Dmo still gonna play as much minutes. He's mentally weak if he's goin to cry about manning the post offensively and defensively for the second unit which consists of shved, Canaan, brewer, and papa
Our second unit in the playoffs (without the trade) DMo Jones Brewer Shevd Terry That's a damn good second team
It's gonna be papa and not jones or shved. Papa will regain his form soon and start throwing it down... Greek freak part II
Playoffs rotation usually gets shortened to 8 man. When Papa gets back into form, with the team as it stands, Rockets will probably field the following 9 man rotation in the playoffs. Harden Dwight Ariza Smith Beverley Terry Brewer DMo Papa This team needs another creator on perimeter. Either Shved turns out to be that someone for 10-15 mins a game or Rockets get someone else, in which case, the minutes get squeezed even more or someone gets to sit out.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black, Isaac Canaan, Nick Johnson, Clint Capela ... Rockets seeking taker on any of the above to make room for Josh Smith</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/547966165449191424">December 25, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'm glad the Rockets don't want to waive anyone on Christmas. Although they might have to, at least they're trying not to.
Dallas fans are pretty convinced that Smith could ONLY work in Dallas. No where else. Just like how they told themselves that Chandler Parsons would play defense for Carlisle...
Josh smith, dmo and pap are good passers and dmo and pap are more so team players. Very good depth. Would love to see a lineup with pap sf dmo pf and smith c.
I think the odd man out in this case is most likely Clint Capela. He has the least experience and has Dorsey and Black ahead of him at the 5 and Jones and D-Mo at the 4. Not a very hopeful spot to be in. He definitely has raw talent and would preferably be kept to see how he develops. But at this moment, he is probably the most likely to be unseated to free up a roster spot. Add in the fact that any good GM is thinking long-term, Black is ahead of Capela in demonstrating good utility at the 4 and 5. Capela wasn't signed for his offensive skills. The Rockets have added 3 new players in about a week. Experimentation and chemistry do take time, but McHale, as a former player, will have a good feel after watching them in practice (and also knowing their games from both the GM and broadcast analyst spots) to make the adaptation shorter. Not to mention both Brewer and Smith have been in the league a long time and know how to fit with probably almost any players and combinations. One thing I don't think Mchale does is to miscast a player outside of his most natural skills. The biggest question is offense. Harden is still the spoke around which the offense runs for the Rockets. Because the Rockets still haven't mastered the pass into the post, Harden is more likely to get double-teamed than Howard is. And there is no other equivalent play-maker for the starters or the bench. Coaches are probably more worried about stopping Harden than Howard. For this team, in particular, a scoring point guard is not as required as it might otherwise be. Don't get me wrong, Beverly needs to be able to score and score well, but Harden is the focal point for most passes into assists -- even secondary passes/assists -- because they often originate with his creating the defensive crack or breakdown which results in the basket. So, while, fans might covet a Dragic on paper, as long as Harden is who he is, even Dragic would be utilizing Harden to make the team run most effectively. So the real glaring weakness is who truly replaces Harden when he sits? No one, still. There is no other 2 on the team who can command his attention, actually score points at the pace he does, and also recognize situations and pass into assists as well. But, hey, he is not being considered by many as an MVP for nothing. Players like him don't come around very often. For short spurts, Canaan might be able to keep a defense on its toes long enough to keep from undoing all that Harden was able to do while on the floor. Spacing is just worse when he is not on the floor. Dragic would only make that better when Harden is not on the floor. And if he were here, he probably wouldn't be coming off the bench. Actually, probably the best answer for his absence is to always make sure D-Mo is on the floor when Harden is not. I would argue, that offensively, D-Mo is showing to be just as effective, if not more, than Howard in the post. Keeping defenders anchored to the post will help with spacing for 3's better when Harden is resting. So, hopefully, D-mo overlaps playing with both starters and the bench. He might be the next best anchor of the offense after Harden -- especially with the bench lineup. At this point, I wouldn't make any trades until the Feb. trade deadline, and only then if there seems to be an adjustment to be made. Once Jones is back and healthy, the real rotation can begin to take shape. As always, no lineups are set in stone. Coaches make adjustments on the fly based on opposing personnel and gut feelings -- and injuries, of course. Starting is a feather in the cap, but playing time is still very meaningful in terms of contribution to team success. Hopefully, the roster as it now exists will make everyone's job easier and with more rest during games. I can foresee a truly diversified rotation to fit almost any opponent. I think this group cares more about winning than who is starting.
Do not mistake talent for likability when deciding who should start - Dmo or Smith. Smith probably should start as a strech 4 but I could see him doing incredibly well playing with an Iggy type role. This is a great problem to have
Yeah. Woj said that " a roster of teamates" contacted Smith so as to come here. I doubt that we will have problems. But that remains to be seen.
Not sure if this was mentioned before, but Josh Smith is shooting the corner 3 with great efficiency this season. Admittedly, the sample is very small, and he wasn't shooting it very well in previous years. But perhaps if he keeps practicing that shot he could be a serviceable corner 3 guy? notice also the left arc 3%: Josh Smith 2014-5 shot chart
I will post another story about him and his good friend http://www.nba.com/hawks/feature/Smith_Morris_Feature_110408.html
Not so. The radio talking heads and MFFLs has been squealing for O'Neal for quite some time now. Still smarting over Parsons' signing with the Mavs I see.
