Let him develop. Maybe in one or two years when Asik's contract is almost over, and Asik is 29 and Smith is 24 Smith will start and be dominant. But as of right now you have to understand what Kevin McHale is asking the 4s to do. He doesn't run two players on the block he runs an offense where the 1s and 2s attack the lane, 3s and 4s go for the perimeter shot and the 5 waits for a feed for an easy dunk. Thats why PPat and Marcus Morris have been playing so much and obviously worked on their jumper in the offseason. Personally I don't like his offense, or McHale for that matter lol
Greg Smith might be starting on a different team in the next few years if the Rockets think like some of you posters. Asik is good at playing the natural role of center but Greg Smith will shut down the paint on both side of the floor and just physically dominate you. He can score one on one and he can stop guys that come in and try to lay the ball up. Asik is just not that but Asik is a good player.
Houston sucks on defense So yeah start him TAKE YOUR HOMER GOGGLES OFF PARSONS SUCKS DEFENSIVELY Barkley said it best IF your starting PF gets less then 6 RB , He's a SF BENCH HIM
He's a great player no doubt but I feel the energy he brings off the bench is awesome. Don't forget PPat had a few great games prior to this too.
Sometimes you don't HAVE to FILL a "weak" area by moving a player from a "strong" area over into the weak area Maybe he's just good in the role he's in and you keep him there. It was mentioned how Smith is a good interior defensive presense. But what about on the perimeter or in pick n roll situations where he has to use his footwork not bulk and strength? Or against the stretch 4's in the league, in a league where post play is lessening? If Smith is a better option at the 4 than what you have, then it makese sense. But now if you put him at the 4, you have a problem not having ANYONE who can play backup center, you have to move a 4 into the backup role and that might be asking for disaster. *Edit: I forgot about Cole Aldrich. Then maybe you can slide in Smith at the 4 SITUATIONALLY*
Knee jerk, however I did expect Patterson to play a lot better. The Lakers did a good job scouting him and taking him out of the game. Marcus Morris had a poor shooting night which further proves he is the Kevin Martin of Power forwards. They both do not help the team if they are shooting poorly.
I honestly think Smith finishes WAY better than Asik at the rim. If we had certain matchups where we needed two bulls in the ring at the same time, we could alter our starting line up to have both of them in there at the same time. Asik is a great passing big man, so i believe they could run high low very well together.
Surely like what he did against Dwight last night! I'd keep him at back-up 5. Would like to see some TJ and DMo at the 4, and let all those young bucks get more or less minutes, depending on their hustle. That's the virtue of the youngest line-up in the league: they can run, run, run.
Patrick Patterson was not dominate tho he just scored a lot of points it's like a lot of rockets fans don't understand what toughness really is we haven't really seen it at its best since the 90's. Greg Smith can help it because he's naturally tough and will be that regardless but Patrick Patterson is not a scorer and won't just naturally score and rebound at the power forward position. What you saw from Greg Smith against the Lakers is who he is if you give him the minutes and give him opportunities to put up the numbers.
Even Cole Aldrich played better than Asik Against Howard.....Before Howard gets physical and destroyed him. Smith scored 15 points and 6 rebounds when Howard was on the floor, but 11 p and 3 r were made in 4Q. Question is, was Howard tired? Or was it because hack a ho and the fourth foul he picked up at 3:18? I would bought it had Smith done those things in 1 Q or 2 Q, when Howard was still fresh
Yep. Patterson got into foul trouble and never affected this game but he has proved recently that he is the best pick and roll/pop partner for Harden. Smith got all his points off dunks and lay ups. You can't just give him the ball in the post like you can with Patterson. Smith had one excellent game and he should be awarded with more minutes, I just don't think he's ready to be a starter.
One star thread. With an NBA frontcourt, complementing is key. Patterson has proven a solid deep ball to complement Asik. Greg Smith is a perfect big man to bring off the bench and bring energy, and as much as Greg with Asik would be great defensively, the offense would be clustered because no one in our frontcourt could spread the floor and hit an outside shot. Only dunks and layups for those two.
Patterson is terrible in the post. The Rockets would be better off if Patterson never touched the ball in the post for the rest of time here.
