112 replies to this topic

[rockets best fan]

The roster is far out of balance.

4 PGs is one too many.

There are way too many bigs as well.

Howard,Asik,Camby...Jones,Motie,Smith,Covington...and Casspi,who has played almost no SF and is qouted as saying he's playing the PF and loving it.

That's either 7 or 8 bigs.

8 and 4 is 12 and you're only allowed 15.

Which leaves just Harden,Parsons and Garcia at the wings.

That just won't cut it,esp given Garcia's inability to play a full season.(Hasn't played more than 65 games in his last 5 seasons.)

Garcia has lost a few steps,he's gonna get run ragged defending SGs.

While in theory Casspi and Covington could play SF,no way they're playing SG.

If Williams(likely) and Brewer are cut,the Rocket back-up SGs are a PG(Lin/Beverly/Brooks),an injury prone SF and the starting SF,Parsons.

No way the Rockets will go that thin at the wing.

Either one of the bigs or Brooks is gone.(My guess is Smith gets traded for a Second or something.)

On the Second Unit,Brewer's lack of any offense is not that big a deal.

 

Camby's supposed timetable for return may be a minor blessing if the Rockets do decide to trade Asik at the Trade Deadline.

Camby gets back and has 2-4 weeks to get in shape and see if he can hold down the back-up C.

I disagree. the roster is not as out of balance as it appears to be from first glance. we have a lot of players who swing between two positions. no doubt we are loaded with PG's , but as Buckko has mentioned we can play 2 of them in the backcourt and still be effective. as for SG we have not only the PG overflow, but Harden, Williams, Garcia and Brewer who can play the position. as for SF we have Parsons, Casspi, Covington, Garcia, Brewer and T-Jones in a pinch who can play the position. as for PF we have T-Jones, D-Mo, Casspi, G-Smith, Parsons and that's not even considering if Asik or Howard will work there. as for Center we have Howard, Asik, G-Smith, D-Mo, Camby

 

actually I prefer our roster this way because it allows us to mix and match according to the opposition. I think this is a strength not a weakness. we are better protected against injury than most teams because of this fact. I think the rockets are leading a trend in the NBA of players who play multiple positions with less focus on standard positions and more focus on skillsets

[Losthief]

i do believe morey has said he doesn't subscribe to the traditional 5 postions things.

 

I think he looks to fill roles rather than postions, but thats just my inference.

 

i see it thusly:

 

Attacking Guards/Ballhandlers (1-2 playing at a time): Lin, Beverly, Harden, Brooks, Canaan,

 

3pt/Premiter Defensive Wings (1-3 playing at a time): Casspi, Brewer, Williams, Covington, Garcia, Parsons, TJones, DMO

 

Bigs/Rebounders/Screeners (1-2 playing at a time) Howard, Asik, G-Smith, Camby

 

With your truely talented (Harden, Parsons, Lin (against smaller wings), Garcia, DMO (if he can learn to play the Big/Rebounder/Screener role) capable of swingng into another of the roles in a pinch.

 

As you can see by how i think of them seperated, its make a bit more sense to be heavy on the type that might play 3 of your 5 guys on the floor versus the other roles that at max will run 2 (and usually only 1).

 

Just kind of my feelings from what he has said in various interviews and Q&A's.

Edited by Losthief, 22 October 2013 - 06:53 AM.

[redfaithful]

I agree with LT, it's very much in line with the "Redefining NBA Basketball Positions" idea from last year (http://flowingdata.c...ball-positions/). The 1 through 5 definitions are less relevant today, team philosophy dictates other roles, in particular for the Rockets.

Edited by redfaithful, 22 October 2013 - 07:00 AM.

[rocketrick]

I still maintain that the final roster spot to start the season is going to come down to either Greg Smith or Covington.

