Posted this on ISH message board, but since I did all the work, I thought you guys would enjoy it as well... The numbers should be all right, or close to it. I did the most recent 7 games by hand, and its 3am, so if I am off by a bit, sue me.
If Dwight would just play like Joey Dorsey 2.0 he would be dominant. Instead he wants to play like Hakeem 0.1. I actually think the team would be better in the next two to three years with a 3 man big rotation of Jones, DMO, and Smith. I think that DMO and Jones could really thrive together and Smith looks so good running with the second unit.
The reality is DH is not good enough to be a low post threat, I mean he is a competent/average post up player however we have better options than an average post up most of the time. Like what another poster said, the best thing is for Dwight to be Dorsey 100.0, he should just defend and then PNR all day every day. If he does that the Rox will be unstoppable. To be honest I don't see any downside to this, Dwight will be able to average double doubles if he becomes 100% PNR on offense since nobody can stop a HnH PNR. While he is rehabbing Mchale should be in his ear 24/7 convincing him this is the right way to go about things.
Basically we don't need Dwight... Trade him when you can... I love the guy in all but he's been hurting our team trying to play Superman. If he only sticks with playing defense and grabbing Rebs then I'm all for him but If not I'm willing to trade his ass for a person like Deandre Jordan or Nikola Vuvic from the Magic.
What really astonishes me is the invredible passing this team is doing since Dwight has gone down. I feel like this is my main issue with Dwight right now. It's not that he tries to post up all the time it is just that the ball gets too "sticky". The extra passes our team is doing is making everyone a threat. This is exactly what needs to happen even when Dwight comes back. The game needs to come to him and not forced. It makes Ariza better, Dmo better, Jsmith better, Harden better. This needs to continue. I would hope Dwight thrives to make at least 3 or more assists a game when he gets back.
Don't get your hopes up Clutchfans. The team played great without him earlier this year. Many hoped then he'd come back and not disrupt what we did, and try to fit in. It didn't happen. Unfortunately it won't happen again this time when he comes back. You got to now when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em.
It's hard to accurately draw any conclusions. Dwight was healthy at the beginning of the season. Then he got hurt and missed games. Then he came back and was playing hurt. Then he gets hurt again and has been missing games. The team went through some pretty significant changes during that time whether it was getting players back from injury or acquiring new players who get a lot of playing time. There are just too many variables because of the roster changes to really draw an accurate conclusion.
People forget how good the team was with Dwight before the first injury. That's the peak of this team, hope we can get bck there.
This is spot on. I agree we can't draw too many conclusions. That said, it does really make me believe Dwight's post game is a drag on this team's ability to soar.
Morey, Mr. Stats Man, and the rest of the Rockets Org knows this. It's obvious to everyone and I'm sure they will be communicating with Dwight. Stick to Defense, Rebounds, and Pick and Roll and this team can win it all!!!
The problems with posting Dwight are numerous: When going against smaller players, they'll foul and he'll likely make only 1 of the 2 free throws. When going against larger players, he doesn't have the ability to shoot over them (like Dream). He is a poor passer out of double-teams. He is the best rebounder on the team by far, but is not in a good position to rebound his own shots from the post. D-Mo, Smith, and Jones all have better touch and passing ability in the post - Dwight takes post touches away from them.
Dwight just have to understand. His post game ain't going to work. Should do more of what other centers do without the ball, set picks and roll strong to the basket.
the AST:TO increase is leading to better %'s and more points. we are also better defensively, not at the rim obviously, but better at rotating and moving laterally to trap and cover PnR.
This is where good coaching comes into play. Obviously the post ups hurt the team so stop doing them.
Look Dwight does not move his body on offense, he wants to stand in the paint and bang, and that limits the rest of the team as he is not Hakeem, or even close to an efficient post player. When DMo in there, everyone moves, the ball moves, it doesn't get sticky, the offense flows. If Dwight would accept a PnR roll the team would benefit, but he needs to accept it, and more importantly the coaches and org should demand it. DD