How does what you just said change the fact that PER doesn't properly account for how big of a difference a player makes on defense? Smith is a much better defensive player than Jefferson and and that is one of the reasons he could/would be a better fit. Smith is not meant to be the number one scoring option on a team and that is what he currently is for the Hawks. In our offense he can focus more on playing defense and will get much easier baskets. All I said is that Smith has consistently been one of the best shot blockers since he came in the league and that is something the Rockets don't have a lot of. Adding a great shot blocker like Smith will improve our defense. Smith is also a good man and team defender too so it's not like he just blocks shots.
I do recognize that they would work well together on defense for the most part. But Smith is a small PF. What happens when we play teams that have big frontcourts like the Spurs (Duncan/Splitter), Memphis (Randolph/Gasol), Lakers (Gasol/Howard), Dallas (Dirk/Kaman) or even future Detroit (Monroe/Drummond)? Do you really think Josh Smith can guard PF's who are around 7 ft tall and much stronger than him? You can't teach size, and Al Jefferson has size. And like I said before, offensively, Josh Smith doesn't bring a new dimension to our team, and that means we won't be championship contenders. If we're paying over $10mm for a pf, he needs to have a post game. It doesn't have to be Al Jefferson, but it clearly can't be Josh Smith.
You were saying to ignore PER b/c it doesn't account for defense. I simply pointed out that if we were to acquire Smith, it would be for both offensive and defensive purposes. Therefore, you can't ignore PER. If we're paying over 10mm for a player, he needs to be capable of being the #1 scoring option. We don't have a lot of shot blocking, but as I've already demonstrated, you don't need good shot blocking to be a good defensive team.
He takes the dimension that we already have, and puts it on steroids. We'd be unlike any fast team the league has ever seen.
Zach's so engrained in trail blazers' history that it's hard to forget that he bounced around the league before he ended up in Memphis
I did not say you should ignore PER. I said PER doesn't tell the whole story. You keep throwing around the word ignore. Why do we need two #1 scoring options? This team has more than enough capable scorers and a top 5 scoring option. I never said you needed it but it helps.
It especially helps, no, it's crucial to have a power forward who can block shots when you take into account Asik's skill set, and the speed at which we play. I swear, debating with you is like Deja Vue. But I won't give up on you, you are one of us Rockets fans, after all.
You dismissed it b/c you said it didnt properly reflect the value of Asik. B/c a single #1 scoring option isn't enough. What happens if Harden is having an off night? Or if the defense shades towards his side of the court? Or if he has an elite perimeter defender guarding him? You need to have a secondary scoring option, someone capable of getting your team a good look at the basket when the #1 option is on the bench or having an off night. Lots of teams have multiple #1 scoring options. Miami has Lebron/Wade/Bosh. SA has Duncan/Parker/Ginobili. Lakers had Nash/Kobe/Gasol. OKC has Durant/Westbrook. Bulls have Deng/Boozer/Rose. Boston has KG/Pierce. Etc...
I didn't base my argument off of it b/c it isn't the end all of a player's value. Stop making up things that I clearly never said. The Rockets do have secondary scoring options. Parsons, Lin, and Smith would all be good scoring options on any given night. The Rockets do not lack offensive fire power. We also have DMo who could become a very good scoring option in the near future. I see no reason in bringing in Al Jefferson when his best skill is scoring and we already do that well. Plus we already have a young guy that appears to have a pretty good low post game. I honestly don't want Jefferson or Smith but at least Smith brings something to the table that this team needs and doesn't appear to have.
If you want to go that route and be conventional, then you had better bring a better piece than Al Jefferson to the table. Josh Smith impacts the game in ways that don't require him to score to be felt. And this is what Houston needs. We need more Rocket fuel, we aren't going to scrap what we have unless the player we receive is worthy of it.
This is the last time I'm going to say this cordially. The uptempo style that we play will not lead us to a championship. So we will need to modify it to accommodate playoff-style basketball. Therefore, any transactions that seek to preserve our current style of play are ultimately futile. Going forward, each time I have to revisit this point, I'm going to ridicule you. You've earned it. That's b/c you keep bringing up the same points regardless of how many times I've refuted them, and you keep ignoring the valid arguments I make. For instance, remember when I said that Josh Smith would take the lion's share of the minutes and leave Dmo/Trob around 15mpg total? You said that Dmo and Trob could develop during the remaining games this year. So you honestly expect 2 rookies who are getting real minutes for the first time in their careers to develop that quickly? Do you not realize what a stupid sentiment that is?
[QUOTE=wekko368;7684626]This is the last time I'm going to say this cordially. The uptempo style that we play will not lead us to a championship. So we will need to modify it to accommodate playoff-style basketball Therefore, any transactions that seek to preserve our current style of play are ultimately futile. Why do you not believe that it will not work, cause the suns couldn't do it? That's a small sample size Going forward, each time I have to revisit this point, I'm going to ridicule you. You've earned it. And though your concern for me is truly heart warming, don't worry about me . You've already ridiculed yourself with your asinine 'arguments' I applaud the effort, though That's b/c you keep bringing up the same points regardless of how many times I've refuted them, and you keep ignoring the valid arguments I make. For instance, remember when I said that Josh Smith would take the lion's share of the minutes and leave Dmo/Trob around 15mpg total? You said that Dmo and Trob could develop during the remaining games this year. So you honestly expect 2 rookies who are getting real minutes for the first time in their careers to develop that quickly? Do you not realize what a stupid sentiment that is?[/QUOTE] No, what's stupid is bringing in a 1 dimensional player who doesn't fit our personnels strengths. Your answer is Al Jefferson, now that's "stupid"
No stat provides the end all of a player's value, but PER is a pretty good indicator on offense (which you acknowledged earlier). And since I was only talking about offense, it was an appropriate statistic to use. But since PER puts Smith in an unfavorable light, rather than acknowledging this, you dismissed it by pointing out its defensive shortcomings (which PER doesn't even measure) in a strawman argument: In other words, you purposely used PER incorrectly, and after it gave you an incorrect conclusion, you dismissed it. Didn't you want to be a lawyer or something? Use some critical thinking.
Bull As with everything you assume you have no idea if this uptempo style or any style could not win a championship. Assumptions are not facts.
Why would we ignore defense and only talk about offense when comparing Jefferson and Smith. Defense is one of the biggest advantages Smith has over Jefferson. There is nothing strawman about talking about defense when comparing these two. This argument was about who was the better player and fit for the Rockets and was never only about offense. You are just reaching now.
