I'm happy with the win . I'm happy harden carried us (yet again) But playing like this isn't sustainable . My question is simple ... what does it take for MDA to "trust" a player and then give him PT ? Why can't guys like Green and Clark get consistent minutes ? I understand Ennis is hurt .... but I'm willing to bet that when he comes back that one of green or house will fall out of the rotation entirely . The bench played fine in the first half . But when the game started getting tight in the 3rd , instead of going with a normal rotation and giving his starters normal rest ... he kept them in the try and keep building a lead . Tonight it worked out , harden had enough juice . But how many times have we seen harden get gassed already this season . Especially when we (justifiably) ask him to play both ends . How can MDA go from "trusting" Clark with big minutes early in the season to now having him be a permanent bench warmer?? If knight isn't ready to play big mins , then why isn't he still on RVG assignment ? Like I said I'm happy with the win ... I just hate to see harden have to carry us . So my question is ... what level of player do you have to be in order for MDA to "trust" you with minutes ??
Danuel House Jr. He is taking Clark's minutes. I am sure there are nuances, but House is doing all the little things that matter to MDA. Offense, Defense, spacing, switching etc. House's box score numbers don't jump out to you. But he has been a positive in +/- every game.
What are MDA's criteria for giving PT ? Answer: Don't suck. Also I am glad Morey finally listened to his head coach and cut that 125 pound center...... now if he only would have listened to his coach sooner.
Clark was limited, slow feet. N didnt hit 3s. Its simple with any team. I want guys that can dribble shoot n pass. House might not have the best shot but he can penetrate, thats a really key trait in a perimeter dominated league. U say but mcw can do that, true but he lacks bbiq n his shot isnt serviceable
Coach has been asking Morey that since October. The answer is soon. The trade deadline is about 6 weeks away. The Rockets have been trying to make moves for some time, and have come in second on a few occasions already.
It's easy to play a decently long rotation when you have great players . Luc was starter level , Ryan was starter level , Eric was starter level . I like house . I think he is playing better than Clark . But Clark was playing great earlier in the year .... bringing a lot of the same intangibles that you guys credit House with and explain his playing time by . You've got to make due with the hand you are dealt . It's not like MDA is making sweet wine out of our roster right now ; we are barely over .500. We were winning playing hartenstein and Clark earlier in the year .... not because they are great but because harden and Paul elevated them to being solid . When we were on our losing streak it wasn't because Clark and hartenstein were dragging us down ... it was because our main guys were sucking .
Had Paul and Harden played much less, we would be sitting 5 games under .500% right now. They played a lot because they had to. The bench has been horrendous. Even the excitement over Clark was an indication of how bad the bench has been. Clark never should have been a rotation player on a decent NBA team. He has never shown the ability to shoot and is almost a zero on offense right now. Defensively he has good fundamentals and instincts. However, unless your bench is giving you good offensive production from the rest of the unit, Clark is unplayable. Just look at the difference since House has emerged as playable and that Hilario has been able to play. The team and bench has perked up. That isn't MDA's fault...... that is a byproduct of having nothing on the bench.
I disagree . We've won 4 in a row . Earlier in the year we went on a 5 game streak beating/ blowing out IND , DEN , and GS . Neither nene nor house were even active for those games ..... but Clark and Hartenstein got significant minutes House and nene will have bad games in the future ... and instead of letting Isaiah or Gary try to step up ... we all know MDA will just rely on the starters more .... and maybe it will win the game , maybe it won't. But when harden tweaks something as a result of having to play 40 every night , everyone on here will be at MDA's throat for not resting him more .
During the 5 game winning streak, Harden went off several times and in several of those games it was Gordon and/or Green that went off for the bench. Gary Clark is shooting 28% from the floor and 26% on three point attempts. You simply cannot have someone in the rotation that is that inept at shooting a basketball. That is the reason he isn't in the rotation and why he shouldn't be getting a lot of minutes. He honestly is lucky to be active even. As for Hartenstein, he isn't very good defensively and honestly isn't as good as Hilario. Of course Harden and Paul and Tucker shouldn't be playing as much. However it isn't D'Antoni's fault that he has garbage on half the roster. He has shown he will play players that deserve to play. Also coach cannot just lose games, we are 10th in the West. If you want to be pissed at anyone, be pissed that the GM has not addressed the issue thus far, The Rockets have been very lucky that House has emerged as decent and Hilario is back...... because the rest on that bench are maybe D-League lever.
It's the same for this winning streak . I don't think you should be crediting house and nene (and not giving any credit to Clark or hartenstein during the previous streak ) The only reason we've won the last few games is because harden has been on another level . House is shooting 28% from 3 so let's not pretend like Clark's is that much worse . My whole point in this thread is what is MDA's threshold for "deserve to play" ? How good do you have to be ? IMO his bar is too high . He made the mistake of not playing Harrell or Dekker in the playoffs and it cost us the series because the other 6 guys were gassed . Last year he didn't have that problem because Luc , Ryan , and Gordon were all starting level players . Of course he will give those guys minutes ... and we were blowing teams out This year , I know , our roster is worse . But That doesn't mean you just don't play anyone until you get better players .
Gary Clark is shooting 28% from the field this season. Danuel House is shooting 42%. That is a massive difference and that doesn't even account for the fact that teams are playing Clark different the last 2-3 weeks, daring him to shoot and often times not even guarding him. Where is his thresh hold? I know it is more than 28% from the field. I am not defending MDA beyond the simple fact that 50% of the roster is not NBA quality. When MDA has opened up the rotation this year, it has been a disaster. If Morey goes out and add's two or three genuine rotation pieces, and MDA still plays Harden and Paul and Tucker 40 minutes a night, then I will be joining you in criticizing him. However, as the team is currently constructed, there is no one that should be playing that isn't playing.
