We just barely scraped out wins against what is arguably the worst team in NBA history and another team so completely decimated by injuries that it's actually in play that - while they are legit title contenders - may not be able to make the playoffs. We just set a team record for lowest point total in a victory. If there's a such thing as a "moral victory," the last two games were "moral losses." Don't fall in love with our cupcake schedule. I have absolutely no idea what we have in our team right now, but if we roll out another stinker against the Grizzlies, it's not gonna be pretty. My real hope is that, despite all the lip service, they fell for the trap game phenomenon twice in a row. That was awful, awful basketball yesterday.
I was a bit surprised to see Canaan not play last night. Maybe there genuinely weren't any minutes for him, but having done a complete 180 on my "Canaan can't contribute to a winning team" stance as of two weeks ago, I hope he's able to get some playing time tonight when we face an even better defense.
My theory: It has been stated that IC has had issues with adjusting to the immense playing time while he has been starting in lieu of bev, which means he will probably play 20 mins tonight with fresh legs.
This is a game we should have won by 20. The offense was so ugly, and so predictable: a) Give the ball to Harden, and watch.... c) Give the ball to Howard, and watch.... May be I am totally wrong, but I start to think we are 9-1 because Patrick is not playing.
Long time reader, first post. I have watched him play since his freshman year in college. Some insight into the type of player Canaan is. +physical +fast +underrated athletically +legit 45% 3 pt shooter +85% FT +confidence +desire to be coached/to learn Areas he can and probably will improve upon -finishing against bigs at the rim -tends to defer too much looking for extra pass -defense Things you are stuck with and won't change -he is 6' The Rockets got a steal drafting him where they did. He is an NBA rotation player now with upside to being possibly a long term NBA starter. The kid just gets better at the end of the game. What is interesting is that the negatives I listed are very similar to what he did his freshman year in college. Surrounded by lots of talent, he had trouble early on with those three areas. By the end of his first year, he had shown massive improvement.
Rumor is he might be part of a deal. If he does not play tonight I have to believe that rumor has legs.
I've not heard any rumors regarding him. It wouldn't surprise me. However, him playing tonight or not would not be much further proof that he is being traded. He could easily just not be favored by McHale as the 2nd PG over Terry when Beverley is well. Either way, him not playing tonight would fit both likely scenarios. Now if the Rockets are up by 30 and he doesn't play...that would be a sign he is a goner.
He's the only player outside of Harden that can attack the paint on this roster. He is a solid defender, and a nice sparkplug. If he doesn't get minutes tonight....
If McHale benches Canaan again when Bev comes back, then he is the stupidest coach in the NBA. Period. Hell, if Canaan was playing more Bev might not be getting hurt as much from overplaying and overexerting himself.
The issue is that Mchale has made Terry our defacto back up PG...while a younger Terry might have been more proficient, an older Terry needs someone creating him shots. Basically Terry should be used as Harden's breather...not as Beverley's backup.
When everyone is healthy rotation should be: Bev/Canaan Harden/Terry Ariza/Pap DMO/Jones/Pap Dwight/Black Canaan needs to be in the JLin role off they bench. DMO plays too solidly on D to keep him out of the starting lineup.
