5. Great so far. Small sampling though. 4. Hasn't proved anything yet. 3. Got hot and then got cold. Wait and see. 2. Seems a keeper. 1. Has had 1 or 2 good games. A couple decent ones. And the rest horrible. Definitely not our #1 bench threat yet.
Oh. Haha. I wasn't referring to their "degree of threat." I was listing by position (C/5:Greg Smith, PF/4:TJ, SF/3:Morris...) Overall, this lineup has a lot of potential to come in and bust some heads and get us back in the game when the starters play like they did last night.
Ok, I have read all (I think) of the responses. Thanks everyone for the input. Some support Smith starting at the 4 (PF), but a majority do not for the following reasons, so I think I need to clarify: 1. We need Smith to backup Asik. I agree. I am not saying to take them both out when Asik rests. Smith should be in when Asik is out (kind of like Harden-Lin to have one ballhandler on the floor). In other words, play Asik 36 minutes and Smith 36 minutes (unless foul trouble). When Asik is out for those 12 minutes, play Smith. When Smith is out for his 12 minutes, play Asik. The remaining 24 minutes, play both. 2. Smith does not have an outside offensive game, so we've got to play Patterson (or Morris, DMot, etc.). Here's where I disagree. Smith has not chucked up any bad outside shots. That doesn't mean that he can't shoot. Look at his FT%. Don't mistake not doing something for inability to do something (ok this reminds me of what Jackie Chan said during Rush Hour about his not speaking English). Granted, it does not appear that Smith has 3-point range, but I really do not want my PF shooting 3-pointers unless he can hit at an EXTREMELY high clip (even Nowitzki some years does not shoot a high enough percentage too warrant chucking 3's--look at his career percentages). So why don't I want my PF shooting 3's all the time? It takes him completely out of offensive rebounding position. This is your PF, who is supposed to intimidate and get on the glass. The other disadvantages of shooting 3's (long rebounds, no chance to get and-1's, etc., getting the other team into foul trouble, not working the defense, etc., I will discount, because today's game requires 3 point shooting). If Smith can shoot FT's at an 80% clip (even in his rookie year), it is clear that he has the touch and/or work ethic to be able to hit 15-18 footers, and this is enough to keep defenses honest. Plus, even if Smith is "clogging" the lane, he has shown the ability to make difficult catches (did you see him catch those Parsons and Harden bullets in traffic at close range last night?), and I think that Lin, Harden, and Parsons can all make tough in-traffic passes. The bottom line, you got to play to your team's strengths. I know McHale wants a stretch 4, but if you don't have Novak (or Bullard for long-time Rockets fans), you've got to adjust. McHale, Karl Malone, and lots of other Hall of Fame PFs who had games that would NOT be obsolete by today's standards did just fine "clogging" the paint and rarely if ever shooting a 3-pointer. Even if you prefer 3-point shooting out of your PF, I would argue that Smith's offensive rebounding, in traffic catches, and all-around game make him at least as dangerous as Patterson on offense. Then when you figure in defense, it is no contest.
I really like Smith and I said last month I wanted him to start at the 4. However, Patterson has really shown up since then and has been playing the best ball of his career up until the last Lakers game. Smith should get more minutes and with our up tempo team there will be plenty of opportunity to get minutes without being the starter.
Ah. Still, Delfino and Smith are the only consistent ones. Yes, there is potential. But even Delfino takes off one night every three. Douglas has a looooooooong way to go to prove to me (or other teams probably) that he is a threat in any sense at this point. Dont know what happened to Morris. Hopefully its just a mojo thing and he finds it again.
Back up 5 then 4...I wouldnt mind perhaps seeing them both in if we are in lead though at times. Do like the idea of how good the defense could be and the rebounding
Patterson hasn't shown up. He sets some weak screens on Lin and Harden that they end up double teamed. All he can do is shoot IF someone creates for him but he has to be open. And his defense is sucks too. Ibaka burning him. Jamison blowing by him.
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Hell no, Greg Smith is a horrible defender. I watched highlights again....he doesn't box out, not strong enough and get push around and doesn't alter shots. Basically, he doesn't do anything on defense at all. There is no way i would start him over Patterson. No even close.
Yes, and it is not even close. Rewatch closely Ppat's helpside rotations and PnR defence: it has been excellent, with a few rough patches expected.
did he even try to shoot the ball this season ? only dunks so far no ? not very good for a 4 ... we have enough PF who do not even play (Dmo, Jones ...) so why even think about playing smith out of position
playing smith at the 4 next to asik is really not a bad idea. i can imagine they can cause matchup problems against other teams. having morris and pat fight for backup 4 is not a bad idea either, cause both players have similar games. (power forwards that shoot alot that's average at d and can't rebound.) Rockets don't need power forwards that can knock down threes. Horry used to jack up threes, and he couldn't rebound either for camping behind the three point line so much, but at least he was also a top notch one on one defender who could also block shots. Patrick Patterson is just average defensively and can't box out for ****, and Marcus Moris is too inconsistant. He's pretty much useless if his shot's not falling.
