Don't think Philly would do it. Also, Iggy makes TWill repetitive. Don't know if it helps us in acquiring a superstar player. Iggy is not a superstar. Here's the thing. Martin has proven to be a very efficient offensive player. The 1 for 10 is an anamoly. I'm not worried about that. And we need at least one offensive player on the wing. Our offense will bog down if it is all Lowry and Scola, just like it did tonight. I don't think Iggy is that guy because he's not a big time shooter. He's a guy that wants to get to the rim. You can't have everybody going to the rim and nobody that can spot up. Talk about bogging down the offense. That's the recipe. I would rather take Chase out and put in a defender, either Lee or Twill at the 3 for the moment. That's not a perfect solution. Lee is too small to be effective at the 3 for major minutes. And TWill has been wildly inconsistent. However, I am convinced we have no chance to win with the current 2/3 combo starting and playing major minutes. So, the first think I would try is either Lee or TWill starting alongside KMart, and see if KMart comes along and gets back to his normal self. We need his offense. Now, back to trading Martin. Can't do it right now until the Howard situation shakes out. We may still be able to get Pao for him and Scola. I think I'd do that. If we're going to trade Martin...and Scola, we've got to get back at least one All-Star player that can score, facilitate the offense and defend on the other end. He's gotta be a two-way player. Iggy is a nice player. He's a great defender. And he can create for others. He's like a bigger Lowry. If nothing else materialized, I'd be willing to take a gamble on him if he were available. However, I would doubt if we could get him for just Martin and there is the possibility of something better coming along than Iggy. The other thing that I think McHale is going to do is continue to give Marcus Morris minutes. Morris knows how to play the game. He missed his shots tonight. But I know that guy can shoot it. If...Morris could pick up the scoring effectively and become a somewhat efficient scoring 3, then we could afford to go with a guy like TWill or Lee at the 2 and move Martin more easily. But until another scoring option comes to the forefront on this team, I am going to be hesitant to move Martin for anything less than a superstar player. That is, unless we are tanking and going to the lottery.
I am as big a Lowry fan as it gets -he played like an allstar today- but why the hell was he passing to someone who hasn't crossed mid court yet? It was probably due to a lack of chemistry, they have barely played together, but if anyone was at fault in that instance, it was the passer. I know it is easy to be biased against Williams, and it is his fault for making it so easy. He is egotistical, a blabber mouth, and generally a douche. In fact, IMO all the "shoutouts" he gives Clutchfans he does sarcastically to mock his "haters" here. But as easy as it is to hate him, I love my Rockets more. Which means I am rooting like hell for him to succeed, while trying to be as unbiased as I can in evaluating him along the way. Today, he looked ok.
So, you've decided after one whole game that McHale is a bad hire *and* you've psychoanalysed him. That's rich. Didn't you whine incessantly about the Texans hiring Wade Phillips? You called him Mr. Fix-it? If this message board is any indication, I think your "analysis" about most things involving Houston sports begins and ends with you wagging your finger in disapproval. Do you get any joy out of sports?
I enjoy fishing, but I'm not fishing here. Believe me, I would be ecstatic if Williams would begin to play well, and playing well consistently. He didn't do that during this game, and he didn't do that at all last season, so I'm still waiting. If he didn't have so much obvious talent, I wouldn't be so hard on him. Williams is a very frustrating player. As for that particular play, if you have the play recorded, watch it again. I think it's around 4 minutes remaining in the 4th. Williams slows down approaching the line. Had he not done that, he's across when he gets Lowry's pass. It's a close play, but not that close. The only "agenda" I have with regard to Williams is that he doesn't play to the level of his talent, and he frequently hurts the team when he's on the court by making poor decisions, most of them involving trying to "do it all" himself. I'm still waiting for that light bulb to go off in that head of his.
Philly Insider on realgm said Sixers were interested in a Martin-Iguodala swap but said we weren't willing to part with Martin just yet.
Why sub in Thabeet first? Replace Scola, Martin, and Bud with better defenders and play Dalembert more
This is probably the wrong thread to post this ..... But after watching the kings/lakers I am FURIOUS we did not find a way to re-sign Chuck. He is an invaluable team player that is the epitome of intangibles winning you a game. I wanna punch a hole through the Sheetrock.
