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Comparing the backups & depth for the Contenders in the West

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Chuck_Ferrari, Jul 17, 2015.

  1. Chuck_Ferrari

    Chuck_Ferrari Member

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    Below, I made a rough layout of the backups (as of today) for all the "potential" contenders in the west. I wanted to see how we compare and match up depth-wise.

    We all saw the importance of a Corey Brewer for a multitude of reasons: energy, tempo, hustle, giving Ariza and Harden a breather, etc. We also saw that a strong bench "identity/presence" can change the trajectory of a game a la "headbands".

    There's still tinkering left to be done and a lot of reported "maybes", which are noted below.


    --------


    Rockets

    PG: "Terry" / Prigioni
    SG: Thornton / Johnson
    SF: Brewer
    PF: TJones
    C: "Hayes" / Capela / Dorsey

    Spurs

    PG: Mills
    SG: Manu
    SF: K. Anderson
    PF: DWest
    C: Diaw

    Warriors

    PG: Livingston
    SG: Barbosa
    SF: Iggy
    PF: Speights
    C: Ezeli

    Thunder

    PG: Augustin
    SG: Waiters / Morrow
    SF: Singler
    PF: Collison
    C: Adams

    Clippers

    PG: Rivers
    SG: Crawford / Stevenson
    SF: Wes Johnson
    PF: Jsmoove
    C: Big baby / Udoh

    Grizzlies

    PG: Udrih
    SG: VC
    SF: Green
    PF: ?
    C: Brandan Wright

    Mavs

    PG: Barea / Felton
    SG: Harris
    SF: Jefferson
    PF: Villanueva
    C: Greg Smith?
     
  2. Mattician

    Mattician Member

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    The Rockets don't have the worst bench. Still would like additions to the PG and PF positions, though.
     
  3. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    Stephen Adams is probably the best c the Thunder have, if they are smart they'll ignore Kanter's max salary and give him more minutes.
     
  4. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    The real equation is how effective can your starters be(they are the best on the roster) while they are matched up against the opponents, and how long can they maintain that. If your starters can all play 40+ minutes a game and still be effective, then who cares how good your bench is? The point is, just looking at a bench ignores the piece they are suppose to supplement. You can't separate them from the whole and expect to make conclusions about team success because the bench is a part of how much the team spends on their starters vs how much to build a bench. You could have the best bench but if you spent all your money on your bench and had a poor starting lineup, who cares?
     
  5. Mattician

    Mattician Member

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    The starters would be worn out by the time playoffs started.
     
  6. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    Obviously - that's why I said, "if they can...".
     
  7. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    We are second tier. Tbh, the Grizzlies have more depth than us.
     
  8. Chuck_Ferrari

    Chuck_Ferrari Member

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    Every thing looks like a nail to a hammer.
     
  9. bulkatron

    bulkatron Member

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    You must not have paid attention to the decade of data correlating high minutes with injury risk or the fatigue of starters who play high minutes in the regular season and playoffs (even Lebron).
     
  10. clutch citizen

    clutch citizen Contributing Member

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    I don't know about that. The core of Brew, Thornton and Jones (possibly DMo) coming off the bench is very dynamic. Thornton can create his own shot. Brew is great on the break. Jones has a slightly below decent all-around game.

    Capela's development has me excited. He's going to anchor that defense.

    Imagine if we got a starting PG, Bev would slide to the bench to provide some stability. Some. We need PG depth regardless. I'll take a formidable backup to Bev as well.

    Despite what the chicken littles are saying, the Rockets are only one solid move away from getting to the next level. and this is all assuming Dekker and Montrezl provide 0 contribution this year.
     
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  11. tonyt8605

    tonyt8605 Member

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    Thanks for starting this thread so people can see how not bad this Rockets team is.

    GSW by far has the best bench. After that, Spurs, Thunder and Rockets can go either way.

    Don't get so carried away with Thunder either. About half of those guys on their bench are gonna be pissed and wittle away at chemistry because they wish they were starting. Rockets have great chemistry and will assimilate any new player into the fold like they did with Smoove.

