Harden is #1 at 39.2 mpg; Parsons at #10 at 37 mpg. These players are young, they can play all these minutes; OR McHale and Sampson are running them into the ground, it's a concern come playoff time?
I'd prefer to get that number down by expanding the rotation. I keep saying it but 8 minutes for Dmo at the 4 and/or 5 and 5 minutes for Brewer, especially when Dwight is sitting. They can easily bring Harden and Parsons minutes down 3 or 4 each. Jones is playing great but could use a minutes reduction so he can get through the entire season.
Put a hard limit of 30min. a game for both of them from now to the finals. We need them healthy + theyve been both really inefficient this year so they should sit until they can show some improvement. If Harden goes 2 for 13 in the first half, he can take the rest of the night off. I dont want him being a chucker this early in his career, he needs to be put on a short leash and developed properly.
Unless we get some help, I don't see it changing. I bet the coaches would like to rest them more but when they're out we tend to struggle. Just look to the start of the 4th in Golden State. I really don't like our bench depth. If Lin isn't balling, then we're in trouble. Opposing big men love it when we have a frontcourt of Casspi-DMo or Casspi-Jones.
I bet there's a Morey formula for this. He knows they're young, he has calculated the additional value of that in terms of minutes they can play, and he's exploiting every bit of that. He probably thinks of them the way you think of a car, trading off use (should you drive or fly where you're going?) vs. wear and tear. The question is whether the coaches make all the high PT decisions, or whether Morey plays a role. It's not just McHale -- bringing Howard back on short rest one night, and Harden the next, were Sampson's decisions.
I don't believe Harden is conditioned to play more than 36 min/game for 82+ games. There are coaches who play for playoffs and prolong players career, then there are some only for his resume.
I disagree that Harden isn't capable. Whether he can do it and play amazing defense at the same time is arguable. I just don't see why he is playing so much with the Rockets having so much depth. I think the coaches are a little bit too cautious about winning. Half these games seem like comfortable wins, and I have faith they still would be with Harden on less minutes. Injuries and playing nearly 40 minutes a game are my main concern.
They obviously don't like Brewer one bit and Lin doesn't seem like a coach favoruote either. Both of these are all we have to back up Harden.
Sorry to post again but: One of the biggest flaws in the system is that coaches are only coaching for their jobs right now. They don't really care about long term complications. T-Mac was playing about 40 minutes for Doc Rivers in Orlando. IMO has he played less he could have had a different career. All the coaches care about is winning. They will sacrifice your health and longevity for that. It is an issue for the playoffs, but coaches can only think about today.
sloan and pop played young all stars no more than 30-34 mpg. stockton, parker and dwill complained to them about it and were told it will extend your career into your late 30's. minutes add up. if a player is playing 40mpg, and you lower his minutes by 4 mpg, that means he basically has 1 game off every 10 games, or 8 games per season, or 1 season off in 10 years. if you lower his minutes to 32mpg, that's equal to giving him 1 game off every 5 games, 16 games off each season, and 2 seasons off in 10 years. the wear and tear adds up over the years, so does the rest time add up when it comes to staying healthy. i'd vote to keep those guys around 34mpg until the 10 year mark and after that bring it down to 30. we have a strong enough bench for it. side note, you can raise their minutes to whatever is needed to win in the playoffs. of from game to game if its a must win type situation for playoff seeding.
There's no reason for any Rocket to average more than 35 mpg. Any more than that & they'll have dead legs come playoff time. Just my personnel opinion.
It's reckless to do it, but this is the same franchise that rode Yao into the ground even though they knew he was playing throughout the Summer, so I'm not surprised.
More proof that we need another high quality wing to come off the bench and give these guys a breather.
Interesting question. I think coaches like McHale who have had a full and successful playing career tend to see things more strategically. They've been around the block, and gone all the way to a championship. They know how hard younger guys can be pushed. They know what it takes to build chemistry and to become a winning team. If anything, I've heard more complaints about McHale needing to be more tactical in game situations, not the other way around.
It's been obvious for sometime that we lack a wing player who can score off the bench.Garcia is a role and a situational player so he dosent count.We need that type of player to sub out Harden for home rest.im and give the beard s
This is a good post but none of these players will stay in Houston for a longer period. They will simply be dumped when squeezed up the last juice or if there are potential candidates. Morey had no patient waiting. I have mentioned these since last season. Just looks at Harden's feet or CP's back. Only one year past, these players are troubled with hurt but the coaching system and the manager simply want to "prove they are correct" by letting chosen players playing under fatigue. It is really ridiculous but this is the way we are playing right now. Give those players extra time and shoot to force to get box scores to prove they are correct. If they are cold, set up easy play to make up scores. If they are hot, piling up scores and time. Play off? Just a by product for them. Box fans are the main target they are going for
Harden and Parsons are young and in great shape. Neither has yet entered into the prime of their careers. According to SportsVU (which the OP used for this thread) the most active NBA players only travel 2.6 miles or so a game. A professional marathon runner will travel 15 miles or more a day. What makes sense for a Manu or TD does not make sense for a 25 and under NBA player. If it actually did make a difference I would expect Morey to get involved.
Before Lin got hurt Harden played a few less MPG. Parsons minutes are so high because we have had Lin, Bev, and Harden miss multiple games. When Lin gets back in shape, I expect Harden's minutes to go down to mid 30s range. Parsons as well. Also the team needed them more due to the slow starting of the Twin Towers which is not the case anymore. We haven't really had very many games with Jones starting and Lin/Harden/Bev being healthy.
