More TJo and DMo please

In case some of you do not understand, defensive rating is the number of points per 100 possessions the opposing team scores while D-Mo is on the court. Since 2/1/14 D-Mo has been world class. 25 games.

I do not agree with you Joe Joe on LMA. Against Dirk everyone is going to get torched. Is Casspi strong enough to handle Ibaka? Maybe time will tell.

 

I agree with this.

 

And for obvious reasons, you won't elaborate on the circumstances.

 

I actually think basketballholic is right. There are definitely going to be times Asik and Howard will have to play together. Asik is one of the best players on this team. I fully expect him to average more minutes than you're seeing now in the playoffs.

The twin towers line-up is situational at best. But against a team like Memphis or Portland who have two big bodies. It works well. We were getting killed in a Blazers game earlier this year after Asik got moved to the bench. McHale put him in the game to guard Aldridge and we ended up blowing the Blazers out. Also we need Asik/Howard versus a potential match up against Gasol and Randolph.

On a related note, our small ball lineup is very effective, albeit also situational. The stats that say it is not are a bit misleading. Often times this season, McHale has used that line-up in already losing situations as a last ditch effort to turn things around. And by losing situations I mean ones where we've been down 10+ points.

That being said, there are times (once again situational) where it has done wonders for us. Case in point, last years playoffs against OKC. It was definitely our most effective line-up. Another thing to consider is that sort of line-up is actually becoming very hard to beat in the current NBA. Golden State would not have made it past the first round last year without their 3 guard line-up. New York would not have won any games last year without siding Melo to the 4. Miami has won 2 championships playing small ball.

If you want a more recent example of Rockets success going small. Look to the last Portland game. McHale reached for his trump card and went small. The result was overcoming a double digit deficit and beating Portland.

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/game-day-rockets-vs-blazers-0
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/small-lineup-lifts-rockets-ot-035003999--nba.html

There is one thing, though. For our small line-up to work, Jeremy Lin has to be doing his part. Small ball will fail unless he steps up. So a lot of it relies on Lin because the others are fairly consistent, whereas he is not.

My last point here is that playing Asik more or going small should not really be seen as disrespect to our young pf's. They are second year players and very young. I'm sure McHale will give them the opportunity to show they are useful in the playoffs. But if they cannot, I fully expect Asik to see a lot more minutes (I actually expect this anyway) and small ball to be used more.

The playoffs is all about moves and counter moves. You have to change your strategy on the fly. McHale has shown a strong ability to do that thus far. Let's hope he keeps it up.

As far as Jones and Motiejunas go. I still believe eventually Motiejunas will take over Jones' spot completely and Jones will be traded. Under Morey's reign, this has happened numerous times at the PG and PF spots. The back-up is actually the more heralded player. The guy playing in front of him is more "NBA ready" and thus given more time. But then Morey flips them while their stock is at the highest. I wholeheartedly expect this to happen. In fact, I'd be shocked if it did not.

 

Dig for it like I did.

 

U think splitter is a twin tower in the same sense as howard and asik. The only reason why any of that worked is duncan. Duncan nor Dave were restricted offensive players. Just as Ralph nor Hakeem were restricted offensive players. You can't play twin towers like asik and howard because neither guy can play 8ft from the basket. Not only did they suck offensively,but they sucked defensively also. Neither guy wants to be away from the rim. Do you remember how many easy shots and plays teams got when asik and howard played together?

This is a continuation of the other thread in which you were wrong as usual. As I stated before,the bigger problem is at point especially with beverly being down. After that,its really depth at 2/3 before we even get to the 4 spot. Its no different than chalmers/cole,smith/cassell, and whatever else platoon position teams use in the nba. We are talking 4 or 5 options on a team. If the top 3 options perform to expectations,the 4/5 options are gravy. You think clippers are looking for double-digit games from matt barnes? What about splitter? How about lopez or wright? What do you think indy expects out of george hill? All of those players named have been in the league twice as long as jones and dmo

 

Ummmmm, Terrence Jones has no range outside of 3 feet. He's a 30% shooter when he shoots a jump shot. Here's the chart for your perusal:



vorped.com has this little handy tool that lets you pick the type of shot. It shows the truth. Jones can't shoot a jump shot from anywhere including in the paint with any kind of proficiency. He can shoot dunks and layups though. Good for him. But while you are saying (rightfully so) that neither Asik nor Dwight has any game outside of 8 feet, let me remind you Jones doesn't have an offensive game outside of 3 feet.


