it at the expense of speed or athleticism.

 

GATER
you raise a good point here - how well did a potential pick play against the top players, not against the competition from Sam Houston State and East Lost in Space U? The guy we pick is not going to be playing any more against any of the scrubs from lower NCAA schools. He is going to be playing against the very top people from the last 10-12 drafts.

I hope Morey is looking at prospects the way you put it.

 

Lakers/Celtics finals looks probable, BUT, I would not be surprised to see the Hornets win it all.

 

As much as I hate Utah I cheer for them to win.

 

IN LA SERIES OFCOURSE

 

1. DeSagana Diop -- good defender, may command full MLE

2. Patrick O'Bryant -- young and big, potential to be good at both ends of the floor

3. Kwame Brown -- good low post defender, should be cheap

 

cha ching.... we have a winner.... Yao is talking about the positions outside of himself, PF and Tracy

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

Each year, I think the big stiffs will be priced within the MLE and each year, I am shocked by what these sign for.

 

Nothing new here!!! I been saying it for the past three seasons.Y

 

Well I hope Boston wins ONLY because Kg is one of my favorite players, and since he was busting his azz in Minnesota even though the team was absolute garbage almost every year he was there....Garnett always plays hard, and as long as the rockets are gone, I would like to se hi win it since we are out of the playoffs

 

i would like to see the magic win it all... They definitely aren't going to but i think that is the team i hate least right now in the playoffs...All the west teams left annoy me and i hate the boston love fest..The pistons imo are just boring to watch.

 

C'mon now, Gator. Did you even watch that G'town/OSU game? Your "eaten alive" comment is way off and directed at the wrong basketball player.

Don't get me wrong, I "get" what the detractors are saying. Hibbert is kind of soft and a bit of an underachiever but we've been very successful with Deke as our backup, the same guy nobody in their right mind describe as "fast or athletic". Here comes Hibbert, a guy of the Georgetown center pedigree and of the exact same mold but with perhaps a little more offense.

I think everybody assumes we're going to land the next Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas or Josh Howard picking at pick #25. Me? I prefer to go for the safer picks. I really, really, REALLY don't understand how any sane basketball fan doesn't think Hibbert isn't a safe pick where we're selecting. There are so many few quality 7+ footers as it is, I guess it makes more sense to take another dime-a-dozen player like one of these typical 6'6"-6'8" swingmen that will bounce around the league for a few years on a few different teams. I mean who knows, we could be passing on the next Julius Hodge or something, right?

Hibbert has always played well against big matchups. He smoked that Alexander kid from WVU. Harangody from ND. Torched Hasheem Thabeet, a guy who could be a lottery pick in any draft. Held his own again constant double teams from Hansbrough and Brandan Wright. Smoked Jared Dudley.

I mean, seriously? His only really BAD game in his entire college career was the Memphis game earlier this year when he was in foul trouble and was no match for Joey Dorsey's fouling physicality in one game. Dorsey is a borderline NBA talent and bested him in one game. Hibbert has excellent against better competition than that.

Mind you, this is the same thread where the names Patrick O'Bryant, Kwame Brown and DeSagana fricken Diop for the MLE are being tossed around.

 

radmonovic is just tall he has little to no size over steve novak. turiaf is just a backup. others may be a little bigger than our guys but that's why we have yao, the 2nd biggest player in the league. and the lakers are probably the biggest team left in the playoff if bynum played. so i don't think yao has a point if he means more size in the front court.

 

Well it'll definitely be Boston in the Finals in my opinion, but hey who knows they almost lost to Atlanta lol. As for the West, it's a clear match up between Lakes and Hornets, unless Spurs can do something it which I doubt.

As much as I like Chris Paul and his Hornets, I'd love for Boston to win it, since KG really does deserve a ring and whatnot and he ain't getting any younger, along with the rest of the team. Whereas the Hornets will be a top contender for years if they can keep their roster (or well Chris Paul lol).

 

Rockets= 7'6 Yao, 7'2 Mutombo, 7'2 L. Woods, 6'10 Novak, 6'9 Scola/Landry

 

I think everyone is missing the point. I think Yao, Morey, and Adlemant are talking about getting bigger on the perimeter. We need a little more size up front but Morey has already said he won't spend much money on Yao's backup center.

He doesn't think it makes much sense to spend much on a guy who will play 10-15 minutes max, i agree. I expect to see a cheap old vet not a Diop mid-level guy. Morey also said you don't look at guys this low in the draft contributing right away, i agree. You get the best player over the next 4 years. Its not a good idea to draft someone to help right now who won't get better, that's not what the draft is for. You can get a guy who will contribute as much as Hibbert for the vet minimum easily.

 

Starters: 7'6 Yao, 6'9 Scola, 6'8 Battier
Part of rotation: 7'2 and probably retiring Mutombo, 6'8 Landry
Not in rotation at all: 7'2 Woods, 6'10 Novak

Starters: 7'0 Bynum, 7'0 Gasol, 6"10 Odom
Part of rotation: 6'10 Radmonovic, 6'10 Turiaf
Not in rotation all: 7'0 Chris Mihm, 7'0 Mbenga

And to make matters worse, the Lakers bigs are all long as well.
Keeping it real.

 

If we get a big swingman, that equates to more size up front as it allows McGrady to play in the paint more. Everybody forgets McGrady is basically 6'10".

Yao 7'6"
Scola 6'9"
Battier 6'8"
McGrady 6'10"
Rafer 6'2"

compared to Lakers starters

Bynum 7'
Gasol 7'
Odom 6'10"
Kobe 6'7"
Fisher 6'2"

We've actually got more or less the same overall size they do in the starting lineup. It's just packaged up differently. Their primary bench is Ariza (6'7"), Sasha (6'6"), Turiaf (6'10"), Walton (6'8"), and Farmar (6'2"), while our bench is Landry (6'8"), Hayes (6'6"), Head (6'2"), BJax (6'2"), and one lumbering giant at 7'2". All of our reserves are undersized except for Deke. We need some size off the bench instead of our primary reserves being midget men.

 

That's the point Jopatmc, the rockets reserves need more size and length.