Which is what this thread is trying to convey. I probably erred when I put up my proposed rotation, it is confusing the issue. Oh, and "NO to Dampier" we do not need MORE assets.... Daryl, no more assets.....we need time to gel and fewer guys to play. It is NOT an asset issue. DD
DD, during the offseason you were saying that one of the reasons we could make a run at a championship was because we are so deep and have a 10-man rotation. Now you are saying the reason we suck is because we are so deep and have 10-man rotation?
We don't need one more guy on the bench, we need fewer guys in the lineup, we have enough PLAYERS...what we need are the coaches to play those that fit together and have the STONES to tell others that they are just going to have to sit. I was not saying that the 10 man rotation would work but rather we are 2 deep everywhere, which is not a bad thing, primarily for injuries etc. I have been saying since the jump that you can not play 11-12 NBA rotational players, and that Bill Simmons was right....and that too many assets can cause issues of playing time or lack thereof. And also, I have been talking about the potential issues in the clubhouse by having NBA rotational level talent sitting..... Anyway, sometimes LESS is MORE ! In other words, I like the roster, hate the rotation...... DD
Da Da, I agree with you and I am willing to take it further. The Rockets need to scout the opponent and decide which personnel work best for that team. Have a standard starting 5 that includes Yao as well as one that does not include him. There may be some games where it makes more sense to have Hayes out there compared to a Jordan Hill but it all depends on the personnel we are playing. But completely agree that playing 10 or more guys is not a good thing. You use the extra players outside of 8 when you have injury and foul issues.
Hayes is playing better than Hill. Bud is good but no Shane? Did you see how Melo laughed at Bud's D?
At the same time, most good teams don't have the depth the Rockets have. I think our roster is uniquely deep, and that depth gives us a lot of advantages including more flexibility in matchups and players playing more energetically, and I'd like us to find a way to take advantage of that.
We are trying to play at an insane pace to use our unique depth to our advantage. The problem lies in that our defense is so poor that we are letting teams back in. We should strongly consider shrinking the lineup until we can start locking teams down.
I hear what you are saying, but to me, the most important thing is to find an identity first. Who are we? Once you get a clear hierarchy in place, and players know their roles are clearly defined, then I think you can add in a piece here and there in situational moments. But right now, there is just no identity at all, and it is killing this team. Break it down, get the basics in place and build up from there. BTW - this should have happened in the preseason, very dissappointed that RA has not figured out a rotation yet....very dissappointed. DD
the rockets shouldn't have gone to china, we wasted gelling time playing a weak team like the nets, also adelman messed up by playing all 15 players in the preseason we should have used those games to play our real line up which i think is more around 9-10 players not 8.
Uniquely deep doesn't mean anything if the talent is sub-par. I don't think the problem with this team is too much talent. Quite the opposite, actually. Teams with "too much talent" don't usually start the season 0-5. (Yes, I'm penciling in the spurs game as a loss) I just think people here have been over-estimating the talent on this roster all summer long.
I disagree, it is simply a matter of utilizing the talent you have correctly. Right now they are playing pieces that don't fit together, witness the Lowry, Battier and Yao bit last night, that is a disaster......Lowry needs guys to pass the ball to that can knock down shots....he needs to run.....those guys can't or won't run. Rick Adelman is tinkering far too much.....simplify it, break it down.... Look, this should have all happened in the preseason.....it is staggeringly poor management that it is still happening right now...... Exactly.....however they still could have done that and gone to China....remember the 2nd to last preseason game where they played everyone against the Spurs......what a wasted opportunity to get chemistry that was... Then the Dallas game where Martin never saw the court in the 4th quarter? This is a massive coaching and managment screw up......and everyone is blaming the players......sure they are culpable to an extent, but I didn't realize we were getting Gary Kubiak Sr. as our coach this year. DD
i think we have a good starting line up the only problem i have with this line up is AB, he needs to be more of a facilitator/bail out shooter his assists need to go up
I think Adelman will do what you're suggesting. Its common for coaches to shorten up their rotation when they hit a losing streak. But is it wise to shorten the rotation on a team that is struggling on defense by removing your best defensive players? The Rockets would instantly be a better defensive team if they replaced Martin with Budinger in the starting lineup (much better rebounder, if nothing else), replaced Scola with Hill/Hayes/Jeffries in the rotation, and used more Lowry in backing up Brooks. But their offense would also likely turn south. On the flip side, they could remove Battier and Hayes completely from the rotation, as you prescribe, but I suspect removing our best team defenders will not help turn things around on the defensive end.
It is what I think the solution to getting the team back on track right now is......maybe later they will have different challenges. A quality manager needs to be agile in their decisions and be able to access what the current needs of the team are....... Thanks for playing CH. DD
it's not wrong to use young players i mean, look out the grizzlies, they are the youngest team in the league, now they aren't 5-0 but they lost against atlanta and los angeles (the good one) so, I think we should give some young players more minute, just to see what they can (such as Jermaine Taylor, jordan hill and maybe a starting chase budinger)
Durv, As I said, that was my suggested lineup, but that does not mean it is the ONLY solution to the issue. If they build chemistry with Hayes and Battier in the rotation while dropping Lee and Hill....fine..... It would be a different team but it could work out just as well. The point is that this SHOULD HAVE ALREADY been done.....and to be 0-4 and not recognize that it was going to be an issue from the get go is a problem. Morey asked Bill Simmons when is having too many good players a bad thing on his tweet....... Having too many is not a problem but trying to play them all is..... DD
Maybe you're right. I think having too many good players can be difficult on the team in the short term, because it takes a little longer for the coach to figure out the right rotations. But thinking more long term over the course of a long season, when injuries will happen, when trades happen, when having roster flexibility helps if certain players slump really badly, it becomes a good thing IMO. There are definitely pros and cons, though.
