Traditionally, Green is a power forward. In fact he credited Kerr for saving his career because Marc Jackson thought he was more of a wing. Green With that said, bball only has 3 positions now. PG (Ball handler), Wings, and bigs. Green is a big, through and through. He's able to defend centers down low because of his strength and wingspan...which is 7'1" Let's also remember GSW for most of its reign had 7 foot Durant out there...but you know, Durant isn't a big despite his height. For a lot of his career he's out there playing with traditional bigs. It's more of a mentality, Green has the mentality of a big to play in the paint, do dirty work, clean up boards and defend the paint...Durant has the mentality of slashing, shooting, and being a wing player. Tucker is a wing that we play at big, from all quotes, he seems to think its funny and when asked about it he goes "I have no choice." Because I think closing out possessions with rebounds is important. I don't think it's a bias against it, it just hasn't worked ever. It's something to throw at an opponent sure, but nothing to rely on. Also, you vehemently defend small ball all the time, I don't think I'm biased.
So Draymond is a 6'5 big. That does not seem to support your point at all that Rockets should use taller players regardless if these players are good defenders.
I'd argue because switching defense is easier to master than practically any kind of scheme you teach. It's easy to just switch on screens and picks, teams have switched to it on the fly. But actually mastering a scheme based on trusting your bigs or your guards to be there for you and relies on communication is a lot harder to get down than switching defenses. It's like blitzing, it's easier for a defense to be a blitzing defense, its easy to tell a guy "Just go get the QB" they often do this for defensive players that are overwhelmed by schemes and zones and "Coach, who do I have again?" but it's just as easy to exploit. I think it's worth more to the team in the end to make the defense as good as it can be with our bigs than it is to just rely on small ball...because against the teams I mentioned...and several teams from the East, it's just not going to work. Switch defense with small ball works...in certain situations. If the other team has players that have no issues Isolating though then all you're doing is just giving up easier rebounds.
If switch everything defense was so easy to master then every team would do it. It requires having 5 players that can defend 1-5. Rockets only mastered this defense when RoCo was brought in to replace Clint. And in 2018, this defense locked down GSW like no other team could or ever has because Rockets had CP3, Ariza, Luc and PJ. Then Luc and CP3 got injured and our bench could not be as effective offensively or defensively. Your dismissal of switch everything is tied to your distaste of small ball. Switch heavy defense does not = short players. But it is very difficult to find players over 6'8 that can defend guards as well as centers. This is the key to switch everything.
My argument was that the Rockets should have a big on the floor always. The only thing I said about height was that it makes it easier to get rebounds. Which is true. Just like it's easier to dribble if you're smaller because the ball has a shorter distance to bounce and that means you have generally more control...doesn't mean you can't be a 6'5 center though...as Hayes and Green have displayed. Guys like Draymond are special cases , he's 6'5 with a 7 foot wingspan and he's been a big all of his life. He's used to those battles and it's no surprise the Warriors started playing better when he returned. BUT if Draymond was Giannis in height and length it'd still be the same because he can get away with guarding 1-5 (well, he's slowed down a lot...) while also being a player that can defend the paint and post and battle for rebounds although that was never his strong suit. The Warriors weren't shy about playing their bigs either, Bogut and Speights and of course they used Durant as a big or really Durant didn't really have a position on that team with him being what he is, a generational talent. And now they're even bigger with Looney, Green, and Wiseman... But yeah, Draymond in his prime was something else. I just think he's always been a big, he's always been classified as one, sees himself as one, and he operates like one
So what? That's what the 4 is now these days. People are playing smaller athe 4 its the new NBA, this doesnt prove your point. Okay. He plays big. He's not A BIG, through and through He's 6'5 you cant change height man. He's not a big. He's a big like Tucker is a big. Tucker has a wing span of 6-9. Whats your point? Draymond is longer but Tucker and him both play the same defensively, Draymond is just better. Tucker doesnt get lit up by centers like that. He was doing better than Boogie against Sabonis. First Dantoni is wrong and now Silas is wrong? Cmon man. It cant be that they are seeing something differently than you? They went small before Durant got there and finished games with green at the 5. Yea he did play with bigs but he also finished games at the 5, like what we did last night. Tucker does all of the things you are talking about. Tucker has also praised the lineup and has said it should be used situationally which we did. We are crappy on the boards with a big too. Only with the big, we give up other avenues of defense and give more chances to the other team. That is what Im trying to tell you. I will stop defending it when it stops working or when it stops being a better alternative.
