While I agree with your overall point, to say we had "basically the same lineup" is a monumental slap in the face to Carl Landry. He was arguably our most impactful player. But yea, the agenda first posters use to say "Brooks will thrive off the bench!" Well he is not and Lowry isnt thriving as a starter, wheras both were thriving last year in the opposite roles. So now you have a bunch of guys saying "blow it up, we suck!" rather than "hey maybe we wrong and we should go back to what we were doing last year"
From Doc Rocket: Well, considering AB traveled with the team and is at the hotel right now, I'd highly doubt that he's been traded... ...well, not yet anyway. It'll be AB.
Actually, didn't the Rockets start 0-5, this season, when they were doing the old way? Things sort of went to hell, when Brooks got that ankle sprain. It was the Lowry/Ish show. It seems that everybody wants to ignore Ish and his deficiencies during the losing. Rockets were 10-14 with Ish playing and 10-11 without Ish.
If the Vipers don't play till Friday, then why isn't he still down there for PRACTICE? Don't D-league teams practice when they have that much time off? Besides we don't have any practice time in the next six games. If your gonna send him back by Friday so he can play, then theres two possible reasons to call him up. Need more players suited up or a trade, but the trade seems unlikely.
Funny. Last year, our second unit performed much better than the starters if you actually look at the game flows. This year, our starters are performing much better than the second unit. What does that tell you? Here, I'll make it more concrete for you. 09-10: Brooks had a +/- of +0.27 (but -1.4 when not sharing the floor with Lowry) Lowry's +/- was +5.1. Led the team. 10-11: Brooks's +/- is -8.1. Only Jordan Hill's (-15.1!) is worse. Lowry's +/- is +8.4. Leads the team. Again. Looks to me like Lowry has done just fine in both roles. Brooks has done poorly as both a starter and bench player this year. Like I said back in December, I'll have no objections if the Rockets think its best to put Brooks back in the starting lineup. But it won't be through any fault of Lowry's.
The only reason i would say it's a trade is because of the fact of not having time to practice for a while.
What about Ish's performance? Is it realistic to expect the Rockets to perform the same with Ish playing over Brooks?
Now let me give the "I like the team more than the player" retort: Net: 5.1 + .27 = +5.37 -8.1 + 8.3 = +.2 Which combo is better for the team? edit: furthermore, as far as bench vs. starters...we had Trevor "I shoot 15 shots a game at 37%" starting and Landry "I am going to play out of my mind" off the bench.
I was really thinking of the same thing. Are the Rockets going to showcase him to some interested party?
I don't know which combo is better. The Brooks+Martin backcourt has not inspired much confidence in me since it was put together late last season and into this season. I just don't agree when you were saying that Lowry is struggling as a starter in the same way that Brooks is struggling as a bench player. That's not the case. Brooks is playing poorly, and if we need to start him to jump-start his desire to compete then fine. I suggested the same thing last night. But it wouldn't be because the starting lineup needs him.
Could Ish have been called up since T-Will was in the wreck and maybe is hurt and we don't know about it and going to be inactive? I got to the game and saw the wreck, did not look good, plus didn't he tweet that his shoulder was hurt.
Pass-First Ish Per 36 MINS is averaging 6.6 assts/2.8 Turnovers Shoot-First Brooks Per 36 is averaging 6.3 assts/2.7 Turnovers... Get that BALL HOG Brooks and his 10+ points of offense with the same passing OUT of HERE In truth if we're going to have Brooks off the bench, Rockets can maybe find another bench point guard who can play offense. At the same time, against teams like the Magic its CLEAR that a player like Brooks and his singular efforts offer a better chance of keeping the team in the game than Lowry. If Brooks isnt hitting then he's worthless. But if Lowry isnt "facilitating" he's neutralized and doesn't offer much besides a couple hustle plays and "can do" attitude.
Surprised it took this long to mention T-Will. He's probably pissed off at the Ish call-up He played in the Magic game and looked normal. Unless he had an unexpected flare-up.
Nothing you said contradicts my point that Ish sucks and the Rockets were better, last season, because of Brooks.
If you believe Brooks to be such a superior offensive player, then these points you bring up would seem to support keeping Lowry in the starting lineup and having Brooks lead the second unit.
