Assuming the two rumored deals (Mooch and MJ) go to completion, I think we have been given a sign that CD and Rudy T think we are almost complete. So it is time for a state of the rockets address, coming from an outsider all the way in Cincinnati Ohio. The State of the Rockets is Good! Talk about good and you must talk about our guards. Francis and Mobley right now make up the best backcourt in the NBA bar none. And they both continue to get better. Mobley has crazy talent and is proving this summer that his work ethic is unparalleled, which means this guy is destined for superstardom. Despite the abuse he takes on this site sometimes, Mobley will be our go to guy for the next ten years. But, what makes that work is the amazing skill and miniscule ego of the leader of this team, Stevie Franchise. As Steve continues to grow in his game, you will not see his ppg change much, but you will see his assists go up and his turnovers go down. Steve will fill in the gaps with whatever this team needs. Need a scorer today? Watch Franchise take over. Need a rebounder today? Here comes Stevie crashing the boards. Need a distributor today to get everyone involved. Watch him penetrate and dish. He has the raw talent to do it all and five years from now will be talked about as one of the best point guards ever, drawing comparisons to players like Oscar Robertson. He just needs time to grow. Backups at the guard spots consist of Damon Jones and the newly signed Moochie Norris. Jones is little more than training camp fodder and if he makes the roster, he is there because he fits the team's up tempo mold. The Morris signing is the key here, not for who we signed but for the fact that it is 6 years. By signing a backup PG for 6 years to big bucks, I think we are saying that we are ready to go to battle with the team we've got for the long term. Morris fits well with Cat and Franchise because he allows for so many things. Steve can drop to the two and Mobley can get a break. Steve can get a break. All three can run together and really kick it up a notch. I think the Moochie signing coupled with Griffin and TMorris will lead you to see some lineups in game (if not permanently in a couple of years) that no one in the league will be able to keep up with. The State of the Rockets is Deep! Small forward on this team is deep right now. We have Rice, Williams, Langhi, and TMorris. Long term, Morris is your starter here if everything pans out with Langhi backing up 2 and 3. Morris is a good defender with some raw talent, while Langhi gives you the long range shooting that Rudy loves so much. Griffin may see some time here depending on the lineup, but probably will fill out and grow enough to spend most of his time at 4 or 5. Short term, Rice is here to help take the pressure off this team and to provide intermediate term salary relief in a couple of years that may allow us to add another longterm piece if we feel we need it in 2-3 years. Walt gives the capability to do the same thing at the trading deadline this year. If he gets playing time at all, it will be only to feature him to get his stock up for that purpose. And with cap relief he can provide a team at the end of the year, they may not need to do even that. The future is clearly Morris, but Rice's presence means the Rockets will be good this year as well. The State of the Rockets is Strong! Power forward and center is where it gets interesting with this team. You have six guys for two spots here long term. Griffin, Thomas, Taylor, Cato, Collier, and Jackson. No sure fire superstar and only one possible in Griffin. But several guys with some talent that may or may not pan out long term (Cato, Collier, Jackson) and a couple of guys who can play valuable roles (Taylor (sf skills in a pf or c body) and Thomas (truer pf skills) ) Obviously, Taylor is out for the year and may not come back 100%. And I think that as much as I like Thomas, he will never be more than a role player long term. Can Collier be our answer at center long term? Can Cato (yeah, right) ? How does Jackson fit in or is he a short term fix and long term role player (my guess - role player)? I think the big question here is what will Griffin develop into body wise. If he develops into a PF, then Taylor's injury doesn't hurt much even if he doesn't come back, Thomas or Taylor (probably Thomas) get moved and Jackson backs up C and PF. Then the question becomes who is your center (between Cato, Collier and player TBD via draft or trade) If Griffin develops into a Center, then Cato is gone, Collier is your backup and the question becomes can Taylor come back 100% or is MJ your starting PF? So, if Griffin stays a PF, I can see us making some moves down the road to fill in. If he grows to be a C, I think you are looking at the main core of the team we will win our championship with in 2-3 years. The State of the Rockets is Clutch! I think this team has the talent on it right now to win it all in 2-3 years (call me a homer if you want, but I believe it) I think that we have to make the playoffs this year if we are going to reach that championship goal. That is the main reason we brought in Rice. To get us the playoff experience this year. To make sure that Griffin and TMo are never on a nonplayoff team. We will lose the first round, but we must get there and get a taste. Then next year, we will advance a couple of rounds and the following year, we will win it all. But the playoffs this year are the key to that. I think that is why you are seeing such depth built up at all positions. We need to be able to sustain losing any of our guys for an extended period of time and still make the playoffs if the master plan is to come together. Don't believe me? Then ask yourself why Rudy T and CD would give 6 year contracts to a couple of backups. They want stability. They want consistency. They think they have the team to win it all and now just want a chance to watch them grow together and make it happen. Clutch City will be back in Houston in soon. We all must be patient because it won't happen right away. There will be setbacks. But this is a plan that can bring us a dynasty like the Shaq will leave behind. We will change the NBA landscape. Do you believe?
Last year, they were probably the best backcourt. This year, Francis and Mobley will be. Throw in the backups, we win in a landslide. I really believe that Mobley takes the big step up this year to AllStar status and the second best 2 guard in the west behind only Kobe. But that's just my opinion.
uckeyeRocket fan, I like your analysis, however, I'm a little more optimistic with this upcoming season and not as hopeful for 2-3 years down the road, as long as Kobe and Shaq are still playing together. This season. I think they have the potential to be the 4th or 5th seed
Nice post Buckeye. I totally agree with your assessment & actually just posted a similarly positive post in another thread, before reading your post. I guess great minds think a like. The part that I think most posters are overlooking, is the strength of our bench depth. A team can go a long way in the playoffs with a solid bench.
