So you're trying to tell me that team's wont try and run??? Its one thing I would try early in the game if I was the opposing coach. Doesn't necessarily mean its the only way. Again.. you dont think teams are going to try and run on the Rockets when they go big??? The other big that isn't getting the rebound can sprint down to the paint on the other end. Never said anything about the opposing team not trying to rebound. That's a given. Most nights Asik will be matched up with someone like Millsap, Antony Davis, or David Lee on offense, and some teams will go small with the likes of Lebron, KD, Melo, etc. You dont think those type of players can beat Asik down the floor? Even if Harden/Parsons/Lin get back on D very fast, its almost always going to be 3 on 4 until the Rockets bigs get back. Fast breaking might not be the only way to beat the Rockets when they go big, but your kidding yourself if you dont think teams are going to try and get easy points in transition. Its pretty basic basketball to get out in transition if you are facing an opponent with a ton of size. Good news is it did look like the smalls for Houston were well prepared for SA to run last night which is good. I think they are definitely going to plan for this type of gameplay.
Once again, the benefit of twin towers is you can shut down other teams that play power ball. Those teams, like Memphis, Indiana, and last year's Lakers burned us when they went big against our small ball lineups. Now, we force them to go small and spread it out...which plays into our hands. We can then run one of Dwight/Asik to the bench and play better small ball than they can because we have a better defensive rim protector...and better shooters in most cases. Look around and see how many teams do you think can beat us by playing small ball against us. Very few in my opinion. Miami, possibly Golden State. Now look around and see how many teams do you think can beat us by playing power basketball against us. Championship contender.
No I just said, that wont be the only way teams will score on the Twin Towers. Of course teams will try to get out on the break against the Rockets as well every other NBA team. Don't need a Rockets scientist up in here to know that known simple fact. But as I was eluding to, teams will try to run PnR's on them, dribble penetrations and even post up plays will be ran against the Rockets and our Twin Towers. Now are you saying points wont be scored in the paint against us because of the Twin Towers ? Are you saying the fast break is the only good way to score in the paint against the Twin Towers? See we both can play that game pimpn. Meaning reading comments wrong, because I know you knowledge of the game is very high and intelligent.
In the playoffs the game slows down a bunch and it is never really the responsibility of the C of PF to get back on defense first. It's the guard's. You stop transition offense by stopping the ball before it gets into the paint, not by rushing your C or PF down the court to block a lay up. That's just my opinion.
Also, to add, we are one of the few teams (if not the only team) that can effectively play with two BIGS and then go straight to a small lineup without a huge drop off in ability. That is not to say that we still do not have a gap at the four, but it is clear that we have so many options as far as line ups that we are not limited to just the Twin Towers.
How many teams even have a decent stretch 4? And if Asik-Howard really cannot handle such a stretch 4, then this is why we have Casspi and other options for.
I don't think it's necessarily a problem that the twin towers lineup will get varying minutes (say 6-18 minutes) depending on match-ups, meaning that Asik gets, say, 20-32 minutes depending on match-ups. I think the team should focus on getting comfortable playing different styles. Sure, chemistry will be a little slower to build and that might cost the team a couple of wins during the regular season, but it will help us in the playoffs by giving players greater comfort with adjustments, which are typically needed during long series against a single opponent. With the hole at the 4, I think the team should work to turn a liability into an asset by emphasizing flexibility over consistency, and be willing to let chemistry be a little slower to build.
Did you guys see Patrick Beverly stopped 3 fast breaks by straight up fouling the ball handler. I thought it was so smart because it didn't let other teams build momentum and allowed howard and Asik to get back. I think that might be one answer to stoping fast breaks when these two play together for 15 mins.
Interesting point. Would it make more sense to plan for early quarter minutes for the twin towers before the penalty?
Agreed. Rockets' 1-3 (PG, SG, SF) just need to get back and not take needless risks in the midcourt area. I don't mind Dwight and Omer crashing the offensive boards.
Dirk. Lebron James. That's how you score on us. That's when we become a liability but a good coach will make them beat us on the outside. If Asik is near the arc we are useless, if mchale panics like Popavich and goes small, we lose.
ABSOLUTELY! You put the opponent in the position to foul early. You get Harden and Howard in the pick-and-roll early. You get it to the rim early. And you rack up foul count against the opponent early. Then you sit one of the bigs, spread the floor, while in the bonus and own the second half of the quarters. The opponent (if they are smart) won't foul early, but will instead let stuff go like Howard's forays at the rim because they want to save foul count for later in the quarter to keep James off the free throw line as much as possible. If they do that, simply take it to them early and get a whole pack of layups/dunks at the rim. Run off the turnovers, blocked shots, and missed shots that the twin towers and Beverley create early. Then when the game settles down to closing time, we've got all the cards falling our way with our spread game. It's a no-brainer. You play the twin towers early, and either get up big as the opponent withholds defense to keep foul count down...or you jack up the foul count against the opponent if they are attempting to be defensively aggressive early.
I've always felt that about the fourth quarter and probably the second. With the first quarter I was leaning toward going with a more conventional four to start and with an early sub for Asik (after 4-6 minutes). I thought that would allow for easier staggering of the minutes at the five and would allow for a quick adjustment if the twin towers lineup wasn't working (by subbing Casspi for Howard). I also think that D-Mo might be best used for a few minutes at the start of the halves because his offensive versatility and passing ability makes him best suited for drawn-up plays. But I do see the point in putting the twin towers in at the beginning of a quarter so as to have available fouls to stop fast breaks.
If the rockets force the other team to go small, then it worked. The rockets can play small ball with Dwight or Asik in the middle and gobble up all the boards. The reason the rockets defense was so bad last year was because no one but Asik could get a rebound when the other teams went big.
Exactly. There are few teams I fear getting into a 3 point shooting contest with. Analysts seem to underestimate just how good our shooting is. I actually think that Dwight can guard out to the perimeter pretty well but he obviously won't shut it down the way he can in the paint. If Hibbert and David West gave the heat problems... you can bet that Asik-Dwight will frustrate the crap out of them in the paint.
