Rockets

[Wolf]

well down 3-1 now .. freethrows

[Froback]

Originally Posted by Wolf

well down 3-1 now .. freethrows

While true, I wonder two things about this series.

Is Utah better because Yao is missing?
Why is Hayes getting more minutes than Landry? (I have to admit I have not been following details, so I might be unaware if there was a reason for it)

The Rockets are playing really well considering they are without the best (or 2nd best) player depending on how you look at it.

Would Utah even have a prayer if they lost Williams or Boozer?

Just some thoughts... not they matter much in the end. But Tracy is NOT the problem in this or any other playoff series. You cannot even argue it is his style of play either. It has been 100% about the support he (and previously he and Yao) have received. Alston has done a great job at filling Yao's void, but that means someone else has to fill Alston's role as 3rd option on offense. Scola was supposed to be that, but he has been terrible this series, both on offense and on defense.

Game 4 was lost because both McGrady and Alston had bad shooting nights... and Adelman forgot to put someone better than a Point Guard to box out on the 2nd FT attempt by Williams at the end of the game.

But with Yao out and Alston missing games 1 and 2, I thought it was a long shot for Houston to move past Utah, but I don't think Utah a better team then Houston, just more healthy. It is a shame, because it looks like the Hornets would have been the next team to face and Houston has owned them this year, with or without Yao.

[lebowski]

I think the Rockets are too good when healthy to blow the team up. I can't imagine why Hayes nearly always gets more minutes than Landry except the fact that Landry is a rookie. He's also foul prone. But,so are Hayes and Scola.

Landy only signed a one year contract, correct? Hopefully, we'll be able to bring him back next year. It would be a big loss if we weren't able to bring him back.

[papabear]

Hayes get the minutes because he is great defender, even though he's undersized. Landry is still young and gets caught out of position often. Don't get me wrong I love Landry and hope he's around Houston for a long time. The knee has to be a concern though. One reason he slipped in under the radar was because he was coming back from a knee injury. A knee is what cost him some playing time down the stretch that has also probably limited his time in the playoffs somewhat and hurt his explosiveness.

[lebowski]

I agree that Landry's knee is a concern for the future, but I've watched almost every Rockets game this season, and the Rockets are a much better team with Landry on the floor than Hayes. Hayes gets some nice, easy baskets because teams lose track of him because they're helping guard someone else, but I think Landry is a much better over all player. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate Landry's offense about an 8 and his defense a 5 or 6. I'd rate Chuck's offense about a 3 (being generous) and his defense a 7 or 8. I don't mind Chuck getting minutes, but the Rockets have major problems when they have Chuck and Dikembe in the game at the same time.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by lebowski

but the Rockets have major problems when they have Chuck and Dikembe in the game at the same time.

I agree. It's the basketball version of having Everett and Ausmus in the lineup together. Either one on his own isn't terrible, but both of them puts too much pressure on the rest of the guys to score runs.

Before the Yao injury I liked the idea of having Scola come off the bench because he could give you some offense from the front court with Yao on the bench. Now, Scola has definitely earned starter minutes. the problem is now you have three young power forwards who all deserve some minutes. When teams go small this isn't a bad thing, but against teams with some size down low (San Antonio, Phoenix,...) you still need a real back-up center. Landry is probably best suited for that role, post Deke (his deal with the Devil has to expire eventually). So it will be hard to keep that threesome together.

I think Scola is locked in. That leaves Landry and Hayes. I think we signed Hayes to a longish term deal, but nothing that shouldn't be movable. Landry is on a one year deal(?), but I would suspect they will do try to keep him. The problem is that long term Landry probably has more value in a trade. He might also intrigue someone enough that he gets offered a crapload to be their starter. Hayes is a valuable guy to have around, but not someone that is going to bring much in a trade or a big offer in free agent land....so as much as I hate it, I could see Hayes sticking around with Landry leaving. They might try to keep those three, but I think after their rookie years it's going to be hard to keep Landry and Scola off the court in favor of Hayes. Hayes seems like the kind of guy who might have no problem with a reduced role and everyone is just a big happy family though.

[Mike]

Carl Landry is a FA after this year. He only signed a one year deal as a rookie second round pick last year. The Rockets are going to have to pony up some of the mid-level exception $ to sign him, and they should.