But on his worst day this year he was way better than Jet who's never ever been known for his lockdown D LOL. I'm sure if Beverly were healthy he would crank it up in the playoffs.
Fixed. Nevertheless, he'll be missed, given that Nick Johnson would need to subpoena McHale for playing time.
The only team in the play-offs that go 4 deep with high quality players is Golden State. Dorsey is a better defensive / rebounding 4th big than most 4th bigs in the play offs. You seem to be under the impression that all the play off teams except the Rockets have 4 all stars in the front court and that's just not true.
I like your glass half full way of framing it. The truth is we didn't have TJones or D12 for most the season and Montiejunas used the extra time to step up in a big way. Now it's TJones and Dwights turn. The truth that you pointed out is that we've only lost the two players we were weakest at position anyway. I love Donuts but I think we are gonna be ok with TJones and Dwight.
I don't think we lost much with P. Bev out but DMo hurts.. His auto post hook shot is the perfect mix up to throw our opponents off and force them to make a defensive change (when their defense is killing us)
Not true: Memphis: Marc, Zach, Koufas, Leuer...not to mention swinging Green over there and going small. Memphis is big and very deep. Dorsey ain't better than any of their bigs. Not to mention their bigs are all bigger and longer than all our bigs not named Dwight. Portland: Aldridge, Lopez, Kaman, Myers, Freeland....another pack of 7-footers. THey can all shoot. They can all bang somewhat. They can all knock down free throws. Dorsey is worse than all of them. Even the ones that don't get minutes. San Antonio: Duncan, Splitter, Baynes, Diaw.......Dorsey ain't even close to any of these guys. Get real. LA Clips: Griffin, Jordan, Hawes, Glen Davis, Udoh...Dorsey may be able to hang with Udoh. And Udoh don't play. Gimme a break. If Dorsey is playing in the playoffs...we're either done or we've already a 4th game and he's mopping up. No way McHale can run Dorsey out there with the series undecided and we expect to win it.
Dunno. That's a good question. It's not necessarily a backup big man problem. It's the totality of the big man rotation that's the issue. Dwight himself is a small big that has the most trouble (if you can say an elite defender has trouble) defending against big banger type bigs that push and grind him all the way down under the rim and then lay it in. And he's dinged. Let's be honest about that. Alongside Dwight now...our choices are Terrence or Smith unless we go small, move Ariza over and inject Brewer/Kostas into the starting lineup (which is what frankly I think we should do). As a team our backup unit is of primary importance. Their ability to turn the opponent over, force bad shots, and get out and run while playing against opponent backups has been a huge plus in the plus/minus column. When you move Terrence up to starter level, you do 2 things: 1. You put a guy in with the starters that can't shoot from distance and can't hold opposing big 4's that we are going to be playing in the playoffs. This hurts Dwight/James substantially because opponents can fade off Terrence and double down with the other big on Dwight and James. See last year's playoffs. Even when Terrence gets the ball, he goes down low and all of a sudden he's playing against bigger bigs. He has to change up his shot and his own high finishing percentage goes down a couple notches. Not to mention what this does to Dwight and James. Having Terrence in with Dwight and James in the playoffs simply means a congested scrum at the bucket on many of our offensive possessions with 6 or more players down in there mucking it up. We're going to lose most of those battles because we are smaller. And Terrence is going to get whipped on the defensive glass (See playoffs 2014 Portland Lopez/Aldridge). 2. You lose some of the effectiveness of having Terrence team with Smith when he comes in with the second unit. Now instead of Smith and Terrence both coming in fresh to start the 2nd quarter and getting opposing bench units on their heals with their defensive energy..you've got a tired Terrence that has taken a beating from the opposing starting unit. And it isn't too long before he has to be subbed out. Now Smith is out there running with Dorsey and there goes the effectiveness of the second unit. Terrence is important to the second unit because he is good enough to allow Josh to essentially work the 5 and keep Dorsey ON THE BENCH! Now...if we had a different 4th big other than Dorsey, perhaps a guy like Whiteside(or if DMo is healthy)....then the scenario here changes. Whiteside comes in for Dwight and we can run Smith with Dwight and Terrence with Whiteside. I think that would work very similar to how Smith and Terrence were working with the backup bigs. But with DMo gone, somebody's got to start. And somebody's got to back up. And we really don't have but 3 bigs that are worthy enough to be playing minutes. Dwight, Smith, and Terrence. They're not big enough nor skilled enough to make it work. None of them shoot well enough from distance to make our system work efficiently enough. We're leading up to Smith taking too many shots and Terrence getting stuck on too many bigger bigs that can take him to school because he's too small. ========================================= As far as defense at the point......if we don't get it we're dead anyways. So, in my humble opinion, I think the point guard is even more clear than the big man rotation or at least it should be for McHale. It is very obvious that JET isn't going to be able to check the big time point guards. We've already been watching that all season. And the secret to our defense starts at the top, being able to turn the point guards and get them to go to the sidelines. In fact that is a very large part of the success of our second unit this season. We get Brewer out there at the top and we start torquing the opponent offense right there. And as has been clearly shown throughout the season, in crunch time, we're going to go with Ariza and/or Brewer on the opposing playmaker. The difference throughout the regular season has been we've been good enough offensively with DMo's offensive ability to get away with running JET with the starters and holding our own against most teams. But DMo is now gone. And our starting unit and our team is going to struggle to score without spacing. Spacing just became that much more critical to our starters with DMo gone. But we have nobody on the roster that can give us spacing at the 4. Even if we put Kostas in, he hasn't proven to be a good shooter. If we go with Kostas at the 3 and put Ariza at the 4 it's the same level of shooting as putting Terrence out there with Ariza. The only difference is we may be able to get better defensive matchups with Kostas than with Terrence on the perimeter and we keep a fresh Terrence with Smith as the keys to the backup unit getting turnovers and forcing bad shots. So....if we don't have DMo and we're not going to have space....we might as well turn the starting unit into more of what the bench unit is.....ratchet up the defense and get out and run with them. Because the bottom line with our offense is we don't have enough quality shooting and playmaking to be a good half-court team. So to me, the solution at the point is obvious. Gotta go with Brewer and bring in Pablo and JET as a unit with the bench where they can match up against lesser skilled backup opponent perimeter players. I'm assuming McHale is going to make this move during the playoffs. Or if he continues to start Terry, it's just a token start. But I think we're going to see something has to give. I just hope it doesn't take 2 games and us being down 0-2 for McHale to decide to make the adjustment. Terrence and JET with the starters is not a good recipe.
