James, Baker, Norris To Houston, Farewell Mo/Reece

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Guys, please leave Clutchfans off your posts, use CF or something else instead. We don't want spam on the boards.</div>

Sorry about that

 

hmm, i would not like to see barrett go i really htink he has alot of potential and if barry is going to retire next year then why dont we have him backup one of our PG's ? that way we dont have to find more PG's and give him more playing minutes but thats just my opinion. dont know if it was a good idea

 

Right now the Rockets have a 15Player Roster. This is the way i see it.

C-Yao
PF-Howard
SF-McGrady
SG-Wesley
PG-James

6-Mutombo
7-Barry
8-Padgett
9-Norris
10-Baker
11-Bowen
12-Weatherspoon
13-Barret
IL-Sura
IL-Ward

When Sura gets back, James is going to help scoring off the bench.

I checked the injury report and they have Bob Sura as Questionable for this Sunday. I really dont want to see Bobby come back before hes ready so hopefully James can give us quality minutes while Sura recovers.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JuLiO-R-:</div><div class="quote_post">Right now the Rockets have a 15Player Roster. This is the way i see it.

C-Yao
PF-Howard
SF-McGrady
SG-Wesley
PG-James

6-Mutombo
7-Barry
8-Padgett
9-Norris
10-Baker
11-Bowen
12-Weatherspoon
13-Barret
IL-Sura
IL-Ward

When Sura gets back, James is going to help scoring off the bench.

I checked the injury report and they have Bob Sura as Questionable for this Sunday. I really dont want to see Bobby come back before hes ready so hopefully James can give us quality minutes while Sura recovers.</div>

I think Sura has gone to the IL. He should miss at least 2 weeks. This is how the rotation will probably be when everyone is back:

5 - Yao, Mutombo, Baker
4 - Howard, Padgett/Weatherspoon
3 - McGrady, Bowen (, or Sura/Barry/Wesley depending on the matchup)
2 - Wesley, Barry
1 - Sura, James, Barrett/Norris

I think we could use a better backup SF than Bowen, but McGrady is going to play 40+ minutes a night anyways, so we hopefully we can get away with little depth at that position. If the opposing team has a small guy at SF, than we can get away with playing 3 guards. Otherwise, we'd have to use Bowen. I'm kind of surprised Van Gundy hasn't played Padgett at SF much this season. Baker could be used as the backup PF as well, though I'd hate to take away minutes from Padgett.

 

Bowen hardly gets 5 minutes in now every game, so his lack of production in that span shouldn't be a major problem. He still plays good defense and could occasionally get a lucky layup. The position I'm worried about is the four spot. Baker could play there, but he's been bad this season, and Padgett's been dropping off too shooting-wise. Weatherspoon is a strong rebounder but logs DNP's on the regular. Add that to Yao's irrational rebounding, we might have a problem.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1998928

we didnt do as bad as you all thought.

 

Man this is good. The trades for James and still having our first round pick is an added bonus. Not as bad as it first seemed. I'd love to see James put out productive minutes in the next game.

 

Well it seems that CD manages to pull a trade after all. First of all it's been a good news for us Rockets fans that we were able to acquire Mike James. He's a competetive point guard that can defend well, pass and can put up good numbers for the Rockets. He has almost the same scoring average with Sura. I remember during the Bucks-Rockets 2 meetings this season, Mike James was able to score and pass on penetrations which the Rockets find it hard to defend. I hope he can do that for the Rockets this time and with a championship experience with the Pistons he'll be able to give us some edge. As for Gaines. I wish him the best. I'm sure he'll gonna be happy to return to his native State of Wisconsin. Zendon Hamilton will probably be waived as the Rockets don't have any room for a player on their roster. By the way the Rockets gave up their trade exception to match the deal.

Regarding the Mo Taylor trade it's been confirmed that we didn't gave up our 1st round pick in getting Norris, Baker and a 2nd round pick from the Knicks. I hope Baker still have some game left in his tank if given the chance. For Norris he'll gonna have to play better otherwise he'll spend his time on the bench or in the IL. With the Mo Taylor trade the Rockets saves $10M in long term payouts buy offloading his contract.

 

It's funny how many Knicks they have. Baker, Moochie, Weatherspoon, Ward, Mutombo and kind of Barrett.

About the trade good move by Houston clearing up cap room.

 

Check this out guys! Here's an article from the Houston Chronicle. I hope this one will provide some clarity to some of our questions:


<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Rockets sent Milwaukee native Reece Gaines and second-round picks in 2006 and 2007 to the Bucks to get James. The Rockets then replaced one of those picks with a second-round pick in 2006 acquired in the deal with the Knicks.

"He's an exciting player," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said of James. "I think he can make the spot-up 3. He's explosive as all get out off the pick-and-roll. He's very quick to the paint. He's a good defender right now. I think Jeff (Van Gundy) and the coaching staff will make him much better. He has the physical strength and the quickness to be good at both ends."</div>

Link

<font color="red"><font size="-2">Please just quote parts of the article and provide a link to it. Thanks ~Trip</font></font>

 

Well, after all is said and done, it was a good trade week for Houston. The Rockets acquired a quality point guard that they have been pursuing for the longest time, and have also dumped Taylor- allowing them to free up some cap space in the off season and getting a second round pick.

