So, right now we obviously aren't getting much from that position. Smith is playing poorly, DMo has been injured, and Jones is his usual inconsistent self. Ariza works in spurts at the 4, but it also leaves us weak on the boards. At this point, no one has really stepped up and earned a spot. Why not give Harrell a chance to play the backup 4? You know the thing you can always expect with him is to play extremely hard on both ends of the court. For a team that looks listless more often than not, bringing a player off the bench that plays with a ton of energy would be beneficial. Right now we have two guys (Lawson and Jones) that play very tentative on the second unit. Harrell at least will bring the same high level of intensity every game. Also, Harrell has shown an ability to finish strong around the rim and he has better touch than I expected. He still has to work on his offensive game, especially his outside shote, but his post-moves are more polished than what people gave him credit for coming out of college. Nice to see a guy dunk with authority, rather than watching Terrence constantly getting his layups blocked. I would stick with Smith for now in the staring lineup and give Harrell a shot as the backup. Ariza can keep getting situational minutes there, when they go to the smaller lineup. I just want to see the days of Jones getting default playing time come to an end, he hasn't earned it. If DMo comes back from injury that would obviously change things, but we don't know yet if he will get cleared to play. What would you guys like to see happen with the power forward rotation?
just wait for dmo to get healthy Spoiler or move jones back into the starting lineup Spoiler jokes aside, we should stick with smith for now. there's still some time left for smith or jones to build some momentum in their game. i dont think capela will go back to his december numbers. 2nd half of the seaosn is too competitive and its his first season being a rotation player. he'll get there next season last resort would have to be ariza, or sign a big who wont hurt the team too much at 15-20mpg. mike harris type of free agent but i think smith or jones will pan otu to be decent starters once everyone is on the same page. i'll bet dmo's out till next season and even if he can play thi sseason, he'll need awhile to get back to heavy minutes and be productive, so he'll only be good for about 15-20mpg
Your problem here is that JB thinks he is playing for his job. That is why he is going with the vets. No way is he going to put his future in any rookie's hand. Which might explain Brewer's minutes.
The Rockets PF is not currently on the roster. Spoiler Since amnestying Scola… Jeff Adrien, Trevor Ariza, Omer Asik, Tarik Black, Clint Capela, Omri Casspi, Carlos Delfino, Joey Dorsey, Francisco Garcia, Montrezl Harrell, Terrence Jones, Marcus Morris, Donatas Motiejunas, Kostas Papanikolaou, Patrick Patterson, Josh Powell, Thomas Robinson, Greg Smith, Josh Smith, Royce White Going up against … Draymond Green, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Serge Ibaka, Blake Griffin, Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki, Anthony Davis, Derrick Favors, Ken Faried
It's more about coaching than anything else IMO. JBs love affair with small lineups and his go to guy Brewer is very questionable.
I thought Jones played with fire last night he just never got back in the game. He has been out a while so that might be the reason.
The revolving door of power forwards. Apparently Morey never plans to keep another PF past their rookie deals.
I agree with OP. When Jones is in the game a lot of times you can't tell. Montrezl has not had that disappearing effect in his limited minutes. Last night I wanted JB to put Josh back in the game but he never did. He started off cold but hit a few in a row never to be seen from again? Right when he started to get into rhythm.
Calcium is right. JB is playing for his job, also Les and DM want to make the playoffs in hopes the switch flips on at the right time. Therefore we won't see Harrell. I for one would be playing KJ too.
Ever since Scola was let go the PF position has never been the same. Harrell should be given the position as a starter or the first one to sub of the bench. He should be getting PT instead not playing at all.
Harrell and kj need to be taking minutes from Brewer, jones, and Smith. It's as simple as that. They may suck some of there,but so does every one else, and at least they will be improving for next year
The amazing thing is that Morey is criticized for drafting almost exclusively PFs and yet we still don't have our guy.
Monty for starter. I would rather see Rockets have a team full of high energy passionate people than the group we have even if he isn't as "talented".
Play Harden at PF on defense. Dude is a sieve defensively on the perimeter. doesn't move, ball watches, no focus. I can't see him being much worse guarding 4's Opposition SG's and perimeter players often go off against us even scrubs mainly due to Harden's piss poor defense
Montrezls has been in the doghouse ever since JB took over 112 minutes under Mchale (in 11 games) 178 minutes under JB (in 46 games)
Yeah, the small ball lineup with Ariza at 4 makes no sense because Brewer can't shoot from the 3. Would rather have Harrell in there. And the DMo thing is just a mystery. He's got to be healthy enough to get out there for 20 minutes a night.