The Anti-Jones crowd needs to re-watch this game, and understand the importance of keeping Jones on the roster as much as you all despise him, and with him ill will. Josh Smith is a volatile player. He's going to have games like this. You need a backup option to go to, and Jones is a cheap alternative. I know we all think D-Mo has the higher potential, and definitely earned the ability to start when he comes back from injury next year (hopefully 100%). However with D-Mo's health in question, its crucial that the Rockets NOT give up Jones this Summer for a bag of sand. I would love the ability to retain Smith this Summer if possible, but the fact is he's never been, and never will be a truly reliable player. He's hit or miss, and you need other options if he's having a night like last night.
He and Howard are confidence players, when things are going well they are amazing, when they are challenged they tend to shrink. Pretty much universal on our team, TBH - we need to toughen up mentally. DD
Smith, Jones and DMo, to me, are all inconsistent players liable to disappear at any moment. And all 3 of them have the potential to finish the game with an embarrassingly small number of rebounds. Smith has been the only one proven to step up in big moments, but he can just as easily disappear. The fact that his confidence never seems to waiver is a blessing and a curse.
I agree with most of this, but i believe both DMo and Jones's ceiling are pretty much the same. A healthy Jones was giving pretty much the same scoring production as Dmo. He also is the better rebounder, while Dmo is slightly better defensively.
We need a shooter at PF period. Those layups won't work every game, facing the cavs They're bigs won't be having that.
You're right ,we'd be tied 1-1 . Watching Smith last night was like watching Kobe play with a lid on the basket .When this dude is off the team concept goes completely out the window and his only focus is to shoot himself out of the slump . At one point early the Rockets had taken something like 12 shots and 9 of them were Smith . Really enjoyed the comeback against the clips but this guy is just such a jackass at times . I've never seen any one single player that could just completely destroy a teams rhythm like he can.
Well, the rockets do not have money to get a consistent PF, Smith did help this team to win that series. But a question is that if we want to resign him, how much.
D-Mo was shooting almost 40% from 3 for a good chunk of the regular season. I'm not saying he's Ryan Anderson, but he's better than a Anderson type at other areas of his game, he's already on the roster, he's on a great contract with another year, and you don't have to have 6 different types of PF's on the roster to fit every scenario. Smith can get hot from 3 as well as we've seen. Its not what you want most of the time, but that's what you get with Josh Smith. Bringing in a specialist 3 point shooting PF just doesn't make must sense. They are very, very pricey, and can often be just as un-reliable as what we already have on the roster (see Channing Frye's shooting % in the final months of the season). You are better off just hoping D-Mo, Smith, or Jones improve, or going small in these scenarios where you need more spacing which the Rockets don't. They get plenty of open looks, they just don't hit nearly high enough of a percentage.
They are pretty much the same. They just seem to peak and get healthy at different parts of the year which makes the value of keeping BOTH guys longterm if you can. There is so much talk on the GARM of pick one or the other, and I think that is complete nonsense. I think Howard, D-Mo, Jones, and Capela moving forward gives this team the perfect depth, upside, and versatility they need. Bringing back Smith is nice if you can do it at that 2.5 mil contract level that I think the Rockets will have to sign him back if I remember the cap math right. You bring him back at that salary for insurance, and just sit the player that is performing at the lowest level or the wait for the inevitable injury. Heck, its worth it to have all 5 bigs back next year anyways because I think its inevitable now at this point that we will be looking at Dwight taking time off in the regular season which I'm totally ok with.
How about game 2 where against the Mavs when he dominated the Mavs and single handedly won us the game. Or when he stopped Monta on the final shot? Against the Clips he single handedly changed the complexion of the series when he was inserted to the starting lineup. He shut down Blake an elite PF arguably the best PF in the game and the clutch 3's in game 6 especially the one right in DJ's face? With No Smith the Mavs series would've gone 6 at least maybe 7. With No Smith we get eliminated in 6 by the Clips without a doubt.
Who did you have in mind? Who could've done things he did for us the first 2 rounds especially at his price tag? When he's on he's an absolute game changer. I wouldn't count him out yet. Series is far from over and he will make plays. Just watch.