Seems like more of the same as last year ... No defense. Nice offense. Unfortunately, that won't win you a lot of games. If we expect this year's Rockets team to make the playoffs and be an upgrade from last year, two things are important: better defense. more points in the paint/at the rim. Jump-shooting won't win you games. The Magic shot 53.1%, 41% from 3. Rotations were lazy. Poor Rockets defense. The Magic shot 21-of-27 on shots at the rim. Crazy efficient (77%). The Rockets shot 13-of-18. Not bad proficiency, but not enough. The Rockets got to the free throw line for 20 attempts, but 10 of those came from the point guard, which tells me the bigs aren't drawing contact, getting opposing bigs in foul trouble and getting to the line to open things up for 3s. I know it's only the first game. Sixty-five more to go. But, in one game, trends are similar to that as last year, not that it's unexpected. But I sincerely believed the Rockets with their youth and depth could take advantage of a shortened, crazy season in which the likes of the Lakers and Mavs have already shown to flounder a bit. Perhaps that was wishful thinking. I'm not going to get pessimistic, but I did think I'd see some improvement today, at least considering McHale's emphasis on protecting the paint. I saw none of that.
I did watch the play again (free league pass trial ftw!) and still think it is very questionable, at worst he had his feet on the line (Jameer Nelson was thrice more blatant, he even backed that ass in the middle of the court) The thing is, it's ok to call him out on his mistakes but also remember he didn't get an opportunity last year because of that inexperience he needs to receive a lot of patience in this his last chance. Specially since he was our second best wing after Lee, for a first game, he was not too shabby.
What a frustrating game. Kevin Martine was absolutely horrible. Delembert was very impressive, I can't wait until he gets in better shape. Chase Budinger stunk it up as well. I know this is just one game, but at this point I would start Terrence Williams over Budinger. A better rebounder, scorer, passer, and defender at that position. We win this game if Kevin Martin played like he did last year. And if Budinger makes one or two open shots. Extremely frustrating.
It is not as simple as that, you need balance, the team gave up only 104 points tonight, not a horrble effort on D against Orlando. If our 3ball was a little more efficient we might have even eeked out a win. DD
If allowing 51 percent shooting, 41 on 3s, and 104 points isn't "horrible" defense, then I'd hate to see what "horrible" indeed is. Either that, or a lot of fans' standards on defense have dropped considerably low. The Rockets played horrible defense tonight. End of story. No rotations, didn't protect the rim, allowed way too many openings for cuts and jumpers.
Man, that was tough to watch. I dont expect KMart, Bud, Scola to be that off for the rest of the season. Seeing as though they were hovering in a single digit deficit most of the game, and their defense will improve dramatically over time, I cant say I feel too bad about this game. However, McHale, Finch, or somebody needs to work on getting the offensive movement going. Too many posessions with 4 out of 5 guys standing around not making hard cuts and looking for the extra pass. Good thing they have a few days to work on things because they need some major work on both ends of the court. McHale and co. have a ton of potential as a coaching crew but they also have a long way to go as do the players. Positives- -Boxscore doesnt show it but Jordan Hill and Dalembert looked real good. Very few mistakes. Game was lost on perimeter players getting lost on defense for open 3 after open 3. Hill and Dalembert played very well. Team has a nice Center rotation if they can stay healthy. -Deep bench kept the team in the game. TWill, and CLee quietly had solid nights off the bench.
It would be an anomaly if Martin had the same attitude he had last year. The Lakers put Pau on the block only because they had a chance to get a superstar in Paul. They're not trading Pau for Martin, Scola, Dragic, and a pick for themselves. We're in the worst possible position in the league- low upside, no high picks.
Umm... 104 points is "not horrible?" Wait .... what? What about the 53% shooting allowed? Or the 41% 3pt shooting? This team has got to be better defensively, no matter the effort, if they want to be a playoff team. We played lights out offensively last year and couldn't make the playoffs. It's all about mentality. Mark jackson has the freakin' Warriors playing harder, and paying some dividends defensively. It has to start on that end of the floor all the time.
