I think this will be important later There is NOW - With Ego out but More importantly LATER Does: Westbrook - Ego - House/Bmac - PJ - Capela get it done? Rocket River
We need a squad that can score when Harden is not on the floor? Every time Harden goes to the bench I get worried. I think that I just want them to maintain the lead or not get too too far behind What is the best squad for those goals Rocket River
We need to be find something that works for about 12~18 minutes a game. James Playing 42 minutes a night ain't cutting it imo Rocket River
Westbrook Rivers EG House PJ It gives Westbrook four 3 point shooting threats, and gives us decent defense when everyone is locked in. We would lack rim protection but that's nothing new. Russ, House and PJ would have to handle most of the rebounding. I think this is the best non-Harden lineup if we want to maximize Westbrook's skill set. Sitting Russ is not an option.
I’d give PJ some rest and run with Tyson / i-Hart / Clark. Having EG out there with Westbrick should help limit his poor shot selection and turnovers.
Here are the numbers from 82games.com: http://www.82games.com/1920/1920HOU2.HTM The unit cited isn't in the data I linked to---too few minutes, I'm guessing. Of the very few five-man groups in their listed top 25, that don't have Harden, the best one as ranked by +/- is WB-Rivers-Mac-EGo-Chandler. It played 11.0 minutes, had 1.19 to 0.92 Offense vs Defense, and a +8 +/-. LOL sample size. Since we don't have EGo at the moment, the other best 5 non-Harden was: WB-Rivers-Mac-House-Tucker. It played 11.8 minutes, 1.14 to 1.16 Offense vs Defense, yet had a +3 +/-. Not a lot of choices, though the team will really like to have Gordon back. Especially since these 19-20 numbers are with a Gordon that was playing poorly compared to April-May 2019 Eric Gordon.
that's why +/- are dumb bc clearly you would want capela over chandler, and you would want EGO in there somewhere
To be fair. With Harden off the floor and Westbrook on the floor we are still getting our asses handed to us. Last I checked it was -9 per 100 possessions. And our offense with Westbrook in and Harden out is right at about the Knicks level, which is worst in the league. So it hasn’t been pretty. BUT..... that doesn’t mean necessarily that Westbrook shouldn’t be playing. Honestly the only lineup I could see working really well that doesn’t feature Harden is Westbrook, Gordon, House, Tucker and CC. Doubt that lineup sees much run, but it’s probably the best Hardenless group we can put out there.
You will have to have 5~10 minutes to sub out each. Harty/Tyson for CC Tucker needs to be spelled by Clark BMac and Green will get some meaningful minutes Rocket River
