Can a starting backcourt of Dragic and Lowry actually work? Poll Question

I don't know if they have to start together, but I see no reason why they can't both play 32+ minutes.

 

"one of them must go"
naismith

 

Yeah, the situation dictates that.

Not that I "WANT" one to go.

But you have an unrestricted free agent, who wants to start - and deserves it, playing a lot better than the encumbent who also has proven he deserves to start - it won't work.

Morey has to make a choice, either he gives big bucks to Dragic and trades Lowry or he watches Dragic walk or works a S&T and keeps Lowry.

But there is no way that both STARTING caliber PGs remain on the Rockets next year, IMO.

Morey must choose !

DD

 

i think Dragic can, to some extent, fill the role Kevin Martin had last year: come off curls for mid range jumpers, hit open threes, and create a shot for himself if he finds the ball in his hands with the shot clock down. Like Martin, we can have him guard the SG or the SF - letting Parsons take whoever is the bigger threat. Though only 6'3 and 190, i can't see him being worse defensively than Martin.

His numbers from the arc are 35% this year, and though i haven't been able to catch many games, in the few i've seen, he's rarely been the recipient of a drive-kick out three pointer (a la kevin martin or courtney lee). It's usually off the dribble or behind a screen. So i have to think his 3 point% goes up if he's getting open looks off of lowry's penetration.

to me it comes down to coaching. It's up to McHale to figure out how to get the most from lowry and dragic in the next few weeks. First, for the playoff push, but more importantly, so Morey knows whether this is a combo to build around or instead, to cash in on.

either way, i don't see Dragic, Lee or Lowry getting excited about a permanent 6th man role. it's too bad because that 3 man platoon at the 1 and 2 is by far the best option going forward.

 

+1

There are enough minutes for Lee, Lowry, and Dragic to happily co-exist together in the back court.

 

Yeah too bad Dragic will want a guaranteed starting Pg spot or will choose another team.

DD

 

Only Dragic and the Rockets staff can know the answer to this question, and even they may not know it.

Theoretically speaking I feel it's fine. But there are so many factors to consider, and this is just off the top of my head. Can Dragic defend SGs full time, willing to take the pounding from getting post up by bigger, stronger guys? Is he willing to switch from PG mode to SG mode and play off the ball more? Can McHale devise an offense that utilizes passing skills of two guard players? When matched up against top tier WC opponents in the playoffs, would Dragic/Lowry combo in the clutch be a matchup advantage or disadvantage?

In the end, I don't know enough to come up with an answer. But if we are to have both play 35+mpg, then Dragic and our coaches better come up with a way to maximize both players skills in the offseason. Otherwise, we may be better off shipping Lowry out and have Dragic as our full time starter.

 

Now you are his manager and putting this idea into his head....
What if he is wants to stay for the MLE?

 

Let's stop dreaming and deal in probabilities, do you honestly think a guy would stay here as a backup when he will get more $$$$ and a starting spot elsewhere?

DD

 

I'm Slovenian and we had similiar problem in our national team. We have most depth on PG position. Besides Dragic and Udrih there is Lakovic who is captian and legend.

Udrih canceled playing for national team last year, so there was only Lakovic and Dragic. Because we had no elite players on SG position(2 best didn't play), it was logic that Lakovic and Dragic start or play most of time together on backcourt.

And it was...awful...they didn't know who should take the ball, who should playmake, well then Dragic was mostly playing on SG position when they played together. He was shoting 1/23 from downtown at one point. Ended up with 9/42(21%).

Dragic is pure point who can score, he is not like Ginobili or Harden(nor he is 6'5) who are primarily scorers, but can also playmake.

There is a reason why no team in the NBA is starting with 2 PGs, not even Charlotte who could start with Kemba Walker and DJ Augustin; because it doesn't work.

Both, Lowry and Dragic deserve to have starter position, so one must go.

 

Doesn't matter Lowry is gone after the season.

 

Hi Sigmund, welcome to Clutchfans and thank you for sharing your insight from the Slovenian team. Can you shed some light on why Dragic and Vujacic hate each other? Would be interesting. Thanks!

 

What if he doesn't mind playing SG? Cause you know, he himself said he prefers PG but has no objections playing SG.

It's easy to get 30 minutes between Lowry and Dragic, like Chris Paul and Billups. They can play 15-20 minutes together on the court and alternate between PG.

Like McHale said, if starting Lowry and Dragic is one of the our most effectively lineups, I don't see why we can't make it work for 20 minutes.

 

Head coach and NBA legend Kevin McHale had this to say:

http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/04/dragics-breakout-does-not-surprise-himself-rockets/

 

I voted no, based on our current roster. You would need a sf who could also guard the 2 and the 4, as well as a pf who could guard the 3 and the 5 in order to cover up the mismatches on D. With Hayes gone, parsons is the closest thing we have to that, and he can't stick the 4 all that well.

 

Erm I don't really know why everyone is making a big deal about Lowry and Dragic not being able to play together.

1. Both can guard SGs well so defense is not an issue. D is the main reason Walker and Agustin can't play together, and why Curry and Monta was a bad fit.

2. Both can hit open 3s at a reasonable clip. Hitting 3s is the most crucial element IMHO when two ISO guys play together, that's the reason why Melo has sucked with basically every pairing he's had (AI, Billups, Lin). Being able to hit 3s provide spacing and allow both guys room to operate and drive and dish, one guy can penetrate and the other can receive the kickout 3. Look at how Wade and Lebron led their team to the best record in the league and tell me two guys who need the ball can't co-exist

Finally IMHO this is the biggest proof why Lee and Dragic can be our starting backcourt: Kmart.

Kevin Martin is your textbook "needs the ball to be effective". I dunno why you have long time posters like DD talking about catch and shoot sgs, when's the last time this team has had a catch and shoot SG? Tmac, Boki, Mobley, Von Wafer...all these guys are on the dribble scorers, more Kobe than Ray Allen. Kmart is of the same breed, his offense isn't limited to coming of curls/screens and taking open threes, his game is give him the ball and get out of the way. If you want proof of that, just look at his ft attempts per game and compare it to catch and shoot guys like Ray Allen or Kyle Korver or Jason Kapono.

If Kmart and Lowry can coexist why can't Dragic and Lowry? It all depends on their willingness to learn about each other's tendencies and Mchale's ability to blend their two skillsets together. This is definitely doable.

 

Dunno, most I know is from one interview when Vujacic said about Dragic:

"Gogi is great, he is a great player, I don't know him personal, but some things must be left out. It's true that we are very competitive as athletes, but there is a certain limit, he crossed one boundary, he descened on a certain level which I didn't accept. He knows what he did I think it's pointless to talk about that, because it's aqua passata(forgotten) as they say in Italy. He has his own career, I have mine."

 

This has already been proven. Lowry and Gogi have played together many times and usually play together very well.

 

Gogi banged Sharapova? Good for him!

 

it's like i woke up and it's 2001 and I'm 19 again...with the combo/point/sg talk.

We're going to find out if it can work keeping them both, whether you lowry haters like it or not. I love both of them and there are enough minutes for both.