    Can we as fans for once trust that players like Nick, Capela and Jones actually work during the offseason and can develop?

    We only need a ball handling point guard and that's it.
     
  12. ksny15

    ksny15 Member

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    As currently constructed we are at best the 5th deepest team in the West. GSW, LAC, Memphis, and San Antonio are all deeper. You could argue OKC as well
     
  13. Nimo

    Nimo Member

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    I think a better equation is if the bench players can be starters on a good team and not be a total embarrassment. Right now, the only Rocket player that fits that criteria is Terrence Jones. The Clippers have Stephenson, Crawford, and Smith.
     
  14. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    Jones was doing well before his many games missed due to freak injury. I agree that GSW seem the deepest.

    What do you all think about the possibility of that clippers bench?
     
  15. tonyt8605

    tonyt8605 Member

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    I'll be honest, I'm pretty scared of the Clippers bench. Some people are thinking that egos will get in the way but Doc will shut that down immediately. I think Smoove's time here in Houston got him in a right frame of mind for LA.

    Chemistry is the ONLY thing that can derail Clips and I'm hoping it does for our sake.
     
  16. Chuck_Ferrari

    Chuck_Ferrari Member

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    Out of Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Lance Stephenson, and Josh Smith...I see 4 guys who generally excel with the ball in their hands for a good chunk of time to get "warmed up".

    I'd imagine they'd try to trade Jamal with the acquisition with Lance and Wes..but not sure who wants him.

    That being said, they have Doc, Chris Paul, and now Paul Pierce to keep them in check.
     
  17. Chuck_Ferrari

    Chuck_Ferrari Member

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    I think fit and chemistry plays a more important role. Take the Warriors' bench for example.

    Barbosa, Livingston, Iggy, Speights, Ezeli.

    Out of those, only Iggy is quote unquote starter material..."you could make an argument for Ezeli"...BUT they know how to play with each other..really well and even more important, CONSISTENTLY.
     
  18. D-rock

    D-rock Member

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    Not only does the bench play well together, but more importantly they plug and play individually well with any of the GSW starters. Their bench and their starters were seamless because they knew how to mix and match without losing offense or defense. It did not matter if they played big or small.

    Rockets had that kind of chemistry in spurts. But the chemistry killers were more due to all the injuries than personality/talent conflicts. Another year together should only improve this chemistry. That is the primary reason why I was so disappointed that Josh Smith was not retained. Rockets need to stabilize core of their roster so James can build on the team progress. Keep improving the periphery but stabilize the core.
     
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  19. Chuck_Ferrari

    Chuck_Ferrari Member

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    Someone on this board finally points this out.

    It is visually noticeable. We lack that seamless fluidity that is apparent with the Spurs, the Grizzlies, and now the Warriors. OKC has this problem and now we'll see if Billy Donovan can correct it with their current roster as is.

    It is always brought up that this issue is due to a lack of X&Os IQ with McHale, but it is more likely due to personnel and continuity. The roster was and is currently being tweaked to be that finals-ready roster, year after year. McHale has done an incredible job with all these different pieces he's had to work with over the years (add to that injuries, boosting trade value, player development, ego management, etc).

    We have a very boom and bust strategy that is heavily reliant on 1) if our shots are dropping and 2) if calls go our way. Sometimes shots go in or don't but that is on the player and the player alone, and they are in relative control of that, BUT to put a heavy reliance on the refs to make or not make a call...that's a little too much lack of control for my tastes.

    The key difference, the Spurs even sans Lamarcus Aldridge, is a threat when shots aren't going down for stretches and calls don't go their way. The Rockets are not, yet.
     
  20. do work son

    do work son Member

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    you can plug and play when you have an advanced offensive system. everyone knows their role. that's why we struggle because a lot of times our plays only involve 2, maybe 3 guys and the other 2 are just filling spots. golden state never really has a guy just standing around. always screening and moving.

    with that said, a bench of terry brewer mcdaniels thornton jones and capela is a pretty good bench
     

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