Dmo would be an interesting pairing with Asik down low. Dmo can provide the postup offense and offensive versatility while Asik can impact the game defensively and grab rebounds. I also understand why the would want to brign him along slowly though and may not be ready defensively. Jones is the best fit now to start. Patt is what he is, a jump shooting power forward who plays decent defense. He's a fine backup but not starter material at all. Rookie Patterson showed so much promise shooting great and finishing at the rim strong, thinking we had another Landry but he hasn't shown that again after his injury. Morris has been playing well but I'd rather have him come off the bench to provide a scoring punch with that unit since that's what they lack.
Honestly I think the coaches are taking it slow with rooks as to not step on the toes of the vets. I just hope that a situation where a rookie or rookies capture a starting position because their production in practice exceed that of the incumbent, just as Parsons took the SF spot from Chase. Wishful thinking, but i would rather see the young guns experience growing pain than a veteran group.
What on earth are you guys talking about? Terence Jones has played one game, 12 minutes, 1 of 6 from the field with zero rebounds against Maxiell and Jerebko on the worst team in the league. I didn't watch the game, was he a beast defensively or something? At the moment, I would say he is still an unknown but with promise. Patterson wants to be a jump-shooter who isn't a partcularly good jumpshooter (41.8% this season, 44% last season), poor rebounder (4.8reb in 28 min this season, 4.5reb in 23 minutes last season), at best an average defender from what I've seen. HE HAS NOT BEEN TO THE FT LINE ONCE THIS SEASON in 145 minutes. Dude needs to turn it around, it's been all downhill since last season and he has more NBA experience than most of the squad. As long as Marcus Morris keeps grabbing rebounds (at least 10reb per 40 minutes), he has earned the minutes. He has been ok this season and he was ok in the preseason. He has changed his attitude to fit with the team. It seemed like he was working hard in training camp. I would give him the start and time to try out T Jones and D Mo backing him up.
Jones looked like a rookie playing his first game. So yeah that option is pure nonsense by the op. But if Patterson plays soft on future nights, no reason not to yank him for jones like tonight. Gotta send a message.
Greg Smith. Hands down. Best post defender. Best defensive hands. Best rebounder. Best or second best shotblocker (to Jones). Best body to box out. Best screen setter. Best post-up game. Best post-passer. Not a 3-point threat, but I don't want my 4 chucking up 3's unless they can make an extraordinarily high percentage, because you have no offensive rebounding position. And I would like to see if Smith can develop a mid-range game. Karl Malone did just fine virtually never shooting a 3-pointer.
ClutchFans is just really obsessive about Terrence Jones for some reason. He was exactly what was expected, as a D-league quality player learning the game and playing mostly garbage minutes in a blowout. Against yes, as you noted, the worst team in all of NBA basketball. That he can neither score nor rebound even under those circumstances is probative of the fact that he's still not ready. Which is fine, big fella. Plenty of time here. But rather than just acknowledge that he's dismal offensively and can't board, it's more fun to pretend otherwise, I guess? To still be intrigued by the idea of Terrence Jones even when the reality of Terrence Jones presents itself in such an underwhelming fashion? He did block one shot in the first half that led to two Rockets fast break points? I guess that's something to get incredibly and some would say unreasonably excited about? No no, Terrence Jones: World Beater.
Rebound rate for our frontcourt... Omer Asik 21.4 Greg Smith 16.7 Marcus Morris 14.8 Patrick Patterson 8.9 Chandler Parsons 8.8 Donatas Motiejunas 0 Terrence Jones 0 To be fair, it's easy to get rebound when you come off bench, cause... Asik devouring every board in sight...
the answer is....do you want to compete this year, or tank? If you want to tank, wins don't matter...play all of the rookies at PF. If you think Harden has given you a chance to make the playoffs this year, sign Kenyon Martin to vet min and start him. I'm inclined to sign Martin, and make a spot for him by cutting Douglas.:grin:
Great insight! Here's a lineup to develop PnR w/ Harden and Lin: Lin Harden Morris DMo Smith Both Smith and DMo are skilled offensive players with great hands. Smith and Morris should hold our own on defensive end. I agree wholeheartedly Smith is the best two-way PF/C we have. In a year or two, I believe DMo will surpass him in offensive skills. Those are the two PF/C I have kept my eyes on since preseason games. If DMo plays at 4, he can become our Gasol. Those two have the highest potential to become all stars. I don't know why people are so high on Jones. I guess those people didn't watch the last preseason game against Baby Davis of Magic. Jones started the first few minutes and hadn't played since until last night's game. He might look like a skillful defender but he will be eaten alive by bulky F's in the paint.
2012 is just a developmental year for the Rockets, there will be a lot of ebbs and flows about who plays over an 82 game season. Soooo many rookies and new players; every combination will be tested for chemistry, every player will be stress tested to see how they fit for the long haul, and there will be some showcasing for trade purposes. no need to get too worried about individual playing time for the bench yet.
The Rockets were a .500 team last season, and they're probably better this year than they were last year. I think tanking is off the table this season. The Rockets will compete for a 6-8 seed if they can, and (let's be honest here) probably get knocked out of the first round. But they will have netted their young studs some vital playoff experience, gelled more as a team, and will have promoted Houston as a viable, competitive free agent destination this off-season. That is my understanding of The Plan per Morey and the coaching staff. It doesn't seem like that unrealistic a goal, since offseason moves have also made the West more stacked at the top but weaker at the middle and bottom this season than it was last season. The Rockets could sneak right in.
I'm going to let the coaches figure it out, and they have an entire season to give everyone a chance to show what the can do. Right now Patterson is getting his chance and he's not really taking advantage of the opportunity. In the NBA, when you get your chance, you need to produce in a hurry because other players are waiting in line to get their chance to prove what they can do. With so many young power forwards on this team I suspect this will be that last opportunity Patterson has to show he can be a starter for the Rockets. This is Patterson's third year as a pro, so it's now or never in my opinion. I know a lot of people are frustrated the rookies aren't getting more minutes, but the first thing we have to determine is whether Patterson is a starter or not. From what I have seen so far Patterson is not a starter in this league. But, the coaches have 76 more games to sort this all out.
The coaches are looking for a PF who can rebound the ball. So far I don't think they've been impressed with any of our PFs in the rebounding department.
I'm just glad Jones got of the end of the bench. I got a feeling if McHale was coaching it would not have happened. Definitely take Jones and Morris over Pat. Pat has had his time to prove himself and he still can't rebound or play D. His offense is inconsistent considering he's primarily jump shooter.
I agree. This is the same thing as Chase Budinger being benched for Parsons last season. I garantee Patterson will be benched within 20 or so games if this keeps up. What's sad is I don't think being benched for a rook will make him play any better.
Patterson defends better than anybody on the list. He's the best true two way player we have right now before lin fully get his legs back.
