ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pacers 10/10/2013 in Manila, Philippines (PRESEASON)

D-Mo looked good today. On offense anyway. The guy's got skill, but I'm thinking Jones is getting that starting spot based on what he can do without the ball. Spacing might be a problem as the season goes on.

 

He shouldn't start because he has a better offensive game and works significantly better with the ball in his hands. If that upsets you, maybe re-word it to say "he'd be even better off the bench because..."

I've never understood why this is such a divisive issue. Lin coming off the bench might be even better for Lin himself. As others have mentioned, he'd gladly carry the towels for the team. Whatever works to win!

 

Correct, his job is to create as many wins for the team.

But, today's lineup could be experimented elsewhere. Lets say in a regular preason NBA game, after the global games.

Some families saved and paid alot of money to see some one they hold with high esteem. Some would not even know the name Beverly. At the end of the day, the NBA is about entertainment, and the reason why we all waste/spend our time on this forum is because we have a passion for the game and the enjoyment it brings us. They paid money to see their favourite player start.

Never mind, the game is over, and we won. Cassipi is turning out to be a great player and there is good points for Lin or Beverly starting.

I think the move was purely an experiment that worked out to be a great success. But as regular season starts, Lin will be the starter for 82 games.

We will reach the WCF

 

Another thing was Harden did not have a rebound in two preseason games. He was one of the better rebounding SGs last year.

While Lin has returned to rebounding at the rate he was the first half of last season before McHale specifically said the PG's job is to move the ball upcourt in transition fast, not rebound.

Beverley continues to rebound at an impressive rate for a PG, just like last season.

Perhaps this is a concerted decision by the coaching staff, to have Harden rebound less (leak out together with Parsons on the open court), and conserve his energy for defense and of course, offense.

Consistent rebounding for a perimeter player takes up a lot of energy. If this is indeed a directive from the coaching staff, I think it is a great move.

 

Hibbert guarded him so closely our perimeter guys were getting dunks and layups almost at will. Basically whenever a Rocket beats his man, he gets a good shot or get fouled. Pretty incredible against a top defense. True, it's preseason, but the Pacers only gave up 80 points or so against the Bulls. So it's not like they don't play D in the preseason.

 

Casspi has a solid game with 17pts 10 reb and 1blk. He has a solid game and very effective when Dmo is on the floor.

 

He also played 7-8 minutes less than the 1st game.

 

This is purely speculation, but it would seem Dwight likes Lin better, while Harden likes Beverly better.

Lin is a vastly superior play-maker, as some one with a high basketball IQ and court vision and far superior passing skills and PnR efficiency.

Bev is a great defender who makes up for Harden's inadequacies on defending the perimeter. I dispute the claim however that Bev is a better spot up shooter than Lin. I think this season will show otherwise.

This also means that if Harden improves his defense (which he will and has shown effort in these past two games), he will begin to appreciate Lin's ability to lighten the offensive load off his back. Harden is our best player, we need to conserve his minutes and energy for our playoffs!

Beverly's play might, and I sincerely hope not, place him at a higher risk of injuring him self through wear-and-tear after 82 games. Especially if his minutes are to climb.

 

Thanks for proving my point in refusing to consider other reasons.

 

lol one pre season game and everyones getting all bent out of shape.

 

That's the thing about Howard and why I think Kareem said what he did. It must be pretty easy to shut Dwight down offensively if this has been known to happen more than once. If you don't give Dwight what he likes offensively, then you make him a non-factor.

Hopefully he can overcome this because we can't win a championship with him being a non-factor on the offensive end or limited on defense due to fouls. This would never happen to the likes of Hakeem or Shaq. Not to take away from the win, but this will need to adjust in order for us to win a championship. Yes it's only preseason, but it happened in the Finals when Dwight was on the Magic playing against the Lakers. What do you guys think?

 

I hope we get to trial a real stretch 4 with Dwight next game.

In the spirit of experimenting, and given Cassipi pulled in enough boards to day ... let's try in Taipei:

Lin
Harden
Parsons
Cassipi
Howard

Ie, the Orlando Magic lineup except with one of the top 2 SGs in the league. Parsons is Turkoglu (although not as good as a prime-Turkoglu .. yet). Lin this year I think is at least on par with Jameer Nelson (one of the most overrated PGs, and never really deserving of an all-star berth, kind of like BJ Armstrong getting in the all-star game thanks to MJ).

That could be a fun line up ...

 

In my view Bev is a combo guard with more emphasis on shooting and off the ball movement.

He's a passable 2, and passable 1, but defensively exceptional when defending on the ball. He's not strong enough offensively to be considered a starting caliber 1 or 2 right now unless you play him primarily as a defensive specialist.

Bev is in a very good spot in Houston in that unlike most teams we actually have an excess of offensive weapons. You could literally slot in a warm body with Harden, Parsons and Dwight and still put up a ton of points, and that's before you count Lin who by himself can generate a decent amount of offense.

Bev is too small/weak to be a starting 2 on a lot of teams, and doesn't have the passing skills to be a starting PG on a lot of teams. He does however fit nicely with Houston.

 

Inb4 David West eats him

 

So doesn't it make more sense to play Dwight with someone who gets him what he likes, instead of having Dwight to work for everything himself?

Dwight didn't get the same sort of easy dunks/lay-ins tonight from the PG position that he got from Lin in the first game. Sample size is too small though ...

 

Lin is not a starter, he's a bench player as this game proved and the coming season will reveal. Go Bev!

 

I'm guessing you didn't see the game.

 

Response

Agreed.

 

McHale won the job over Dwayne Casey, Kelvin Sampson, Sam Cassell, Mario Elie, and Jack Sikma

How many of those candidates on that brilliant list are head coaches today?

McHale was the best available at the time. He's not the best available now.

In other words, he's a bad coach who doesn't know what he's doing.

 

Some of you are a bit delusional when it comes to J. Lin, I get it Asians want to have a "star" to root for but the team should come first period. Beverly makes the most sense with the starters as does Jeremy leading the second unit. I think Jeremy can become an elite scorer/leader as a sixth man while not limiting his impact as a 4th option/spot up shooter in the 1st unit. To me it's as simple as this, if Lin starts his points will be down and will probably be low assists because he will not be the primary ball handler no matter what 1st preseason game tells you. As the second unit leader he will be primary ball handler and at least 2 nod option scorer. I'm thinking if he comes off the bench he averages around 30 mpg while Beverly would be around 28, 10 min with them both on court.