Fam even with a healthy Dmo, Josh Smith is the best option to start. Although DMo has post moves he's still a liability defensively & especially on the boards. Defense (and rebounding) has been our achilles all season. Smith is the best PF on the roster and should be
Smith has been doing well off the bench so definitely keep him on the bench. Dmo is injured so we can reevaluate this question but as for now we will leave him out of the subject. I think Capela starts with Howard once Howard comes back, I think Jones benefits the most from starting, I don't mind playing Ariza next to Howard but I don't like Ariza next to Capela unless we are playing against stretch or small 4's (like Dirk and Parker). So I'm fine with any of Capela, Jones of Ariza starting at the 4 when Howard comes back. I don't like Brewer getting big minutes so much though, he gambles way to much on defense and can't shoot consistently, he's made for the bench, I wouldn't mind throwing Thornton into the starting lineup while sliding Harden to the 3 though.
I hope the team is able to get another veteran PF because the TJones/DMo combo had their chances but failed to produce on a consistent basis. We will know February 18th.
again, for the millionth time, dmo wasnt a good rebounding and defensive center last season because he's not a center, he's a pf. and as a young player, it was his first season getting starter minutes, and nearly all of them were at cener. he doesnt have the strength to matchup with centers. and yet he still did a good job. if he can play his real position, pf, he and dwight will wreck havoc on both ends. dmo is vastly underrated even to his own fans. its like im the only one who sees him moving around on defense. i wont be surprised if a healthy dwight and dmo becomes the best twin tower lineup in the league. they can def be top 5
DMo was inconsistent/bad up until last season. Last season he was consistently good. You can not put him into same boat with Jones, who used to be inconsistently great 2 years ago. DMo's consistency is on the uprising, his overall game was on the uprising until the injury, Jones has been bad for couple years now. They are not in a same boat. They are not a "TJones/DMo combo". You don't need to be a biased DMo fan like me to see it. Poll results show it well.
Josh Smith must continue to come off the bench. The bench needs his playmaking and he is a great spark. We have no starting caliber pfs who are healthy. So I guess keep starting Capella or Jones or whatever but continue to bring Smith off the bench. We must make a trade for a starting caliber pf.
I'd probably just look at the different match ups. I like the way our offense looks with Ariza at 4. But we obviously can't do that against everyone! At least until Dmo is back (and 100%) I'd switch between starting Brew at 3 and Ariza at 4, and Smith against bigger teams. We're flexible, that's what I like!
I disagree with the notion that Josh Smith shouldn't start. I think he understands that Harden is the focus on offense and starting next to Dwight he focuses more on defense, protecting the rim and rebounding. Also trying to be a stretch 4. If he plays more with the 2nd unit I think he would take more ill advised shots, trying to do more on the offense. Dmo would be great coming off the bench I think. Pretty reliable scorer.
Why does he need to start to get 30 mins a game??? He can still get those mins coming off the bench.. T_Man
Why does every keep putting D-Mo into this conversation about starting or being the backup.. D-Mo, has played less than a month this year and his contract ends this year, so basically this could be his last year as a Rocket.. The PF on this team are Capella, Smith, Jones and Harrell.... I like D-Mo but unfortunately, he's not in the picture right now. T_Man
Someone should create a new thread with same poll but not include DMo. We need wins NOW. So, the tough question is who starts NOW! That's more interesting to me. Voting DMo right now is mere hopeful thinking, and certainly doesn't have anything to do with what Coach needs to decide right now; since DMo is not in the discussion for at least a month for rehab, playing into game shape and then taking the starting PF spot if he can. Nothing against DMo, as I would vote for him if he was an option like last year when we got Josh, but I'm just more interesting in a poll of making the tough decisions now. Like, tell me who should start for the next month?
I am just happy Joshua is here to stay for the season. Darn I was quite impressed when he won the Sprite Slam Dunk title and I have been following him ever since. If those DMOFs want to start whoever I do not care so much. The Truth will shine and still have hope for him but starting someone often isn't helping a young player.
whoever we start its not going to make much of a difference because none are starting caliber pfs. I guess you can do it by matchup or put Capela off the bench as backup C..depending if the coaching staff believe that will help with his confidence and development. Because being a starter out of position has been bad for him. (that will also raise his trading value in a potential trade). The most time and the end of the games should go to Smith..but he must come off the bench, because the bench needs him.
I agree with your post, but here's where i see the advantage of Smith.... When Howard comes back Capela now has a lot of pressure off of him... So now if you take Howard out you move Capela to the Center and Josh to the PF... This way the Rockets can have a veteran next to Capela and Jones which should take the pressure of them so that they can just play... T_Man
With brewer and ty resembling actual basketball players, the only real dead weight is jones. We need defense/rebounding/and three point shooting/a big who can shoot free throws. If we can trade Tjones and either of dekker/montrez/kj to acquire someone who does 2/4 those things, it is probably the best in season move we can make at this point.
