Josh Smith, Houston's Gamble

Having Josh Smith on Ilyasova would have helped us out a lot more. It's amazing that you can watch a game where we gave up 110 points and 48% shooting and think that a more balanced offensive attack is our biggest problem.

 

5 of Ilyasova's made baskets were mid to long range two's (and a 3). Sometimes, the opposing team is just going to hit their jumpers. And when that happens, all you can do is try to keep scoring and hope they cool down.

Given that our offense looked stagnant at times, I think its very fair to say that a more balanced offense would've solved a lot of our problems. And after Harden was limping around after bumping knees with Ellis, it would've been nice to have another legitimate scoring option.

 

D-Mo needs more touches.

McHale says he doesn't post up because he has no post player...but I'm sure there is a stat that would tell you D-Mo scores off of most of his post ups because he does.

I know he's new to all of this...but when guys are bricking open shots then it is time to score in the paint one way or the other.

This is why the Clippers and Nuggets are better than the Rockets. They are fast paced teams as well but they can score in the paint and not rely on the 3 pointer so much.

 

They weren't very well contested jumpers. It's a lot harder to hit a shot with a defender in your face. McHale took DMo out early in the third for that exact reason. The offense was not the problem tonight.

 

First of all, I don't think Josh Smith is going to go running around the perimeter to contest long jumpers.

Secondly, Harden shot 8-18 and had 7 turnovers. Lin shot 4-11. Delfino shot 5-14. The offense was very clearly one of the problems. We needed to get better quality shots.

And FYI, I could very easily argue that had Al Jefferson been in the game, he would've abused Ilyasova in the post a few times and forced Boylan to sub out Ilyasova and put a bigger body on Jefferson.

 

Be honest.. Paul is not in the question.

 

Do not feed the Certified Troll.

We already used our amnesty on Scola, and even if we hadn't, I don't think there's anyone on the roster who is eligible to be amnestied.

 

Then you don't think Josh Smith would have been holding the guy he was supposed to.

We shot 47% as a team. Parsons was 9-17 and Asik was 7-12. Everyone on the roster isn't going to shoot lights out every night.

They could have just switched Sanders on to Jefferson. Asik is not a real threat in the post.

 

I think he will gravitate towards the paint when he's on defense. That's his nature.

Obviously, but we need a balanced offense. Look at the top teams in the league. Miami, SAS, LAC, OKC, MEM, etc... They all have multiple players who can individually create their own shots.

That's fine. Let's say Sanders is an effective defender and Jefferson misses. Since the shot attempts are ~10 feet from the basket, the rebounds are more likely to stay near the rim.

And that means its a rebound battle between Ilyasova and Asik. Who do you think gets the rebound?

 

Once again that means that you think he won't be holding the player he is supposed to be.

DMo, Lin and Harden can all create their own shots. Consistency will come with experience.

You do realize that Asik had 22 rebounds last night right? How many more do you think he would have got? Also, Jefferson posting up will likely take Asik further from the paint on the offensive end.

 

Yes, that's what I said. What's your point?

Lin can't consistently create a good shot for himself. Dmo has started 1 game against a team with a weak front court, and you're ready to say that given some experience, we could run the offense through him if needed?

Get real.

Jefferson can post up ~8 feet from the rim. There's plenty of room for Asik at the rim, especially if Ilyasova is guarding him.

 

My point is that's a dumb assumption. Smith is a good perimeter defender. There is no reason that he wouldn't be playing his man close in that situation.

Did you not see where I said that consistency will come with experience? It took Tony Parker a while to get where he is. As far as DMo goes, it is hard to argue that he doesn't already have a good offensive arsenal. He has good range and a really good post up game. Last night was not the first time the guy has played.

So you think Asik would have had 30 rebounds last night? Maybe 40?

 

Josh Smith gets averages about 9 rebounds and 2 blocks a game. You don't get that unless you gravitate towards the paint. So yeah, I do think that Smith would cheat off Ilyasova.

And even if Josh Smith is physically capable of staying on Ilyasova, he hasn't shown the mental discipline to do so. He's not a high IQ player.

Guess who led the Hawks in 3pt attempts last night?

Sure, it took Tony Parker a while to get where he is, but he was given ~34 mpg.

I love your condescension. It's so ironic. You rightfully say that Dmo needs more experience (which means more minutes), and your solution is to sign Josh Smith, someone who would take almost 75% of the available PF minutes. Brilliant. You should tweet that to HoChen.

At least Al Jefferson would be able to play center and open up minutes at PF.

 

Now that D-Mo got his first start and put up a 13/7/5 line can we put this discussion to bed? D-Mo was obviously sucking air and needs to work on his conditioning. He also had defensive lapses, but that is to be expected and D-Mo has proven to be a fast learner. An 18/8/4 line night in and night out should be expected before the end of the season. In a year he possibly could be better than anyone that the Rockets could obtain this summer.

 

I can't argue this point if you don't think Josh Smith is going to play good defense and play up close on his man when he is hitting open jumpers. You are arguing that Smith will be a bad defender.

Parker played 29 minutes a game his first year as a starter and Lin is playing 32. If you want to consider Lin a second year starter then it will be Parker 33 and Lin 32. Lin is getting just as many minutes as Parker was at this point in his career.

You really are the king of misquoting me. I've said repeatedly that I don't want Smith or Jefferson. My solution is to sign neither but if we are going to choose between the two I'd rather have Smith. Also, there is no reason DMo couldn't get the backup 4 and 5 minutes. He played both the 4 and the 5 last night. There will be plenty of minutes for DMo if he is our backup big man.

 

haha i wish i could quit but i can't.

 

I've consistently been saying that I'd rather have Jefferson instead of Smith b/c he provides a post game AND HE HAS THE ABILITY TO PLAY CENTER WHICH WOULD FREE UP PF MINUTES FOR DMO/TROB.

How can you possibly interpret that as me saying I wanted the rookies to have starting minutes?

 

I'll quit arguing with you. It's gotten boring since it takes very little critical thinking to refute your arguments.