It shouldn't have been a 7 man rotation though, that was the problem and that's part of the reason we got eliminated in the first round. The roster was badly mismanaged and it gave Portland the advantage they needed. Hopefully the people who run the Rockets' rotations will have learned from that (I'm not going to assume it's McHale) and won't make that mistake again.
People are underestimating some of our talent off that bench. Particularly at the guard position. Isaiah Canaan and Nick Johnson are a lot better ball handlers and shooters then Jeremy Lin. Johnson in particular could be a very big surprise, maybe even Parsons type of surprise. I wouldn't be shocked if Nick Johnson got some good minutes his rookie year, after all the guy plays spectacular defense, and if I remember correctly it was defense and lack of depth that got Parsons playing time his rookie year. Johnson find's himself in a very similar situation, given our currently vacant backup guard position. In terms of the rest of the depth, I feel our bench is relatively the same, if not better, then we had last season, but if we could add an experienced wing player like Shawn Marion we would have a much much better bench then we had last season. PG: Isaiah Canaan, Ish Smith SG:Troy Daniels, Nick Johnson (combo can play both PG/SG) SF: Shawn Marion(FA?), Robert Covington PF: Donatas Motiejunas, Jeff Adrien C: Joey Dorsey, Clint Capella
I'd feel way better if we had a legit backup center and a defensive minded guy who can play the 3 and 4
I see the roster playing out this way. With Covington being the odd man out Pg Beverley-Canaan-Smith Sg Harden-Johnson-Daniels Sf Ariza-Adrien-Gee Pf Jones-Dmo-Powell C Howard-Dorsey-Capella That's our 15 man roster so far for the upcoming season. Still more time to go for trades before camp. But it looks decent to me. Morey added what desperately lacked last season: perimeter defense, toughness, rebounding, hustle. I'm good with this. Expect Capella and Johnson to start the season in the dleague. If Mchale decides to go with Johnson as 6th man similar to what he did with Parsons, then expect Powell to be inactive or releases. But we are 3 deep at each position with prospects that provide what we were lacking last season.
And I doubt hopson even makes it to camp. I like Powell. He is a good vet big who can play both post positions and has a good mid range jump shot. I hope he is not released.
A lot has to go right for that bench to not be the worst in the league. Fortunately we still have 3 roster spots, MLE, BAE, $8.2m TPE and unlimited minimum signings to boost the bench before then.
Adrien will not play any minute at SF, he's clearly only a PF. Daniels will get a lot more minutes than you are projecting. Gee and Powell should not even be on your depth chart - they're most likely not going to be on the roster opening day and even if they were not figure to be in the rotation at all.
As the team is constructed, howard and harden should not be on the bench together for long periods of time. If it has to happen, hopefully either Dmo, Canaan or Johnson has the hot hand and we can play through them. Linsanity was overhyped and Lin never lived up to his contract. With Daniels shooting, I'm more than comfortable with Canaan and Johnson filling in what Lin provided. And with the defense, rebounding and intensity that Adrien and Dorsey provide, I'm comfortable with then filling in what Asik provided. The stretch 4 has been extremely overrated and if need, Ariza can slide over to 4 or we just run Dmo to the 3 pt line. Even though I think Dmo is more valuable in the box. I might be in the minority here, but I believe we got way better defensively and overall. Most fans are overvaluing what Lin and Asik provided. Lin was wildly inconsistent and Asik played half the season with a bad attitude.
The big hole right now is at backup SF. Harden will get some minutes there for sure in a small ball lineup, especially if Daniels Johnson or Canaan emerge. Covington factors into the equation. Otherwise there is nothing. This seems to be where the MLE and/or BAE will come into play - maybe Marion, K. Pap (reopen negotiations?), Gentile?
That's exactly what I'm trying to say. Asik and Lin did not provide much for us last season, Marion would be a perfect addition to add bench experience. You don't need a bench full of all star talent. People are acting like Lin, Asik, parsons, Garcia, Casspi, Hamilton were consistent all stars last year.
Sign Oneal,Marion on Contracts with 1-2 years with player options etc.. That is some vet exp. you need going into the playoffs. You can play the young guys in the regular season more.
What I see on the bench is a bunch of shooters. Canaan, Johnson, or Daniels could become the play maker for the secondary unit but that has yet to be seen. As of right now, Harden seems to be the only player who can create his own shot efficiently. If we need him on the floor for 40+ minutes a game because of lack of playmakers don't expect him to play hard defense and possibly be worn down for the playoffs again. We'll see a lot of Howard low post play when Harden is on the bench. Hopefully Dwight will draw a lot of double teams so that he can get a lot of open looks for all our shooters. McHale needs to make sure at least Harden or Howard are on the floor at all times.
There's only one guy on our bench that we know is a quality NBA caliber backup and that's Motiejunas, Troy Daniels might be a quality backup as well but the rest of the "depth" makes last year's bench look like the dream team. Morey has his work cut out for him if he wants to make this year's Rockets a 50 win team.
