[Zach Lowe Podcast] are Harden and Howard's games compatible?

I'd settle for ANY kind of wing defense over a PG upgrade.

 

Isn't that what Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell used to do?

 

I don't buy it yet either but I think it is a valid concern. Some players mesh and some don't. Weird that it has been a whole season yet I still think they haven't really had enough time to come together. Not sure if this is on mchale or them individually but we have gone the whole season winning on skill of each one alone. One night harden, one night howard, one night parson etc.

That's not really a long term formula but in the days of W-L and no time to get it together, it has gotten us through to now. Sort of a 'make it work' mindset which you can't blame coach and team necessarily. I guess my concern is it hasn't developed into anything too earth shattering because we know iso harden against milwaukee will get it done. It's falling into bad habits.

I'm not sure if it is the 2 of them, if it is because of the coach, that they need more time or maybe it just won't ever be anything despite 2 great players.

Definitely think they are not even 40% of what they could be together vs. separate as they seem to be now.

It's a beautiful thing when 2 superstars are playing well together and right now we are not there yet. Not even close.

On talent alone we can make it pretty far but it is going to be tight and we are going to have to have some luck and breaks.. when if they were meshing in superstar mode as 2, we would be blowing out dominating all the way to the end.

a few more years would get us there maybe, but in this day and age teams dont get that. Think about the lakers in 80s, celtics in 80s, bulls in late 80s and 90s. Those teams had YEARS and YEARS of time to get it going. Not anymore. different time.

 

of course you just need a coach that.....

 

You can have the greatest player of all time but if your coach don't put him in a position to succeed then you're not going to get squat from him.

 

What has been apparent to me in these playoffs thus far, is that great players win games, but great teams win series. We've gotten thus far on talent, but the cohesiveness needed to make a deep playoff run comes from more than 2 players.

In watching Atlanta and Memphis, one can tell that although Indiana and OKC have great individual players, team ball is winning.

My Rocket's needs:
(a)a true point guard so Harden can play his rightful position, off the ball,
(b) a wing defender agile enough to play the quick forwards of the league,
(c) a PF that actually makes the other team PF play defense for 48 minutes.
(d) a few reliable bench specialist

Sounds simple, but I believe all can be done in one off-season now that we have our 2 core players established.

 

maybe but it's not ALL on the coach. It takes TIME and chemistry to get there and maybe they just aren't the right fit? Maybe they need more time?

Maybe mchale keeps looking at options and finds the right one? Rudy T didn't get all systems go from the first moment. Took years and years of tinkering and bringing in and out players. You could argue Rudy T was as bad as mchale or worse but he finally got it going with inside outside and spacing but it also required the right mix.

It's not just one factor. I believe it's chemistry, time, and coach as well. That being said, 54 wins it is hard to blame it 100% on coach.

 

Are y'all actually listening to the podcast? It's worth the listen, IMO.

 

Friedman and Feigen have the patience of Job. I'd have lost it on some of those people by now, given the crazy stuff they get tweeted.

 

Great podcast!

Except for the very end where they go on about a bad spinal tap and Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

 

I personally believe they won 54 games based on the talent they have alone. If they had a more formidable coach I'm sure it could have been more than that. They were 23-7 against the East and were pretty on the same level as Portland, Golden State, Dallas and Memphis in the Western Conference in terms of Conference records.

Based on your response to me yesterday you might think I'm just another fair weather fan that immediately think we're going down this year because we're in a 0-2 hole but there hasn't been much evidence shown by the players and especially McHale to make me believe otherwise. The only move that he's made in the past two years in the playoffs that could prove he's making adjustments was putting Beverly in the starting lineup last year against the Thunder.

The coach isn't 100% accountable for what happens to the team and its players during the course of a game but if your best tactic is to either let your best player do whatever he wants (even though his game and mentality hasn't matured enough to warrant that freedom) then you're not really a good coach.

I agree that Rudy didn't get through to the team right away but he recognized the team's strengths (having Hakeem and 3 point shooters) and created a plan of attack based on said strengths. Stan Van Gundy recognized the best way to use Dwight Howard was to use him in the same sort of system--thrown in down to him inside and surround him with 3 point shooters. Having Dwight set high PnRs might be a good move but its not the best move.

 

chillout, I got this. - zen

Spoiler

 

They have both lost it on some of them on occassion, albiet generally in a polite-ish way.

 

Bingo. Sending Lin and our 1st rounder to Toronto for Lowry in a sign & trade would help a lot. Love Pat as a defender, but he's crap as a distributor.

 

+1 not a knee jerk thread. They can be the best PNR combo in the league but sometimes they would rather play their style. Which might may not translate to winning. Teams have to make sacrifices.

 

I think it's on Dwight. I can't see a reason why Harden wouldn't want to run PNR and continually get open three point shots, wide open drives or easy lobs to Dwight all game every game.

I think Morey and the coaching staff know the PNR is what they should do, but I just don't think that's how Dwight wants to do things. And I'm just speculating but something tells me when we were working on signing him we knew that's what he wanted and we promised him the opportunity to do it.

Just the way I see things, I think Dwight has it in his head that he won't be considered a legitimate big man if he doesn't work in the post. For whatever reason I think he actually cares about being seen in that light. Frustrating when you know there's a nearly unstoppable play we could be doing instead.

All that said, I don't regret signing him one bit and still think if we add the RIGHT pieces to this team we can win.

 

I agree with this, from beginning to end. I think they sold him on developing him as a post player to get him here, and they go to it every now and then to pacify him (even though Ray Charles could see it isn't the most effective way to win). Harden was more than happy to run PNR w/ Asik last year and in Dwight's absence this year, so it can't be reluctance on his part. Didn't Metta say they dumped the ball to Dwight in LA because that's what he wanted, not because they thought it was a good idea? This is nothing new. I also don't regret signing Dwight and I there's a lot to love about him... but he is a guy who cares a hell of a lot about what people think of him, and I think he is bound and determined to prove he can be a post player to prove people wrong.

 

There's a difference between creating space and moving to the open spot on the floor so Dream can kick out versus literally standing around and taking yourself out of the play.

Battier was a great example of how "standing around" in the right place was the perfect foil for Yao's post game.

It feels like the only one who consistently knows how to get open looks from kickouts this series is Beverley, and he isn't exactly our best shooter.

 

The only thing Dwight needs to prove is to win and get a ring. Once he got a ring, people's opinion will change. See LeBron.

 

Put Lin in the game to run the half court. He'll get shots for both of them. Olajuwon, I'm pretty sure, would agree.