# Rockets starters



## Ballscientist (Nov 11, 2002)

Ballscientist Ideal:

Starters: Battier, Novak, Yao, Wells, V-span
Benches: T-Mac, Alston, Snyder, Head, J-How, Dik
T-Mac start after 4 minutes.

Reality:
Starters: Battier, T-Mac, Yao, Alston, Wells or Snyder
benches: lack of offensive power both inside and outside


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

As of right now, Bonzi doesn't even know the playbook... there is no way you can make him a starter.

Vspan is NOT ready to lead the team... he has potential, but did you notice, he gave up 8 turnovers last night in a preseason game. Not good.

T-Mac needs to be on the floor at the beginning of the game, if only to draw more attention so that his fellow starters can get open shots.

JVG does have a problem with them coming out slow at the beginning of the game, but I think it needs to be addressed through tempo rather than through line up changes.

Starters: Yao, Battier, T-Mac, Snyder, and Alston... 

Bonzi won't like it, but as long as he gets playing time it should be okay. Juwan also won't like it, but maybe it will inspire him to work harder when he "does" get in the game. This line up, with the exception of Yao, can push the ball on the break and get some fast offense going.

the Bench in this instance still has potential to make a contribution: vspan, if he can calm down as a back up for Rafer; Bonzi as a back up for Snyder; Chuck & Howard as a back up for Battier; and Head as a back up for either of the g or the sf position


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

HayesFan said:


> the Bench in this instance still has potential to make a contribution: vspan, if he can calm down as a back up for Rafer; Bonzi as a back up for Snyder; Chuck & Howard as a back up for Battier; and Head as a back up for either of the g or the sf position


and big old Mount Mutombo to back up Yao..Yay!


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

lol T-Mac will be a lock for 6th man of the year


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

god damn BS


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## yaontmac (Jul 5, 2006)

Do yall think Battier would be better at PF than Hayes? Hayes is a rebounding monster. Nothing has made me believe Battier is gonna last long at the PF position. I think Wells should start as soon as he's ready.

Alston/Wells/TMac/Hayes/Yao = more rebounding

Alston/Wells/TMac/Battier/Yao = veterans

Alston/TMac/Battier/Hayes/Yao = most D
Alston/Wells/TMac/Novak/Yao = most offense

TMac/Battier/Novak/Hayes/Yao = expermental

Alston/Snyder/TMac/Battier/Yao = start of the season


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

i dont like the idea of chuck playing PF alot.. he'll get smacked by duncan, amare and dwight. kinda like last nite against orlando


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

chn353 said:


> i dont like the idea of chuck playing PF alot.. he'll get smacked by duncan, amare and dwight. kinda like last nite against orlando


the other option is playing him at center... PF is where he should be. He does well defensively against guys that are taller than he is, but when you get someone wider than he is... that's when Chuck has problems. Hence the problems with Shaq, Howard etc. 

I like the idea of trying a small line up too, especially if Yao gets into foul trouble. If you have alston, wells, tmac, novak and either Battier or Chuck.. you could run the ball up and down the court pretty fast. Plus that would be a great group to use for half court press and steals. Battier would give you five outside shooters and bonzi to bounce to the glass. With Chuck you could use him on the mid court press to get your quick trap and steal fast breaks. You could also rotate Head and Synder in with that bunch as well. The key would be to keep the other team from getting the ball down low at all... and stopping them outside the arc.

There is so many different options you have with the players we have its mind boggling!


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

the only problem with half court trap is once they get pass it.. then your like ****ed... its like instant points. but ye we could play small

rafer/wells/tmac/hayes/battier

all with decent speed

i dunno i prefer a bigger lineup playing man to man or zone


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

chn353 said:


> the only problem with half court trap is once they get pass it.. then your like ****ed... its like instant points


Not really, if you have an effective half court trap its cyclical, you have two men up on the corner trap and the rest of the defense "circles the wagons" so to speak. You have two men back and one floater in the middle to anticipate the pass. It's actually one of my favorite presses if you can get players to do it correctly.


