People hate "double bigs" with Adams. But the truth is, it doesn't matter what we "like" or don't like. That's the Rockets best lineup for this team, that fits this team's identity But this will force Rockets hand to modernize a little. Because teams were catching on to double bigs Unfortunately, the Rockets DID try shooting more 3's when Sengun was out, that's when things went from bad to pathetic. Because the Rockets can't shoot, period Whether its with or without Adams, Rockets need to get shot makers. And learn life without double bigs masking the issue
quick, someone make fliers with Clint’s face on them that say, “not served here”. Then hand them out to all the BBQ joints in the Houston metro area. If we need to we can repurpose some of the left over fliers New Orleans used for Zion.
I would imagine Steven misses a month. The Rockets have a little over 3 weeks til the All-Star Break. Then they get 8 days off til their next game which is exactly one month from today. That would mean he misses 13 games, 8 of which are at Toyota Center. Provided no one else goes down(and God willing Tari can return and stay healthy for once), they can survive that stretch.
Double bigs is fine, the problem is the other 3 players on the court at the same time. Outside of Durant you are usually putting 2 or 3 non-shooters on the court with 2 other non-shooters.
It's fine in certain matchups I'd say. It doesn't work against 5 out for example. But yeah, I don't think you can run it with Amen on the court in most circumstances, unless/until Amen becomes a real threat as a shooter. That's the big problem. Opposing teams can just put four defenders in/around the paint. It should be reserved for times when Amen is on the bench for rest or foul trouble. Something like Reed / Tari / KD / Alpi / Steven is reasonable enough as a bench lineup in many matchups.
Double bigs SUCKS as a main strategy - instead of trying to make the shot we are like, we will REBOUND all of our shitty shots. It is a terrible philosophy and doomed to fail. Ime is an idiot. DD
Losing Adams sucks. That said, the Rockets briefly went to a small-ball lineup last night in the 4th to blow the game open. I wonder if the Rockets try more small ball with Adams out. Small ball hasn't really worked well overall for the Rockets this season, but I think that is probably due to the Rockets having so few shooters. If DFS can work into shape, he would give the Rockets another shooting option that isn't a liability on defense.
People don’t even talk about the defensive issues with a two big lineup with 2 slow footed centers. No Sengun is not a PF. Sengun’s defense hasn’t regressed, he’s just playing out of position on defense. Adams, bless his soul, can’t even guard the free throw line. Our zone defense gives up a tremendous amount of offensive rebounds and open 3 point shots. The only thing worse is the double midget lineups, formerly with Reed and Holiday and now with Reed and Davis. Ime is not managing rotations in a consistent or even sane manner. He is just guessing. We can get away with this crap against the Pelicans or even the Wolves without their superstar on the floor.
It's like the polar opposite of moneyball/moreyball. Rather than finding players with niche skills they're very good at and leaning into those to maximise the effect, we're leaning into the weakness of the team and just accepting that we're going to miss loads. Why would you not just find a different strategy to score more? It's bizarre.
That was the expectation, but it is just a narrative that doesn't meet reality at this point. The double big lineups (Adams and Sengun) are in the 78th percentile in defensive eFG% and 74th in defensive rebounding. I'm not saying it never happens, but at this point you probably notice it when it happens because it meets your preexisting narrative. The double bigs "struggles", outside a few games in December, has been on the offensive side. Not saying there aren't matchups that are bad for double bigs on the defensive side, but overall Ime deploys it a lot, and when it struggles, it is most likely the offense isn't scoring.
The Rockets are 15-5 when Josh Okogie starts. We are 10-10 when any other lineup (mostly double bigs starts). Certainly there are other factors, but my theory is that the double bigs screws up the rotations and destroys any kind of synergy that the more traditional lineup is trying to build. It certainly cuts off Amen’s lanes to the hoops which this team desperately needs. Spacing for our shooters is constricted and the zone defense with the double bigs causes a decrease in defensive rebounding, transition offense, and enables wide open 3 pointers for our opponents.
What are our percentiles with Amen, Josh, Durant, Jabari, and Sengun lineup? I don’t know how to look it up myself. Just wondering how it compares to the double bigs in defensive eFG% and defensive rebounding. Also, how does the transition offense stack up? Which defense gives up more offensive rebounds?
