ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pacers 10/10/2013 in Manila, Philippines (PRESEASON)

David West ate up T Jones anyway ... and would eat DMo alive as well. All night, any night. And would of course do so to Cassipi as ell.

Why not try to run West around screens and out at the 3pt line, and give Dwight more space to work against Hibbert.

In the spirit of experimenting ...

Unless we get Asik back in time to try out the twin-towers lineup

 

It's Preseason. This game didn't prove anything.

 

Harden had to play over 38MPG last year because when he was off the floor we struggled. If Lin is able to play like he did tonight as a dominant 6th man, then Harden will be able to sit more. I think that will keep him more fresh than sharing playmaking abilities as a starter.

Did not everyone enjoy watching Lin kill it off the bench playing super-aggressively? How often can he play like that with Harden? And that's not because Harden is a ball hog. He is our best offensive player and rightfully should have the ball in his hands, but Lin being able to play without having to worry about deferring was a beautiful thing. I was skeptical of Lin being a 6th man, but this just about sold me.

 

Lin and Casspi rocked with the 2nd unit. They have free reign to attack at will and neither have to defer to Howard and Harden. Lin+Brooks+Casspi was $$$. Garcia and Asik would be the icing

 

I thought for a while there that the Rockets got off to a fast start because the crowd reminded them of a Toyota Center crowd

Venue was sold out; people just arrived late. Tickets cost an arm and a leg.

 

Yes, but if he is guarded single-coverage by Hibbert he should be able to score regularly if he is to be one of the top 10 centers in the nba, let alone the top center in the nba. He didn't even get a good shot many times. Hibbert didn't have a good game on offense either, but he showed last year in the playoffs that he could dominate in the low post.

 

Response

Agree. The poster shows no respect. No wonder people came up with LOH. They definitely exist.

 

he had 5 rebounds today

 

It was considered, it's just wrong. Hibbert wouldn't even help off Howard, which led to the back court getting a lot of lay ups, switch Lin in and the same thing occurs, Hibbert stays at home, Lin takes lay up.

 

He doesn't know what he is doing? I wish I could ban people.

 

He did. Harden passed fine. And he's one of the best passing SGs in the league.

Except his passes are more the 'kick out to the 3 pt shooter type of passes after collapsing the defenders on the drive' type.

Not so much passes to the big man at the rim.

Not that he can't do it, he made many great passes to Asik at the rim last year. But he's not as good at it as his kick-out passes.

It's really whether you want Lin to prop up the second unit more, or that you want Lin to get Howard some better looking opportunities and easy scores. Not so much Beverley is a better fit starting anymore, as long as Dwight is here and Harden plays at least average D.

 

Dwight is currently the best centre.

I really do see your point however, and this is far above my other concerns and other relatively trivial matters of whether Lin or Beverly starts.

We got Dwight because we have a championship as our goal in the next 2 years I believe.

Alot of critics of Dwight are quick to point out that he never "rises to the occasion" and that he can be shut down quite easily due to his lack of post moves. Unfortunately, as much as hate to admit it, they are true. Dwight's offensive ability solely relies on his superhuman-abnormal atheleticsm. As the season wears on, and as opposing teams have 82-games worth of statistical data, they WILL figure a way to shut Dwight down.

Two things. That's not ideal, but not as horrible as the situation in Orlando. Remember we have Harden, we have Parsons, we have Lin. Offense will not be an issue, but if we do resort to Howard post-ups, and he is being shut down, we'll lose efficiency, and Howard might lose his in-game confidence. Something about his character suggests he needs to be "babied" and needs to do well to feel confident. Unlike the Harden, or Parsons, or even Lin for that matter, who seem to have a great inner-confidence.

Secondly, this is where great playmaking and the pick and roll comes in, and specifically Lin. At the risk of sounding like a "LOF", Lin will really help out Howard here if he is been shut down the post. Look at today's game, Beverly when at PG didn't have the ability (I think he'll pick it up later..but it's not innate), to run the PnR with Dwight. He did feed the post well, but that's not Howards strength. Lin on the other hand will be able to create space, distraction and provide great feeds to Dwight.

So in essence, yes, I do see Howard being shut down in later games, especially with teams with excellent paint-defence. But I see Lin helping out, and Harden to a certain extent.

 

Solution as someone suggested - put Dwight with Lin on the second unit Asik can stay happy being starter. Dwight and Lin will close out 4th as well.

In all honesty, even though this is a pre season game, if Lin can dominate coming off the bench in a role similar to Manu, I'm all for it. It's pretty exciting to see Lin do his thing. I'd rather watch that than see Lin become a spot up shooter in the starting Line-Up. But not at the sacrifice of his minutes.

 

gee i can't believe how much people read in to pre-season games

 

That's true. But let's not forget that the Rockets might also trade Asik before deadline. What McHale is doing will give insights to a future Rockets team without Omer Asik. (Also, I'm not for trading Asik, but you never know...)

 

That's really got to suck to miss a large portion of your one chance to see an NBA game because of weather....although LOF's can look at it this way: Had Lin started most of Lin's fans would have missed him in the 1st quarter because they weren't there yet. Playing him in the 2nd was advantageous for them lol

 

Harden?

 

I missed the first half because of the crazy rain and traffic but i'm glad that i got to see my team play and win!

 

To be fair that's kind of like comparing apples and oranges.

How many top level defensive bigs did Hibbert face in the low post? Bynum injured, Memphis in the west, Dwight in LA, and Asik here?

And with Dwight and Asik both on the Rockets, how many times will Dwight be facing a top level defensive big on the way to a chip?

Chandler in NY? Gasol/Zbo in Memphis? Tim Duncan in SA? Hibbert in Indiana?

There are bigs that can give Hibbert and Dwight a hard time, there's just not many of them. Measuring their offensive performance when facing each other down and using that as a measure of worth seems a bit out of whack, especially when Dwight wasn't getting a lot of great passes in the paint this game (Lin on the bench, Harden not really being a big man passer so far).

What we saw from Dwight mostly this game was back to the basket post ups, far from his greatest strength at least historically.

 

It's amazing and disappointing that after a game where
Lin played very well,
Beverley played very well,
the defense was strong early,
the offense was flowing late,
and the Rockets dominated a supposed contender,

...some of you player specific fans still find ways to complain.