The Jazz are trying to lose as many games as possible. I could've have gotten 14/7 against them. Instead of focusing on fools gold performances like that why don't we focus on how Jones has done against the Spurs, and the Thunder, and the Clippers, and the Blazers, and the Warriors, and the Mavs and the Grizzlies. Those are the teams we are most likely to face in the playoffs. Jones has started and played 20 games against them this season. Here's some of his numbers against these guys: 93/185 from the field for 50.27% 4/29 from the 3-point line for a gaudy 13.8% 24/48 from the free-throw line for a whopping 50% 10.7 points per game 1.03 points per possession 6.65 rebounds per game 1.2 assists per game .8 steals per game .95 turnovers per game Averaging 28 minutes and 2 seconds of playing time in those games. And a crazy -88 net points in 20 games. That is -4.4 points per game against the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, Blazers, Warriors, Mavs, and Grizzlies. Oh, and a 9-11 record in those games. One factor about Jones I have held in reserve until now. Dwight is a poor free-throw shooter. In the playoffs, you can't have another poor free-throw shooter on the floor when the opponent is in the penalty with more than 2 minutes left, which will happen more often than not. We run Jones out there with Dwight or Asik and the opponent gets to pick which guy they want to foul. You simply can't run out 2 piss-poor free throw shooters in the playoffs unless they are giving you total lock-down defense. Currently only the Blazers and Mavs are rated below us defensively. The other 5 teams we are possibly going to face in the playoffs are rated better than us defensively. What that means is they have the liberty to play tough aggressive defense, play tight on the perimeter and then if we get the ball to Howard/Jones down low they can simply hack them to pieces.
Jones is just a role player home boy. All he has to do is play his role Holic. This is his 1st year starting imo he has done a decent job. Better yet this entire team with the mild experience has exceed a lot of people expectation. I don't predict us winning it all this season. But next season my expectations will be higher. Expectations for Jones and his growth will be higher. Your problem is you act like this cat suppose to be elite in his 1st season starting. Again dude chill out with the excessive over top analysis on a 1st year role player. Lol it is amazing to me that your only 8-10 rotation rant during pre season and earlier on was way off. And instead of pointing out the positive things that Jones has done for this team. You keep shouting out the negative and acting like the young man won't improve. Everybody know that either the Spurs , Thunder or Clippers will rep the West this in the NBA Championship. Our Rockets will be in that mix next season.
All my thoughts and commentary are pointed at us possibly winning a championship this season. Everybody knows that. When I discuss this team, I am talking about what we need to win a championship now. Not next season but now. If you understand that then you can better understand where I am coming from in the content I post. I haven't said anything about next year. I'm not talking about next year. I'm talking about right now. Frankly, I'll be surprised if Jones is still here next year.
I don't quite understand how you look at things, but in my opinion TJones is a way bigger contributor to the Rockets than DMo. DMo is a very visible player and he passes the eyeball test easily. Maybe it is because of his size and effort. However, TJones is way more productive in his silent way. TJones is also a good rebounder considering that he plays mostly with Dwight who is "competing" for the rebounds. I would definitively think that TJones will be back next season. Just from the business point of view, I see Asik and Lin moving on. They will leave around $16 mil cap space. Half will go to Parsons and the other+ for a top (Rondo style) point guard. Players like TJones, DMo, Casspi and Garcia will stay because they provide way beyond their salary and they all start to be experienced enough to fill the needs from the bench in the playoff picture and the team philosophy.
Once again, Morey has not historically thought this way. When his "NBA ready" undersized PF's maximize their value he trades them all. I can start a list. Stop me anytime. Carl Landry Joey Dorsey Patrick Patterson Marcus Morris Even the ones who don't maximize their value but still have "potential" get traded. Jordan Hill Thomas Robinson The "problem" with keeping Jones long term is that I see no one skill he excels amazingly at. He's a good player who does a little bit of everything. The kind of guy who oozes "potential" and makes any trade very enticing. I'd be very shocked if he's here at the end of next year. We'll see though. We can revisit this topic in a year's time. The skill set that D-Mo possesses at 7 ft tall is extraordinary. He needs grooming but flashes elite level post play and very solid defense. If he maximizes his potential working with the Rockets' big man coaches, he'll be extremely hard to stop in the post due to his size and maneuverability. That's his biggest draw. And very hard to replace. Whereas Morey has shown the ability to find TJ type players in the draft very easily. Actually I kind of feel like if he falls to the spot Alex Poythress might be a guy Morey goes after in this years draft as that replacement.
That is all gravy and would be sweet as he11 if we were to win it this season. But realistically speaking, come on man, that's not going to happen with the our less amount of experience. We are building great chemistry and experience. We are not like the Celtics who acquired hof veterans. It took the Heat two seasons to achieve their ultimate goal. So again pimpn lower expectations just a bit and give them this season and the end of next season. Next season we will be in the mix, and will have a better chance to achieving our goal.
The odds of winning a championship in any season are small. But you've got to go for it. And I think the organization is going for it this season the best they know how to. I don't think they are conceding we are not winning a championship. And personally I feel like we've got a decent shot at it....if we get healthy and stay healthy......and we get the rotation right. In the playoffs/Finals the rotation typically shrinks anyways. I believe our best shot at winning a championship this year involves minimizing Jones' (and to a certain extent DMo's) minutes and maximizing Asik's minutes and our small ball lineup minutes with Harden or Parsons at the 4. I personally believe that having 4 guys around Dwight (or Asik) that can shoot the ball from the 3-point line is critical to us winning a championship. I also believe that having the ability to man up defensively with 2 stud big men defenders against teams that go big like Memphis is also critical to us possibly winning a championship this season. So, I'm not viewing this season as a throw-away "well we got better" type season. I'm viewing this season as the first in our window of opportunities to win a championship. Of course I may change on that if these injuries keep mounting. Latest news/rumor on Dwight doesn't sound good. If he goes down for the year or somebody else significant goes down for the year that could alter my perspective on the season. (I hope that doesn't happen.)
