I know DM trumps talent, talent, talent. And certainly all else being equal, TALENT wins. But I'm baffled that DM and the Rockets have been so content over the last [x] years with "role player" type SFs (I know he's not content with it, he wants all-star talent at every position, but consider his FA moves, his draft choices, who he was let go over the year - eg. Covington, Parsons - etc). They doubled down on this concept in the offseason, bulking up with PJ, and Luc. And those guys are great role players in addition to a still solid but aging Ariza. BUT... especially with MDA, isn't the beauty of Harden and that offense the ability to have Harden play PG? Which lets you put a Bev type or a Gordon type next to him at the "real" PG. Or they could even get a taller SG in the future. The "problem" is players like OG are the exact type that make life difficult for Harden over and over, which doesn't mean Harden still doesn't accumulate stats, but does impact overall offense and game and efficiency. OG, Thabo, Batum, Thomson/Iggy, Roberson, Kawhi/Simmons. We typically see defender on/off stats like we saw last night. Harden's numbers with OG on the floor: 2/15 from the floor, 1/6 from 3, 6 AST and 6 TOV, -12 in 23 MP. When OG sat, Harden was 6/10 from the floor, 2/5 from 3, 5 AST, 3 TOV, +10 in 16 MP. The commonality is they're all generally SF, who are generally a bit taller/longer than Harden, many of whom can match him on bulk, and when locked in do a better than average job of not reaching. Of course, these guys are solid defenders, and play everyone solid. But Harden even more so, because a "SF" like KD or Lebron has the size over these guys whereas Harden doesn't. ... thinking back to the good Chandler Parsons days (his last year+), even without this MDA offense, the floor seemed to be spread well especially in the halfcourt when Chandler was healthy and doing his pump fake, driving more frequently, doing some creating, etc.. And more than that, having a SF that was more than just a spot up corner 3 shooter, would mean the other team, when they have these wing types defenders, would have to pick their poison. In my view, priority #1 going forward should be to find a legit SF threat [not Melo... obviously]. CP3 coming back should help in the long-run. But it doesn't completely alleviate the problem, as you'll still see those SF defenders on James, with the best back-court defender then put on CP3. Ariza's value has declined every year as his defense slowly drops off. It's unfortunate they couldn't get in on Hayward, PG or Butler in the offseason. How do we improve this position?
Can we start by trying to get Troy Williams some minutes in garbage time or in times when the Rockets swingmen are hurt or in foul trouble, or ejected? I'd rather see him than Brown or Jackson getting those minutes or pushing Ariza past 40 minutes.
Currently with the Vipers. He is athletic and can shot the 3. I bet he would help a ton in transition. Youthful energy. I suspect the big problem is defensively he loses his man. Probably has to shore than up before MDA will go to him. I'd rather fail with Williams trying then fail with Brown and Jackson in the backcourt.
I mean I'm not too concerned about Brown/Jackson. And I suspect defense is Troy's problem as well... but couldn't tell you for sure. Big picture is they need an Ariza replacement that can create. I'd sacrifice somewhere else to get this.
Finally someone acknowledges we need to replace Ariza. I've been saying this for months and people here just don't get it.
I think the expectation by the front office (before Paul) was that we would get a wingman to play next to Harden. Ariza has always been on the border between being a starter and 6th man IMO. But we need a forward to replace him or Anderson offensively. I'd be comfortable with a forward rotation of Tucker, Luc, one of Ariza/Anderson, and a true small forward starting.
I've come around to Anderson. I know they kind of tried to trade him in the offseason. And I know he's really bad in many traditional PF aspects of the game. But the one thing he does, he does so well, and so uniquely (seriously, try finding another "big" that can shoot 36%+ on threes, on volume... there's no one, Cousins is closest but not quite there % wise), and it really spaces the offense. Beyond that, it doesn't really alleviate the SF guarding Harden issue. Those guys I mention might occasionally switch over and guard PFs, especially small ball PFs, but for the most part there's ALSO a PF on their squad, and that guy would guard the PF, whether its Anderson, or someone better. Does that make sense? Getting more of a true outside-in first type player with a "real" offensive game, would make defenses have to choose... does OG guard Harden, or guard this SF. If Harden, who is guarding the SF... that teams SG I guess so now you have an advantage. In any case... yeah, SF is an issue...
True. But ignoring defense for a second, in Parsons last year here the Rockets had the 4th best offense in the league. Being coached by McHale, who was a horrible x's and o's, system type coach. With nowhere near as talented a second scorer as Eric Gordon. With Dwight taking post touches. That's the value of a offensive wing next to Harden, imo.
Still out till February, still long-term injury recurrence risk, and how do the Rockets get him? Best offer would be Ryan + picks for Parker and John Henson but Bucks ain't doing that.
We have the second best offense in the NBA, without Chris Paul. It is the defense that needs major work, hence Tucker/Ariza/Luc. Daryl would obviously love a two-way SF, but they are incredibly difficult to find and nearly impossible to acquire and pay. Also, we will not be successful If Harden is the primary Point Guard in the playoffs, enter Chris Paul.
I think that when we get CP3 back , the position will shore up . This is because we should have 3 good to very-good defensive options . Having to play Luc at the 2 meant that trev and PJ were our only options and they played the 4 too . Everyone's minutes should go down. Offensively I'm not worried with cp3 back .
If OP's hypothesis is correct, shouldn't Harden's numbers be down since replacing Parsons with Ariza? That hasn't been the case.
That’s a function of a ton of things. I wonder how his numbers are against these types of SF defenders?? Like we know his numbers in clutch situations has been way down in terms of efficiency. That said Hardens worst playoffs was against the Blazers with Parsons next to him... So who knows
