Howard Jones Asik Harden Parsons That's who he scored against. Jones was backed down in the post, but his defense was no less effective than anyone elses, and Jones gave a good effort on the boards when Howard/Asik were put on LMA and Jones was responsible for being the primary rebounder. Jones was not the issue tonight unfortunately for BasketballHollic.... (However I'm sure he will make a case that tonight was soley on Jones). The LMA video game mode issue started when Asik got scored on and caught a few bad breaks early in the game on LMA that took him out of the game early, and got LMA going early, and often. Had LMA not (I hate to use the word lucky) gotten very fortunate with those calls, and those crazy shots he made, I think throwing multiple defenders at LMA could have slowed him down, and will slow him down in the coming games. Asik, and Howard are two of the best big man defenders in the game, and they will eventually make LMA work in this series. Its up to Jones to continue to bring the effort on the boards and move without the ball on offense to make LMA and Lopez work on the defensive end. -I wouldn't even blame the Rockets loss on the overall defense of LMA. I think most of the key moments come down to- A. Hack a Howard actually working for Portland B. Going small ball at the end of regulation to switch everything and that eventually led to Portland getting the rebound TWICE to tie and go to overtime. C. Can't underestimate those big 3's Portland hit at the end of the game. None of Portland's shooters should ever get an open 3....especially late in games. Had those three keys worked out differently, even despite LMA going off, the Rockets really should have won this game handily.
LMA scored on Jones and Parsons way more easily than the others. It was like a boy guarding a man. Hard to watch honestly.
Well they both have SF size players guarding a super long center sized PF. Even Harden had time on LMA because of McHale's insistence on matching up to a great small ball team. Is anyone shocked to see that LMA looked bigger and overpowering to them? I sure wasn't. Two things- -Portland likes to go small with LMA at center anyways(which might entice McHale go too small at the 1 through 4 and sacrifice rebounding at the other 4 spots). -Houston was most likely planning on, and will continue to play Howard and Asik on LMA primarily with Jones only playing early and spotty minutes with different lineups. Which means- Jones is most likely going to be judged from the coaches on how well he plays as a help defender on rotations, and how well he boxes out the likes of Lopez and Freeland when they are in the game with LMA. He basically has to play in Howard/Asik's space and protect the paint in the same way when Dwight/Asik are forced to come out on LMA. That's no easy task to complete as well as guarding LMA, but he did well on the glass last night, and that needs to be noted. All things considered, Jones wasn't really on LMA the bulk of the time he was on the floor, and when he was on him he got backed down, but hardly was that much worse than everyone else. Jones should not be expected to stop LMA one-on-one nor should any PF in the NBA. Every team that plays them this year will have to devise a strategy against this guy that doesn't revolve around their normal sized PF guarding him. The Rockets would be in just as bad of shape with most all NBA PF's, and would be making the same adjustments. Thats how good LMA is, and how bad of a matchup he can be for every team.
I am with oakdogg. Jones and Parsons had no chance staying with LMA. Howard and Asik were more effective. Not sure about Harden.
Mchale is a dumb dumb. Terrence Jones on Aldridge should have never been an option. It's not the Hack a Howard that killed this team. It was Terrence Jones on Aldridge. Aldridge scored with ease after Mchale took Howard out. The small line up was a dumb move. Aldridge just shot over our players. Either keep Howard in and weather the hack a crap or put Asik in. Asik is a better freethrow shooter than Howard. Not by much..but enough to keep the lead, enough to win you the game, enough to make the stop hacking.
Ask ourselves this question- Of all the potential vet "short term upgrades" the peanut gallery here wanted Morey to acquire this year to replace Jones, would any of them fared any better last night? -Jason Smith -Derrick Williams -Brandon Bass -Patrick Patterson -Spencer Hawes -Thad Young -Anderson Varajao -Danny Granger -Big Baby -Turkaglo -W. Chandler Etc. I think of most of these vet defender guys, Asik is a player I'd rather have both for when Dwight was out, and backing up Dwight in the playoffs, and most of the offensive guys that could have spread the floor, I think you really aren't gaining much of what you would be getting by going small with the current group the Rockets have. Sadly, I dont know that anything that is happening in this series could have been offset by the peanut gallery getting the trade or the acquisition they were hoping for earlier or late in the season. Some vet depth helps but in this match-up nightmare, I think what they are dealing with moving forward is something they would have had to deal with regardless. -Also all this talk about LMA, and everyone is just glancing over the monster game Lillard had last night especially in crunch time. If the Rockets make adjustments on LMA it could very well impact what the Rockets do on the perimeter and create a more volatile defensive scheme against Lillard and the other shooters. Like I said days ago, LMA is going to get his regardless, but the real threat is on the perimeter with this team that decides games. McHale and co. have alot of work to do and game tape to watch today. They need to get seriously creative in the next 24 - 48 hours.
