It is not a novel idea, a few other posters have already brought this up. I just think it is a good idea worthy of further discussion. There is a large enough sample size that suggests Dwight Howard is at his best playing next to a 3pt shooting PF. He started his career playing next to Kelvin Cato, then Tony Battie, but by far experienced most of his success alongside Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson. This is supported by various interviews with SVG, and the oncourt results speak for themselves. Morey has also all but shot down the "twin towers" lineup, with McHale saying he would at most "experiment" with it. We've all heard how during their FA meeting, one of Morey/McHale and Co's selling points to Howard was how the Rockets would tailor their offense around him. How we would accommodate him and play to his strengths, something the Lakers failed to do last year. I highly doubt that the big plan revealed to Howard was to turn him into a PF next to Asik. If Asik is out of the question, given what we have to choose from, it is a no brainer. Calling either Jones or Dmo a "3pt shooting" PF is generous. As McHale would put it, they are good at shooting 3s, just not making them. Even when you account for Casspi's plummeting %s in Cleveland, his worst years are still better than either of our other PFs. And his career averages from 3pt is head and shoulders better. Aside from 3pt%, Casspi is an above average rebounder for a SF, a claim that Dmo cannot make. Jones still has a ways to go mentally before he can play winning basketball: hint, winning basketball is not stopping the play to dribble between your legs, especially when you are a PF. Speaking of Cleveland, it is very tough to judge a player based on his boxscore statistics on a terrible team. Especially a role player. A spot up shooter who is a capable defender(a great fit on a championship squad) would look terrible when forced to create offense for himself on a team devoid of talent, for instance. For Casspi, even when you consider his down years in Cleveland, he has experienced much more success in the NBA and internationally than either Jones or Dmo. Not to mention being more experienced period. If it is established that Casspi is the better and more experienced player, which isn't saying much, the only question left is can Casspi play PF? The answer to that is, he can if he is playing next to the most dominant defensive center in the league. Rashard Lewis did and he is no more a PF than Casspi. Carlos Delfino did and was part of our most effective lineup last year. Is Ryan Anderson a PF because of his 6 rebounds a game and lock down interior defense? As much as Casspi will help Howard on offense, Howard's dominance on the other end makes it possible to run small ball for an extended period on defense. The way they already did for years in Orlando. In fact, I would venture that the Rockets all along saw Casspi as a PF, instead of SF. http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/e...casspi-could-be-bought-out-pursued-by-houston Rumor was that Houston pursued him last year when a buyout was possible. At that time, the Rockets had a wing rotation of Parsons and Delfino with Garcia who couldn't even find minutes. Why would they bring in another SF? Instead, the team was running out of ideas at PF and was giving anyone with a pulse a try. One last thing about Dmo and Jones. I HIGHLY doubt that both of them will break into the rotation. I can see one, but not both. A team who's goal is competitive and winning play simply cannot withstand 2/8, or 25%, of its rotation still learning how to play basketball. I said this last year before the season started that while we had 4 rookies, it was doubtful that they would play much. And that was a year that the team was basically freerolling. This year the team has much loftier aspirations. And while neither Jones nor Dmo are rookies anymore, they are still not nearly experienced(or good) enough to contribute positively.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=213809 Were you the guy who put "Dalembert" and "beast" in the same sentence? http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=211482 FYI, Leslie Alexander cannot be "fired" since he was never "hired". Forgetting semantics for a second, even if it were at all feasible, no one(almost) would be dumb enough to "fire" one of the best owners in basketball. Something that is plainly obvious now. Anyways, what was the question?
yeah Dally was a hibernating bear(beast in that sense) so he was only good when he was full awake He had 35 points one game with the Bucks that should tell the story.... Inconsistent as hell
Fire Whoever threads are comical threads to vent anger. You should know that. Even I liked Morris at the start, but I would not start a thread to call someone a star or superstar player.
Dalembert isn't, never has been, and never will be a "beast". But then again, no shame in getting it wrong from time to time. Isn't that right? Anyways, back on topic, which is neither Dalembert nor Leslie Alexander and certainly not Marcus Morris. Though funny enough he would probably be our starting PF if he were still here.
I don't think Coach would do that. It might happen due to injuries at one point in a long season but a regular starter? They would rather play Parsons more at the 4 for games. I don't think Casspi can beat out Parsons, at least not the seasons he is here. They play the same positions. And two have 2 small forwards starting I just don't see it from the beginning of a game.
on offense i think he is a good fit. and we even saw how horry was a dud with phoenix and yet a stud next to dream/shaq/timmy, so omri's subpar season with cleveland can be overlooked. what cannot be overlooked, however, is omri's poor defensive skills. his anticipation and lateral movement are terrible, his defensive rotations often clueless..
