What are your serious thought about a possibly starting Smith over Asik in the future. This is no knee-jerk thread as I will argue below. We all know Asik's hands are the opposite of Smith's and he can't catch any passes, which is getting worse. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I would like to try out once and see what it does. You lose some rebounding, but you gain scoring. Both are good FT shooters and I'm not really impressed with the boxing out or 1-on-1 defense by either player. Asik hasn't shut down any big so far and though Smith does a nice job, for instance on Dwight, he fouls too much. Defensively you lose something. Now offensively, we lose quite some possessions per game because A) a player does not pass it to Asik since he would fumble the ball thus making the pick and roll ineffective & B) Asik not being able to catch passes, leading to a TO or bad possession that Smith would catch. It is not guaranteed we get a bucket but at least it's not a lost possession. Smith as a starter wouldn't mean much difference for the rest of the guys and I think it would work out better. We can actually play inside-out a couple of times A) Smith can catch passes & B) he can pass better than Asik. Smith would benefit heavily because of Harden. The second unit would definitely also gain something with Asik as a defensive anchor. The only thing is, how would Smith do against starting centers? He did well against Dwight but I'm sure it had to something with the kind of game he was having than Smith's ox power. Anyone who can provide some insight into how he did against starting centers, please provide. A tentative conclusion: what you lose defensively, you gain offensively given that Smith will do okay against starting centers. Right now, Asik is obviously deserving of the starting position but in case he declines I would like to see it happen in the future. Thoughts?
Asik isn't a good FT shooter considering he is a career 50% FT shooter. I would keep Asik as our starter, but i still like Smith. Would it be reasonable to have both Smith and Asik on the floor at the same time?
Start? No. Asik's D is what feuls our overall defensive prowess. We are definitely keeping people out of the paint. Greg should be played off the bench still to develop and could even be played alongside Asik to shut down the paint in needed scenarios. Mook should start IMO.
Greg Smith has been pretty consistent (didn't have a horrible game today), but even though Asik is a liability on offence, I won't want to destroy his confidence by having Smith start over him. I'd like to GS play more minutes, though.
We should run Asik at the 5 and GS at the 4. We were crushed at the 4 today in multiple ways. Morris needs to rotate at the 3.
No. They would clog up the lane from penetration by Harden or Parsons. Not Lin, he does a Nash dribble turnover
Maybe Smith is the future at the 5, but not anytime soon... Not until at least the last year of Asik's deal, and maybe not then.
I'm excited this discussion is even a possibility. I never thought Greg Smith would perform at the level he's been performing. It's nice to know that we could possibly include Asik in a trade if need be and still have a decent starting center (or backup - depending on who the trade is for).
I am still unsure about Smith's effectiveness as a screener. It is one overlooked skill that Asik brings that many other bigs cannot: Asik is an excellent screener. Since a high screen is the starting point for the vast majority of plays Houston runs, the screening can't just be good. It must be impeccable. In that sense, the Rockets are very similar to a team like OKC. Many casual fans wonder why the Thunder keep goofy old unathletic Kendrick Perkins around. Well that's why. He is an excellent screener as well.
Smith would be a great starting 4 (in a couple years) an hes been doing such a great job as a back up 5 making impact right away but I dont think hes a starting 5.
Last year Asik and his brother Noah were Bull's worst offensive players. But this year Noah has acquired steady jumper and now is an offensive threat. There is no reason why Asik could not acquire offensive weapons. As for greg Smith himself, he still has alot to prove , yes he scored 20+ points against Lakers and Celtics, But it was mainly because he was not on their radar and was able to sneak in for easy lay ins. Againts wizard he was only able to score 4 points in 16 minutes. I first would like to see how good he actually is now that other teams know that he is dangerous. And be reasonable you can't compare him offensively with Asik, it would be like a fool's gold. If you want to replace Asik, trade him for Dwight Howard, Anderson Varejao or any proven bigs. The best way is to acquire a big who can score midjumper, that's why i say Pau Gasol is very tempting. we can follow OKC's formula . Their center kendrick Perkins is told not to stand close to offensive rim and doesn't have to contribute offensively because they already have Ibaka
Greg Smith's frame has filled out quite bit... I'd like to see him battle for position under the board for rebounds consistently. It's a credit to him for breaking in the rotation. Asik's free throw form looks true. I wouldn't mind seeing him pick and pop for elbow 13-15 ft jumpers once in a while. Because he has quick feet, I wouldn't overlook his offensive potential in the post. He's still learning and rushing everything right now.
Smith is a good off the ball player. He is very good at making flex uts towards the basket and thats why Harden and lin find him slashing towards the bucket. He still has to learn to play better with the ball before you start him.