The Rockets may be short in height but they are long and keep getting longer. https://spacecityscoop.com/2020/02/19/wingspan-difference-houston-rockets/
I hope both DMC and Green are available for tonight’s game vs Golden state. On another note, what is the latest on Gerald Green? Did he get waived yet and could he possibly come back to Hou? The last I read about him, he thought he could be healthy in time for the playoffs.
GSW one step ahead us…smh Young kid…PF, measurement 7'0" 216lbs Wingspan 7'3" 9'3" standing reach Tho only ten day contract
Effort, athletism, strength, active hands/feet and smarts are all essential to great defense. But wingspan is the x-factor for generating turnovers.
Caboclo 7'08" (when measured last year by Grizzlies) Thabo 7'04" Tucker 7'0" Covington 7'02" Hartenstein 7'02" Harden 6'11" Carroll 6'10" Gordon 6'09" Green 7'01" Westbrook 6'08" McLemore 6'08" House 6'08" Rivers 6'07" There is a method to the madness that is Rockets basketball on the defensive end of the court. The Rockets are deceptively very long and are very strong in general.... So the Rockets get the benefit of the long reach, the advantage of lower center of gravity and also quick feet. Probably 5-7 years ago Morey stated that he believed traditional wisdom on the perfect body for a point guard was wrong.... he said a shorter, quicker guy with strength and a low center of gravity is very effective defensively.
wingspan has been one of the most underrated measurables in basketball as long as i can remember. So important for disrupting the lane; getting tips and steals. Important for all around defense; versatility, matching up with bigger players, contested balls, blocked shots, rebounding... you can make up for a lot with wingspan. Glad we have a roster full of freaks.
Sometimes the torsoe up to the shoulder is broad. The actual measurement should be the arm itself. For instance if Durant had LeBron's torsoe with his 40 inch arms he would have well over an 8ft wingspan.
You are thinking about vertical reach. Wingspan is basically horizontal reach. The torso width counts. It is important for disrupting passing lanes. Vertical reach is the arm's length plus the shoulder height. It is important for shot blocking. Both measurements are important for defense. Lateral quickness is another defensive factor. I don't see much data for that. Any coach will tell you the most important tool for playing defense is your feet, not your hands.
From 2017-2018 when we won 65 games, to last year when we were much worse, the two big differences were 1.) the loss of Ariza and Luc; and 2.) the physical decline of CP3. With his vegan diet or whatnot, CP may be more durable now. But the fact remains that in the playoffs when everyone is giving 100% effort, CP will not be able to get past his man 1 on 1 nor will he be able to keep his man in front of him on defense. Our switch everything defense took a major hit without Ariza and Luc, to the point where we could no longer sustain a short squatty PG in CP, no matter how smart his off ball defense was. Although Russ has never been a good defender by the stats or the eye test, a lot of his deficiency was like Harden's, effort-related. You take away his offball responsibilities in terms of checking the backdoor cuts, and he is just fine with his lateral quickness. The switch everything defense actually works with him. But again, we only see this in games against good teams and in the playoffs. The solution with Harden was to sit him in the post. There's still a way where we can get our defense to the top 10 range before the season is over.