I really can't wait to see Mike James in the next game and see what he can do for us. I mean, the guy's only twenty nine years old, which is pretty young for this team, and averages points like Bob Sura. In fact, I from his field goal and three point percentages, I would say he is an even better shooter than Sura. Great addition to this team.

As for Vin Baker and Moochie Norris, I don't really see them getting much minutes anyway, but hey at least Houston dumped Taylor. I was upset at this trade at first since I thought we sent away a first round pick, but hearing that we didn't and instead got a second round pick, all well ends well. I do believe Vin Baker's contract ends next year while Norris' expires in two years. Anyways, Houston can probably not sign Baker when his contract expires, so it would free up a bunch of cap space in order to resign Yao. Meanwhile, I see Norris sitting on the bench and probably going on the IL. Good moves by Houston.

 

Well, we are probably set now to make a charge in the playoffs. We'll be tough once the playoffs roll around, as our bench is now stronger than before yesterday, and we now have Barry, James, Mutombo, Padgett and Baker on the bench when we have a full roster, which would take a lot of the scoring pressure off the starters, and Sura will get his well-deserved rest. I'd like to see JVG cut his minutes to around 28 per game in order to prepare him for the playoffs.

 

I think Houston's #1 priority should be focused on trying to get the best seed as possible and create more space with Memphis. If Memphis gets the 6th from them, they'll be playing S.A. or Phoenix which is not who you want to play. Seattle is no joke either. So, I think these trades prepare them for a tough playoff series and in addition provides them with more fire power to catch up to the 5th seed.

 

I think our main priority this season would be to make the playoffs. Getting far in the postseason is another thing. Everyone knows and we know that this Houston team will not be contenders this season, and we're realistic in thinking that a seven-game first round exit would already be pretty good for this season. We're banking our hopes in the future, where hopefully the Yao/McGrady duo in its prime would lead us to the promised land. In fact, facing either of Seattle or Phoenix would be favorable for our team. Their running styles would tire out our aged roster easily, and Yao as we all know isn't very effective beyond 30 minutes. I'd rather we slip down to the 8th spot and play the Spurs, as all three games against them so far this season we have been competitive in, and the Spurs are probably scared of us the most out of the other teams in the West. If we meet them in the first round, we can give them a good scare.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Houston's #1 priority should be focused on trying to get the best seed as possible and create more space with Memphis. If Memphis gets the 6th from them, they'll be playing S.A. or Phoenix which is not who you want to play. Seattle is no joke either. So, I think these trades prepare them for a tough playoff series and in addition provides them with more fire power to catch up to the 5th seed.</div>

Yes, that's true, but the Rockets CAN play the Spurs just as well as anyone else can. Even though it took a divine intervention, and Brick-Fest 2004, we won twice out of three times.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In fact, facing either of Seattle or Phoenix would be favorable for our team. Their running styles would tire out our aged roster easily, and Yao as we all know isn't very effective beyond 30 minutes.</div>

Would be, or wouldn't be? I think it would. The Sonics have no post presence at all, and they only way they won that game was on a bunch of touchy fouls that will not be called come playoff time. Seattle are good, but they cannot adjust as well as the Spurs can, and they do not force you to play their game, like the Suns do. We can take advantage of them by throwing out many combinations of players, to match their tempo. Barry and Wesley may be old, but they can run. James/Sura can easily match Ridnour/Daniels. Wesley/Barry might be able to match Allen point for point, and those two are good for 20 a game anyways. T-Mac, bar injury, should be able to match Rashard, and will probably outplay him. Rad-man is a huge threat to us, he pushes Howard out, which take away from our rebounding, as Yao can't clean up all the Boards. But then we have Baker, who can turn it up real fast, and if he's inspired enough, he can do really well for us. His three-point shooting and rebounding can help us, he is able to run the floor better than any of our current Power-Fowards, except for maybe Padgett.

I would expect Barrett to be gone next year, as well as Baker. That would leave us with Barry, Wesley, James, Sura, and Ward.

A back-court (including SF) like this wouldn't be too bad at all.

SF: McGrady .. Barry
SG: Sura .. Wesley
PG: James .. Ward

Ward doesn't even have to play that position, he can be an IR filler, and Moochie can come off the bench to fit their. Sura can play the Point, and Barry and McGrady can both switch the SF/SG position, which is a plus. Wesley can even play the Point Guard too.

We can now spend our pick on a good Power Forward, or hope Badiane is as good as advertised. Spanoulis probably will probably have a shot next year, with Barry possibly gone. Now there's talk about us getting Gary Payton, which would be ok if we didn't have Barrett, Ward, McGrady, Barry, Wesley, James, Sura, and Moochie all ready to play, Ward is the only exception, and he might be ready come playoff time.