Reggie Williams, unfortunately for him, just wasn't healthy enough to prove himself at the start of pre-season and now that the regular season is fast approaching, it's just not likely he's going to make the cut. He is still a viable NBA player and I wouldn't at all be surprised if he ends up on a roster elsewhere. I believe he was signed to the Rockets in hopes of possibly becoming a valuable backup to James Harden, but the tandem of Beverly and Lin has been so effective that a backup SG is not necessary, especially when considering AB is also likely going to be on the final roster. AB is definitely ahead of Reggie at this time in my opinion.

Troy Daniels was brought in, as far as I can understand, as a choice of 1 of 3 players cut that the Rockets can assign to their D-League team without first having to draft for their D-League team. How that affects his team ownership is not all that clear to me, but my understanding at this point is that any other team could make a claim on him as the season progresses and injuries occur, etc. requiring teams to find talented replacement players for their rosters.

So, that would mean the last cut comes down to either Greg Smith or Robert Covington. There are reports that Covington will make the final roster so I assume the Rockets must feel comfortable that Camby is going to be healthy enough 2-3 months down the road to rely upon as a backup center.

This has to be the deepest Rockets team I ever recall and the final couple of roster cuts are going to be very, very difficult to announce. Keep in mind, the Rockets made a painful decision nearly 2 years ago to keep Flynn and let Jeremy Lin go which cost the franchise significant money in bringing Lin back. In my opinion, Lin is worth that contract and I look forward to watching him and the rest of the Rockets this season!!

[rocketrick]

If the Rockets are not convinced (enough) about Camby's health going forward, I could see the final decision tilting towards Greg Smith over Camby. Only the insiders at Rockets headquarters truly know Camby's situation and I have no doubt the final decision, although not 100% certainty going forward as nothing is absolutely predictable with 100% accuracy, will rest on the Rockets brass understanding and opinion of Camby going forward.

[Buckko]

Camby will be prone to injury every time he steps on the court. The only reason he is here is for a veterans voice, but that presence is not worth a player of smith's value. The minute you cut smith, he would be signed by another team. 

[rockets best fan]

If the Rockets are not convinced (enough) about Camby's health going forward, I could see the final decision tilting towards Greg Smith over Camby. Only the insiders at Rockets headquarters truly know Camby's situation and I have no doubt the final decision, although not 100% certainty going forward as nothing is absolutely predictable with 100% accuracy, will rest on the Rockets brass understanding and opinion of Camby going forward.

I agree with Buckko........the Rockets are not going to keep Camby over G-Smith....especially if he has little chance to contribute on the court this season

[Losthief]

we can always resign camby later too, he likes houston/wants to retire here, not like he won't sign 10 day contracts in the spring when healthy

[vonsteve]

Earlier when I said they should pick Smith over Camby (based on skill and injury risk), people told me they would keep Camby for his veteran leadership more than for his play. So, now that that injury risk has become a full-blown injury concern, are we concerned that without Camby they won't have enough veteran leadership?

[Losthief]

veteran leadership=been there before

 

dwight=Finals

harden=Finals

All starters=Playoffs

 

Short of getting someone like dereck fisher whose won in the finals, our 'verterans' have some legit experience.

 

If you talking lockerroom guys, by all reports that's garcia and parsons, which im ok with for this age level team.

[rockets best fan]

veteran leadership=been there before

 

dwight=Finals

harden=Finals

All starters=Playoffs

 

Short of getting someone like dereck fisher whose won in the finals, our 'verterans' have some legit experience.

 

If you talking lockerroom guys, by all reports that's garcia and parsons, which im ok with for this age level team.

I agree we have plenty of veteran experience in the locker room. we need Camby to play......if he is unable to do that he is toast, and by all reports I have read on him......he is unable to do that.

[rocketrick]

It seems apparent that there is a lack of understanding in regards to locker room leadership. The reason players like Camby hang around in the NBA well after they are pretty much done athletically is because no matter which team, at some point during the long regular season, the players start tuning out the coaches. This is when veteran leadership plays a key role.

