Bigger Need: Clutch Bucket-Getter or Imposing Rim-Protector?

Completely different rosters. Look at the length on Lakes as well as Celts immediately before (and bookending them?).

 

The problem with this line of thought is that it is all speculative. You can't know for sure what hypothetical moves Morey could do if we got Melo or Defensive C. We can bank on the theory that if we got Melo, he would sign an extension and other star players would lineup to play with him.

Or we can get the Def C. Improve our defense, improve just as much or close (another speculative theory) as if we acquired Melo and have a star player go "The Rockets are pretty damn good. They got a big man. Scorers. That is the team for me".

See how that works? Hard to base a vote on a hypothetical situation and the details it brings afterwards.

That is why I voted for this moment. The right now. Not taking into account whatever moves Morey can or can't make with our acquired piece.

 

I think either would be an improvement.

It is hard to know which would be better.

The team as constructed is defensively deficient and a skilled defensfive big could make a huge difference.

On the other hand, as much as I like Scola's game, I think Melo would be an upgrade, but I don't think he alone is the answer. They may still need a true big defensive starting center.

 

To make us a contender we need both!

 

This whole "clutch player" need thing is a myth.

Does our offense stop working when the clock reaches a certain point? Are our players' minds that fragile they can't perform under pressure?

It's these ridiculous iso plays at the end of games that we need to get rid of. I have no problem with Chase Budinger taking the last shot if it's an open look in the rhythm of our offense. That's how the Spurs do it.

 

LOL! Take out Ben Wallace from the '04 Pistons and replace him with Melo and see them get destroyed ny Shaq should they even make the finals. You're comparison is just wrong. Way wrong.

 

Similar to how having Yao and Mcgrady attracted other good players previously?

 

I would give the priority to the imposing rim protector. Title contenders are usually top 10 in both offense and defense. Our current 8th in offense is good enough...24th in defense will get us nowhere.

Last 17 NBA Champions and their offensive and defensive rankings:

Lakers 11th offensive and 4th defensive
Lakers 3rd offensive and 6th defensive
Celtics 10th offensive and 1st defensive
Spurs 5th offensive and 2nd defensive
Heat 7th offensive and 9th defensive
Spurs 8th offensive and 1st defensive
Pistons 18th offensive and 2nd defensive
Spurs 7th offensive and 3rd defensive
Lakers 2nd offensive and 7th defensive
Lakers 2nd offensive and 21st defensive
Lakers 5th offensive and 1st defensive
Spurs 11th offensive and 1st defensive
Bulls 9th offensive and 3rd defensive
Bulls 1st offensive and 4th defensive
Bulls 1st offensive and 1st defensive
Rockets 7th offensive and 12 defensive
Rockets 15th offensive and 2nd defensive

Top 10 Offenses: 13/17
Top 10 Defenses: 15/17

Defense better than offense: 10/17
Offense better than defense: 6/17
Tied: 1/17

Soo...we definitely need defense more than we need offense. However, also only 1/17 of those teams did it without a superstar. Lol. But still, the rim protector will make us a lot better than the clutch scorer, so I pick that. And hey, San Antonio has the best record in the league without a superstar, but with that defensive anchor, right?

 

Exactly.

 

Insert kobe to the lakers and take out pau and you have a first round exit or the lakers not even making it to the playoffs. And that's with the best player in the league.

I think on this team they need a defensive big to clog up the lane and bother shots. Forget deke in his prime, 40 year old deke would be NICe!

 

For our current roster, a rim protector is more important. I think we have enough offense to compensate for not having a closer. But our porous defense has been the culprit for many of our double-digit lead evaporation acts.

 

Insert Deke, in his prime, into the current Rockets team and we would be number 1 in the West--fosho.

 

I would have to go with Deke just because the way the bigger teams tear us up inside. This current team has proved they can score with the best. Remeber Aldridge, I dont think that would happen if Deke was on the team. Deke can make the whole team better defensively. As good as Melo is offensively he is not a great passer. How would he work in this current offense? Would the team have to go back to running an offense similar to when T-mac was dominating the ball?

 

Last time I heard the saying was that Defense wins championships.

 

Deke in his prime easy. It's obvious that what this team is lacking is a inside defensive presence. We have no one that can block shots and be an intimidating force.

We could easily be 27-15 if we had that dominating defensive presence in the middle.

 

Let's see....how to make this team a contender....I think if you added a Yao Ming circa 2006 and a Tracy Mcgrady circa 2008 and Deke circa 2006 to this team, yeah, that would fix all our problems and make us a contender.

 

I think the bucket getter has more value even on this rockets team. So many times the rockets lose games because of scoring droughts which leads to defensive droughts. You can get a guy like Diop or even Thabeet who would drop opponets fg% and ppg,but Anthony is different.

No matter what morey says, great teams play close games against other good teams. There are always critical moments in the game when a guy like anthony needs to either start a run or break a run. The great scorers can make enough baskets to keep his team within striking distance. Perkins has shown to be a championship post player because of what else they have around him.

 

Being a UT fan, it is hard to say this, but I agree w/ aggiefan. We need both. It is likely that any trade for Melo would include a big for salary dumping reasons. So it would solve both our problems. One thing to note is that we dont need a GREAT center. Chuck Hayes w/ a little height would work. Sean Williams might even work. ANY center that would contest these stupid layups we give up EVERY 4th quarter would solve our problems and keep these teams from eliminating our leads so easily. Some rebounding would be good too.

A player like Melo is much tougher to get than a defensive physical rebounding center.

 

Leebigez, exactly what I was trying to say, at exactly the same time...lol