In the Morey era we have had only one Dynamic Duo, until now. The first one failed for two reasons: 1. Health issues and injuries to TMac and Yao. 2. The lack of a really good supporting cast. The closest to a "real contender" the TMac/Yao era came was in 2005 when they took the Mavs to seven before losing by 40. Bob Sura was the leader of the supporting cast. I loved that team. During the rest of the Dynamic Duo I era either Yao or TMac was injured, or our supporting cast was under budgeted, under talented, or both. And that brings us to Dynamic Duo II, Harden and Howard and the same two issues loom significant: 1. Can Howard and Harden stay healthy? 2. Can Morey and Rockets put together a STABLE, healthy, and reasonably priced supporting cast? Or do a better job than they did before. Clearly, the answers to those two questions will determine how successful Dynamic Duo II will become. O.K., yes, I may be Capt. Obvious, but it is easier imagined than accomplished. The next months will be critical as Morey either builds an efficient, talented, and complementary supporting cast or rotates in and out an endless supply of low budget scrubs. I hope they have learned their lesson on this one. Adding Garcia back is a good first step. Bringing in a top quality PF would be another. What do you think?
I believe the talent in the original dynamic duo was better than this current version. It is debatable though and being that Harden and Howard don't have much health concerns (as long as Dwight's back holds up) I'd take the current duo. My question is, is Chandler Parsons better than any 3rd fiddle Tracy and Yao had? Scola I believe was the best complimetary player to play with them but one of those glass soldiers was injured every year come playoff time once we got Luis, save for maybe his first year when we played Utah. Also, does Chandler have the potential to turn this dynamic duo into a big 3?
i think we are more of a team with 5 quality players than a Dynamic Duo Think of Hakeem with Otis Thorpe, Cassell, Kenny Smith and Horry We now have a post player that everyone will double team in Howard (like Dream) and just need our guys to play around him Imagine if Harden can get his 19 pts, 5 rebs and 5 assists like Clyde Parsons can be a Horry like well rounded player Lin can be a Kenny/Cassell like guard then we will be a scary team folks
James Harden is going to average well over 19 points even if he's not pulling the load as much for the Rockets
Howard can stay healthy by limiting minutes. Asik can help with that. Harden had to prove he's a superstar so he could attract Dwight. Now that Dwight's here, he doesn't have to have sticky hands and should off load some of those duties to Lin.
The one difference between I and II is that the Rockets already have a stronger supporting cast than they did before. There are young players on the bench such as Donuts, Jones, Anderson, Cannan, etc. that are likely better than some of the supporting cast for TMac/Yao. If Lin and Asik stay, which is unlikely (at least one goes, probably Asik) in gets even better. There is every reason at this point to believe that Dynamic Duo II is going to be formidable.
New age NBA calls for Tremendous Trios in this day and age unless you boast the greatest supporting cast in the L.
T-Mac and Yao had a crap cast with CD as our GM. Once Morey got his hands on the roster he really made it nice. Unfortunately we just weren't able to stay healthy once our supporting cast was good enough to contend.
Smith is the dude on TNT and Cassell is an assistant coach on the wizards, right? Yeah I don't think he knows them, I wouldn't say comparing Lin to those two is belittling them at all...
Everyone is guessing how the current Dynamic Duo will work together, and if this is our supporting cast... the guys we've still got, and the guys we've signed or resigned. If we keep Jeremy as the starting point, then I'd consider us deep at the 1, with a promising rookie behind Lin and Beverley, along with Harden, who could play the position in a pinch. At the 2, we've got Harden, of course, arguably a top 3 shooting guard, quite possibly the best, and I guess we're looking at Garcia to back him up, although I see Garcia as more of a 3. Anderson? I don't know. Needs a lot of work. Needs to be consistent, which he isn't, and he didn't impress today in summer league play. Who else am I forgetting? We're deep at the 3 with Parsons, Garcia, and Casspi. At the 4, who the hell knows? Jones, Donuts, Smith, Howard/Asik? At the 5, we're the deepest in the NBA, with Howard, Asik, and that guy Smith. Over all, my opinion is that this group trumps the previous one, health permitting. So the roster still needs some work. Power forward is a question. We don't have a Luis Scola to plug in for 30+ minutes a night. Someone solid and reliable. We still need a backup for Harden. Otherwise, we're damn good!
What about the defensive duo we will have next year with jones and Howard holding down the paint. AND IF we keep asik we can have a dynamic trio on defense, something we desperately need.
hakeem/clyde ---> yao/mac ---> dwight/harden nice trend. yao and tmac failed due to injuries. having the best center with the best shooting guard is a dangerous combo for the rest of the league to deal with. we have to hope dwight and harden stay healthy. i trust DM to find and acquire the best pieces available to support them.
Exactly what happened. When they were healthy, horrible supporting cast. When they weren't, better supporting cast, too late.
The bottom-line, but there is a possibility that we will get even better. I have visions of Aldridge. That would be nasty. We could outscore anybody.
