Where Do the Rockets Go From Here – The Power Forward Position

One of the worst ideas from rogower!

Even playing 16 min, Asik is not a measly ONE game better than Lopez. He is about 3 games better.

What's worst? Rockets might not even have the HCA. Warriors might squeeze us out of top 4. Blazers? They will improve by about 5 games and become an instant playoff team.

 

H2O. I like it.

 

I'm coming around on adding Hedo, if bought out.

He looked out of shape and washed up the few times I saw him play last year, so when his name was brought up about a month or two ago I didn't think much about adding him, however he appears to be in good shape again and I've actually been impressed with his play in the few EuroBasket preparation games/quarters I've watched.
I'd still like to see him perform at a high level for a few more games, but if he can keep it up, I'd be all for signing him if he does get bought out.

 

Would prefer Antawn Jamison over Hedo.

 

The need for a stretch 4 of is over exaggerated. The two center system can work fine. Considering Harden's style of play is comparable to Manu Ginobli's, it shouldn't take too much of a leap of imagination to figure out that you can be championship contender with a center playing the power forward position.

 

Good post Canadiandude, and I agree. The need for a "stretch 4" is a common inside the box view of fans who are only able to view things one way. The reality is that a good coach will adjust their offense based on the players they have. If you have two elite 7 footers, in terms of defense and rebounding, you find a way to make it work so that they can be on the court together. You don't just trade one of them for a bag of chips and some random "stretch 4" who seems to fit our "scheme." To me, that is very narrow minded thinking. We have heard Morey, McHale, and even Howard all acknowledge the possibility of Asik and Howard playing together. Yet some fans just can't wrap their brain around it because it's outside their narrow minded box.

 

unimaginative

 

So explain how we got away with playing greg smith at the 4 last year? Last time i checked his offensive game is nothing more than pickand roll finishing.

I'd rather let coach Mchale decide if Omer and Howard can play together then some joe on the internet. Because if we can win games with greg at the 4 then we sure as hell can win more when dwight plays the 4.

 

Let me show how this isn't necessarily true.

Ok, excuse my diagrams - and I am sure if anyone disagrees (HMMMMM?) they can explain the flaw in my thinking - after all, I am just a fan.



Scenario 1: Stretch 4 Unclogs the lane?

Spoiler

So you can see Harden has a lot of defense in the paint even though you have a "Stretch 4"......which as far as I can tell, doesn't do a whole lot of stretching of the defense.



Scenario 2: Asik clogs the lane?
Now, what if you have Asik in the game, that should be even more clogged right? Wrong!

Spoiler

How can it be less clogged with one less defender? It's because when all your offensive players are on the baseline, the guy who got picked (the 2) is unable to defend anyone - you've essentially created a 5-4 situation. In the first scenario, the trailing 2 just helps out by picking up the opposing 1 so it's basically a 5 on 5 situation again.

In the 2nd scenario - Harden has far more options and the defense has to make tough choices. Does the 5 step up to Harden or stick with Dwight cutting to the baseline? Does the opposing 4 stay with Asik or step up and potentially leave him for an easy score. And then you still have 3 point shooters in the corner that have to be defended. You have MORE options for the penetrating guard and one less defender in his way.

 

But it does noting to validate your idiotic claim that a dwight and asik lineup would falter offensively.

At-least wait until some preseason games to make such a claim.

 

Again, I agree with jtr on this issue. However, I think it gies without saying that if Asik is still a Rocket come opening night then we are going to see him and Dwight on the floor for 8-16 minutes/game. And you can be sure that Morey's stats guys will be paying very close attention to how the various lineups fare.

I would strongly discourage fans from reading too much into comments by Morey or McHale or Dwight or whoever about the team's intent to play these two guys together and how they expect to "make it work." What the hell are they supposed to say? If you right iut and admit that you don't think a twin towers lineup can work then you make it harder to extract maximum value in an Asik trade, you're admitting that you are super motivated to trade Asik ASAP. That's not good poker! I will be stunned if Asik is still a Rocket after the February trade deadline.

 

Dmo

Always has been, always will be!

 

unimaginative is actually a very accurate term for the original poster of this thread. He continues to not see any other possibilities besides the very obvious "stretch 4" option. We don't have a legimate stretch 4, so get over it. What we do have is two 7 footers that can dominate with defense and rebounding. The original poster just wants to talk about his obvious "theory" (if you can even call it that, because its so obvious) that we need spacing for Harden and Lin. Nobody is arguing that we don't need spacing. If you have listened to McHale he has said that as long as you get spacing from the other three players it can work. Also, out weakness last year was defense and not offense. So even if we are not as good offensively with such a lineup, we would be significantly better defensively which wins games (see Memphis Grizzlies). And also, as I have said previously, we have a lot of lineup options depending on game situations. Whether its parsons at the 4 or maybe D-Mo or Jones. Just because they start together doesn't limit our options. It just allows Asik to get more than just 16 mins per game. As good as he is, he should be on the court at least 28 mins per game. So again, original poster, try to break out of your little narrow minded box and consider some other possibilities! Yes, a stretch 4 would be good on offense due to spacing, nobody is debating that. But it is certainly not the only option and not necessarily the best overall option (with rebounding and defense added in), when you have both Howard and Asik!

 

You are joking right? Have you seen tape of teams defending Harden? That's exactly what they do. The idea is that by the time the pass arrives to the defender, the defense can recover. It's only a few steps from the 3 point line to the paint remember. The defense is actually "hedging" - covering both the 3 point shooter and the drive. By the time they commit, what they are doing at the same time is closing the passing lanes to make the pass out more difficult.

Yes, i did switch the colors unintentionally. The two makes less progress because he is starting higher up and is curling around, the 5 is just dropping down. Very few players are going to be able to stay with Harden after he gets a screen. They may not be on his ass but they are for all practical purposes. And again, this is just one scenario - I can't possibly cover every one - the point is to show that when Harden does get into the lane, having Asik instead of a stretch 4 doesn't hurt and may actually help.

Where it hurts is on post-ups. But for a lot of our offense, it may actually have a beneficial side as well. That's the point.