McHale said he was looking at a 10 man rotation before the season and it was painfully obvious guys were tired. He played the starters too many minutes the previous game and that's okay because we needed Harden and others to take the victory home. Then even more so you should play guys with fresh legs, especially considering our style of play. He could've played Jones 2-4 minutes at the end of the 1st and see how he does. If he does play, you play him again later. Something like that.
Well let's consider this. Every starter we have at the beginning of last season played off the bench. Lin, Harden, Parsons, Patterson, Asik were all bench players to begin with last year (except for Parsons who got the most of the starter role last season). Their still learning to play on a high, starter type level that needs to be on the same level as those of teams like the Spurs and other teams. They won't learn how to play starter if the bench is also just learning how to play bench. We're just too young to have everyone play. We need to develop our starters first.
I do think that after this first loss we are likely to see mchale bringing in one rookie into the rotation. I would love to see jones being brought in but it is more likely someone who can play some PG duties, so not sure if it would be machado or white.... I could be wrong of course being a backseat driving coach
Did you watch the game? PPat defended aldridge perfectly and actually kept us in the game with 4th quarter scoring and his defence.
9. After harden, lin is the best scorer, Seriously, DMO? 10. Asik sets the best screens I have seen in a while. 11. Morris has been playing well, and PPat has played great defence on Smith and Aldridge. 12. Would be 1-2 if rookies played. 13. It worked when we had our 22 game win streak. 14. No they are not; Dmo was hesitant to shoot threes in the preseason because it is out of range; and same with Jones. Especially Jones, as a coach, him shooting the three would be a win for the defence. 15. Every team has depth, but they are VETERAN depth, not rookies. Let them get some practice in this season. Rockets always break in rookies mid-season; it is not going to change, and it has worked successfully.
I thought Morris had a good game, but PPat did not have a great game. PPat was -29 for game. 12 points and 6 rebounds in 38 minutes is not great. PPat had one steal, zero blocks and zero assists. PPat even had a hard time knocking down the mid-range jumper tonight, which is the only thing he does well on offense. Also, PPat has not attempted even one free throw the entire season. He's played 67 minutes this year and not one free throw attempt. PPat is far from great. He is a below average starting power forward in this league.
I guess holding down Lamarcus Aldridge to 27 points on 29 shots isn't a big deal. Or holding Josh Smith to 18 points on 21 shots isn't a big deal. But stats obviously don't lie; he did not get a block and only one steal, he must of played terrible. Bench him now! And he shot bad, even though the entire starting lineup shot bad. But it is all his fault! Bench him now! He didn't get 12 rebounds like Kevin Love or another superstar PF. Even though rebound black hole Asik played many minutes as well. But it is all his fault! Bench him now!
I agree that Terrance Jones and Dmo should at least get some minutes, but if we look at it closely Patrick plays stellar defense and Mook has been playing well, so not many minutes for him there. If we look at Dmo however, I do see at least 7 to 8 minutes to get him in. Asik is great defensively but not a great scorer, Cole played ok last night, but I think Dmo can play a lot better and stretch the defense and hit the 3's.
I didn't say it's all his fault. I said he didn't have a "great game". I don't think he deserves 38 minutes.
It really wasn't all that bad. Morris got some minutes. Aldrich got ALOT more minutes than the previous 2 games -- he even got subbed in with the starters at one point. I wouldn't be surprised if McHale is trying to work them in 1 at a time so he doesn't overly disrupt the building chemistry. Given how early it is in the season, let's see how it pans out over the next 5-10 games.
No coach should have to manage the minutes of 23 and 24 year olds 3 games into the season. If they're exhausted, then maybe the extra minutes will help them get in better shape.
Harden got 6 boards, and Parsons 12 with Asik playing. I guess they're just too good rebounding for Patterson to have a chance. Patterson plays good(not great), but that's the only thing he does well. He's a poor man's Chuck Hayes who takes way too many shots. Oh, and he can't pass, either. He's done nothing to this point to earn his minutes.
Nobody had a great game yesterday: what's your point? Morris had a good game, but everybody else was pretty sub-par. Aldrich did some good things though.
So true! Every one of the rookie is a defensive liability or McHale probably wouldve played them already. Most of those want to see them in action are ones who haven't watched or paid closely attention to the preseason games. - Jone was a huge liability against big 4's. Glen Davis ate him up and Aldridge would eat him alive too! - DMo was too soft in the paint, a terrible rebounder, and always on the losing end of bumper cars. - Royce White looked totally lost on defense, slow and in terrible physical condition. If they can't hold their own on defensive end, they are not NBA ready. It's not the proper way to throw them into the tiger den. It will destroy whatever confident they have. As for Lamb, Why do you suppose McHale played him for a total of 19 min for the whole preseason? OKC will find out soon enough...maybe they already did by playing him for a total of one minute during Blazers game.
I have a problem with a couple of these. 9. I kind of agree with you, but at the same time I think your underestimating D-Mo. At his age he has a very advance offensive arsenal. Starting off with something no one else on the team currently has, and that is a legit, natural, post up game. Even Gersson Rosas said it, D-Mo is raw physically, but in terms of skills his pretty advance. Specially for someone his age... if allowed to develop, I have little doubt he could be the second best scorer on the team by the end of the season. 11. Great I agree, Patterson has been playing pretty GOOD defense. But when you have a center who can't score worth a lick, and combine him with a power forward whose only good for the occasional jump shot, it puts a ridiculous amount of pressure on the back court to carry the offensive load for the starters. Personally I'd rather have a power forward who can play moderate to good defense (which I believe both Jones and D-Mo are capable of), but can produce on the offensive end. Relieving pressure off of Harden and Lin in that starting lineup. 12. You're probably right. But personally, I'd rather sacrifice some games now if it meant getting some help later on in the season from our rookies.
Point taken for rebounding. So in two games, Patterson has had 6 and 7 boards. Two games is not near enough of a sample size to determine his rebounding, but he does a good job boxing out and I am sure his rebounding will improve. The Rockets have consistently outrebounded their opponents this season, so something must be done right by Patterson, who has gotten many offensive rebounds and tips. Let's remember he is not a Kevin Love, and is playing by two good rebounding guards, a great rebounding center, and a good rebounding forward. But he is still doing his part. I don't know how you can say he takes too many shots. Where is your evidence for that? I don't know how you can say he can't pass. He is not the one at the high post (Asik is), and off PnR, he is not supposed to pass if he gets the ball from the guard: he is supposed to finish or shoot the jumper. Passing is not his role in the offence, but I am sure that Jones or DMo will be more turnover prone anyways. That is typical for rookies. How is he a poor man's Chuck Hayes? His offensive game is much more developed and he plays a different position (Hayes was center/high post option). What he has done to earn his minutes is shut down the opposing stars (Josh Smith and Aldridge). If you had watched the game, you can see how they would avoid him in PnR, instead challenging Asik. He is one of the best at hedging and recovering off ball-screens. Also, Aldridge and Smith just had a very difficult time scoring on him. Most of their points were when Asik was guarding them or Morris. That makes his performance even better. It is obvious that Harden's offensive outburst was why the Rockets won the first two, but if Patterson did not shut down Smith and Aldridge, the Rockets would of lost against Atlanta and would of gotten blown out by Portland. He was bailing us out in the fourth quarter of that game. And btw, he has had many big buckets in the fourth quarter already this season.
