Even with the acquisition of guard James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets still are flush with assets that will help general manager Daryl Morey bring more talent to his team in the future. However, let's break down what he has today, namely Harden and how he will mesh with Morey's most recent free-agent acquisitions -- point guard Jeremy Lin and center Omer Asik -- as well as the rest of Houston's offensive roster. From an X's and O's perspective, Morey might have found an ideal trio that will develop over time. But as Bradford Doolittle pointed out, Morey's wheeling and dealing has turned over the roster so violently that just 13.5 minutes (per game) return from last year's team. And only one player accustomed to starting -- second-year man Chandler Parsons -- returns this season. The team was trying to develop chemistry during the preseason, but has to reset with Harden. Backcourt blend Now that the Rockets feature Jeremy Lin at point guard, they could not have found a better fit for him at the other guard spot than Harden. Lin is a ball-dominant guard with average passing skills at best, but he is a willing passer who does not see the floor like the prototypical point guard. Instead, Lin is someone who can, just as he did for that crazy stretch last season, score points in bunches. So pairing him with a brilliant passer, someone who can find him in the half-court or full-court game, makes perfect sense. That is Harden. As he illustrated with Russell Westbrook, Harden is clearly comfortable playing alongside a score-first point guard, and is used to playing between two monster scorers. So it makes sense for him to be a great complement to Lin, and together they could form a good combination of scorers/passers as the top guards on the team. I'd expect most of Houston's offense to revolve around Harden with the ball in his hands on the wing, in isolation or more often in the side pick-and-roll game, allowing Lin to set up on the opposite wing. This will create lots of shots for Lin off the ball reversal, where he can catch and shoot or use a shot fake and drive. Not being forced to create most of the offense himself will be a huge benefit to Lin, who to my eyes has not fully recovered (mentally more than physically) from offseason knee surgery. It will take time However, the potential of this pair comes with some caveats, as Houston's offense has some visible concerns. First, consider what Harden has been able to accomplish. He's done it alongside two top-four picks, both top-level All-Stars. Now he'll share the perimeter with Lin, a previously undrafted guard with very little experience, and a second-round draft pick in Parsons (though Parsons has excellent potential, and his passing skills should work well with both Harden and Lin). Of course Harden's not close to Kevin Durant in any way, nor can Lin match up to Russell Westbrook; as a result, Harden, for the first time in his career, is going to be the top threat every second he's on the floor. That has meaning. It's quite possible that defenders will never help off of him. I mean never, as he no longer has Durant or Westbrook to attract the defense, and Harden hasn't had to deal with that before. As every NBA scorer will attest, it's a grind to have to put up points every night when you rarely get open looks in the half court. I believe Harden is up to that grind, but it might take some time for him to get good at it every night. Consider that last year Harden scored 16 points or less 31 times in 62 games. And two seasons ago, Kevin Martin played 80 games for Houston and scored 16 or less points just 13 times. If Lin and Parsons both can develop a more consistent offense on a nightly basis, Harden won't be expected to do as much every night; however, if Houston hopes to be a top-10 offensive team, they must also have Harden consistently score at a higher volume. The rest Harden should love playing the pick-and-roll game with Asik, who I think has a strong chance to be the NBA's most improved player. Asik showed excellent hands this preseason, and he'll be enough of a threat rolling down the lane to occupy the paint defenders, allowing Harden and Lin space to make things happen. Forward Patrick Patterson could also be a nice complement to both Harden and Lin in the pick-and-pop game. Neither big might be much of a scoring threat in the low post, which suggests that Harden, as his team's best scorer, should consider working on that part of his game. Head coach Kevin McHale began using Martin, before his trade to the Thunder, in that role this preseason for precisely that reason, with good success. In sum, for the Rockets to become a top-third offensive team, they will have to rely on playing fast and hope their wings get most of the work done. By February, whether or not Morey makes additional deals, I think they can get close to that range, but only if things work out perfectly for them. There are a lot of adjustments in store for this team: Lin has to get healthy and make a good percentage of perimeter shots; Harden has to acclimate to being the top defensive target each night; Parsons has to shoot better from deep; and Patterson/Asik need to finish a high percentage of their shots while also adjusting to being full-time starters for the first time. It's not fair to expect immediate offensive greatness from a team that will need time to mesh and returns only one semi-starter who barely averaged 10 points per game last season.
Interesting insider read. I have heard so many tales about whether the back court will work or not work. Everybody has there opinion.
Do you think Harden would've rubbed off on Lamb? Would've been interesting to see what he could do behind a hard working young man who is humble and already very experienced.
Also here is the NBA Preview for those looking for something like that: http://thesleeperpick.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/nba-preview-and-predictions/
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Chandler Parsons was asked how long before @<a href="https://twitter.com/jharden13">jharden13</a> feels incorporated in the Rockets offense. "About two hours ago," said Chandler.</p>— ClutchFans.net (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/263055408485257216" data-datetime="2012-10-29T23:11:11+00:00">October 29, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> haha, nice!
Nice, looks good on both of them. Those jerseys are nothing special, but it makes me jealous! If Lamb blows up, I'm getting one!
funny thing, james harden has nearly the exact same wingspan of lamb. Look it up on draftexpress measurements.
This trade is a win-win for both teams and also for Bill Worrell. Got rid of the whole Jeremy Lin/Jeremy Lamb dilemma. :grin:
Not only that, but Harden was OKC's best play maker, and they're not replacing that with Martin or Lamb.
They better not go porno on us with Harden. Bullard & Bill were already going nasty over some stuff and with Chandler Bang, let's hope not.
Has anyone done the 2k13 simulation that we all know Morey does, to see how teams react....He uses a different scheme...but someone should see the plus/minus for both teams using a NBA 2k13 simulation-simulate at least 2 seasons preferably three and see the best two out of three, and compare...the stats are quite useful.
