1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

5 Ways Ty Lawson Makes the Rockets Defense Better

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Aydge, Jul 22, 2015.

  1. Pat

    Pat Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2002
    Messages:
    2,559
    Likes Received:
    636
    I know this isn't the point of your post, but I would like to hear a discussion on if Harden has the ball so much because that is necessary to his style of play, or there is just nobody else to handle it? Especially after Bev went down.

    ps - love your name
     
  2. don grahamleone

    don grahamleone Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2001
    Messages:
    23,287
    Likes Received:
    33,121
    Defensive rebounds are defense. Steals are defense. These stats help you be a better defensive player because they take the possession away from the offense. This is basic basketball, bruh. Get with it. Stop typing, start thinking.
     
  3. napalm06

    napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Messages:
    26,191
    Likes Received:
    29,259
    Point #1 is critical and will change a lot of dynamics for the Rockets. Opponents can't force the Rockets to only play their game anymore (ie Golden State).
     
  4. yaopao

    yaopao Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    855
    Likes Received:
    68
    Awesome post.

    People who view basketball in a simplistic way will see a 5 ft 10 PG who will struggle to guard the top PGs in the West. While true, that only covers a small fraction of what NBA defense consists of. You nailed different aspects of how our defense will be upgraded even if Lawson isn't a good 1 on 1 defender. I might also add that his foot speed will help on defensive rotations.

    The combo of Terry and Prigioni has to be the slowest in NBA history. Throw in the fact that they are strictly spot up shooters offensively and the opposing PG has little to no defensive responsibility and is able to blow by these 2 guys with ease. Now, they won't have it so easy. My hope is that we use Lawson to pressure the opposing PG the full 94 ft, like we do with Beverly. The extra 2-3 seconds the offense needs to start their offense pays dividends when the shot clock runs down and the offense is forced to jack up a shot. We have the potential to be a top 3-5 defense with a healthy Dwight and D-Mo (he's a great positional defender inside) inside.
     
    #24 yaopao, Jul 22, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2015
  5. ghettocheeze

    ghettocheeze Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2006
    Messages:
    7,325
    Likes Received:
    9,134
    6. Also the times when Russell Westbrook will just blow pass Lawson on the way to a thunderous dunk.

    7. Or those times when Lawson will get swamped by a Draymond Green pick leaving Steph Curry to rain 3-pointers.

    8. Or better yet that time when in typical Rockets fashion a no-name scrub goes beast mode against us. Yeah that will be Austin Rivers again doing it to Lawson.

    Please let's not kid ourselves Lawson is a big liability on defense. Let's just hope his teammates are there for the timely defensive rotation to cover his shortcomings or else we'll see a lot of McHale subbing Beverley early if he gives up huge scores.
     
  6. fonzie_004

    fonzie_004 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2009
    Messages:
    2,321
    Likes Received:
    57
    we pay a coach to make these things work, we got better last season and will get better again as a unit.
     
  7. dlite316

    dlite316 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2008
    Messages:
    1,755
    Likes Received:
    1,088
    6. RW will blow pass 95% of defenders in the entire league for a thunderous dunk
    7. Terry/Prigioni combo was any better defending curry and GSW's illegal screens?
    8. I will wait and see if scrub Austin Rivers do it to Ty with this Rockets team.
     
  8. Crashlanded19

    Crashlanded19 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2012
    Messages:
    7,810
    Likes Received:
    2,287
    I agree with everything you said. Accept this rep on my behalf.
     
  9. j@amc

    j@amc Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2002
    Messages:
    1,294
    Likes Received:
    2,526
    I can't wait to see how many people are surprised by Lawson's defense.

    Guys, this is a veteran, elite-quick point guard. Yes, he doesn't have size, but Lawson gives up very few drives in the paint. . . He doesn't get backed down often: think Chris Paul.

    We are infinitely better with him on the court. And, by the way, it's probably not possible to be worse on transition D than we were last year. With Harden, Howard, and Josh Smith on the court-- we were dead slow getting back. . .

    It will be nice to have a guy who wants to run (and can run) both ways on the court.
     
  10. oakdogg

    oakdogg Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 1999
    Messages:
    3,112
    Likes Received:
    253
    I don't think 1 & 4 are valid at all. Lawson was great on offense in Denver; yet he was a horrible defender. Why would his offense help his defense in Houston?