I believe the Rockets odds of winning the chip this season is among the top five in the league. Certainly leading the pack are the Spurs, followed by Miami, the Thunder, the Clips and then the Rockets. If the Rockets get hot from beyond the arc they certainly could breeze through the playoffs. It would not take a "perfect storm" for the Rockets to win it this season.
We only disagree on our evaluation of D-Mo. TT will certainly be useful against teams like Memphis and Indiana and to a lesser extent against Portland and the Spurs. D-Mo realistically at the power forward position provides much better defense than Asik or Howard. The Rockets have actually been phenomenal on defense over the last few months when D-Mo has played. And is there any real need for scoring from the power forward position?
Oh boy, I think I just got April Fool'd by SydneyEffect. Avoided all the stupid thread jokes until that one. Good job turkey.
No doubt, every team in the playoffs are trying to win it all. But my thing is, I will understand why we didn't win it if we don't achieve that ultimate goal. Them getting that playoffs experience together is very important to me. I believe the experience will make them even hungrier if they don't win it all this season. Inexperience will play a big factor if they are not able to achieve the main goal. But next season going forward we will have Mr. Experience on our side. But hey I get your drift big timer. I see im not the only optimistic fan around these parts.
There is a real need for a deep shooting threat from the power forward position. For spacing to make this offense hum at maximum efficiency. We all know if we go into the playoffs with the current starters that Jones is the guy that the opponents are going to target. The defense is going to funnel the ball to him and force him to beat them. They're going to overplay the pick and roll and play up on Parsons/Bev to challenge them on the catch-and-shoot and they are going to help away from Jones. So, Jones (or whomever is out there with the starters) is going to get a ton of catch opportunities at the arc. In order to free up Harden/howard and keep the defense honest you've got to have a guy out there that can shoot a basketball. He's not going to be able to drive into the paint and finish when the defense is all packed down there already from overplaying Harden/Howard. Spacing is the fuel that makes our offense championship-proficient.
Hungrier doesn't translate to championships. Just ask guys like Barkley. We already got the playoff experience last year and we added a guy that has been to the playoffs multiple years. They don't come hungrier than that. I think we'll all understand (at least any reasonable fan with some sort of intelligence) why we didn't win a championship if we don't win it this year. I think it will be clear that our shooting wasn't good enough offensively (because of a lack of having 4 shooters on the floor) and our defense wasn't good enough because we couldn't stop teams with multiple good-to-great bigs playing together.
That is why they are grooming both him and Dmo to shoot the 3 ball. And the way both players have grown since their rookie campaign, I believe they will get better next season. If not one or both will be gone by the all star trade deadline. Or if we could get someone like Ryan Anderson this off season.
Holic our pg situation and bench play will also be major factors. The Thunder,Clippers and Spurs have better pgs and deeper benches that will give us major problems in the playoffs.
Well...there have been aspects of their games that have developed. Unfortunately...shooting from the perimeter wasn't one of the things that has been developed. They are both the same jump shooters they were last season.
I disagree on PG. If Bev is healthy we have a great PG setup with the ability to go small and play Bev/Lin/harden all together and the benefit of having Lin spell Harden and always have a primary playmaker on the floor. I think our point guard rotation is great provided Bev stays healthy. The Thunder, Clips, and Spurs to have better overall point guards. But that's where they've invested in their best or second best player. So...with Bev out there watering down the efficiency of guys like RW, CP3, TP, Lillard, etc., I feel very good about our PG situation. But if Bev can't get healthy then there's a problem because Lin can't defend those point guards very well and Canaan lacks a lot of experience especially defensively. But once again I am discussing the pg position in regard to injury, not in regard to matchups. I feel very strongly about Bev's disruptive capabilities. He's one of the best perimeter defenders on the planet, especially on 1's. Bench??? Like I said, the bench gets a lot shorter in the playoffs. I really don't think our bench is the problem. I think the 4-spot is our major weakness.
Sorry you cannot logically argue for more Asik while simultaneously politicking for more deep shooting. The two positions are mutually exclusive. Like I stated, D-Mo is a much better defender at the power forward position than Asik, Howard or anyone else on the roster. Choose please.
What I am arguing for is greater variance. If we are having trouble with teams with multiple bigs like Memphis with Marc and Zach or Portland with LaMarcus and Lopez or the Spurs with Duncan and Splitter or the Clips with Blake and DeAndre....in my opinion we can stop them by going Twin Towers. By the same token if we are getting bogged down offensively because Jones is getting a lot of touches because the defense is keying down on him and making him beat them...then I think you have to move to 4 shooters on the floor. Variance, jtr. Variance.
I agree with the principle that the Rockets would do better with shooting at the 4. I don't think the Rockets have the personnel for it. Lin isn't that much a better 3 point shooter than Jones so he really doesn't keep the opposing team from packing the paint much less. Casspi is erratic and could probably be used in certain situations, but he really is more a defensive option as he can do some dumb things on offense. Rockets have horrible wing depth. If you can't get spacing from the 4, the best option seems to be play the guy that destroys the spacing for the other team, DMo.
