Parsons would have given the Rockets about 10 extra points today....

I'm worried though.

Let's say we play Portland again and they shut down Harden. Who the heck is gonna score points? Is our bench mob up for the role of shot creator? Can Bev put up 15 with the ball in his hands?

Losing Parsons and Lin for Ariza and folk definitely gave us an edge defensively, but it'll hurt us against good teams with schemes that take Harden out of his game.

Unless of course, Harden goes 06 Wade on everybody's butts.

 

Prigs can create shots for the team. Smith can create shots for the team. Any PnR with Howard can create shots provided Ariza and Bev are not running it. Post play with D-Mo is pretty darn good too. The problem is that we lack proper discipline as a team due to non-existent coaching so we rely on Harden's brilliance as a playmaker, which avoids the discipline issue. Our main problem is that we lack both discipline and a secondary playmaker. That's why we have idiotic bouts of Bev/Airza trying to play hero ball and Dorsey trying to post up.

 

Well yeah. But it hurt us last year when teams were able to scheme Harden into being less impactful even when we had those guys and they didn't really help. At least this year we have a defense that may allow us to survive lower scoring affairs if that's what happens.

 

Eh... I'm HIGHLY uncomfortable with Prig or Smith creating for us in the playoffs. I can't imagine them being efficient against a GS or Memphis or Portland.

Howard was a beast last playoffs, so I think that will help tremendously when he comes back. If he can simulate the post play from last year, and be a beast, we should be solid for a deep run when combined with our new defense.

Totally agreed on the discipline bit. I was watching the CHI game and then the HOU/CLE game, and the difference was like NBA -> YMCA ball out there. Not to say that we can't be deadly, but it's gonna come back to bite us when teams get time to scheme over a 7 game series.

Fair point. We got pretty damn close though, and really just lost on a few dumb plays and a buzzer beater. If we took out Portland last year, I figure we probably could've made some real noise since POR was a HUGE matchup nightmare for us.

Having a good D is kinda like a safety blanket, since good D seems to be less variable than offensive output. Maybe this change up will do us some good.

 

Here is my simplistic view on the situation. What we had last year in the playoffs didn't exactly work anyways so we might as well try something different. Ariza was actually a good 2 way player in the playoffs last year and has had big games in the playoffs in the past.

Also, although Parsons is a superior offensive player to Ariza, his offensive abilities are becoming a bit overrated by some around here.

 

They're overrated because he doesnt have the athleticism to actually create/blow by his man on a consistent basis. He's some weird funnel that plays off others and closeouts

 

Smoove is a better facilitator than Parsons. This is a very different team that played POR in the playoffs last year. I can't believe there is still any Rocket fan who misses Parsons. Ariza+Brewer+Smoove is so much better than Parsons it is ridiculous to even compare. Ariza by himself has turned the defensive culture and efficiency around.

 

I don't know about better facilitator, but I do agree that the Ariza/Brewer/Smith combo has made a big impact on defense.

Parsons definitely wasn't an "ideal" playmaker given his lack of explosiveness, but he was still giving you a super efficient 17/5/4. I don't think we should underrate his impact on the offense.

 

This thread is ***. The guy dissed your beloved city and guys on here still have a girly crush on him.