So here is my question, do you think we have that roster? If not, why are we doing it? Harden and Tucker can guard 1-5...maybe Tate, we'll see...other than that...our bigs can't guard guards and our guards can't guar bigs... That's the reason teams don't do it, the same reason why teams don't run a Ryan oriented blitz heavy scheme...because they don't have the talent to do so...and it just exposes mismatches. No, that's true, but I think it has more to do with how the Warriors play offense and their motion heavy offense and Curry's reluctance to just Isolate. This defense forces teams to play ISO ball and the Warriors just weren't prepared for it. I think those teams I named are more than prepared for it. The nuggets have no issue running every play through Joker and of course Lebron and Dame and those guys have no issue taking guys one on one. But I said switch with small ball, switch with players that can do it and have the length to do it, it works against every team...but we don't have that. I mean when you say it needs guys over 6'8" that can defend 1-5 you're conceding the point, right? At that point it's not small ball, it's just a switch every thing defense.
Some of the greatest rebounders in NBA history were 6'8 or shorter. Charles Barkley Dennis Rodman Ben Wallace Wes Unseld Dave Cowens Larry Johnson Rebounding is easier with height and especially length, but the best always relied MORE on effort and smarts. Even 6× Rebound leader Moses Malone was an undersized center at 6'9 without shoes.
Tucker played most of his career at wing, that's the point. Again, Green is a big and Durant is a wing, it has little to do with height and more with how they effect the game. Tucker can't guard bigs like Green can because Green is used to guarding bigs. I also don't think he was doing better than Boogie did and Boogie led the team in rebounds, I don't think this is something you can just swipe away as nothing and having no affect on the game. Tucker doesn't do all those things. He doesn't defend above the rim and he doesn't defend low post centers, you just said this. Therefore, that's a detriment to our defense. People always whine about giving up layups...well...people seem to forget that we also had Capela who was a big part of our defense. Situationally I'm for anything. Situationally Cousins should have ended that game. Well...it's never worked though? Even if I say "Okay, it worked with the Warriors." with one historically unique player. That's one time out of 74 years of NBA ball. Is that the model we're trying to replicate even if you're admitting Tucker is no Green? I don't think it's an alternative if eventually we're going to go up against teams with skilled bigs that will exploit it. It's like the blitz heavy defense...oh yeah it works until you play a smart QB who can make quick reads to exploit it...so you can't rely on it.
Small ball is a media concoction same as micro ball. MDA preferred the term skill ball. If Morey was able to finalize the trades he wanted last season, Rockets would have come away from Capela trade with Wood and another 7'0 footer IN ADDITION to RoCo. Last season's roster was not the finished product, if MDA and Morey had stayed, Rockets would have still brought in Wood and maybe Nerlens Noel (another Morey target) to really weaponize 5 Out (real name of offensive system under D'Antoni) and switch everything (which D'Antoni does not get enough credit for). And I strongly believe that Morey also trades Russ and/or EGo for additional 3-D wings to surround Harden, RoCo and Wood. Bottom line, Stone still needs to trade for/acquire another 6'7 or taller 3-D wing that can defend 1-5. Maybe even two.
No argument there. But they weren't really small guys...outside of Charles I guess, the rest were just undersized to be centers. But what happens when a small but good rebounder goes up against height? Well, Westbrook is the answer to that. He's good at it but against a true front court he's still just a small guy having to do a lot more than the taller guys. But other than Charles, those were some big men and you had to be strong to play in that era too and they battled. I think there is a mentality to being a big and that's why guys like Durant and Tatum are wings despite their size and why guys like Wallace and Green are bigs. Tatum is like 6'9 or 6'10?
The greatest rebounder ever was 6'6 Dennis Rodman. And he was a stick his entire career. Tatum is listed at 6'8 in nba.com.
