Leave Wells on the bench to start and have him fill minutes left over by SG and rotate him and Battier at SF.

The Rockettes are deep at everything but pg:

pg.- Alston/Sura
sg.- Bonzi/Head/Spanoulis/
sf.- T-Mac/Snyder/Novak
pf.- Battier/Howard/Hayes
c.- Yao/Mutombo

I think that's what we're going to see... although I'm still not sure about the pg position. They look pretty weak there.

Putting Battier at PF is like starting Steve Nash at SG.

Just because a player is talented doesn't mean he'll accell in a weird role. Battier could make Houston more dangerous by solidifying their bench, rather than being forced into the starting lineup. T-Mac, Battier, and Bonzi could all rotate at the SG and SF spots and Houston would never be short-handed on any given play. But if you force Battier to start at PF, not only are you using him wrong (and, thus, getting less value out of him), but you're forcing someone else to play backup SF or SG when you have a perfectly good option for PF in Juwan Howard.

I just don't understand. I mean, sure, if Juwan Howard was pathetic like Adonal Foyle, I'd explore every possible option to take him out of the lineup... but he's a good role player. A consistent rebounder, a sure-scorer, and a decent post defender. Why would you screw with your team in an attempt to clip a guy whose not that bad to begin with?

It is just to play Battier as much as possible and Wells as well! Battier is 6'8 and well built so he could handle most PFs defensively, better than Howard anyway. Offensively he is better than howard right now and can stretch the opposition's defense because he shoots from the outside well

migya wrote:Battier is 6'8 and well built so he could handle most PFs defensively, better than Howard anyway.

You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Sure, when the Rockets play Golden State or Phoenix, Battier can slide up the the 4-spot. But he'd have a helluva time containing KG in the post (a lot worse than Juwan would, mind you. At least Juwan can put a body on him. Shane would be abused).

#32 wrote:

migya wrote:Battier is 6'8 and well built so he could handle most PFs defensively, better than Howard anyway.

You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Sure, when the Rockets play Golden State or Phoenix, Battier can slide up the the 4-spot. But he'd have a helluva time containing KG in the post (a lot worse than Juwan would, mind you. At least Juwan can put a body on him. Shane would be abused).

Juwan Howard is a pretty awful defender! Battier would do a better job! Battier is just better than Howard and the Rockets might need to go with the best lineup they can

migya wrote:It is just to play Battier as much as possible and Wells as well!

#32 wrote:You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Both of these points are true. I don't understand why they traded for Battier if they were to play him at pf. I think that idea came from Bonzi's signing.

I'd play Battier at SF, T-Mac at SG and Bonzi and Howard from the bench, with Hayes as the starting PF... That would make a lot more sense. Battier can play pf for a few minutes and against certain rivals (Phoenix, Memphis with Gasol out, or against us), but not on a general basis.

TMC wrote:

migya wrote:It is just to play Battier as much as possible and Wells as well!

#32 wrote:You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Both of these points are true. I don't understand why they traded for Battier if they were to play him at pf. I think that idea came from Bonzi's signing.

I'd play Battier at SF, T-Mac at SG and Bonzi and Howard from the bench, with Hayes as the starting PF... That would make a lot more sense. Battier can play pf for a few minutes and against certain rivals (Phoenix, Memphis with Gasol out, or against us), but not on a general basis.

The only reason Battier would be considered at PF now is because Wells is signed on or Battier would be the lock at SF! Their top 4 players are TMac, Yao, Battier and Wells and there is a fair drop off after that! They might be best to have those top 4 play at the same time.

Haven't seen that Hayes guy play yet. Is he any good? Good enough to have Wells come off the bench?

migya wrote:

#32 wrote:

migya wrote:Battier is 6'8 and well built so he could handle most PFs defensively, better than Howard anyway.

You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Sure, when the Rockets play Golden State or Phoenix, Battier can slide up the the 4-spot. But he'd have a helluva time containing KG in the post (a lot worse than Juwan would, mind you. At least Juwan can put a body on him. Shane would be abused).

Juwan Howard is a pretty awful defender! Battier would do a better job! Battier is just better than Howard and the Rockets might need to go with the best lineup they can

that works in nba live, but not real life.

migya wrote:Haven't seen that Hayes guy play yet. Is he any good? Good enough to have Wells come off the bench?

Think of a Reggie Evans kind of player. A great rebounder, but "limited" on offense.

TMC wrote:

migya wrote:Haven't seen that Hayes guy play yet. Is he any good? Good enough to have Wells come off the bench?

Think of a Reggie Evans kind of player. A great rebounder, but "limited" on offense.

Better role player than Howard would you say? If so, he should be the starting PF because the Rockets could use another player to do the dirty work

migya wrote:Better role player than Howard would you say? If so, he should be the starting PF because the Rockets could use another player to do the dirty work

I haven't seen much of him, I'm just going from what I've read about him from Houston's staff. He is a better rebounder and defender, but worse on offense. I think that, with that team, he fits them better as the starter with Howard coming from the bench.

tHe_pEsTiLeNcE wrote:

migya wrote:

#32 wrote:

migya wrote:Battier is 6'8 and well built so he could handle most PFs defensively, better than Howard anyway.

You think Shane Battier can put a body on Chris Wilcox, Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer better than Juwan Howard?

Sure, when the Rockets play Golden State or Phoenix, Battier can slide up the the 4-spot. But he'd have a helluva time containing KG in the post (a lot worse than Juwan would, mind you. At least Juwan can put a body on him. Shane would be abused).

Juwan Howard is a pretty awful defender! Battier would do a better job! Battier is just better than Howard and the Rockets might need to go with the best lineup they can

that works in nba live, but not real life.

Exactly. In the NBA, you can't just put all your talent on the floor at the same time. If that were true, Miami would start Zo next to Shaq at PF.

Last year, Golden State's top 4 players were Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, and Derek Fisher. Just because Fisher was better than anybody else we could put at SF doesn't mean it would be smarter to slide JRich up and start Fisher. It made our bench more dangerous (at least, when Baron was playing).

#32 wrote:Exactly. In the NBA, you can't just put all your talent on the floor at the same time. If that were true, Miami would start Zo next to Shaq at PF.

In general, I agree... but I've never understood why Zo and Shaq can't play together.

Mostly because of Zo's kidney.

But also because they're centers. They play the same position. Sure, they're two of the most talented players on the roster... but Riley understands that playing them at the same time would be awkward and strange. Shaq takes up the entire paint by himself on offense... and so does Zo (on defense) when he's in. Having them share the paint would be an awkward site.

One might think, "Oh, you get Shaq's offense and Zo's defense!", but that wouldn't be the case. They'd be playing beside one another... and, thus, have to accept smaller roles.