Rondo may not be the perfect fit, but he's probably the best fit.

Rondo and Bass make a lot of sense.

Bass wouldn't be bad for our spacing either. He has a pretty nice mid-range jumper.

 

Great post. Great points.

And here's what happens when he is not at point:

Bev brings the ball up, Harden pops out and sets a screen for Bev, then Bev swings the ball back to Harden in post up position, the defense fades back a step and here we are with Harden at the top essentially playing point guard only with the advantage of being in the triple threat but with the disadvantage of having about 15 seconds or less of the shot clock to work with.

There is a chemistry problem with Harden here and the offense being so imbalanced. Everybody and their grandma knows we are going left. We do not run any plays on the right. We got Bev standing out there on the right. He can't run even a simple pick-and-roll over there. And on top of that we got a pf over there that can't shoot, that constantly drifts into the paint and congests the paint even worse. The defenses can simply let things flow left and then hem us in. They've got plenty of time to recover cross court and they're bigger than us on the interior.

Now that changes somewhat when we go small. But even our small ball lineups flow left. There are zero plays ran to the right. The only time the offense flows right is if the defense gets stupid and overplays and James can cut back right. (For all the incessant complaining about Lin not bring able to go left last year Harden is just as bad about being able to go right.)

What they're doing to try to compensate for the left imbalance is to put the pf in the left corner and run Ariza to the right side. But that simply means Harden has to split multiple defenders because defenders are going to cheat off the pf in the corner to swipe at Harden.

This is not going to change until we get a pf that can shoot the ball and until we get a true playmaking point guard that Harden and Howard will embrace to help balance the offense out so we can attack opponent defenses at their weakest points instead of using Harden like a battering ram to attack where his strength is but where the defense had stacked up to stop him. And that's the dilemma at the PG spot. It's gotta be a guy that James and Dwight will respect who has the ability to make a play himself and even more importantly has the ability to see how the defense is playing and get this team in the proper play to attack the defense, whether that be spreading it out for a Dwight post up or running pick and roll with Dwight on the right side or going to James/Dwight pick and roll on the left, or James posting on the high left block or said PG getting Dwight on the low block and PG taking his man one-on-one. It's too easy for playoff teams to defend us in the half court.

 

We need another creator

 

Not to oversimplify, but when Canaan played, the Rockets won. He can be a playmaker, but you can't make plays on the bench.

As for Rondo, I just don't see how he would fit in the offense. He isn't a good shooter, and much of the offense is predicated on drive and dish or pick and roll, both need outside shooting to be successful. If the Rockets want Rondo, they will need to look to shop Harden and I am not sure that is the best idea.

Depth is an issue, especially in the post. That should be the focus of acquisitions, IMO; A rebounder in the post. That way even when Jones gets back, you have someone to get boards while Jones looks for offense.

Again, just my opinion, and I will readily admit to being a Canaan homer.

 

God is the only creator.

But in all seriousness, I agree. Probably should have kept Lin honestly. As much I can't stand him, he could at least create for people with his driving ability.

 

I've continually said that Canaan should be running the show when Harden sits and he should get a spate of minutes alongside Bev when we go small. There is no question in my mind that Canaan is the best playmaker not named Harden on this roster. For him to not even get a single minute last night speaks volumes. It means either:

1. McHale is totally stupid regarding his rotations.

or

2. We are conserving Canaan's floor time because he is going to be traded.

 

The idea of a trade involving Canaan makes me wonder two things...

If you need a creator on the cheap, why get rid of Canaan (assuming you think he can create as I do)?

If PG depth is an issue, then why get rid of Canaan?

 

I don't think it's about getting rid of Canaan as much as it is about getting a 2-way star/superstar point guard.

