Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. And guess which team they were on together? Neither of them were quick or particularly great passers, transition/fastbreak players, but they could feed the post and do the little things. Also don't forget our hometown Houston Rockets with Robert Reid and Rodney McCray. They took the aforementioned Celtics, one of the greatest teams of all time, to six games. Sure, they would've been better with Lucas running point and Wiggins and Lloyd "healthy," but they still did pretty darn well, and that was without a Harden-type who could handle. See my sig. I like the big lineups too.
What do CF thinks about acquiring a veteran like Teshawn Prince? He is a champion who knows how to defend, feed the post and knock down both the mid range shot & corner three pointer. As far as the PG situation I would love to Rajon Rondo. We need a player like him to run the offense. He pis an elite defender who can rebound the ball. Rondo has that it factor that we need. Harden will get his opportunities, because the offense will shill run throw him and Howard.
Who said anything about Lin? George Hill may not be the perimeter shooter that Afflalo is, but can do some of what Afflalo does on D and give Harden space to work. He's still a PG who can compliment Harden while also handling some playmaking duties, so why not have him run with Harden. He's cheaper than Afflalo too. If you bring in Afflalo, no way is McHale playing him next to Harden unless it's at the 3 and Parsons is on the bench. I like Afflalo a lot, I'm just skeptical of how well we can maximize him here. If Morey can sell it right, a PG swap with the Pacers would work out for both teams.
Our bench is very suspect too. AB's the only player outside of Harden thats a pure scorer. We need to be able to depend on someone besides Garcia & Casspi to create shots. To me, they play too similar. We need another real scorer besides AB, and I think we need to package Lin, Asik & Cassipi and get a defensive minded SF/PF and a sharpshooter like Kover-esque.
It would be a gift to the Pacers. But the Pacers aren't about to trade Hill I don't think. Just about everyone in basketball says the same thing. It takes time for a team to jel. Doesn't happen overnight. All of these this guy or that guy will be the magic bullet is flawed. Because it takes time to integrate new pieces, just like it is taking time with Dwight.
Agreed. Perfect combination of skills. But... I think we need more than that from our point guard considering how raw our offense is, how sloppy we get at times on both ends, how McHale allows the team to "feel out" problems over the course of a game... Harden is not great as a facilitator, he's not Pippen (sigh), he's not Iggy, he's not Lebron. Not yet. Howard isn't a guy you run an offense through. He never will be. And that's fine. Considering all of these things, we need an intangible quality. Dare I say we need to make an un-Morey-like acquisition. I feel that we need someone who can keep calm under pressure, keep the team focused, is vocal... a leader. We come out and compete, jack around, and let games slip away. We need a veteran who can come in and say, "cut that **** out" - "focus". Harden isn't the alpha facilitator we need. He isn't ready for that yet. The offense isn't designed cleverly enough for that. Andre Miller, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd - these players aren't good anymore but I feel confident in saying that if we had one of them to play 8-12mpg during those stretches when we fall asleep at the wheel we'd have 3-5 more wins right now. And yes, I realize Billups has been hurt and is done for and that Kidd is coaching. Don't take those 3 names literally.
I say bs. Look how often Parsons brings the ball up. We've got Canaan on the bench. If some team decided to run the press you just run him in there. But that's a big if. Look around the league and you tell me one single team that can press the ball effectively for more than 2 or 3 surprise possessions a game. Hint: There are none!
That's life. If you are different from mainstream's expectations of what a professional basketball player should look and act like, then to be included, you must be perfect in order to be considered average. Just like if you want to be part of a group of WASPs then you must be more" WASP then them in order to be considered an honorary WASP. Such is the culture here in the US. Still clogged in the 1970s. But let's get to the point. Harden is a super talented basketball player and can score at will at any given situation. But Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant he is not. He is more in the mold of Melo. Both are very talented and can score 40+ points any nights. Both of them lacked that je ne sais quoi that can elevate their teammates to higher levels. If you look at past champions, most of the teams have someone who had Kobe/Jordan type of leadership and passion to some degree. Harden is like a high end equipment that do specific tasks at a very high level. Other equipment must be made to conform to this high end equipment will not result in a championship. Usually, equipment must conform to a specific plan or group passion in order to achieve that. That's why Harden is so valuable being the 6th man in OKC because he can come in as a specialized weapon to do what he does best. But to use him as the main player of a franchise, you are going the NYC route. Not going to happen. You think Presti was dumb enough to let go of Harden for Martin and Lamb because of salary caps? I doubt it. It was more than that. To get to the point, I think this teams need to grow for the next 2 years as a team, get a real coach, convince Harden to humble down a few notches and let the PG dictate the pace of the game. I feel Lin can do this if he is allowed to make mistakes, learn and grow. He should be quite good by next year. Or trade for an off the shelf PG that can contribute immediately at a high level.
