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2015 Training Camp & Preseason: The Competition for Rotation Minutes

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by cdrive, Sep 16, 2015.

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  1. cdrive

    cdrive Member
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    "You are never going to see T-Jones block a Griffin turnaround"
    You're talking about this:
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ivLBDve56rA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Griffin was coming in on a PnR.

    Which is similar to this:
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NQspt3Tph7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Duncan coming in on a PnR.

    Terrence Jones is very good at blocking shots:
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TQqb81-mYPQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NcelB96vrMw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

    Also I would "never say never" with a young guy like TJ who has only played 1 full season in the NBA, his 2nd year in the league in the 13-14 season. The 1st was in the D-League & the 3rd was all but erased by injury.

    So common knowledge is a big man breaks out in the 4th, sometimes 3rd, year. Surely if you allow Josh Smith a full career of 11 seasons to make 1 single block in the clutch in a playoff game (a scenario he is very unfamiliar with in his career because he was often the primary reason his team wasn't a deep playoff team), then you could at least allow TJ to have his sophomore year of NBA burn in the league, his 4th year in the league, his 3rd healthy year, before saying "never." We know who Josh Smith is. It's preposterous to assume we've seen all we'll ever see from TJ. Everyone, literally everyone, as in if a book of literature about everyone was written then this would be in that book, everyone around the league knows TJ has high upside that is only going to get better year by year. There are articles about top guys to watch that are under 25, etc.

    TJ already shares the same Def Rating as Smith. You discuss tougher defenders but not how J Smith often rolled with the 2nd unit during that 102 rating, i.e. playing against bench units. DWS, TJ had 1.3 in 33 games of play, Smith had 2.2 in 55 games, again an identical pace.

    So you disagree with only 1 of my use of stats to prove they are marginally different on defense, the use of D Rating, not the rebound stat. TJ rebounded more with less minutes, he BLOCKED alot more with less minutes. Josh Smith has 1 steal a game to TJ's 1/2 steal a game so Smith has him there, but again maybe allow TJ 11 seasons to find that extra half steal. I bet you won't have to wait 11 seasons though, cause TJ is about to show everyone that he is already better in his incline than Smith in Smith's decline. TJ & D-Mo both are. That's why Morey secured Brew & KJ as priority over Smith. Morey knows what he has.
     
    #41 cdrive, Sep 18, 2015
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  2. fonzie_004

    fonzie_004 Member

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    sorry to quote myself/bump the thread, but I am interested in where we are at re dwight playing B2b games
     
    #42 fonzie_004, Sep 20, 2015
  3. bmd

    bmd Member

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    McHale just said at the recent alternate jersey unveiling event that Dwight will only play half of the back to back games just like he did when he came back from injury last season.
     
    #43 bmd, Sep 20, 2015
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  4. fonzie_004

    fonzie_004 Member

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    Thanks, I had just never seen where it had definitively came from. appreciated. Have some rep my friend
     
    #44 fonzie_004, Sep 20, 2015
  5. don grahamleone

    don grahamleone Member

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    I hope McHale can figure out some way to win games and lower Harden's minutes. If he plays 30-31 minutes a game and we're winning.. playoffs will look much prettier.
     
    #45 don grahamleone, Sep 21, 2015
  6. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    If K.J. McDaniels is worth the contract he signed, he likely will play some this year. For this to happen without Brewer and Ariza losing significant minutes, some minutes are going to be small ball minutes. How many minutes will the Rockets play a SF at PF on average this season?

    I'm thinking 8-10.
     
    #46 Joe Joe, Sep 25, 2015
  7. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    I think OP's right there is some interesting competition at backup 2, and what we do with the big men. I'm still unwilling to believe McHale will play the rookies. So, I'm going to completely write off Dekker and Harrell.

    It'll be interesting to see how well Thornton and McDaniels do. My prejudice is to say they are spot-minute players and that Beverley and Brewer will take the minutes as the backup 2 and 3. Putting one of Thornton or McDaniels in the rotation makes the rotation too long, or else knocks someone out. I see guaranteed 8 rotation guys now to be:

    Lawson, Beverley
    Harden
    Ariza, Brewer
    Jones, Motiejunas
    Howard

    If Thornton/McDaniels is included, that's 9 deep. A little long for McHale, but possible. But, then add Capela, whom we'll need at least as long as Motie is out. No way McHale goes 10 deep. Only 1 of Thornton/McDaniels/Capela can get rotation minutes once D-Mo comes back. Unless someone else flames out or is injured -- and that someone else can't be Lawson or Beverley (who would be replaced by Terry instead).
     
    #47 JuanValdez, Sep 25, 2015
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