As of now, who deserves backup Guard minutes?

Terry is not strictly a SG!!

 

Troy Daniels.

Terry has yet to show if he has anything left.

After that i guess the other 3 will rotate throughout the season on how they play.

 

Ish, he can't shoot or defend but he can impact the game with his decision making and won't screw it up for the starters.

 

TROY DANIELS

We have a decent sample pool now from him, 10 games.
He's 6-12 3pt shooting for the preaseason
He was 8-15 in the playoffs
And last April when we brought him up, he was 11-22

So he's been 25-49 3pt shooting, or 51% the last 10 games!!!

We would be ecstatic if he was 40% 3pt%. Now he's making us say "Troy Daniels is a 50% 3 pt shooter." That is bonkers. Step aside Kyle Korver, Jose Calderon, Belinelli & Curry!

 

Ish Smith and Troy Daniels have shown the most so far this preseason, so I picked them.

I hope Terry can come in and play a solid 10-15 mpg, but I don't know if that's realistic.

And I'm still not sold on Canaan. He still has 3rd string written all over him.

 

I don't know. Based on the games I don't know and I haven't seen what they do in practice.

 

no more ish smith please
he is awful to watch

 

Ish is a better defender than Canaan. Also a better and more reliable playmaker and ballhandler.

Canaan finished the game playing against Tyler Ennis, a rookie with defense as major weakness who is destined to be the 4th PG of his team.
Canaan has struggled in the camp so far competing against the other Rockets guards; McHale just said that yesterday at press conference. And makes sense, that's why he's been the last Rockets guard to see the court at every game.

So let's have in mind the context where players perform.

 

I want Johnson to develop a bit this preseason, so I voted him and of course Troy. Johnson is fated to spend this season in the D-league, but I could see him getting called up a few times like the Rockets tend to do. Only thing he lacks at this point is experience.

I just like to see Daniels play because we've only seen a little of him playing on the Rockets (as opposed to RGV), and he seems to be the real deal.

 

I go with Nick Johnson and Troy Daniels. Jason Terry can provide a veteran presence in the locker and situational duties on the court but we need these young guys playing.

 

Beverley, Harden, Terry and Daniels will be in the rotation. Nic Johnson is D-League bound.

One of Canaan or Ish will get cut/traded. The one that stays won't get minutes unless they can be consistent. If one does become a reliable playmaker, we will play more small ball.

 

If we want to make the play-offs and go far, you have to rely on proven players. Troy has proven he is up for the challenge and Terry is a veteran so I only voted for them. The other 3 have not shown enough, far from it. I don't know why people want these young guys to play a lot more minutes, did you see who played during the 94-95 playoff run?
Sure it's nice to see young guys grow but don't get too fond of them, if it's up to Morey, we will be trading guys left and right and getting proven players.

 

Troy Daniels for sure. Canaan by default, I guess.

Nick Johnson: RGV. Jason Terry: trade filler. Ish Smith: cut.

 

Patrick Beverley, once we land Rondo.

 

Troy, Terry and Canaan.

 

1. Troy Daniels: Best shooter on the team and very quick which should help him at least stay in front of others on D. Guarenteed to make the team but for some reason isn't high on the preseason rotation. Hoping he gets Hardens backup minutes.

2. Ish Smith: Like everyone has said, the scouting report on him is clear. Fast, playmaker/ball-handler who will push the tempo and keep opponents on their heels. Works best with a running team and we tend to be more half-court oriented (especially with the departure of Parsons who was one of our best open court players; and with Howard deferring less to Harden and becoming option 1b instead of 2). Average defender who can't shoot but his strengths make him the best option as backup 1 by default.

3. Jason Terry: We don't know if he's going to be a T-Mac on the Spurs kind of guy who basically doesn't play or a Vince Carter/Mavs kind of guy who gets significant time, but I'm guessing the former. He may be able to get some spot time as a point to spread the floor with his shooting, but I'm guessing he was brought in more as injury insurance and vet leadership.

4. Nick Johnson: Has a lot of tools, lights it up in NBADL and Summer League but I've yet to see him make any kind of impact in preseason. Seems to have tools but needs more time to correct a lot of mental errors. I'm guessing he's D-League bound as he needs a year to get it together.

5. Cannan: He played okay last night but he's at best a third stringer. He doesn't do anything particularly well and he's just kind of there. He's not one of those guys who impacts the game like Bev/Ariza did with their defense, or Ish with his pushing the tempo, or Troy with his shooting. You just are watching the game and he's there. Last night was more of an exception than a rule and I think he gets cut.

 

I am not sure how to answer this. I want Daniels in the game as much as possible. But does it make him our PG if he is in the game and Harden is playing PG?

 

Daniels has to get regular minutes. He's a robot beyond the arc and looks to shows enough effort on D to not be a complete liability.

 

Not sure it really matters whom you'd declare as the de facto PG. A Harden-Daniels back-court combo would be fine offensively. Defensively, not so much, so you'd probably be wise to use that back-court combination only selectively.
You could also play Harden at the 3, with Daniels at the 2 and Beverley at the 1, of course. Harden-Daniels, with Nick Johnson or even Ariza, guarding the opposing PG might work well in spots, too.