Um... no. Actually they attacked the rim three possessions in the row that led to open looks both at the basket and on the perimeter (remember the huge 3 from Batum and Matthews). Yes, I think it was a bad move to take rim protection off the floor despite Howard's free throw shooting(I think I would have tried to sub in Asik at that point to see if they still play hack-a-Asik), but it wasn't just a Jones vs. Aldridge matchup that killed them. It was Lillard attacking the basket that made everything happen so quick. Part of that is Jones not being a center than can protect the paint against elite attacking teams. Other part was Lin and Harden's pathetic excuse for perimeter defense. Even CWebb last night commented that the Blazers designed their offense to attack Lin with whoever he was guarding. It worked out well, and props to Terry Stotts for doing his homework on Houston to find out who the weak perimeter defenders were. There are some pretty major flaws with this team that are getting waayyy overlooked, and people are spending way too much time worrying about Jones' defense on LMA.
All those things are true. However the biggest flaw this team has is it's big man rotation around Dwight.
That's a very good question. I saw LMA torch Patterson once, but he had to make very difficult fadeaway after fadeaway. Patterson might not have had the height of LMA, but he was at least a stronger body to tussle with. That said, I of course would not advocate trading Asik for Patterson, but Patterson would be a better matchup than what Jones or Parsons for sure.
Disagree as you well know. Its a flaw that the Rockets dont have two dominant players in the post that complement each other, but its a flaw that most teams have anyways, and most teams dont have both Dwight and Asik. In this matchup if Jones is doing what he needs to in order to help out in the paint when Dwight or Asik have to come out on either a Dirk, LMA, Griffin, etc. he needs to be the guy who does his part against a D. Jordan, Lopez, Dalembert, etc. to avoid there being a drop off in the paint protection. Jones hasn't been the greatest rebounder and paint defender in the world, but the team isn't going to lose games if in those tough matchup games, Jones steps up, and mans up to rebound and defend like he needs to & is capable of. On the offensive end, he almost always has an edge that he can make both bigs work if he does what he needs to when teams overcompensate for Howard. .......... Long story short- We are paying way too much attention to this one weakness (and YES I am admitting there are weakness to playing a 2nd year PF in the playoffs) and not paying nearly enough attention to the first line of defense on the perimeter. There are only 3 or 4 teams in the league that can outsize the Rockets in the paint.... there are about 25 teams in the league that can break down the Rockets defense from the perimeter nightly. That's an issue that is more pressing both in game 2 and moving forward with this roster beyond this year IMO. Jones will improve in the paint in rebounding and defending, but the perimeter defense will not without personnel changes, and upgrades to the way our perimeter defenders & their help defenders are being coached. The over-switching, the blow-bys, the ball watching, etc. Its way too overlooked around these parts, and way too much emphasis is being put on Jones' 3 point shot, and height.
I actually thought Jones didn't play too badly last night. Sure, he can't contain LA one-on-one, but not many can. He was a beast on the boards last night.
With 2:05 left and it's Rockets ball. Coach already pulled Howard out for a few minutes due to Hack n Howard. Why not burn the clock down to 1:99 then call time out and insert Howard at that point? That way, they can't do the Hack-n-Howard under 2minutes. This will give you an advantage as far as rebounding. I just think this coach McFail is fnking stupid. Don't have any sense of strategy. In NBA Playoffs, you win games by playing smart and it's the little things that count and this coach doesn't do shyt in this game.
There are very few quality players like Patterson that could have been acquired during the season without giving up something of value in return like Asik, draft picks, or good young talent that will be better for longer than alot of these guys. It wasn't well documented in the national media, but for the folks that followed the raps on league pass, Patterson was pretty much a revelation for their bench in the second half of the season, and I think it would have taken quite a bit to pry him from Toronto, and its pretty obvious that A. Patterson is a backup PF. Not a clear cut starter, and B. He's going to get paid this Summer and the Rockets would have been taking on a rental in 2Pat for one playoff run. Because of salary cap purposes - Bass & Lee would have cost Asik, Thad Young or Hawes would have cost Asik, D. Williams would have cost Asik, etc. Oddly enough - Of all the trades, I think Bass and Lee probably would have ended up being the best one for a short term rental & a playoff run this year, but both players are on the books for next year & would have been tough to move along with Lin to get cap space. I think Lee would have been a revelation 2 way player for the Rockets perimeter, and Bass is an underrated post defender & re-bounder. However I think the Rockets would have lost at least 1 or 2 more games during the portion of last few weeks that Dwight had to sit out, which would have cost the Rockets home court, and possibly would have had them a 6th seed. Long story short- I dont know that there was an easy solution that the Rockets could have acquired this season for a short term vet fix in the big rotation. The same problems they are having now would be there still, and any minimal upgrade would have ultimately cost the Rockets long term.