Rondo has a very high turnover rate. (look it up). Rumor has it that he is a social disaster for a team. Doc. Rivers and Rondo had a greast animosity toward each other, and almost came to blows when Doc. left. He will have the same effsct on the Rockets as Melo had on the Knicks.
So what you're saying is George Hill can do SOME of what Afflalo can do. But Afflalo with his size and athleticism can still do MORE. And that is the truth. Afflalo has some playmaking and handling ability just like George Hill does. And once again...Afflalo is just a TYPE of player I'm bringing up. I understand the contracts. Hill is another player who is way, way overpaid in today's NBA. And like I said I wasn't advocating bringing in Afflalo today. Nor would I advocate bringing in Hill today. But..just to correct the record, Hill makes $8 million per season and Afflalo makes $7.5 million per season. Hill is far, far from being cheap for what he brings to the table. And he is not cheaper than Afflalo.
The only reason why the Pacers may not let Hill go is because he fits in with their defensive scheme. But there are too many times when I'm watching the Pacers and I cringe at the lack of creative playmaking from the PG position. Luckily, Lance Stephenson has stepped up his playmaking skills. The problem is Paul George is not an elite playmaker nor efficient scorer like Harden so he would benefit from having another creative PG who can score next to him (like Lin). Harden, is the best playmaker on the team (when he looks to facilitate) so he doesn't need someone like Lin, he needs a George Hill type who can defend, shoot the 3, and make simple plays. I've followed Hill for a long time and when we first got Harden and Lin couldn't make it work, I thought Hill would be an ideal fit to James. I still think it.
Rondo had a high turnover rate as of Jan 2012. TO rates don't mean losses. LBJ has a fairly high TO rate. In this list are some great players including LBJ and Durant. Also in the list is Curry, Nash, Westbrook, Wall and Deron Williams. So maybe stressing and stressing out of TOs is unnecessary. 10 Worst Turnover Machines in the NBA By Michael Schoeffel (Contributor) on January 31, 2012 1,671 reads 1 Icon_comment Share Tweet Previous 4 of 12 Next 8. Rajon Rondo 136155843_display_image Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images It’s never a sunny portent when a team’s two star players are turning the ball over this frequently. The Celtics’ Rajon Rondo is averaging 5.1 turnovers per 48 minutes and 3.8 per game—both stats the worst of his six-year career. However, unlike Pierce, Rondo has compensated for his high turnover numbers to a certain extent. The 25-year-old is averaging exactly 15 points per game (the highest of his career), despite suffering an early-season wrist injury.
Harden is the best playmaker on the team according to who? And when Harden is down with injury, who playmakes then without Lin on the team?
You don't know that. Did you know Kobe and HOF Coach Jackson bumped heads several times during the 1st 3 championships. But Coach ended up going back and coaching Kobe n Co. for how many more rings. Other players and coaches have had words as well. Yes they had their moments but tell the full story. Coach Rivers also spoke highly on Rondo as well. bwhahahahah
I assume we want to find a sulution to the Harden backcourt pairing by at least beginning of next season if not earlier. But my question is, do you really think McHale would play Harden at PG and Afflalo at SG? I really doubt that, so the most likely scenario is Harden at the 2 and Afflalo at the 3, and Parsons out of the lineup. I haven't looked at Hill's or Afflalo's salary, but the way Afflalo's been playing there's no doubt he's getting pay on his next contract, while Hill will see a decrease in his.
If McHale did not have Lin on the roster and he had multiple wing players....he's got to make due with the roster. Another guy in the mold of Afflalo that I think would be a tremendous fit with Harden is Brandon Rush. And he probably is gettable for a low reasonable contract. He's an elite shooter. He can make plays. He's bigger at 6'5" with some long arms. Great defender. And yes he can handle when needed. Running a guy like Rush alongside Harden with Parson on the other side...sure makes a lot of sense to me.
Harden is the best playmaker on the team. Have you seen how easy it is for him to rack up assists when he's looking to facilitate instead of score? I know it rarely happens, but it does show that he has superior talent when he looks to be the playmaker. Hill is not a creative playmaker, but he's sufficient, and then there's Parsons. But if Harden's out, you better run the offense through Howard, in which case, both Hill and Parsons would be sufficient.
We won a championship with Kenny freaking Smith and Sam Cassell. All you need is a above average point guard. Mario Chamlers... took the Larry o Brian trophy from Tony Parker.....
So it's according to you. I'd make an argument for Lin. Both are good but I find Lin, especially in the open court, threads the needle more and has a better court vision than Harden. Harden misses open guys more than Lin does.