[rocketrick]

The individual players are going to listen and respect someone who is still "playing" vs. somebody in a suit and tie "that may not quite understand"

[Drew in Abilene]

It seems like the consensus is that the three cuts will be out of Daniels, Brewer, Williams, Covington, Smith, and Camby.

 

Daniels is my obvious first choice as a guy they want to go down to the Vipers. Williams has looked terrible in the minutes I've watched him, and I would be pretty shocked if he made the 15 man squad. Which leaves one more to be released...

 

I think it's between Camby and Brewer. I'd guess Camby will be released for injury reason. Brewer still can be a very reliable defender, and I expect the coaching staff will try to give him more time to regain his touch from outside. If he can knock down threes at a decent rate, his value as another 3-and-D guard would be worth keeping him, in my opinion.

 

Camby, on the other hand, doesn't bring any on-court skill to the table at the same level as Brewer's defense. His injuries are a huge liability. Keeping him on the roster would be a gamble that what he brings off the court in terms of leadership and experience would be worth missing out on Brewer or the other potential releasee's potential. Maybe that's a calculated risk Morey will take. As far as I see it, though, I'm of the opinion that Houston's best way forward is to release Daniels, Williams, and Camby.

[thejohnnygold]

If it were me, at this juncture I would try to talk Camby into a Pete Rose role.  Sign him as a coach with the caveat that, if need be, we can sign him to play any time we see fit.  This way we still get the benefits of having him in the locker room (players will still respect his voice as they all know him) without surrendering a roster spot.  Win-Win!

 

I love what Camby would bring to the Rockets' roster, but not at the expense of Greg Smith.  I still think he is going to wind up being a solid contributor--he just needs some time to let the more nuanced aspects of the game (defensive discipline and shooting finesse) catch up to the rest of his game.

[Buckko]

Camby, Williams, Daniel. No way Smith is getting cut or traded, covington looks interesting, and brewer has made decent contributions.

[rocketrick]

If it were me, at this juncture I would try to talk Camby into a Pete Rose role.  Sign him as a coach with the caveat that, if need be, we can sign him to play any time we see fit.  This way we still get the benefits of having him in the locker room (players will still respect his voice as they all know him) without surrendering a roster spot.  Win-Win!

 

I love what Camby would bring to the Rockets' roster, but not at the expense of Greg Smith.  I still think he is going to wind up being a solid contributor--he just needs some time to let the more nuanced aspects of the game (defensive discipline and shooting finesse) catch up to the rest of his game.

 

The Rockets already have all the necessary coaches. Besides, players always take someone like Camby much more serious when he is also showing up ON TIME to all practices and take more seriously the video sessions when the more senior player is there adding value to what the Coaches are preaching and trying to get the players to understand, etc. It is very difficult to put the importance of player leadership into simple words. I have been trying for the past couple of weeks to explain but I have been very much unable to explain.

 

Anyway, time is running short, we should know soon enough the final decisions of the Rockets.

 

In any event, the final cuts are always difficult and even moreso this season than in years past with the only exception I can think of recently of the Rockets choosing to keep Flynn over Lin (and that was a December decision after injury created an opening).

[rocketrick]

I believe if the Rockets are comfortable with Camby's injury situation and ability to come back and become an important role player, and if the Rockets feel comfortable with the D12-Asik pairing going forward, Greg Smith becomes expendable. He simply hasn't shown anything special this pre-season. Smith does have one more opportunity later this evening in the Grizzlies game.

[bboley24]

After last night I realized that it doesn't matter who makes these cuts.  I am pulling for abrooks because I love the dude but none of these guys will effect our team even in case of injury.

Our team is stacked down to 10.  The last few players are there to practice.

[rocketrick]

Actually since the regular season lasts 6 1/2 months and the playoffs (assuming the Finals) last yet another 2 months, Depth is quite important which is exactly why the final couple of cuts prior to the start of the 2013-14 regular season is going to stick in the memories of many of the regular posters on this board. Particularly if the Rockets happen to make 1-2 questionable decisions in the next couple of days that backfire on everything as the Season progresses.