I said in the game thread that I liked the lineup of Lin, Harden, Delfino, Parsons, and Asik together. This is our best lineup with Asik, IMO. It gives us good mobility and ball-handling at the other 4 positions. Lin is a sub-par shooter, but having Delfino and Parsons can offset that. Asik's size can make up for the size disadvantage with Parsons at the 4. We should strongly consider making this our starting group. Playing Parsons at the 4 will also make it easier for him to make plays off the dribble.
It really comes down how much time the FO and Morey will give the young guys to develop. I wouldn't be surprised if they traded Morris, Patterson, White as a filler, possible Delfino, Douglas for a borderline allstar 4 and a young SF and free up minutes for Beverley, Jones, Anderson
Hopefully the coaching staff adapts. Especially since the Rockets have been getting much needed POSITIVE attention. There are very capable PFs on the team that would love to have those minutes.
The Rockets need an upgrade at that position badly, but there are no quick fixes. It will be interesting to see what Morey does at the deadline or if Les is patient enough to wait until free agency.
I'd like to see Dmo get some playing time. Sure, he's undersized, but so is Marcus. I like Dmo's court vision and post moves. His lack of strength should be offset to some degree by his height. He's also reasonably fast for a seven-footer. I've been pulling for TJ, but he's just not ready - even though he has more of an NBA body.
I do like Morris and Patterson, but I really do want us to trade them for some draft picks and use those picks + one or two other pieces to go after another great piece and use our salary cap to lure in a second All-Star.
Totally on board with Parsons at the 4 (sorry if I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this issue. I just really see him as an ideal NBA PF going forward in today's fast paced game). Here's also to hoping we can see a Carl Landry-like rookie breakout from one of Terrence or Donatas. I don't want to give up on Mook yet, but needless to say, his tendency to shoot 3's and contribute nothing else is concerning.
Marcus has lost his confidence He was shooting great when PPat was out of the picture and it was just him with little competition and I bet his confidence was sky high at the time. Now with Patrick back in the mix and having a couple of good games, Marcus is worried about losing the starter's position and not letting the game come to him. e.g. there was a one play tonight where he got a kick out pass in the left corner at the three-pt line; he faked the shot and drove in pretty competently but while he was playing through marginal contact and able to finish during the hot streak, he didn't go in strong this time and missed his layup. Simply put: the Philadelphia brought up toughness is not in this one. Marcus just needs to focus on his game. He is an offensive talent and good jumpshooter, he just needs to shoot with confidence. This is where Delfino's attitude and veteran presence can be useful - the guy has no conscience and we're better because of it. Delfino turned over the ball on some bad drives and travels tonight, but overall these moves allow him more space to shoot the 3. Similar deal with Marcus except he may be a better offensive player on broken down plays and that no remorse attitude is what we need because I think Marcus is naturally a high percentage shooter
Its like every game, he has gotten worst. I really like his effort but I'm just tired of all the bricks, turnovers and bad plays overall. Its like every game lately, he's struggling to find a basket or do something productive. Without a 4 man that can stretch the floor, you can guarantee opponents will just continue to clog the lane and ignore Morris and Asik on every possession. On offense, the Rockets basically have to go 3 against 5 because teams just don't see Morris and Asik as a threat at all. Its really sad because when Morris first came into the league, I thought he was a really good scorer. But I guess not. He can't even make open shots or at least make the right play sometimes. Its either going 0-7 or trying to create his own shot and ending up turning the ball over... No wonder Harden have such a hard time getting to the basket when he constantly have a few defenders chasing him all over the court.
Morris is in there for his rebounding prowess and reputation as a defensive stopper usually has opponents shaking in their boots... Where has he gone? The way of the Stromile.
Sadly, I never thought he was any good. He was hitting shots as you said, at an unsustainable clip. But to me, he hasn't shown a great (or more importantly, growing) understanding of the game/offense. He showed me he was Scott Padgett while he was starting. Padgett was once an effective spot starter too during times of injury, but there's no way any team would want him starting long-term. (Morris has a few more moves and is more athletic--however, I think he so rarely takes advantage of his talents that it renders him as a Padgett on the floor. And I don't think it's a matter of the offense shoving him in a corner...he has opportunities and doesn't take advantage of them.) My hope all along has been that he is continuing to be showcased as trade bait. This is another piece of the puzzle that shows we need a more consistent threat at the 4. Maybe not a max player in any traditional sense...but consistency would be nice.
Sophomore slump. He has talent. He can create his own shot, he can rebound and defend and he has some pretty active hands. I still think he is more of a power 3, than a stretch 4. Play Donatas...
I agree on his position. Is there a place for a "power 3" in today's NBA? Carmelo is too quick to be a "power 3"--gotta find someone with a lesser skill set. Artest? Again, has an elite skill that saves him (and that has been declining a lot over the last 4 years). I guess this was the question when we drafted him, and Morey said he could be a 4..
Great questions. Marcus Morris has potentially special, versatile talent on the offensive end of the floor. He can post up, he can create his own shot from the midpost, and he can knock down the three ball. He shows flashes of running the floor and getting to the line as well, but he still needs a lot of work. Defense is a huge problem. He simply doesn't bring enough on defense to justify being on the floor, If his offense is not on point. If he isn't scoring 15-20 a night, I would rather play a guy that can defend and rebound his position. On this team, he seems better suited as a 6th man that looks to score in bunches. I have said it before and I will say it again, Derrick Williams is SUPER Marcus Morris, and he would be a great fit at the four, next to Asik. Bigger, stronger, faster, and he can rebound his position tremendously well.
Individual statistically speaking (xRAMP), this is the best lineup for us. On offense, Asik is the weakest link and on defense, Harden is the weakest one. Player Offense Defense Net (Listed by number of plays) ------------------------------- Harden +4.99 -1.01 +3.98 Parsons -1.4 -0.62 -2.02 J. Lin +1.66 +0.78 +2.44 O Asik -1.14 +4.83 +3.69 Morris -0.16 -1.57 -1.73 P. Pat. -2.16 -1.00 -3.16 Douglas +0.15 -1.99 -1.84 Defino +1.61 +1.01 +2.62 T Jones -1.43 -1.49 -2.92 Donatas -1.71 -1.46 -3.17 Despite what some of you believe, Parsons is just an average defender. His numbers actually regressed from last year (-0.5 -0.2 -0.7). He matches well with iso players (Carmelo, Gay, Kobe), but against perimeter shooters (Pierce), he gives up easy points. According to the numbers, Defino is under utilized and a better defender than giving credit to. The stats confirmed that neither Morris nor PPat is our long term solution at 4. This is our biggest weakness. With so many PFs, none with any meaningful PT is turning out anywhere close to an average player. It saddens me to know we have five of them on our roster.
Agree with all of this. Esp bolded part. And I don't think he can ever get to 15-20 a night...so I'd like him more as a 7th or 8th man, where if he's hot he gets some time, but if not, we're not fully dependent on him even as 6th man scoring
