Now you seem to agree he is a SG in PG's body. That means we don't have a PG in the starting lineup. Without a real PG or somebody plays like a PG, 2 on 5 is not surprise at all. That is why our best group has both Lowry and Brooks in it. Lowry plays like a PG, Brooks plays like a SG.
Totally agree. AB should just play SG because that is what he is right now. Lowry is the only PG on this team. If he could only shoot a little better so that he can draw in the defender so that he can drive more effectively or just make shots he would be a poor mans CP. Unforetunately by the time he learns how to shoot effectively he will be on a different team.
Landry and Scola has proven to be a bad combination playing together. Both score mostly from low post which means redundant on offense, both play weak defense to make the matter worse. The +/- has proven it.
Agree, at certain times he just needs to slow down and draw the defense. He's still learning the game and has a ways to go. Hopefully down the road he will improve in those area's.
Thank you DD for saying that because it's sooo true, I actually thought I was the only person in the world who knew that.
Believe or not, in last three losses, AB turned the ball over more than Ariza, Ariza had more assists than AB.
The rockets are 20-14 at the moment and just came off the toughest schedule in the entire NBA. If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it.
Holy god Lowry Battier Hayes Andersen add Ariza/Brooks/Landry Would be the absolute worst second unit offensively maybe ever. Lowry and Andersen would be left alone on the perimeter, Hayes doesn't need to be guarded, Battier just stands there. It would be 1 on 5. We need Von Wafer.
Actually I think the best lineup is the bench (Lowry, Budinger, Landry) + Hayes and Ariza. In that lineup the only weak defender is Landry but they give us quite a bit of scoring because they all run the break. Unfortunately, you can not just roll the best guys out there at one time because we won't maximize our production for the full 48 minutes.
To be frank, Brooks has done much better in the "staying under control" department this season than in years past. He still gets too wild and turns the ball over too much, but he's been much more efficient.
Have you watched the games or looked at the stats. We could be better so why not fix it so that we can be in the top 4 when the playoffs come around.
I don't see now as a good time to change the starting lineup. The lineup will surely be shuffled if the expected trade comes through, so that would be the best time to shake things up. No need to do it twice. As well, I think there is some merit to the tough schedule/chemistry arguement. Give that a bit more of a shot. I would not want to take Hayes out of the starting lineup, as he's pretty useless if he's not guarding the other team's best big man...which would likely be in the starting lineup. I like the way RA is handling it now, pulling Hayes early when he can't be effective. And I'd eventually like to see CBud start and Ariza come off the bench, but I don't think CBud is quite ready yet. As well, if we got a starting SG/SF through trade, CBud would surely move back to the bench. Right now, I think we keep it the same, and just sub early if need be. The startup lineup will surely change around the trade deadline anyway.
So with the changes of moving Hayes and Shane to the bench... Where is the spark going to come from off of the bench??? You have to a guy that can come in and be instant offense.... Back in the day Detroit had the Micorwave... Dallas has Terry (and he should be starting)... You have plenty of guys in the NBA that should be starting but their not. Shane hit it on the nose with what the prob is... They are getting away from what made them who they are... team work, too much one on one crap.
Chuck should start with Landry. Landry is quicker and can score better than Luis. Luis can come first change off the bench. At times both Luis and Carl can play together,mostly in the 3rd quarter. Lowry likes to run and drive,Ariza can run with him and Luis will have to adapt to him(He is smart enough to do it). Battier and Hayes can't score much, but Landry,Brooks,Ariza,Shane and Hayes is a reasonable compromise for a starting lineup. Chase needs minutes and he might be able to displace Trevor as a starter later,but I don't think he should start now. Battier,Ariza and Chase are all role players. Shane and Trevor struggle together,both of them can't drive much. An eventual replacement for Tracy is the only solution there.
I've said this before but it is not just some coincidence that the offense is slowing down and guys are going 1on1. We, and the Rockets, need to come to grips with the fact they have been scouted.
This may be at the heart of the problem. Ariza is the only new player out of the starting group whose players have been together for quite sometime with no issues and a good winning record. A lot of the first unit's chemistry problem, as Battier has alluded to, is Ariza's overt tendency to demand the ball at the expense of a fluid movement of both players and the ball. Adelman's offensive philosophy is "read and react" which depends on the ball moving until a player gets open for either penetration or a high percentage shot. The ball often stops with Ariza and when he demands to get the ball and doesn't get it he throws his mini tantrums. On the defensive side, Ariza's tendency to gamble discombobulates the Rockets' defensive schemes often resulting in a scrambling defense that puts too much pressure on the "bigs" who are not really that good defensively in the first place. The Rockets' defensive success relies on a team oriented helping defense to compensate for their lack of size. Ariza, more often than not, distorts that defense by often gambling and going "rogue" on defense thus putting a lot of burden on the overall defense. The second unit seems to do better on both sides of the court despite their lack of individual defensive talent (Lowry is their best defender) precisely because they adhere more to the helping defense as a team. I think Ariza is the one man chemistry wrecking crew and he either needs to be replaced in the starting unit, or if his ego is too hurt and he would not accept the demotion, then a trade for him is the best course for the Rockets. That is, of course, if the team's interests are paramount over the ego of the brain thrust too as they may have over promised just to get to sign Ariza and make it appear that they did something to improve the team over the summer.
