Center: 32 minutes for Dwight 16 minutes for Motiejunas Power Forward: 20 minutes for Jones 20 minutes for Smith 8 minutes for D-Mo I guess it will be something like that..
If the Rockets emphasize ball and player movement, those two could be great together. They can both take the defender off the dribble and Jones in particular is a pretty good finisher. The key is for them not to settle for the outside shot.
The best thing about this is that Dorsey will not see the floor. At least that is the hope, the guy is terrible, he is clueless and his defense is awful.
The way Mchale spoke about it made it seem like Jones might be the starter when he gets fully acclimated again, or at least play starter level minutes. We'll see hopefully we can keep Dwight's minutes down when he returns and we have a healthy 4 big rotation. DH 31mpg /DMo 28mpg /Jones 27mpg / Smith 20mpg. With Jones/Smith fluctuating depending on how much better Jones is this year.
I am counting on Jones to play 30 minutes for us going forward. And Josh Smith cannot play the 5, except maybe against Golden State without Bogut.
TJ often looked lost, or disinterested in games from time to time. That was the big knock on him coming out of college...he often disappeared during games. Hopefully sitting out has helped him know what he really wants and made him mature a little.
If McHale puts Tjones straight into the starting line up in his first game, I'm pretty sure Dmo will take a hit confidence wise. He's been one of our more consistent performers since Tjones went out. With Dwight still dealing with his injury, I agree with some of the above posters. Dmo should start, maybe along side Dorsey (self induced gag). And have Tjones/Smith swap in at the 4 and slide Dmo to the 5. Outside of dunking... there's not much Dorsey does well tbh.
Why would this be the end of Josh Smith?? This is the end of Papa and Dorsey. Motiejunas will spend the majority of his time backing up Dwight, while Jones and Smith man the 4 spot. If Dwight isn't playing tonight, Dorsey can start at the 5, but then you limit his minutes by cycling in D-Mo, Jones, and Smith to man the PF and C.
No, a role player coming form the six month injure will not play as a starter in NBA in his first game, I think McHale is smart enough to knows that.
Jones will most likely get between 0-8 minutes if he plays tonight. We should be more interested in how many minutes Canaan gets tonight.
I think the bench needs more scoring and T-Jones' high energy style is perfect. He creates a little bit with his drives and he likes to go after offensive rebounds. He's not a good defender so I'd rather see him going against other benches. He makes it a little easier to tolerate not having a good playmaker when Harden sits. D-Mo, Jones, Smith, K-Pap and Canaan are a good bandaid for missing that secondary playmaker. I'm glad he's coming back. I hope we rest Howard long enough to get over his physical and mental issues.
If only it was legal to play more than 8 players in non garbage time. However from years of watching McHale coach, I know that's not the case.
i only want him in there if there's garbage time or foul trouble. 6th best record in the league, absolutey no need to rush him back. gonna hamper the team chemistry again by playing someone who hasnt be on the court since the 4th game of the season. and puttin ghtat much stress on his body wont help. do what the warriors are doing with lee
You are correct about Jones not being a good defender, but, I was thinking that he might be a lot better this season than he was last year in the new style of defense the Rockets play -- in other words, I think he may be much better suited to playing defense in their current style. With his athleticism and explosiveness, he seem well suited for the passing lane attacking style the Rockets are playing. Considering how often even slower bigs on the team are able to get deflections and cause turnovers in the current system, a quick twitch player like Jones could really help the havoc causing Rockets defensive style. Not saying it is for sure going to happen -- just something I've been mulling in anticipation of Jones's return.
It'll be great to see Jones back on the court again. But watch out for soft tissue injuries. Groin, hamstring, etc... Hopefully he doesn't come out and push himself too hard too soon.
I don't think he looks disinterested at all; that critique only applied during his time at Kentucky where he would sometimes have games where he did absolutely nothing. He's been active as a rocket, crashing the boards and scoring mostly off cuts and on offensive boards. That doesn't happen if you just stand around. The big knock on his game in the NBA is his horrible defense and shaky jumper.
I just hope he comes back and shines after he gets his rhythm and conditioning back so that he or Dmo can be moved for a PG. It would be really nice to have the luxury of knowing that whichever guy you lose you still have a NBA starting-quality guy left on the roster. Tough call to see who should go if Jones comes back and plays as well as he did last season. I still believe he has a higher ceiling than DMo but this team lacks size when Dmo and Dwight are not on the court.
this rotation when he is healthy is more what i would prefer... But i imagine he gets about 8-10minutes if he plays tonight or his first game back