Just say no. Though I do find his ORtg and DRtg to be amusing, or maybe just frightening. He really is a much much lesser version of Chandler Parsons. But he probably is a good bench player. In no any way shape or form is he a starting PF in the NBA. Season Age Tm Lg Pos G MP PER TS% eFG% ORB% DRB% TRB% AST% STL% BLK% TOV% USG% ORtg DRtg OWS DWS WS WS/48 2009-10 21 SAC NBA SF 77 1931 13.0 .529 .502 4.4 16.5 10.4 7.7 1.4 0.6 11.6 19.4 104 110 1.1 1.4 2.5 .063 2010-11 22 SAC NBA SF 71 1702 11.7 .517 .496 4.8 16.0 10.3 6.6 1.6 0.6 10.3 16.7 106 109 1.1 1.3 2.5 .069 2011-12 23 CLE NBA SF 65 1341 11.2 .499 .467 5.1 14.5 9.7 8.4 1.5 1.2 12.2 17.6 101 109 0.6 0.6 1.2 .044 2012-13 24 CLE NBA SF 43 503 12.9 .486 .472 4.4 22.7 13.1 8.8 2.6 1.9 11.0 17.7 99 105 0.1 0.6 0.7 .064 Career NBA 256 5477 12.2 .515 .490 4.7 16.4 10.4 7.7 1.6 0.9 11.3 18.0 103 109 3.0 3.9 6.9 .060
The question with him is: why did he get worse since he joined the NBA. He actually was quite promising his rookie season, but then got worse every season - to the point where he wasnt playing at all for one of the worst teams of the league. Now that should tell you something. Not playing for the team that got the first pick is about as bad as it gets. That`s not someone you want to start for your contending team. But maybe he was in a bad situation, maybe he will fit in here perfectly, maybe McHale can fix him. If so, sure, let`s try it. But right now I would be very hesistant to even make him a major rotational piece. DMo has been working his butt of, TJ, despite his recent actions, has looked promising and Garcia has earned his minutes - all of them should be more in the discussion to start right now, than Casspi.
As a Casspi fan from Israel,I don't think it will be a great fit for Casspi and Houston as a PF,I mean his height is pretty much suitable for a PF he might be a little short,the serious problem will be his mass,it won't be easy for Casspi to defend players which has a lot of mass and also stronger than Casspi,players like David West,Boozer,Griffin and more. I understand why people think Casspi can as a PF,I also think the ideal idea is to isolate Howard at the paint and to arm him with shooters surrounding him so he can pass the ball to a shooter when he struggles,just like in Orlando. The way I see it,it might be a good contribution in terms of offense but I really can't tell how it will work out on defense,Casspi doesn't have strength to face the other Power Forwards. I think the ideal role for Casspi is to get his minutes of the bench,might be a good role player or even a sixth man,he brings enthusiasm to the court and plays with a lot of spirit and a lot of heart,scramble for every ball and willing to sacrifice. Houston has a lot of talent and it has a lot of heart thanks to players like Casspi. I think coach Kevin McHale will find the right sport for Omri.
Casspi is 25 already, so far he's been warming bench in lottery teams, how is he a starting material? Just because we don't have a solid PF we should give it to anyone? I say we start Howard + 4 smalls. F*** the PF
1. Start Parsons at PF? As a team lacking in perimeter defenders to begin with, this takes our best perimeter defender away from the perimeter, putting more pressure on Harden and whoever else that's supposed to start at SF. 2. Casspi can't guard PFs? That is inconsequential if our other PFs can't either. Also, when you have Dwight Howard as your weak side helper, it makes everyone's defense look better. 3. Why has he gotten worse since he joined the NBA? Based on what, his FG%? Has he been taking the same type of shots all 4 years? Does changing teams and systems affect the type of shots he takes? If so, comparing FG%s becomes kind of irrelevant. Based on MPG? Because Cleveland has been such a sterling model for identifying and developing their talent as opposed to the dumpster of the NBA that they are? I am not saying I am overjoyed with the prospect of Casspi starting. Just that it is plausible. And right now looking a bit more appetizing than the alternatives.
Having Howard alone and now with Asik and Camby forces teams to retreat more to the perimeter. And even our shaky perimeter defense gets an upgrade because guys can commit themselves more to perimeter defense without thinking much about helping weak side in the paint.
I liked Casspi that one year in Sacramento. This would be a great signing if Omri played like his rookie year.
