lets not go crazy, great game today but Harrell is young and still struggles to defend bigger centres. This always happens with some Rockets fans....a guy has a big game and suddenly they are the best ever.... need to calm down a bit
Montrezl's defensive plus minus is second only to Bev. Makes ALL the difference to have them both on the floor, motor galore. And that's INFECTIOUS just as having Dwight pout is infectious the other way. Also Brew on the floor w/ Trez and Bev is a formidable defensive unit that can score b/c Gordon. Finally, when one rookie does well it inspires the others, Capella, Dek. It's not like people have fixed identities, they are somewhat part of how the situation unfolds. Viva MDA! Montrezl's wingspan and motor, letting Harden set him up, and playing alongside Bev for defensive bite, sure he'll get backed down or pushed off the boards a bit, he's just a soph, but don't loose him for someone w/o motor/heart. Cassell > Barkley, don't forget that, you stat and fame trolls, Cassell > Barkley. Harrell has something that amplifies Bev, and that Harden can lock into. /rant
not as much closing talent as Landry, Landry could close games out and had a great jump shot and could get to the line to put games away. Harrell is only young but he shows energy and can be great in the pick and roll. Harrell is not really undersized for the power forward spot But i do hate doing comparisons after one big game and fans are quick to jump on them
I'm honestly tired of hearing that Capela and Harrell are not strong enough. If there are people big and strong enough to push them around, then those players are too slow to guard Harrell/Capela in the PnR and transition >> this is what good coaching does. It doesn't sit back and sulk because of a weakness. It looks for the opportunity to exploit via our strengths/advantages. In a year, Capela and Harrell could be an excellent duo. Just need Capela to continue his steady defensive improvement, and Harrell to work on his midrange J and 3pt shot. Capela's excellent rebounding works well with Harrell. They are both decent shotblockers. They will both outrun their opponents on the breaks. They are both hungry for alley oops. I'm comfortable with these guys switching on PnR. This stretch without Capela has really helped Harden learn how to play with Harrell on the floor. They have some hard work ahead of them but it's looking good. Maybe Anderson will be effective long enough to give this duo time to flourish, we just need a more defensive alternative to Nene as insurance. Hope we're not trading Harrell anytime soon! These are the ominous flashes we should look out for. It's a huge stretch to say this I know, but just in principle, no one knew Draymond Green was going to be Draymond Green during his second regular season - he was just showing flashes of who he was. Maybe Trez is showing us flashes of a brighter future than we expect. It certainly feels like the conditions exist for him to make big leaps (MDA offensive system, Bzdelik defensive coaching, unselfish PG, spacing, early career experience, winning culture).
Nice catch. Yo where those Beasley fans at? I guess they switch from complaining about Morey letting Beasley walk to Morey letting DMo walk. Letting those assets go for free man, what was Mauri thinking?
Harrell deserves credit for being aggressive and making Valanciunas and Nogueria look bad. I hope this game gives Harrell some confidence when he faces some more veteran big men who will body up on him. By the way, note how Nogueria does his best Dwight Howard imitation in these clips: flap your hands, stomp, slump your shoulders, and appeal to your teammates as to why they allowed yet another basket. Nogueria is a nice prospect 7-footer, but wow, fairly immature. And I don't know what's happening with Valanciunas. He can impact a game a lot more than he's doing right now. Despite their wins, all is not well in Toronto. It is so nice to see the Rockets not bickering with each other after they give up baskets. We just inbound the ball and look to score.
Really? A 0.7 bpg center is a defensive stud? His defensive win shares have been lower than his offensive win shares every year. He's got some work to do on the defensive end if he wants to be known as a defensive stud.
ala Mathloom, maybe against some players but not quick enough to keep Montrez from jamming the ball before he could react.
I felt Houston drafted Royce White as a possible answer to LeBron defensively while making LeBron exert some energy guarding Royce (Royce was suppose to be a 5-tool guy: rebs/stls/asts/blks/pts). Instead he was just a tool. Then along came Draymond Green. I believe Morey drafted Montrez to then counter both LeBron & Draymond. I can see Harrell on LeBron for 5-10 mins a game. Warriors & Cavs force switching on defense to get a mismatch. They probe the defense to find the weakest link. Force Beverley on KD or LeBron. This is why I would like a Hardaway or Stauskas. They won't stop KD or LeBron at 6'6"; but they are taller than EGo & Bev & can cont raining 3's. Draymond shot about 21% (12/13), 33% (13/14) & 34% from 3 in 14/15....then hit 39% in 15/16. Harrell shot 24% from 3 in 15/16 while with the RGV Vipers on 4.2 attempts per games. John Lucas will get him shooting 3's by next year......if not this playoff run.
This isn't just "one big game" from Harrell. He's had more positive moments that'll bad ones. Even in the games where he's been owned inside by bigger centers he's still made some good plays and brought some value.
I am looking forward to see some consistency in performance and minutes. That dude has been explosive in spurts.
Based on his body proportions I'm not sure he can stay healthy, consistency would be more of a challenge
Montrez been killing it with Clint out. Love to see his growth. Once Clint gets back our C spot will be looking good with Clint, Trez and NeNe.
