This is actually two questions Where do you Rank The Rockets Bench? Where do you Rank The Rockets Bench that actually got playing time in the WCF? *grin* How would you rank the Top 8 team's benches? Rockets, Warriors, Bucks, Raptors, Trailblazers, Denver, Celtics, 76ers Rocket River
15th. I only count Austin Rivers as a consistent dude. Nene played some good stretches. 2 rounds are not enough to evaluate, even if one round was against the toughest competition.
No bench. A 6'3 small forward, a 6'5 4-man and no true 2nd Superstar player. And the whiners on this board, " Why can't Harden beat Golden St.?" Amazing.
Our bench sucks after you move Gordon to the starting lineup. Then you had Capela who was nowhere to be found in the second round and CP who showed up for just one game. Honestly, if you would have told me that's what we were going to get against the Warriors before the series began, I would have said Warriors would sweep this team.
Gordon having to start where Ariza used to be killed our bench. Not to mention that most of our guys are unplayable against the Warriors anyways and House just wasn't ready for the moment yet. At least Austin played well and Shump had some positive contributions as well.
Golden State, Raptors, Bucks, Denver, - I think are bonified better benches. Golden State is iffy as far as having better talent but they get better production TrailBlazers - Did not see enough of them to call Utah - They have competent bench players 76ers and Celtics I dunno . . .. . I started with thinking we were 5th but now. . . . .. Rocket River
Our actual bench is decent... I'd give it a B.... idk where it falls relative to every other teams bench... Rivers, Nene, Faried, House, GG, Shump... all guys that would get bench minutes on many teams... Clark and Hartenstein are decent prospects who have showed some positive signs... As far as how our bench is utilized... i'd give it a D+.... You cant be saying "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! I have confidence in you!" and then a couple bad games and they're relegated to the bench - never to be seen again... You may be able to get guys believing the confidence thing - but once they see a couple guys lose their roles - everybody is gonna tighten up... In general we should be running 9-10 guy rotations nightly... fluctuate their minutes based on who's playing well... but keep guys in the mix bc you never know who's gonna get the hot hand...
Its funny . . .I have seen pundits say .. . . Harden need to pass it around more so guys get to touch the ball and then their shots willl fall better. . . .weird but uhm . .ok If the rotation in and out of the game is as sporatic . .. it gets worse right? Rocket River
I'm a believer in guys need to be involved... as opposed to standing there watching an iso.... You get the occasional Robert Horry who can come into a game ice cold and drop a dagger from the corner - but those guys are rare... Otoh... you always hear about guys 'who have to have the ball in their hands to be successful...' - I would think thats closer to reality for many... Obviously there's just one ball so everybody cant get tons of ball handling time... but at least a couple touches and a few dribbles every few possessions.... keeps guys in the flow imo... Plus I think if guys know they're gonna get on the floor for at least a few minutes they're more pumped and engaged.... watching the game, reacting and high fives, trying to figure out how they're gonna maximize their minutes when they get their shot.... as opposed to just sitting figuring they're not even gonna get on the floor tonight... and I dont think it should be sporadic... If we cant get 10 guys on the same page and be able to interchange them without causing a disruption - that speaks more to lack of coaching and preparation... imo...
Well …. Right now they have NO Bench at all. Of the 10 players on the roster , 5 are starters then you have Hartenstein & Clark and 3 scrubs from the G-League who probably don't make the opening day roster. Hartenstein & Clark will have to make huge improvements to be contributors. The other 5 are free agents - GG , House , Rivers , Faried & Shumpert. That was your bench contributors this past season and its likely you lose three or more of them. Ask me this again a week or two after free agency starts …. then we can have a clearer picture of the bench. Right now its a complete unknown.