With James running the Show, I am curios to see who will play the Point once Sura is back. Atleast now, we have some good competition at that position. We probably have one of the better (and bigger) Guard Rotations in the League.

 

I think it was an allright trade hey we got Vin Baker and Norris not bad + James thats awesome Taylor wasn't doing anything for us anyways!

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Would be, or wouldn't be? I think it would. The Sonics have no post presence at all, and they only way they won that game was on a bunch of touchy fouls that will not be called come playoff time. Seattle are good, but they cannot adjust as well as the Spurs can, and they do not force you to play their game, like the Suns do. We can take advantage of them by throwing out many combinations of players, to match their tempo.</div>
Remember, last time Houston played Seattle- they were minus Danny Fortson. He is a great rebounder and can really bang players down low. If we could barely handle Seattle against the boards last time with just Reggie Evans, how in the world are we to out rebound them with Fortson? Sure we didn't have Bob Sura, but I don't really think that makes much of a difference. Truth is about those touchy fouls- there were bad calls on both teams. Thats what a basketball game is and theres never going to be one night where the refs call everything right.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But then we have Baker, who can turn it up real fast, and if he's inspired enough, he can do really well for us. His three-point shooting and rebounding can help us, he is able to run the floor better than any of our current Power-Fowards, except for maybe Padgett.</div>
What Vin Baker have you been looking at? Right now he's pretty much washed up and doesn't really bring much to the team. The last few seasons he has been underachieving and hasn't lived up to potential or even his former self. I do have to agree with you on one thing though, he is a good rebounder. I have to give him that much, but didn't we already have that in Clarence Weatherspoon? You say he's a good three point shooter, but he really isn't. Not even in his prime has he ever averaged more than .333 (he got nice three pointer stats from 03-04 because he attempted 5 in all).

 

Baker can be a beast when motivated, but the problem is he hasn't been for about six years. Age has also caught up to him, and he isn't a strong rebounder. Baker is actually a strictly post-up player, with an occasional 15-footer. I'd rather us not play Seattle, mainly because as Aznxballer pointed out, their rebounding machines in Evans and Fortson are just incredible. These guys don't do much on offense, but their defense and hustle is unrivaled. We will probably get killed on the defensive boards if they get the duo in full force. Radmanovic is always a problem for us to guard and once Seattle gets hot, the game can be over. If I had to choose, I'd take Seattle over Phoenix to face in the first round, but I'd rather we face the Spurs.

 

Dawson's moves have been great. I didn't care who we got for MoT, as long as we got rid of his contract.

We still havn't addressed our PF problems, but at least we can live by Juwon Howard for the time being. Vin Baker still has the potential to playl ike he once did in the Bucks, but his fitness is questionable. No need to talk about Mike James, all the praises in the world have already been said.

 

I think Baker can still provide the Rockets some good games. I hope Van Gundy and every Rocket players and coaching staffs will motivate him. As for James I'm sure he will be a contributor in offense and defense. For Norris here's another chance to redeem himself by making good plays and applying Van Gundy's game.

IMO Sonics is still the one we should rather face than the Spurs. Come playoff time wherein defense is the name of the game and every possesion is being carefully handled. Defense pays for itself this time. Are the Sonics better defensively than the Rockets? No! They just won the ball game last time because Allen took advantage of our small guards and of course bad officiating. Yes they have Fortson and Evans but we have Yao,Howard, Mutombo and Sura who seems to fare well in terms of rebounding and hustle. Ok if you disagree and insist that Fortson and Evans are still better in rebounding and hustle, did you forget that they are prone to foul trouble also? Especially Fortson. Though Yao is prone also yet he has the ability to wear and foul out opposing big men. Having Yao stay in the whole game would mean we have what it takes to beat the Sonics as they have no answer for him. If there's a chance we could advance into the second round Sonics would be the right opponent. We won't have a chance against the Spurs though we played them well because experience will be the key factor even if we matched them defensively. An article was posted 3 days ago in the Sporting News website which discusses Contenders,Pretenders and the real thing in the western conference. Classified under the pretenders were the Suns and the Sonics. While the contenders composed of the Mavs, Kings and Rockets. The real thing and sure lock off are the Spurs. The writer ellaborates that the Sonics lacks post presence and if the season ends today they'll gonna face the Rockets and might end up being the underdogs even with the homecourt advantage.

Another thing there's no reason(unless we start losing many games) for the Rockets to force themselves into the 8th spot. We all know that the last spot were tightly contested during the last few years. A difference can be made within the last few games of the season. During the 02-03 season the Suns beat us by one game into the 8th spot. Last year season 03-04 the Nuggets, Blazers and the Jazz fight it out closely. Would you rather have the Rockets going 50-50 between the 8th spot and the lottery? Anyway there's a lot of things that can happen on the last 27 games. It would be for better getting the homecourt advantage or for worst missing out the playoffs. Anything in between would be enough to be thankful of.

BTW: Trip sorry for pasting a long article the last time. I'll put a link next time around.