    BTW, there are better stats for measuring defense than steal rate. lol
     
  11. oakdogg

    oakdogg Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 1999
    Messages:
    3,112
    Likes Received:
    253
    Forgot to say I do think Lawson's defense will be better this year. I think he will put out a lot more effort.
     
  12. macho87

    macho87 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2010
    Messages:
    1,332
    Likes Received:
    247
    Cutting down our turnovers on offense might offset his bad D.
     
  13. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2002
    Messages:
    25,251
    Likes Received:
    13,016
    i don't know either. but lets hope it does ;)
     
  14. baubo

    baubo Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2014
    Messages:
    1,836
    Likes Received:
    429
    There’s definitely something to the fact the idea that sometimes the best defense is actually offense. Higher made shot rate, less turnovers automatically means fewer transition opportunities for other teams. Making opposing PGs work on defense will tire them out for offense. Ty Lawson definitely can improve the Rockets defense. But he’s also very much a bad defender and I would not be surprised to see him on the bench at times end of games.
     
  15. Tfor3

    Tfor3 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2007
    Messages:
    19,640
    Likes Received:
    22,493
    I'll drink to that ;)
     
  16. 2016Champions

    2016Champions Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2013
    Messages:
    557
    Likes Received:
    46
    It's physically impossible for anyone under 5'11 to have a positive impact on defense imo. The fact Ty often plays defense with his hands down certainty doesn't help his ability (or lack thereof) to contest shots and help out.
     
  17. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 1999
    Messages:
    62,479
    Likes Received:
    56,052
    Reducing TOs is a serious issue for the Rockets. A significant reduction in TOs would help our defense without a doubt.
     
  18. TracywtFacy

    TracywtFacy Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2006
    Messages:
    4,546
    Likes Received:
    5,511
    I don't think he'll make our defense better. It's more a case of his positives on offense outweighing his negatives on defense. I.e. let's say he's worth +15 ppg on O but -10ppg on D. Net +5 means X more wins. Or is that being too simplistic...
     
  19. thaGREATwall

    thaGREATwall Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2009
    Messages:
    380
    Likes Received:
    46
    I'm assuming you didn't watch much Rockets basketball this year, and are going purely off the little Youtube video put out last year. Otherwise, your ignorance is nauseating.

    For most of the season, Harden was top 5 in all the major defensive metrics, was near the top in steals and blocks for SGs, and was the leader for a good portion of the season in Defensive Win Shares.
     
  20. GMNot

    GMNot Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2002
    Messages:
    824
    Likes Received:
    87
    Certainly reasonable hypotheticals to consider.

    Naysayers need to ask themselves, just how many true one-on-one defensive stoppers are there in the league? 50%? 20%? No way.

    An offensive player has the advantage in most cases, because he can get a defender in motion, or frozen with fakes. An offensive player reacts to the defender's reaction to his first move.

    When coaches and players are asked about great offensive players on opposing teams, they say, "Well, you can't stop him. You just have to try to make him work harder." Most teams have schemes to double team a good player, whether it is up front, or delayed as a rotation. That is what team defense is. If all teams tried to play man-to-man defense all the time, there would probably be a lot of players in foul trouble.

    The problem that will have to be worked out with Lawson and Harden on the floor at the same time, is how can they keep one another involved in scoring as well as keeping the other 3 guys on the court involved, too? That's when they will be most dangerous, offensively. Playing together is the only way to find that chemistry. Maybe they will have a natural "feel" for one another quickly, but more than likely, there will be a learning curve for everyone. Adding someone like Lawson, will require more adaptation than it might seem. Ideally, shot distribution will be spread evenly across the team, and those will be high percentage shots.

    Whether they become a better defensive team or not, it is hard to imagine them not being a better team overall with Lawson. I'm going to hope their total point average increases more than their points allowed average might increase over last season's. Looking at the stats. for last season, Golden State had about a 7 point differential, total, in those categories over the Rockets. (They were about 4 points better in scoring and about 3 points better on points allowed.) Averages aren't so meaningful for any one game because of match-ups, injuries, and other variables, but still give a sense of team defense.
     

Share This Page