Five well chosen minutes by McHale. You saw Capela against the best possible match ups. Congratulations sir! And McHale yanked his chain as soon as the opponents coach got the first stringers back in there. What you saw in the playoffs was as much McHale's excellence as a coach as Capela's abilities as a player. If D-Mo had been available I believe we can both agree that Capela would not have sniffed the floor. Five minutes a game.
But being able to bring back Brewer has no actual effect on whether we can bring back KJ. Unless the decision is not to use the MLE on Smith, Llull or an established NBA vet, KJ is almost assuredly gone. Practically guaranteed.
Nope. Rondo had never ever played on a team when he is playing off the ball, he had simple occasions with Pierce as point forward in the clutch situations, when Rondo obviously didn't want the ball unless it's open drive to the basket because of his free-throw numbers Rubio had played every year for a Spanish NT alongside those players. He's playing with secondary playmakers ALL THE TIME. Llull, Calderon, Navarro, one of them is always playing with Rubio and they have one of Gasol brothers as a post playmakers also, so he knows how to play in a situations like this. Rondo didn't, KG was a passer out of long midrange zone and he passed the ball after Rondo gave it to him, like hockey assists. That's not the same. And most importantly, Rondo was in horrible shape, he wasn't able to run and that's why he slowed them down. Chris Paul is trying to play slow to control the number of turnovers. Rubio doesn't care what pace he's playing, that's his biggest advantage and that what suits with this team. We have games when we are running, scoring 115+ points, we have crazy halfcourt games. Both of those styles are making no difference for him.
LOL fair enough, I guess that's all you've ever seen of him playing. It's cool, I guess you can just be shocked next season like those who didn't realize that DMo was a good player did this past season. Also, why would it matter that he was playing against backups? You do realize that he's a backup right? You do realize we're talking about him rebounding against backups when Dwight sits right? Just a really odd take from you.
Don't look on any numbers Take a look on pace of game in any of that plays <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nu7rm5L62Us" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
D-Mo will hopefully be back healthy next season. Do you expect Capela to be a better center then than D-Mo? Do you expect McHale to give Capela backup center minutes ahead of D-Mo? Just asking because I want to know how little you think of D-Mo. D-Mo might be a better PF especially when playing next to Howard, but he is just one heck of an NBA center in his own right.
I'm trying to post the pic of the south park meme where they guy jizzes all over himself but I can't seem to do it.
Capela IS a center, DMo is a PF. Also, do you really expect DMo to be the starting PF AND the backup center? That sounds like a great plan if your goal is to ensure he doesn't stay healthy. With Capela being used as the primary backup center, you can keep everyone's minutes down which is a really nice luxury. Now I'm sure DMo will play some at the 5, but most of his time should be at his natural position.
Yet, he told Morey he needs help to take the load off him. Rubio will do that. A lot of presure off Harden to create for everyone every single game.
We will see won't we? But honestly D-Mo is the natural center of the Rockets in the mold of the Warriors Green small ball. Except D-Mo is probably much better in that role than Green. He shoots the three much better, is every bit as tough in the paint and has one of the 5 best post games in the NBA. However while D-Mo can easily guard all the bigs in the league, Green is realistically the DPOY because there is no one he cannot guard. D-Mo is good in a switch everything defense, Green however is the best. The NBA is changing. Wing play is becoming ever so much more important every season. The Hibberts of the league are devaluing quickly. Monroe is going to be a free agent to make room for a stretch four in Detroit. Help me here, but is not D-Mo the best shooter from beyond the arc of any paint protecting big in the NBA?
I am in the minority but I feel Rubio could take us another level especially on offense. Basically everything has been stated in this thread on why or why not Rubio is a good fit so I wont really say much but ill say one thing tho. Right now the only ball handler on the team who can get other people buckets is James. When James is off the court we have zero offense,(Prigs can do this in spurts but he is 38 years old,he is not a long term option). James wants help at the guard position, and to me by that he means ball handling duties(running the offense,and getting team mates good looks) and getting pressure of him to get people involved. I remember every time James had a game were he had around 6+ TOs he would be really upset over his general play,tho it didnt happen often I feel James realizes he shouldnt be handling the ball as much as he should. He averaged around 4 turnovers a game during the regular season, and during the playoffs it went to 4.5(he also had 12 Turnovers in his last game which was the most he had all season).With the way Houston plays Rubio is a good fit. Thats really my case on why we need Rubio, Lawson may be be a better fit,but I feel Rubio can help the team more on other levels then Lawson,but that is just my opinion. TLDR:Houston desperately needs a second ball handler who can control the game and take pressure of James crazy workload. With out a player like that I can see Harden being exposed again by good defensive teams especially in the playoffs. Rubio could definitely get around 10+ assist here in Houston. lol From what other posters are saying, it seems people say no to Rubio cause 1.His Contract/or what he could get paid. 2.Not a good Fit.
You obviously did not read what I wrote. Howard is never playing small ball because he has a shot range of 3 feet and he does not guard the perimeter well at all. That is not where the NBA is heading. I expect Howard to opt out of his player option next summer. He will probably go for that last huge contract when the cap goes up to $94M. I do not expect Morey to match. D-Mo will become the Rockets center then, and the Rockets will play Warriors small ball.
I think those old ways of thinking about things are dying. What is a center? What is a PF? DMo is a great post player with a decent set shot and vision. He's also a smart defender that knows where to be and has the footwork to get him there. He does not have great length or instincts to be a great rebounder, and you don't want him switching on the perimeter. Capela is an athletic freak that can contest shots and gobble rebounds. He has VERY quick feet that allow him to stay in front of nimble players and switch along the perimeter. He is not a back to the basket type player, and at least right now, is not a good shooter. So who is the center and who is the PF? I don't really know, but their skillsets seem complimentary. We use the old position definitions out of convenience, but the reality is when you get into the nuances of the game, these definitions don't really matter.
Okay, so you're talking about a few minutes a game when the Rockets go small? Sure, it could happen then. DMo simply does not work as a center long term though because it highlights his rebounding problems. Put him next to a good rebounding center and that flaw in his game is hidden. Even if Dwight Howard eventually walks, I expect Capela to be his replacement, not DMo. You can either use DMo as a center where he'd be nothing special and a liability when it comes to rebounding, or you can use him at the 4 where he'd be a plus on both sides of the ball. The point is that DMo is at his best when there is a rebounding big out there with him and he doesn't have to defend the 5. He managed to play in Howard's place last year, and did alright, but he doesn't have much of a ceiling at the 5. It would be like if Dirk played all of his career out of position at the 5....we wouldn't be calling him a future HOFer and the Mavs probably never win a championship. DMo won't ever be as good as Dirk, but they are similar type PF's.
You are asking the questions that matter. My view is that the Hibberts of this league are done. Slow bigs are a thing of the past. The Warriors playing Green as their center just blew that paradigm out of the water. The future big in the NBA will look a lot like D-Mo. Super fast, super quick, defensively incredibly aware and with serious range on their shot. Add in one of the best post games in the NBA and you have a future all star. I do not believe that is a radical opinion. It would have been a year ago before the Warriors just sat Lee and Bogut to play Green. But this past season just changed everything. It should be interesting.
You probably shouldn't put too much stock in the Warriors' fluke postseason run. If DMo and Bev were healthy, they don't make it past the Rockets frontcourt of Howard and DMo.