1. Portland doesn't have that flaw. 2. Memphis doesn't have that flaw. 3. Spurs don't have that flaw. 4. Clippers don't have that flaw. 5. Thunder don't have that flaw. 6. Pacers don't have that flaw. 7. Heat don't have that flaw. Totally unrealistic to expect Jones to control the rim and paint against guys that outweigh him by 30 or more pounds and outlength him by 3 or more inches. Jones isn't good at paint protection when he's playing guys his size. I don't know what you've seen to make you think he's going to magically morph into this player that can avoid a drop off in paint protection while Dwight is playing outside. And the whole idea of playing Dwight outside defensively when he is the best paint protecting big in the NBA is so non-sensical. Yeah, step up to what? We have no indicators that Jones can step up to this task. We do have indicators that he can't step up into this task. So unrealistic to pin our hopes of winning this series on Jones "stepping up". We're paying too much attention to the weakest link in the starting rotation????????? Only 3 or 4 teams that can outsize the Rox in the paint??? Once again those teams are: 1. Portland Trailblazers 2. Memphis Grizzlies 3. Dallas Mavericks 4. Los Angeles Clippers 5. Oklahoma City Thunder 6. San Antonio Spurs We're not playing the other 25 teams!!! We're playing these teams!!! Find me a team we are going to face in the playoffs (if we get that far) that DOESN'T outsize our bigs. dobro....this is the path we are walking. We're not playing the Bucks over the next month. These are the teams we gotta beat or we go home. They all outsize us considerably without our TT being on the floor. Portland's perimeter guys went 22 for 55(40%) from the field, 7 for 25 (28%) from 3, and 15 for 18 from the FT line. They threw out 11 assists, stole the ball 7 times, and turned it over 8 times. That's very mediocre efficiency at best. And more close to the poor side than the mediocre side. Yet you are insisting that our perimeter defense is the big problem here??????? Please. If we lose this series it will be because we did not come up with an answer for Aldridge and Lopez on the interior. Shaking my head.
He was definitely out coached last night I'll give you that. Props to Stotts. He coached a hell of a game, and Portland hit some ridiculous shots. Still the Rockets are the better team here and that was pretty obvious. Even with sketchy coaching they should still win the series. I dont expect LMA to drop 46 again, but I do expect the Portland guards & wings to still shoot lights out cause that's what they do. The real test for McHale will be to see if he over-reacts to LMA's video game mode night, and that leads to the real threat of Portland beating the Rockets in the series. I never thought McHale's coaching career with the Rockets could be in jeopardy this year with the success they have had and the relationships he has with the players, but if he continues to get out-coached and they get embarrassed in the 1st round, I wouldn't put it past Les to have a serious talk with Morey about it.
Bhollic- I said its a F-Ing weakness. How much do I have to tell you that. However, you and others act like that is it, and only it with this team. That's all I'm trying to say. Stop trying to start up another pointless argument. Either agree with my point(Hint: The PF rotation being a weakness is NOT IT), counter it respectfully, or just refrain from response. You and others need to realize that there are other problems that go beyond the PF rotation. Terrence Jones is not the only problem on this team. He's actually been one of the bright spots in a dark place, and he's gotten zero credit because of one match-up nightmare that every other team in the freaking league has a problem with.
dobro, you need to realize that the big man rotation on this team around Dwight is the Achilles heal of this team and it is what will send us home....not the alleged perimeter defensive holes...but our big man rotation around Dwight. If Mchale doesn't figure it out we will wind up going home EARLIER than what we should have. You act like I don't understand the other weaknesses on this team (which I do) while you try to minimize our achilles heal. This game video and the stats are staring you right in the face and you're talking about perimeter defense??????????????? Dude please.
Yeah, I knew all of that about Patterson. I don't know if he couldn't be an adequate starter for the Rockets with Howard - I've asked countless times about Patterson's defense in other threads and nobody attempts a reasonable evaluation of his abilities on that side of the court (which I always thought were good). I just answered your question re: would any of the players listed fare better against LMA. I think a team would be very stupid to pay Patterson too much, as he cannot create his own shot - strictly a role player.
Maybe this team is better off playing Asik and Howard since Jones is ineffective and if we go small such as putting Chandler on Adridge, then we're going to be giving up offensive rebounds...that's actually another area that hurt the team: offensive rebounding (2nd chance shots).
Against a scorer like LMA you must switch up your tactics. You can't go with the theory that Asik, Dwight, TJones or anyone else can shut him down consistently. LMA was on fire last night and that 3 over HowRd with the shot clock running out was cold blooded. However, you must change the looks that you're giving LMA and at least make him work and think when he gets the rock. 1. Front with Tjones long arms, making them lob to give Dwight time to get there. You must have Pbev pressure on the ball 2. Let him catch and then double on his 1st dribble and then go back to your man when he picks it up. 3. Double immediately with Dwight and Force cross court pass with Chandler playing both men. 4. Play him str8 up. You must give him different looks on D! We will win 1 or 2 games in Portland. Playoff reality.