To be fair to MDA I don't think he ever truly believed in small ball to the effect people think he did. He just wants a big that can shoot. He would have had no issues playing either Cousins or Wood I imagine and he didn't have issues playing Capela at all, Clint end up being one of our most played players on the team. I'm not against 5 out or switching everything, far from it, I just think we don't have the roster for it and its like blitzing when your DEs are more run stoppers and hole pluggers than pass rushers. I do think the Rockets need to trade or maybe...try Bruno again. I think we mostly agree, I just think switching still requires length and height.
Rodman was strong though. I mean this was a dude who could defend a Shaq post up, that's just wiry strength and he could jump out of the ceiling, he had that pogo ability. They are saying Jaylen's grown though. I looked for a picture of him and Durant from this year... Spoiler and I could not find him standing next to Durant when KD played for the Warriors but here is him and Lebron at 6'9" earlier in his career. Spoiler Iunno, I'm thinking he might have grown, hard to say. His coach says he's grown to 6'10, seeing him this year he does look taller somehow. I wonder how often NBA.com updates heights and such.
Tucker can play big though? Do you know in 2017-2018 we started to win more games once we started Tucker? Green is not a big, he's a modern era power forward and a small ball center. Tucker can absolutely guard bigs and has guarded them well. Green is one of the best defensive players of all time. He guards EVERYONE well not just bigs. He did do better than Boogie..he absolutely did. So what? Rebounds are great but that's not all there is to defense. Why is it that our defense is better when Tucker is on the floor and not Cousins, can you answer me that? Boogie may be better than Tucker at that but he's also...not a good defender. That was true just last night. He defends low post centers fine. We literally used him as a small ball center many times to end games and it has worked out for us so many times. Including against Jokic. We were bad defensively with Capela....we were top 10 in defense last year. Why? Why did Silas decide not to put him in? Boogie was not good defensively last night. The problem here is that as long as we lose a certain way, you are fine with it. If Boogie was in last night and we lost you would have chalked it up to...."oh well no Woods." It works to close games. Its worked for us. We damn near beat the Warriors and everyone else doing it. The game has changed. There is more than one avenue to win now. You are oversimplifying this concept. Really okay man. Did AD not kill every team with a big that he went against in the playoffs? Am I missing something? Did he not dominate no matter big or small? Cmon man.
NBA re-measured all players last season remember? KD is 6'10 and Lebron is 6'9. Tatum looks shorter than both in your pics.
He can get away with it in situations, I don't think a championship team is starting Tucker at center. Rebounds are CRUCIAL to defense, there is no point to getting bad shots if you can't close out the possession. Green is a big. He's said so. His coach has said so. He's listed as a power forward, which is a big. I did, because the team has more chemistry switching everything than dropping coverage. Boogie defends low post ups fine and he even blocks shots, Boogie is bad on the perimeter which is exploited. PJ has not defended Jokic well. I mean, the last time we played Jokic the guy had a career night against us. Nothing stopped him. Last year just by looking at his numbers it did not look like Jokic struggled any against the Rockets. Jokic struggled on defense on the perimeter, as he does...but he makes up for it with all he brings. I remember you saying some choice things about Jokic and how the low post is dead and he wouldn't get past the Clippers...I don't think it's I that have the bias, I think you're biased against bigs. Yeah he was because he led the team in rebounds and BPM was positive, led the team. That means his defense wasn't so bad that he was hurting the team. But this ain't that team. There's no Ariza, there's no Luc, there is no Capela who played tons of minutes for those teams and you've kind of shat all over his value above. The game hasn't changed so much that you can win without a center though. Just like you can't win without a true striker or a goalie. Your change seems to imply that the center position, rim protection and rebounding are things a team doesn't need to be able to do or that any 6'5 guy can slot in and fill that role against actual bigs. Well, that doesn't help your argument since AD is a big...and the Nuggets and Heat played the Lakers MUCH closer than we ever hoped to. C'mon? You realize your entire argument this thread suggests that the Rockets are better off not playing Wood, right? I mean, we play better defensively without him so why play him? We should just end games with the small ball lineup without Wood, right?
