In crunch time you want james with the ball in his hand and Dwight down low boxing out. Plus his FT shooting? This thread is uncalled for.
His rebounding effort wasn't good for first 3 quarters yesterday, picked up (along with rest of team) in 4th.
Yes,that was strange. I was wondering if his back was bothering him when he wasn't putting in the effort. Fortunately, he came through in crunch time.
So again, I ask you....instead of setting picks for Harden to get to the basket, you think it's a better use of crunch time minutes for Dwight to post-up?? Harden doesn't simply get the ball because he's hot....he gets it because he is one of the best players in basketball coming off a pick due to his elite court vision, and ability to drive to the bucket. In crunch time, Dwight is the defensive anchor....that's an enormous task on its own.
when the game slows down, you need post up plays. i am just saying a variety of PNR and post up plays in crunch time. if howard can be as close as olajuwon, then you better give him chances to post up and not only set picks all the time. we also complained in the Olajuwon era of too much post up so we just need a balance of PNR and post up. it will definitely test howard if he can handle the critical times of the game and not the first 3 quarters only. this is for the future if we can be truly compete in the elite level.
1) NO 2) No 3) No This is all completely obvious ! Dwight doesn't need to do anything except KEEP working on his best year of basketball in his entire career. leadership-balance-emotional control-dominate defense-solid offense-team work-attitude-chemistry=Rings i.e., It's ain't over till It's Over !11Q1111
Dude, the guy's been to the Conference Finals and NBA Finals. The last thing he needs is for someone to "test" his ability to handle crunch time. He's a proven NBA star who has been in the league for 10 years. Now it's time to utilize him correctly, and not force the issue. Why would you question how the Rockets are closing out games when they've won 15 of 17 games, and just beaten 3 of the best teams in the NBA. Dwight does exactly what he needs to do on a nightly basis. Even the Magic didn't post him up in crunch time because of his poor free throw shooting. Let it go.
Lol Hakeem didn't close games Cassell, Horry, Smith or Drexler did. Shaq didn't close games, Penny, Kobe or DWade did.
My point is simple. No need to over exaggerate things. For ex. : the last two minutes of a game. Let's say we have 6 possession. Out of 6 possessions. You probably get 4 or 5 Harden PNR and 1 or 2 Howard post up. That's it. It will obviously change depending on the game situation. I just don't want it to be purely PNR all the way. You can see the discrepancy on how many post ups Howard receive in the 4Q compared to the first 3Q. It seems Howard has less pressure during crunchtime. It is not easy and tiring for Harden to put the Rockets on his shoulder in pressure packed situation. We got Howard to somehow ease the offensive burden. I know being a defensive anchor is itself a huge task but none more than being an offensive option. If we want to get over the contender hump, we need more (not gigantic MORE but slightly more) from Howard.
I like Howard mostly on the move, setting picks or fighting down below for the offensive rebound. Mix in the post game and keep it going if he is making shots.
Dwight's just gotta cut down on those low post turnovers, he's doing fine otherwise. Early in the year, I thought the Rockets didn't get him the ball nearly enough. But I feel like we've got a pretty good balance now. When things get tough on offense, hopefully the Rockets settle down and dump it down to Dwight. As long as he doesn't turn the ball over on the post, good things usually happen.
Howard, even in his heydays in Orlando never scored in the mid-twenties. Sorry to rain on your parade.
As fans, I love how we all are armchair coaches for our beloved Rox. However, as much as I absolutely despise how McHale attempts to run things on offense, I think Dwight is playing exactly how he should. His post ups are more natural than anything. Dwight is not Hakeem. He is not the best at sealing his defender off consistently and calling for the ball. His post-up opportunities come at times when he naturally seals his man off or when our guards see the spacing open up or a mismatch. The extent to which James/Pat/Chandler penetrate the lane also lend to Dwight being ready for the lob rather than the post up. Basically, Dwight needs to continue what he's doing and continue beasting the boards and changing shots. Personally, I wish we could have Omer and Dwight in there together to stop LaMarcus and guards. It hasn't worked but I feel incredibly confident when Omer is protecting the rim.
Getting Dwight the ball down low in crunch time is probably the worst idea for him. They would just foul him and put him on the line. If I'm the opposing team, I would take 50% free throw shooting over James Harden scoring ability any day of the week.
No, no and No. 1) Turnover prone 2) Need him to stay out of foul trouble. That's hard to do if you give the other team too many opportunities to flop off his post moves. 3) We have more than enough offense most games. Dwight's main value is defense with SOME offense. 4) You do NOT want him getting intentionally fouled in crunch time. He doesn't shoot FT's well enough for that. He's being used in a nice balance right now and his stats and the team's record reflects that. There is ZERO need to force more possessions when the team is winning, winning and winning some more.
dude your post is terrible, everybody thinks it terrible just get over it.. you had an idea and it was bad accept it you dont want the ball in howards hand in the crunch time for variety of reason, it takes it out of hardens hands for one and also it makes it easier for them to foul howard and put him on the line.
