http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/01/rockets-mchale-brings-new-meaning-to-small-ball/ [rquoter] ... Lowry leads in minutes Using fewer players has not increased the playing time of starters. Only Lowry is among the NBA’s top 20 in minutes played, and he and Martin were playing more before the rotation was trimmed. The reduction of the rotation has increased the playing time of backups Lee, Dragic and Patrick Patterson. “I think the more minutes you get if you’re in the rotation the better,” McHale said. “I’ve often said if you give two guys 10 minutes, I’d rather give one guy 20.” But the greater change has been the move toward speed, rather than size, usually beginning with the point guards playing together. “We can play much faster, you know?” Dragic said. “Coach wants us to press full-court. Me and Kyle, we have to press, and we can be faster and scramble for loose balls and push the ball on the offense to make some easy baskets. If you have guys outside, we can penetrate, kick out and move the ball around. Energy. ... [/rquoter] Even though Feigen tries to argue that the smaller rotation hasn't caused Lowry's minutes to go up, obviously the 2-PG lineup that we're increasingly going to requires him on the floor. It is striking how much better we are when Lowry and Dragic are on the floor together, instead of just Dragic running the point by himself: <style type="text/css"> table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;} .tableizer-table th {background-color: #BC1212; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;} </style> <table class="tableizer-table"> <tr style="background-color: #BC1212; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;"><th></th><th>minutes</th><th>Offense</th><th>Defense</th><th>NET</th></tr> <tr><td>Dragic w/ Lowry</td><td>114.1</td><td>111.1</td><td>108.1</td><td>+3.0</td></tr> <tr><td>Dragic w/o Lowry</td><td>235.1</td><td>95.1</td><td>113.0</td><td>-18.0</td></tr></table>
This is one of the main reasons we DON'T resign Drago this year. I like the kid but he is no Kyle Lowry.
Dragic is more of a scoring guard than a point. He has some nice looking passes sometimes. But during that final play against the bucks, he made a bonehead play with that no look turnover to Scola. Not the time to be cute with the ball.
We have Sergio Llull comming over, hopefully next season. He is a 6'4" combo guard Who is known for his speed, vertical, and athletic dunks. He plays hard on defense and is a good three point shooter, just what we need. We need to play T-Will and Thabeet a little more, especially in the Back to Back games...just saying.
As much as I hate to say it, T-Will probably won't see much more, if any PT as a rocket. Just look at his twitter
Feigen said that the switch to an 8-man rotation hasn't increased the starters minutes. How many games is that...3, right? Budinger only has DNP-CD for the last 3 games. Feigen said, "and he [Lowry] and Martin were playing more before the rotation was trimmed." So that line is true. So, I don't think Feigen said the 2-PG lineup is not increasing Lowry's minutes, but he is saying that they have been playing that for awhile (like the last 10-games, since Lowry came back from injury); and he is saying the 8-man rotation is new...and that the 8-man rotation hasn't increased the starters minutes. I'd agree with Feigen saying the trimmed rotation hasn't changed starter minutes, but that's a minor point. The main point is what you say...the 2-PG rotation is effective but adding minutes to Lowry. We lost the Bucks game arguably from Lowry fatigue. Is McHale burning the candles on both ends with Lowry? 40+ mpg is doable, but not in a compressed season.
The thing is, 8-man rotation hasn't increased Lowry's minutes only because he was playing very heavy minutes (nearing or even exceeding 40 in most games, with few exceptions like blowouts, injuries, etc.) no matter the size of the rotation. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4152/gamelog;_ylt=Aqa_7IHra0lqhax9GtBiGOlqPaB4 We really need to decrease Lowry's minutes if possible, not just "not increase" his minutes. Now, the question is, can we play well with Dragic out there without Lowry?
I don't know what the spin is, but lowry has been handling the offense so much, it has taken a lot out of him. Dragic is somewhat a disaster when he's in there by himself because he looks to score. That being said, right now, dragic is the only guy who can get to the rim without help, but he seems like a to waiting to happen. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see lowry is loking tired. His usage rate is higher than anytime in his career and he is compensating for a lot of players. His shooting has gone done game by game also. They really need to cut his minutes to 33 or so imo.
Look the team goes as Lowry goes, that is the responsibility McHale has placed on him, and honestly it is not fair, he needs help. DD
He does need help, but consider how poorly the Rockets play when Lowry isn't on the floor I'm not sure where that help is going to come from. Martin and Budinger are off-the-ball players that depend on the shot-creation of others. Dragic is really the only guy who can make plays, but he's only been effective when playing as an off-guard.
Twill shot himself in the foot with that Twitter tirade. Only way he plays is if Clee and Chase Budinger get hurt and even that's a long shot.
McHale has made up his mind; he doesn't like the decision making Dragic does when at the PG so he has Dragic at the 2 a lot and Flynn is not even in his rotation. Courtney Lee can do the PG at spots but that hasn't crossed McHale's mind either (someone correct me if CLee has been doing PG duties this season). He's basically going to ride Lowry to a playoff seed or into IR, whichever comes first.
My what short memories we have. Nobody remembers the last time the Rockets had both of their best players in the back court? Go check out the minutes that our backcourt rotation played when it was Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Moochie Norris. <PRE> Player Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS Cuttino Mobley 26 74 74 42.1 8.0 18.4 .438 2.0 5.1 .395 3.6 4.2 .850 0.9 3.2 4.1 2.5 1.5 0.5 2.4 2.6 21.7 Steve Francis 24 57 56 41.1 7.4 17.7 .417 1.2 3.7 .324 5.7 7.4 .773 1.8 5.2 7.0 6.4 1.2 0.4 3.9 3.0 21.6 Moochie Norris 28 82 26 27.4 3.1 7.7 .398 0.4 1.6 .269 1.5 2.1 .751 0.9 2.1 3.0 4.9 1.0 0.0 1.9 1.6 8.1 </PRE>
im not sure reducing his minutes is the answer....we still play better with him than without. A better option would be for others to step up, especially rebounding, so that lowry doesn't need to do so much during his minutes. I think it's what he's doing during the minutes, and not the amount, that cause him to tire out. A near triple double average is great, but even Kidd didn't have so much responsibility to score. Lebron is almost a foot taller. Lowry's doing too much and doesnt have enough to do it with.
