What I love about Gordon and Harden is that unlike the Lawson fiasco they look great as a combo when they are on the court at the same time.Having said that I would keep Gordon in his current role as a &6th man because of his explosive scoring and underrated playmaking skills. There will be many nights when our starters will be struggling and they might need a extra boost off the bench and a guy. Like Gordon can certainly provide that in spades.
Start KJ and let opposing PGs chase him on backdooor cuts all game, and KJ is probably a better defender than Bev at this stage after Bev's injuries and decline on D. I would even start Gordon in place of Bev for 10 games just to see the dynamic there. I mean we know what we get with Harden/Bev, why not try something different while Bev's injured.
I get what you are saying, and we kind of agree on Bev's minutes, I just want them around 15 or so most nights. And I do get everyone's point about Bev starting and Gordon being our 6th man. I just think that teams will still be able to focus in on Harden in Anderson in the starting lineup, and by slowing those two down, we will generally end up with slow starts and playing from behind, like we did with KJ starting against the Grizz. At least against good defensive teams. I think starting Gordon gives us a better opportunity to put more pressure on other teams by having a more explosive offense to start the game, thus wearing them down defensively to slow down their offense. Our hallmark this year will be offense. Trying to field a better defensive team will not give us a better win lose record this year. Harden will probably usually play most of the 1st quarter's as always, so you can bring in Bev or KJ around the 6 minute mark to give Gordon a rest, so that he is ready to sub back in once Harden sits. I do agree that Gordon should always be on the floor when Harden sits to have that playmaker on the floor. I just don't think that they only way to do that is by bringing him off the bench as a 6th man. If dude is healthy to play, he is a starter, borderline allstar. Bev should NOT be starting ahead of him no matter what the excuse imho.
Maybe Mike Anthony is looking at both for the 2nd unit while running McDonald with Harden on the 1st unit.
My concern with Bev starting is he would cause the Rockets to play in the old Harden-do-it-all system. Gordon not only help space the floor, but I recall him being a pretty good passer and driver. I think he fit in the new system much better than Bev. My concern with Gordon starting is, can he guard the point position? Harden certainly cannot, so he needs to be able to do at least a decent job. I also think Bev's style is perfect as a bench player. Spark plug defense and all out energy. If he does continue to have health problem, that would be another good reason for him to not start. Those that are concern about the team lacking offense when Harden sit - easy enough to manage. Just sit Gordon and Harden at different times. At the end of the day, it's who get the Rockets going right at tip off and if Gordon can do a decent job at defense, I think it's him and not Bev.
I have the same question if Gordon can guard the point position. But when I try imagining Gordon guarding Curry, Westbrook, Paul.....and many other great pgs, I think it will not work.
i think ego and curry were actually matched up in the playoffs a couple yrs ago......would appreciate if anyone could confirm or correct that
I know it's just preseason but the three games we have got out to very fast high scoring first quarters, Eric Gordon was starting. Game one against the sharks bev started and we didn't score for the first 3-4 min of the game. Against the Grizz KJ started and once again not a fast start. Out staple is going to be the fast starts in the first quarter. I think it's crucial we put teams on their back feet from the jump and make them Play our game. In order to do that on most nights is Gordon. He shook start.
Correct. But what you can do is force them into bad shooting nights, which Bev is great at. Would you rather Westbrook have 40pts on 13-20, or 40pt on 13-29?
I knew people were going to come up with Gordon's health issues. I agree, even though I prefer him over Beverley. But I want K.J McDaniels to start over Beverley and Gordon. K.J McDaniels brings energy, can play defense, hustles, and he is very athletic. Many question his offense, but he'll improve as the season goes on.
Well that's probably why theres a terrible misconception about what good or bad defense is. A great player is most likely going to get his points regardless of who's guarding him. But the way you truly know a player's a good defender is by how efficient and easily his opponent scores. Curry can score 37pts against us, but if he shoots 35% and takes 30fg's to get there, that's great defense. Bev's always done this
Beverley's days of being that lockdown defender when he was trying to solidify a spot in this league are behind him. He needs to be more consistent and solid night in and night out now provided he's healthy which it doesn't seem like he is. It's gotten to the point where he doesn't even shadow guys like lillard anymore so that should tell people enough how much hes dropped off defensively.
Remember when we had a guard who was a poor man's Gordon and people blamed Harden for him not getting playing time?
Too bad we didn't have MDA as HC back then. System needs to match personnel, and coaches need to know how to get most of their players within that system. McHale just was not an x's and o's guy nor did he run a true system.
http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets...ordon-moving-into-starting-lineup-9983773.php Rockets guard Eric Gordon will move into the starting lineup tonight against Dallas with the expectation that he will remain the starter when the regular season opens next Wednesday in Los Angeles. Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni had kept Gordon as a sixth man on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies to have Gordon in the role he has planned for him during the regular season. With Pat Beverley now considered certain to be out for the start of the season, D'Antoni planned to move Gordon into the starting lineup with James Harden. Moving Gordon into the starting lineup, however, does impact the Rockets scoring off the bench. Gordon has averaged 12.4 points on 46.7 percent shooting, making 42.3 percent of his 3s. "That does change things, but there will never be a time that either Eric or James won't be on the floor," D'Antoni said. "We'll still have him either with the bench guys or James with the bench guys." D'Antoni said he is "still evaluating" the other guard spot off the bench. Guard Tyler Ennis is expected to get extended playing time in Dallas tonight. Pablo Prigioni is expected back from a sprained shoulder on Friday in San Antonio. Center Nene will be given Wednesday off. No decision had been made about whether Beverley will need an arthroscopic surgery to address the irritation in his left knee, but the timetable for his return is considered likely to be several more weeks and roughly the same whether he has the procedure or continues to treat the knee as he has through most of the preseason. Beverley has another consultation scheduled for this week to determine whether to undergo a surgery and to get a better idea of a timetable.
