9. Dmo is probably 6th on the scoring ability. Behind (in no particular order) Harden, Lin, Jones, Morris, Chandler, Asik (ok, this was a joke :grin: ). We don't know how good of a scorer he is; preseason is an indicator but not a absolute. But he is undersized, and a great liability on defence. His scoring has been VERY inconsistent in preseason, and SL. He would look really good, then look really inept. 11. This is why Morris is playing. He plays decent defence on PF's and has a good offence. His offensive ability was never questioned, just his defence. But it has improved, and he is showing his ability. Btw, Patterson has had some good post-ups this year. 12. The way our team is constructed, they need to get playoff experience. We are the youngest team in the league, and it would be INVALUABLE for them to get a taste of it and get their butterflies out of their stomach. Winning as much as possible will only make the Rocket's players have higher trade value, and make us seem like a good destination for other stars. We do not need to tank/develop rookies. The rookies can break the rotation when they are ready, not playing the first couple of games will not make/break their career. They are still practicing and developing every day in practice. Their time will come, and I am sure they are not forgotten obviously. They have had only two practices with harden, and it is typical of Rockets not to play their rookies early.
I would even prefer JuJuan Johnson over Patirck Patterson. & footer with atleticism, that can knock down the turn around jumper. Why waive a prospect like that? Might as well should have kept him along with the draft pick.
It could be a disaster - could be - if we throw the rookies on the court even before our starters develop any chemistry.
I'm curious to see those other guys as well, but it's an 82 game season. You try different things. People will be going in and out of the lineup - just not all in one game.
The question of the rookies playing, or not provokes the folowing thoughts for me. McHale is/has been using a 9 man rotation. About average or typical for the NBA. So, i dont think the argument can be made he is not using enough players. So maybe he is not using the right players. Lets start with who we know ARE the right players. Harden Lin Asik These 3 there is no question about Morris Pat Parsons These three have been a little spotty, but dont see anyone who could do better consistently, so these 3 are keepers for the time being also. Aldrich Delfino Smith These 3 have either shown flashes in limited playing time or have been very up and down. These 3 are questionable. Cook Douglas Jones Dmo Machado White That leaves these 6. Should they be playing? Well either Douglas OR Machado kinda has to. If Machado cant play "D", I can see why Douglas gets the nod. Jones and Dmo would seem the most likely of the rest, but are they better than Pat or Morris? Cook and White just dont seem in the equation at present, so I will assume no for these 2. --------------
If you will read my original post you will see that I was responding to a post by shortfuse3, who said that PPat had a great game. I didn't think PPat had a great game, which it sounds like you agree with. That was my point. Read my original post dude.
9. Let's be fair here when talking about the defensive end. D-Mo has been playing out of position his entire time here with the Rockets. The guy is a natural Power Forward. So I think it's a tad bit unfair to draw conclusions about his defensive abilities based on the current sample. As for the inconsistency (which outside of one game, he was pretty consistent in SL), those are just growing pains when it comes to young players. That's something I'm willing to live with if it means some time to develop. 11. I can concede that Morris defense has improved. But you can't sell me on Patrick Patterson's low post game. The man looks so robotic in the post to me, nothing comes off smooth or natural. 12. You make fair points about player development. Yes I know they are developing in practice, but getting their feet wet now, when games aren't as important IMO. Just seem's better to me. As for trade value and star destination. It's not like I'm promoting tanking here. All I'm saying is that giving the rooks some minutes now to get their feet wet, when games are less crucial (IMO), will really help down the road. Specially considering the tools, and upside, some these rookies have.
We would all love to see the Rookies play, but there's a difference between pre-season and regular season. If a coach has the luxury of letting setting back to learn the game instead of just throwing them out then you take that gift and say thank you. Sports is a game of confidence no matter the talent and you can ruin a guy by killing his confidence if he goes out there and does bad. So why take that chance and let the young fellows grow at there time. As someone has already stated this is not a video game.. T_Man
Rookies play when they are ready. Not before. If you are top ten pick AND have game And you are better than who's out there, sure play em. But I think if PPat and MMorris continue their play the rookies will have to wait their turn. Just ask Morris how that works. Note, if you are better than who's in front of you, you get to start, see Chandler for reference. Really it is that simple.
Someone's got to blow Lin and Harden and it ain't Douglas. This is the most serious rotation problem. Cole Aldrich showed some skills in the post. And I think TJ has skills and can certainly play spot minutes. I think this team is much deeper than mchale is willing to acknowledge. I love me some kevin mchale but it really is frustrating watching lin and harden totally gassed at the end of games.
It's a catch-22. How do you know if a player is better than a starter if they never get to play? For instance I believe that Jones has more potential and could be better than PPat (as shown by his preseason performance) but how do you know when he'll be "ready" if he never sees any action. At least throw him in there for a few minutes here and there especially when the starters are fatiqued. It's not like PPat is lighting it up out there either, wasn't he 6 for 16? Same goes for Douglas. He's 1 for 14 from the field this year and played horribly the entire last season, why not sprinkle in Machado. I know it's only been 3 games so I'll give McHale more time but its frustrating when we're losing close games due to our starters being fatiqued or the optimum lineup not being put out.
I also think that because we're a bit iffy in regards to our forward positions, we could beneifit from a deeper bench as well.
I'm just sayin', Terrence Jones is a better defender at the 4 than Morris and a better defender at the 5 than Aldrich, imo. He should be playing.
I believe it was JVG who said that rookies get good coaches fired. Mchale simply does not want to play the rookies because rookies will obviously make mistakes which will cost Mchale his job.
Yes, but then you started overbashing him and didn't realize his affect on the game by shutting down the other stars, which made him play a okayish game overall. I differed in opinion, and argued my stance. +/- is not a great stat for just one game, and Patterson is not a below-average starting forward.
I consider D-Mo as a PF when I am talking about him. We already have our center position manned with Asik, Aldrich, and Smith. Do you really think D-Mo could hold his own to Aldridge or Smith? He would get eaten alive. He got very exposed on PnR this preseason and in the post defence this preseason, and they are against 2nd string players. Why go through growing pains when they can crack the rotation mid season without them? The problem with Rockets draft picks have been the second year. Many of them have slumped. 11. P-Pat is not the a quality low-post presence, but the low-post game is hard to develop and it will take some time. But his has improved. And his pick and pop game is still good; we as fans are just spoiled because Luis Scola was amazing at it. 12. It is more important to win games now, and not get "their feet wet" if our starters would be able to get their feet wet in a playoff series. That would be real experience and learning for the young team. I feel the opposite, we should give rookies playing time later the season so they can bring energy when the long season is winding down. Then, the rookies will not hit the infamous "rookie wall" and they will be adapted to the NBA game just in time to finish strong.
