Please note, this is not a criticism thread. I am sincerely trying to understand our guard rotation based on some strange facts that I am not 100% sure how to reconcile. So, right now our guard rotation is Harden, Bev, Terry and Brewer. The issue of course with this is that only Harden is a playmaker amongst that group. Here are the couple facts that I am having a hard time reconciling: - Canaan played well earlier this season, and, when he came back from injury, he immediately received minutes (that did not go so well), and he has been benched since. - When we acquired Shved he immediately received minutes, but has not played at all since. So, why, if the coaching staff wanted these guys in the rotation (meaning they are not completely satisfied with the four in the rotation now (which, they shouldn't be by the way)), then why are they not getting playing time now? Here is my working theory, but I want the clutchfans community to tell me how off base I am: The Rockets coaching staff knows they need another playmaker in the backcourt, especially when Harden is off the floor -- and they think Canaan can be that guy. However, Canaan is not 100% healthy, and they are waiting until he is before putting him back in the rotation. Knowing they need a true point guard on the court when Harden is out, they decided to give Shved a shot as soon as they received him (since Canaan is still not 100%) -- but, he did not perform well, so they decided to cut him out of the rotation and resign themselves to overly depending on Harden until Canaan is healthy. Thoughts? Thanks.
Harden dominates the ball so we don't need a PG that can playmake...hence why we have Beverly in the PG position. Even if we get someone good like Dragic, it will be redundant because Harden needs the ball. Honestly Bev is fine as a 1 for his defense, and only needs to work on his 3 pointers. We need to address: - Solid 4 - Coach - Bench - Consistency at 3 - Harden working on his D before we change anything at the 1.
We definitly need another playmaker. At minimum for when Harden sits, and also to alleiviate some of the responsibilty off of Harden when he is on the floor.
Bev playmakes plenty. I mean he might not get the assist but he passes out well and sets up many of plays this season. Even Terry has been a creator every time he's on the floor, if he can't get to a spot for a 3 or drive to the basket occasionally.. I really about had it with some people here in terms of what they think is a point guard. So very critical. At this point in time, there is literally nobody that is better than what the Rox have playing PG considering current chemistry and other factors.
I definitely agree. But, do you think the coaching staff realizes this (hence the immediate giving of minutes to Canaan and Shved) but just haven't been able to properly address the issue because of the injury to Canaan (and, apparently, to Shved as well)?
I think the coaches feel like Cannan is ok at creating shots for himself and not so much for others. Only reason i can think of as to why he isnt in the game when Harden sits.
Look, I absolutely love Bev, and he is perfect next to Harden, but, the idea that "nobody is better than what the Rox have playing PG" is insane. The NBA is full of great point guards. Most teams have 2 or 3 playmakers in the back court -- the Rockets have one (Harden). Terry and Bev are great, and they fit on this team perfectly (playing next to Harden). But, when Harden sits or is tired, the Rockets need a 2nd playymaker. The absence of one is the primary reason, in my opinion, why our offense has struggled this season. I am not criticizing the players we have right now -- I am saying they are great, but that we need a playmaker for when Harden sits -- and that I personally think the coaching staff knows this based on some of the decisions they have made vis a vis Canaan and Shved.
That is absolutely ridiculous.. God forbid james gets hurt then what? James is a player who is able to be productive off the ball ex. (Thunder) so him having another ball handler would benefit him even more because the load would lessen which in turns makes him fresher in the 4th.. Why Mchale continues to give Terry the back up PG min is mind boggling. Can anyone give me ANY logical reason that is? Terry at this age should be strictly a spot up shooter like ray allen was with the heat, but you didn't see the heat use him as a damn PG. Well guess what Canaan is a pretty good shooter himself and probably top 3 on the team plus he has more PG instincts, younger and the ability to penetrate.. Why mchale why?
Morey and McHale seem extremely high on Shved and seem to think he could be that secondary playmaker. (I was personally rather underwhelmed by his in-game performances, but McHale gushed over what he saw out of him in practice and said he'd be part of the rotation for sure going forward.) I think he would still be in the rotation were it not for his injury and would guess he will be when he returns.
Its really hard for me to decern weather they are being genuine or just trying to pump up his trade value.
Watch a game closely. Harden is a superior scorer compared to the other Bev or Terry. He gets assists because the defense scramble at him. Both Bev and Terry make the same types of passes as Harden but don't quite draw the kind of defense he does. That's all there is to it. Don't forget guys like Pap, Dmo, Brewer, Smith and even Howard create very many opportunities for others when they get the chance. You want to bring in a new guy to learn the system and get situated and lose even more games? The team is fine as it is.
I don't know... I thought sure he was just a decent-sized contract to be included in a package at the deadline, and I figured he wouldn't even crack the rotation. But they might also want to consider plucking out other GMs' eyeballs, if pumping up his trade value is the goal. I don't know -- he looked a little bit like a headless chicken in the limited minutes he played for us so far, and the few times I watched Sixers games this season, he was just chucking away. Maybe I'm missing it, though. I admit I didn't really watch him in Minnesota.
Shved looks like he could be a real baller. Im not sure why his shooting percentage is so low. His shooting technique looks good. I may change my opinion on that once I watch him lay a few bricks though.
I think Canaan should play. During the second quarter last night Brooks torched Terry with his speed every time down the court. He looked like an allstar out there. Terry was just too slow to keep up.
Just a gut feeling, but I get the sense that once we have figured out our wing and big rotations, we will start to tinker with the guards. Brewer and Smith both caused a shakeup in the minutes, and the staff wanted to work through that before throwing another variable into the mix. Our rotation right now is: Bev / Terry Harden / Brewer Ariza / Brewer DMo / Smith Howard / DMo McHale himself said that we need to get to a 9 to 10 man rotation, which probably means we need another guard in the rotation (given our desire to go small rather than big, ie Kostas or Smith at the 3). Our next 5 games are against Cleveland, NYK, Utah, Brooklyn, and Orlando. All are very winnable, so I expect Canaan to start to see a little more time here and there.
Shved is hurt. So we'll see what's going to happen when he is healthy again. I am still not sure about Canaan. A lot of people here have a high view of him. He did well at the beginning of the season. But that's a small sample size. He didn't do very well after coming back from injury. but that's also small sample size. He can shoot, probably better than Bev, at least not worse. He also seems to be able to create for himself. His pull up jumper is definitely better than Bev, but Terry can do that too although he's much slower now. What I haven't seen is how good he is as a play maker for teammates. That's what we want when Harden sits. I also haven't seen enough of him to judge his defensive capability.