Hayes and Bogans Save the Day for Rockets

[RaleighCat]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3800240.html

[RaleighCat]

Today's story from Houston on the Rocket's season. Two interesting things to note:

"We should have never let (Scott) Padgett go. I (messed) that one up." quote by Van Gundy.

"We should have been more insistent on having three point guards so when we lost Rafer we were not trying to play Luther and David (Wesley) as backup point guards. ... One area you can't short-cut is point guard. You never ever, ever, ever, ever allow yourself to be held hostage by playing 18 games (when Alston was hurt) without a point guard." quote by Van Gundy.

Nice praise for out man Scott Padgett. Good insight into Rondo as an NBA point guard- NBA teams always need point guards. Every year some team scrambles to sign marginal players like Tyron Lue (who's terrible) or Eric Snow (who's 50). Rajon Rondo is already an upgrade for several teams as a backup- and might be capable of starting for some of the bottom dwellers (Atlanta?).
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3803230.html

[trublu]

Thanks for the links. Way to go Kentucky boys.:thumbup

[Calsegs]

:thumbup:thumbup SWEET!!

[poodoo]

Thanks for the links, RaleighCat. Too, kudos to Hayes and Bogans for saving the Rockets' day! I love reading about former Cats AND watching them. It's too bad that we won't get to watch Hayes and Bogans again until next season, unlike Prince and Delk with the Pistonsand Walker and Anderson with the Heat.

[I. Melvin]

Bottom dwellers? How dare you, sir?

Why, our Hawks have actually doubled their win total from last year! ;)

RaleighCat wrote: and might be capable of starting for some of the bottom dwellers (Atlanta?).

[RCS]

He could be a good fit for Atlanta. If they drafted him and then played super uptempo they could be pretty good. They have tons of athletes on that team and could really get up and down. They will probably just draft their 10th forward instead.

[TrueblueCATfan]

congrats to both..............

[DCWildcat]

Great to see. Sounds like good teamwork between Chuck and Keith on the steal.

Keith has been improving steadily for quite some time now.

[POEKLM]

DCWildcat wrote: Great to see. Sounds like good teamwork between Chuck and Keith on the steal.

Keith has been improving steadily for quite some time now.

I would love to see that play on video.

[Aike]

If the Hawks could lure Ben Wallace away from Detroit, then sign Rondo, they could easily be a playoff team next season. Considering the Eastern Conference, they could be the 5th seed. :D

[RaleighCat]

Aike wrote: If the Hawks could lure Ben Wallace away from Detroit, then sign Rondo, they could easily be a playoff team next season. Considering the Eastern Conference, they could be the 5th seed. :D

Big Ben isn't leaving D-town. Especially to toil for the Hawks.

[Aike]

It is a topic of discussion in some circles. Ben's Scottie Pippen maneuver the other day points to some level of discontent. It is also likely that Atlanta would offer a larger deal than the Pistons would. It will be interesting to watch.

RaleighCat wrote: Aike wrote: If the Hawks could lure Ben Wallace away from Detroit, then sign Rondo, they could easily be a playoff team next season. Considering the Eastern Conference, they could be the 5th seed. :D

Big Ben isn't leaving D-town. Especially to toil for the Hawks.

[Wildcat Larry]

He would be a lot closer to his Alabama hometown, too. Not sure that makes a difference to him, but it might.

[RaleighCat]

Aike wrote: It is a topic of discussion in some circles. Ben's Scottie Pippen maneuver the other day points to some level of discontent. It is also likely that Atlanta would offer a larger deal than the Pistons would. It will be interesting to watch.

RaleighCat wrote: Aike wrote: If the Hawks could lure Ben Wallace away from Detroit, then sign Rondo, they could easily be a playoff team next season. Considering the Eastern Conference, they could be the 5th seed. :D

Big Ben isn't leaving D-town. Especially to toil for the Hawks.


I know what you're saying- it's being speculatedthat IF he leaves, whereCOULD he land.

But.....Ben Wallace is by all appearances a warrior at heart- not a hired gun. Detroit will be able to pay him as much as any team in the league. Why would a warrior leave a championship nucleus to play for a historically putrid franchise? I could possibly understand Wallace moving to another contender (Phoenix, Dallas, NJ, Miami, Denver) to join a team with a chance at winning. As much as I've read about Ben Wallace I've never seen anything to make me believe he's busting his arse for only the money.

[Aike]

I don't have any insight into the mind of Ben Wallace. I have read that the Pistons are unlikely to offer him the max contract, and that somebody else (Hawks for instance) may offer him more. I don't know if any of this is true. Just making idle chatter.

Again, I don't know what makes Wallace tick, but I would have to think it possible that a guy who already had a ring or two would take an extra 20 million dollars to play out his career close to home.

To be fair, a nucleus of Ben Wallace, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and perhaps Rondo wouldn't exactly be chopped liver to work with. Take Wallace off the Pistons, watch Shaq swell a little more, and let Jason Kidd's knee finally give out, and might not this lineup be as formidable as any in a couple of years?

Edit: BTW, I think I've officially hijacked this thread. Go Chuck. Go Bogans.:)