Defensively.....if you think Howard and Asik suck and you don't think Howard and Jones suck then I don't know what games you are watching. Another poster just reminded you of matchups that Jones was getting roasted and we bring in Asik alongside Dwight and shut them down. Be realistic here. Asik alongside Dwight is better defensively on almost any big man opponents UNLESS the opponent goes small and intentionally spreads the floor with a 4 man that is essentially a 3-man playing out at the 3-point line. In that scenario.....we are better off defensively going small ourselves...small meaning countering with an even smaller 4 like Harden or Parsons...not Jones. Jones cannot shut down spread 4's anyways. He's not quick enough on his feet to bother the 3 point shot without overcommitting and getting beat off the dribble.

 

At this point in their careers, they get pulled because they need to do all the little things without losing focus.

They'll be trusted more and more as time goes on. The position is just very complex for youngster. Both have the right potential, so we'll be ok in the long run.

 

So BBaholic, since this thread has been focused on Jones for days, have I finally convinced you that D-Mo perhaps has significant value next season?

 

Again both Jones and Dmo have played above expectations. Both players will be valuable to the Rockets next season. Jones will continue his role in the starting lineup with Dmo backing him up. Jones will have his moments and so will Dmo.
Now for all those who are lobbying for Dmo answer this question: Howbmany times did Jones pick up the slack in the 1st quarter when everybody else was not playing good? Mind some of those games were against good teams.

 

More TJones and D-Mo please!

 

There are times where Twin Towers will work, but overall it has not. Good catch on the Portland game. I didn't see it. I do suspect that Portland (i.e. LMA) is susceptible to small ball and I am glad that the game results support that. I see small and Two Towers as both situational. Expect to see the Rockets play DMo a lot in the post season.

 

More DMo please!

 

To digress, what exactly, does "scoring the ball" mean?

 

Seriously though, the whole smaller ball/Casspi at the 4 argument is interesting if people can really validate why they think he would be a better fit for the playoffs at the 4 spot.

Despite what the stats say, the eye test tells me he doesn't really give the Rockets an edge because -

A. Despite a better percentage shooter during the full season, Casspi has a slow release on his 3 point shot, allowing defenders the ability to close out after doubling or "showing" in the post.
B. Casspi seems to be more comfortable faking the shot, and driving to the bucket. In those cases, I wouldn't really call him a great finisher at the rim, nor good facilitator while slashing.
C. He does not give an edge on the glass, or defending the post vs. Jones/D-Mo
D. Does he really have more athleticism, & handles than Terrence Jones to play fast & push the tempo? Last time I checked, Jones has the handles of most college level PG's. Casspi has shown that he's really not someone who can handle the ball to help push the tempo.
E. Casspi doesn't move the ball very well IMO. With the Rockets starters, thats imperative. He's much more of a score first type of player. (or maybe that's just what it seems like when he's really only seeing garbage time minutes over the course of the past 8 weeks).

Yes- if you check the production of 5 man Rockets lineups, the Casspi, Bev, Harden, Parsons, Howard lineup has the highest +/-, but what nobody is mentioning here is that we've only seen this lineup for 37 minutes the entire season.

The second more productive lineup that the Rockets have rolled out with Bev, Harden, Parsons, D-Mo, and Howard, and that lineup has seen twice as many minutes as the aforementioned lineup.

So there needs to be some mention of sample size to be able to make a huge case that Casspi has been the most productive PF. That's a weak argument with only 37 minutes total to show for in the season.

Also, there needs to be a deeper look into what has caused Casspi to lose his minutes on multiple occasions during the season? Is McHale just being an anti-Semite or is there something basketball related that we aren't mentioning here that keeps him out of the rotation?

 

If Bev doesn't come back I wouldn't mind seeing lineups of Dwight/Jones/Parsons/Hamilton/Harden or Dwight/Motiejunas/Jones/Parsons/Harden keeping Lin and Asik coming off the bench.

 

From what i seen, i don't think the ASik Howard combo is such a disaster. When the game slows down, it seems to work defensively or at least has potential. Sure, it gets awkward at times, but i do also feel it works and introduces a defensive centered brand of bball thats actually is a nice change of pace that could develop into something even better if given the chance to develop a little, and gain a better feel for each other. Especially in the playoffs.