For THIS current team, I can agree. Motiejunas and Jones have certain attributes and potential to make them better well-rounded options than with the small ball options. Still the Miami Heat, the team they lost to today, won back-to-back titles based on a small-ball/"positionless" approach. Last year against OKC when the Rockets went small, that tactic realistically could have eliminated OKC from the playoffs. So can't really say that small ball is not an option in the playoffs. It did seem today that D-Mo was effective when he was in and it was changing to small ball just for the sake of it. Its upsetting to fans who sense the momentum, but its more upsetting if it takes AWAY from actual player development and confidence.
I agree. Posting up Asik has to be one of the most waste of play plays than anything else we do. Someone has to make the team aware of this. I would blame it on McHale but want to believe he tells the players and they just don't listen. Got to believe that because the alternative is worse.
If you watched this Heat game today you should remember the first offensive play Miami ran, they got a switch from Parsons to Jones up top and then they ran pick-and-roll with Harden/Jones defending. I think it was the next Rox offensive possession or perhaps 2 possessions later they let Jones catch the ball on the baseline and just faded off him. Same stretch at the beginning they faded off Jones out high and Jones tried to throw the post up to Dwight or Harden on the left baseline....Bosh just picked it off and they went the other way. Dada, you're a great poster and Rockets fan, but asking for more Jones is simply asking for a quicker out in the playoffs. I realize our closing lineup did not work today. But we were on the road and the officiating in this game was very biased. Not to mention Harden is the guy that lost Ray Allen in the corner for that 3-ball that kinda undid us today. Miami did counter punch us today after studying us from the game last week. They made the adjustments that led to this win. When Miami goes small with Bosh in the middle and Lebron, Wade, Ray, and either Chalmers or Shane....we don't really have a choice but to go with Bev/Lin/Parsons/Dwight/Harden. Neither Jones nor DMo can hang with Miami in that alignment. Neither guy is good enough on the perimeter defensively and neither guy can help us spread the floor around Dwight by shooting the 3 at a decent enough clip. Miami countered and beat us today. We'll have to counter again if we meet them in the Finals. But we won't make it to the Finals with MORE of Jones and DMo. Only way we get to the Finals is with LESS of Jones and DMo.
You're an idiot if you think Dmo sucks. In fact I would be totally on board with him starting since he's a better stretch 4. McHale completely failed in how to utilize Dmo today. How do you not post him up with Battier guarding him? Then, why would you take him out when it was clear the team was effective with him in the lineup? McHale instead stubbornly trotted out the Bev/Lin/Harden/Parsons/Howard lineup just because it worked last week. Freaking McHale man.
DMO is nowş shooting 26.6% from the three point line. It would be idiotic to claim he is a stretch 4 this season.
The funny thing is, whenever Asik was in the post, they immediately passed to him. But when DMo was posting up, nobody seemed to notice.
DMo needs to go strong to the basket and dunk. He's giving up a lot of baskets by slowing down and laying it up off the backboard. He's got quick feet for a big man but needs to finish with authorit-tah.
Maybe if he played more than 14mpg he would get there quicker? The guy needs playing time, he is shooting very well as of late. His 3pt percentage is up 10 points in the last few months.... DD
Rockets should had played Casspi today. he one of the best perimeter defenders the team have and he CAN spread the floor and pass
If you can out-athlete from a strength, length, athleticism standpoint from 3 out of 5 positions on the floor, are you really that small? The Heat did technically play "small ball" style, but would hesitate to call their lineup small... positionless is probably a better phrase to describe their style of play. The Rockets probably dont have the athletes at their skilled positions to be able to sustain small ball throughout the course or the playoffs to eventually not get overpowered. However, the main problem with the Rockets is when their game is slowed down. Going small doesn't necessary change anything about Pace if the other team is taking that away from them... which that seems to be something teams are making priority #1, 2 & 3 when planning against the Rockets. IMO, Jones and D-Mo don't really do anything that truly slows down their offense, and I really don't see more reliable floor spacing with any the guards except maybe Garcia anyways so I really don't see why you wouldn't go with one of them down the stretch of the game to be honest. The only thing I see that the Rockets small ball does is gamble with the explosiveness of Lin playing like a bat out of hell... which can be just as deadly to the Rockets as it is to the opposing team if he's not on his game. Lin can win you a game on the occasion, Harden is your star, and Beverley is your best perimeter defender, so I get it.... but you can't go away from what works best in the half court at the end of games.... which is probably more pick and roll, and ball movement. Something I think D-Mo really helps out with maybe even a little bit more than Jones. I dont know the answer but I know that small ball is a strategy with this team, and not an institution because of the personnel. If they had players like Deng, Batum, Stephenson, etc. on the wings than I'd be a little more excited about seeing it more often. Right now, I dont really think the Rockets lose anything by playing big.... However they take a big gamble when they go small late if they aren't able to get easy buckets in transition, and aren't able to take care of the ball & execute correctly.
I kept shaking my head when he used to help on Mario Chalmers getting into the paint while leaving Bosh open to drain a 3 Dwight is more than capable of handling Chalmers inside the paint. Stick with your man!
D-Mo has also become a very good defensive player. He always boxes out on the defensive glass and is hardly ever out of position even after complex defensive rotations.