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## Legend-Like (Mar 25, 2006)

Most likely:
PG: Alston
SG: Wells (depending on if he is healthy)
SF: McGrady
PF: Battier
C: Yao

My thoughts:

PG: Alston/Head/V-Span(only if alston is injured)
SG: Snyder/Head or Wells
SF: T-mac
PF: Battier
C: Yao

Bench( my thoughts)

PG: V-Span/JL3
SG: Wells/Head
SF: Novak/Padgett
PF: Howard/Hayes
C: Yao/Motumbo

Combination I think would be most effective

PG: Alston
SG: McGrady
SF: Novak
PF: Battier
C: Yao

Why the best combination? All these players can hit the open shot and with McGrady and Alstons and even Battier's pentration this will create problems. Alston and McGrady can just dish it out to Novak and get an easy 3 points or they can pass it to Yao for and easy 2 points and if by chance the shot is missed Shane Battier's hustle would hopefully lead to a 2nd chance point.


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

HayesFan said:


> Not really, if you have an effective half court trap its cyclical, you have two men up on the corner trap and the rest of the defense "circles the wagons" so to speak. You have two men back and one floater in the middle to anticipate the pass. It's actually one of my favorite presses if you can get players to do it correctly.


i do agree but with all the changes the rockets have undergone, we're starting to turn into a phoenix suns playing style team which doesnt really emphasis on defense. the only decent - good defenders we have are tracy, yao, battier and hayes.


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

chn353 said:


> i do agree but with all the changes the rockets have undergone, we're starting to turn into a phoenix suns playing style team which doesnt really emphasis on defense. the only decent - good defenders we have are tracy, yao, battier and hayes.


Ahhh gotcha.. its a matter of personel rather than defensive style!  I am tired tonight lol taking me a bit to catch things.

I can't wait to see what JVG throws out there come opening night. It is a complete toss up and I wish I was a fly on the backboard (the back side so's I wouldn't get smushed) to hear what goes on in practice before next weeks game.


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

if i were jvg i would mix shooters with good defenders so on the O they can spread the floor very well keeping teams guessing but on D keep them out of the paint as well as guard the perimeter

so "if i were jvg" 

pg: alston
sg: tmac
sf: battier
pf: novak
C: yao

then you can sub off novak put battier at the 4 and say padgett at 3.. wells at 2 and move tmac to PG


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

chn353 said:


> the only decent - good defenders we have are tracy, yao, battier and hayes.


... and Wells and Snyder. And our coach is a defensive genius.


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> ... and Wells and Snyder. And our coach is a defensive genius.


ahh... true.. snyder is good.. i forgot.. wells ive yet to see in a rockets uniform.


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## reno2000 (Aug 23, 2005)

Until Wells gets a feel for his teammates and our style of play, he has to come off the bench. And in the long run, it would be in our best interests to have him come off the bench. Despite adding alot of good shooters and the such to our team, when things get real in the regular season, other than Tmac, Yao, Battier, Wells and probably Head, we dont have anyone that can efficiently create for themselves. So when our stars rest, who is gonna take over the scoring load.

That is where Wells comes in. As the focal point of our offense, when Tmac and Yao are rested he will have plenty of chance to put up the numbers he wants to, while also helping the team keep the scoreboard ticking over.

As I see it at the moment, our best line-up is:

PG: Alston
SG: Snyder (He isnt as good a shooter as Head, put can defend much better).
SF: Tmac
PF: Battier
C: Yao

6th Man: Wells
BN: Head
BN: Novak
BN: Howard
BN: Mutombo/Hayes


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Wells may come off the bench, but unless he is completely unable to fit in, he should get most of the minutes at SG. I don't mind if he takes a while to get into form. We need him in the playoffs.


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

reno2000 said:


> PG: Alston
> SG: Snyder (He isnt as good a shooter as Head, put can defend much better).
> SF: Tmac
> PF: Battier
> ...


Yeah, I like this line up too. Snyder defend and penetrate better than Head. 
Wells, Head, and Novak are great coming off the bench IMO. 
I Also like the line up of
Alston/McGrady/Battier/Howard/Yao
Because there is more size advantage.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

A lineup I'd like to see in bursts at least:

PG: Tracy McGrady
SG: Bonzi Wells
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Chuck Hayes
C: Yao Ming

Small at power forward, huge otherwise...I think this lineup would be dominating on the boards, provide a lot of scoring and solid to good defense at every spot.


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