Thread Tools

Display Modes

Cornholio · 10-21-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Luther Head insists he won't think about playing time, much less discuss it.

Friends and family call. They chat, but they never ask, not about that.

"They know," he said, "I would probably hang up the phone."

Steve Francis, having spent last season and a chunk of the one before in a similarly overcrowded backcourt, also said he would not occupy himself with such concerns.

"I don't think about it," he said. "I leave that up to coach."

It might take a healthy suspension of disbelief to think the many Rockets guards who will likely have to share too few minutes would never think about how they will make that math work.

But Rockets coach Rick Adelman thinks about it a lot. And he doesn't have to wonder how to divide many players into few minutes. He can't.

"It's just impossible," Adelman said before using the Rockets' 117-94 rout of the SuperSonics on Saturday to look at his choices. "At those three perimeter spots, it's hard to play three guys (off the bench) and get them the minutes. If you play Tracy (McGrady) extended minutes and Shane (Battier), then where do the minutes come from? We may play small, some. But you can't get four guys minutes back there, so someone is not going to play.

"That's something I'm going to have to make a decision on and talk to them. Right now, it's not written in stone, but at the start of the season, that's how it's going to be."

With Rafer Alston seeming to have solidified his position as the starter, Head, Francis, Mike James and Bonzi Wells would seem to have to share enough playing time for only two or three players, or accept that one or more will sit.

Quote:

Adelman, however, said that when the regular season begins, he will not try to find playing time for every guard that might be qualified to receive it, preferring instead to allow fewer players to play more minutes.

"I don't want to put somebody in the game for four or five minutes and then they don't play," Adelman said. "I'd rather let them play 12, 13 minutes in a row and get a good run."

Quote:

That, however, means that players accustomed to receiving extensive playing time won't.

"Steve is one of the guys we're talking about," Adelman said of the competition for playing time. "As far as where he is as far as fitting into the offense, he has probably struggled more than some of the other guys in that area."

Quote:

The Rockets' offseason additions seemed to have similarly put Head in a tough fight for playing time. He has, however, fit well in the revised offense, with his abilities moving without the ball becoming more valuable than in his first two seasons.

"I can't complain," Head said. "I'm just trying to keep my confidence, find ways to pick my spots and contribute. It's definitely working. I'm happy with how everything is going. You can't get concerned with that. I just worry about myself and worry about getting better. We'll see how everything works out."

They'll likely see by the final preseason game Friday in San Antonio. Until then, they said they won't think about it, or admit it if they do.

Link

Eventually, we'll need a thread for this.

All those roster moves and we'll probably go with the same starting lineup we used last year.

Cornholio · 10-21-2007, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Adelman rolled out his starting five to start the second half, only he made one switch -- he replaced Rafer Alston, who was having his first bad preseason game (1-6 shooting, 2 assists), with Mike James.

The team exploded with 38 points in the third quarter.

James had a great shooting night two days before, but it was his point guard work that was really strong in this quarter. In just 9 minutes he picked a couple of steals and had 4 assists without a turnover. On one particularly impressive play, he nearly broke his defender's ankle with a crossover (which drew a gasp from the Sonics crowd), then found a wide open Battier for a three.

Rafer Alston is drawing heavy praise for locking down the starter's job early, but Adelman has terrific options with this roster. A lineup of James, McGrady, Battier, Scola and Yao (with Bonzi Wells off the bench) does not include an offensive or defensive liability.

Quote:

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said early in the preseason that it was his job to land a high-caliber power forward. I never thought he could pull it off, certainly not without trading Battier. So far, Scola has looked like the perfect acquisition.

At one point last night, Scola (10 points, 9 boards, 3 assists in 24 minutes) threw a bounce pass through a defender's legs to Yao under the basket for a slam.

Yeah, they did it to save money, but I don't think we'll ever know what the San Antonio Spurs were really thinking in choosing Houston as Scola's destination.

Quote:

It looks like Adelman is still trying to get a look at specific rotations and, as a result, is having guys take turns sitting games out. Against the Mavericks, Kirk Snyder and Steve Novak both sat out. In Seattle, Luther Head and Bonzi Wells rode the pine for 48 minutes.

Bonzi's rotation spot is likely safe, but Snyder, Novak and Head are all fighting for time and quite possibly are on the trading block over the next week.

Head has looked better than Steve Francis so far, but unfortunately for Luther only one of the two was hand-picked by the owner.

Quote:

Rockets first round draft pick Aaron Brooks had his first real good stint in preseason action.

Brooks hit 4-7 shots, including a pair of triples, and showed off his explosion and quickness on a couple of occasions. There has been some talk that he may start off in the NBDL to keep him playing, but he looked sharp on this night.

Link

**Yao Mania** · 10-21-2007, 10:21 AM

I think as long as our team wins, everyone will be happy. Mike James was a bench warmer for the championship winner Detroit Pistons. Steve Francis had to play behind Marbury and Crawford in New York. Bonzi was benched last year. They've all been starters, but also excluded from the rotation. I think they'll be ok with whatever happens.

**Pimped Out** · 10-21-2007, 10:32 AM

Now that i actually think about it, head could be really good in the offense. He has always looked natural playing in a free flowing offense

Cornholio · 10-21-2007, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yao Mania

Mike James was a bench warmer for the championship winner Detroit Pistons.

I agree with what you said, but James wasn't a bench warmer for Detroit.

Cornholio · 10-23-2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Trims needed
Coach Rick Adelman said with just one week left before the season opener against the Lakers in L.A., there is an urgency to get the roster to the final 15.

"You really need to tighten up the rotation and practice and have three really good days of cleaning things up," he said. "You really can't do it with this many people. We're going to have to make some decisions, hopefully, by the weekend.

"I think we've talked through a lot and have a fairly good idea of what we'd like to do. Between now and next week in there somewhere, maybe we can move somebody. If we can't, we have to make cuts. It's never an exact science. You have to talk about them individually as they come."

Link

**Sliccat** · 10-23-2007, 10:20 AM

They need to make a trade. Get another back-up pf/c. maybe somebody who isn't good right now, but is a project.

hroz · 10-24-2007, 06:01 AM

I am now happy with our backup C & PF

Landry & Butler will probably get very little playing time.

But they can grow t become really goos players.

Admittadely I have to see more of Landry.

hroz · 10-24-2007, 06:01 AM

Despite the amount of PGs we have we just dont have a pass first PG.

Thats what I want.

Cornholio · 10-27-2007, 11:09 AM

Yao / Mutombo
Scola / Hayes / Landry
Battier / Wells / Novak
McGrady / Head / Snyder
Alston / James / Francis / Brooks

hroz · 10-27-2007, 05:52 PM

Seriously what are we going to do if Yao gets injured?

We cant cut Butler...........

Krimzon · 10-27-2007, 09:20 PM

If Yao is injured, we are going to be in trouble. Don't expect Deke to do what he did last year, especially with this new system.

Thread Tools Display Modes

Thread Tools

Display Modes