I'm unsure of Canaan's defensive impact. I'm not seeing it really. Doesn't look like he's a huge negative defender but he's not an impact defender. When you look at the top teams, Spurs, Bulls, Cavs, Clips, Thunder, etc. they all have top-notch playmakers and most of their attack stems from the top with the point guard. I don't see Canaan being able to thwart or water down the efficiency of the opposing point guards defensively. He may be able to somewhat offset them statistically with his own offense.....but.....when it comes down to winning championships....defensively it starts with being able to cut off the head of the snake. You gotta bring it at the top because that is where most of the top notch teams' strength is at.

Case in point: Remember Lebron defending Rose a couple of years ago down the stretch in their playoff series??? That was the series and season over for the Bulls.


Secondly, look at the teams we have to run through to win the Finals:

1. Portland - Lillard toasted us last year. Have to remember Bev was playing with a torn meniscus and a 103 degree temperature for a lot of that series. Bev had previously given Lillard fits during the regular season. And we had no one to take on Lillard when Bev was out. Lin-----no match defensively for Lillard. He was chump meat for Lillard.


2. LAC - CP3, enough said. You gotta slow him down. Won't be able to stop him but you gotta to be able to crowd him and make it difficult for him and water down his efficiency. Otherwise you lose.

3. OKC - Westbrook.....gotta get under his skin and make him play erratically. Otherwise he simply destroys the opponent's D and him and Durant breeze by.

4. Spurs - Miami had NO ANSWER for him. None. Championship Spurs.

5. Bulls - Rose - if CHI makes it to the Finals it will be because Rose is playing like an MVP. Gotta be able to slow him down since the Bulls are going to grind on you defensively and he's their main offensive cog when he's in there.

6. CLE - Lebron, Kyrie, Love - this is a team that is fatally flawed because they have 2 superstars around Lebron which are subpar defenders on their best day and are never going to be even average defenders. You take away Kyrie's efficiency with your own 3-headed monster and you got a good chance to win this series.


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In my opinion, to win big in today's NBA you gotta have a defensive menace at the 1. We got that guy in Bev. But he can't stay healthy. And he can't do anything but spot up offensively. Bev trying to run an offense or any kind of play is not good. He's just very limited offensively.

And here's the kicker....with Parsons and Lin gone....we have no other playmakers in the starting lineup since we aren't going to start and play Canaan. As Morey stated earlier today you gotta have 2 playmakers. The Heat teams had 2 playmakers in Lebron and Dwayne so they could get away with a spot up shooter at the 1. The MJ Bulls teams had 2 playmakers in MJ and Scottie. They could get by with a spot up shooter at the 1.

This team's next best playmaker after Harden and Canaan is Kostas. I like Kostas but he's not ready to be that guy. He may grow into that type of role in a couple years but not now. He's not a guy that can carry the offense when Harden sits down.



It all points to a point guard that can be a superior defender (guys like Rondo, Dragic, Rubio, Bev, etc.) and can also run an offense (guys like Rondo, Dragic, Rubio.....but not Bev). That points to a trade of Canaan since he's on the upswing and showing elite offensive promise...as part of a trade for a point guard that can give us stellar D at the 1 spot and can make plays efficiently and run an offense alongside Harden and when Harden sits down.

 

Honestly, Rondo+Bass would likely save our season. Rondo would be a perfect fit in that apparently no one in the league likes him either - or at least they won't like him anymore if he becomes a Rocket.

...in all seriousness - has anyone noticed Rondo is a 33% FT shooter?!?!?! With him and Howard out there, people will just foul the colder hand.

 

Celtics can have anyone outside of Harden/Howard/Ariza/Jones for Rondo and Bass.

Hell, I might even be talked into giving up Jones too, but Bass is a bench guy not a starter.

 

In all honesty - Jones is a bench guy too. The problem is Jones' value is in the toilet right now because no one wants to trade for a guy with nerve damage.

 

Ideally, yeah. But he might as well be an all star on our team, our bigs outside of him and Dwight are pure trash. He is vital to this team.

 

Would love to have Rondo if only to find out whether he and Harden can co-exist together.

 

I bet if Daryl Morey traded for Rondo and Bass tomorrow, this one star thread would instantly turn into a 5 star thread. Pathetic Morey bandwagoners.