04/17/2015 - Daryl Morey on 790 studio just now. Just a recap as per what I heard. Part 1 790: Here we have the general manager of the Houston Rockets and the guy who put together the team that got the #2 seed and stars in JH and DH DM: Team effort tn putting together the roster not just one person. Every team has that and playoffs comes down to our stars vs their stars. 790: When it gets down to this point of the season, its always going to be stars vs stars isn't it? DM: I think so except in the supporting cast if you can attack them. In a 7 game series you get to check everything out. 790: How did Stotts slow you gusy down? Did you go back to study those things. DM: Big thing was Wesley Matheews whod di a great job on Harden and the attention Stotts paid to making sure Harden wasn't going to beat them 790: How mucha re you worried about Harden's offense oredicated by getting to the FT line and the calls. DM: Coach Carlisle is good btoh ways and it's going to be a tough match up. Bottom line is we are not worried about JH. His ability to break down the defense and get to the rim. He has been great all year. I still think if JH gets to the hoop, beats his man and someone ahcks him, they will calla foul. Coach has worked on getting JH on the move so that the strategy where they hug him is moot. 790: This year you guys are going standard with JH being the PG and attacking from up top. DM: JH has had the ball in his hands this year. He can not only attack the hoop himself but he can find shooters all around the floor. Teams haven't been able to load up on him easy without brining multiple bodies and then we have guys like Smith or TJ who can attack the hoop when their guys go to double team JH. 790: My eye balls tell me JH has done a better job of not settling for the pull up 3 and attacking this year. Do you have data to support that DM: He has generally got into drives or high %age passes and when he does attack his ability to score or get to the line. He is having an MVP type season and you don't often get such chances 790: On the learning form last year experience. Guys were celebrating after the Jazz game but quickly realized the bigger picture. Things obviously fell in place and you got the #2 seed. Did you stay back in the arena to catch up? DM: Absolutely. I think our guys know that it was good to put ourselves in a position to win but we need to go deeper for a successful season. Personally I have had trouble in the crowd this year and have gone to the back. When we lost the 2 point game to the Spurs that was a low point because we thought we lost some of our goals of getting HCA. At the time I spoke to JH and said if you win all 3 we will get HCA. Obviously we need some help from the Spurs to get back to the #2 seed. GSW were going to run away with the #1 in the middle of the season and JH said lets go get the #2 seed.
Yea Daryl, tell that to guys like Robin Lopez who KILLED us last year. Or what about Jeremy Lin, a overpaid ROLE PLAYER that single handedly cost us 2 playoff games. At the end of the day, our stars can play well but we'll still lose if the other guys don't contribute. What bothers me is Daryl is constantly pushing this "having a star is everything" mentality.
Part 2: 790: Did Jim Rome ask you anything you couldn't answer or was he generic? DM: He had good questions generally but he had one that I could not answer. 790: So I brought up JS and Brewer. Neither one of these guys fit what fit the DM mode. You have one guy who takes a bunch of 3's and doesn't make them in Smith and Brewer definitely doesn't feel like a DM move. And yet you wouldn't be here without them? What is the DM mold? I am expecting guys who c an shoot the 3's and yet Brewer's ability in the open court is instrumental. DM: He is just a shot of adrenaline when he comes to the game. First I want to say coach McHale should be talked about in the acquisition side. Brewer gave up a year in his contract. He wanted to come here and play for a winner and Smith as well. Coach McHale winning as a player helped them. Smith ahs had issues with the coaches but Kevin ahs got him to play well. On how they are a fit, our theme this year was to put together a strong defense and both are good defenders and within our offensive structure we can actenutate their positives and negate their negatives Caller: P Bev said if he gets his cast off he can come back and play. Do you see it happening? DM: P Bev is a very optimistic guy bu the is going to get his cast off sooner than what doctors said. P Bev does seem to have healing powers and he has come back early in the past. He believes he has healing powers and he is a very tough kid but we have to go in and play that he isn't available and that's what doctors have said. 790: Assuming playoffs go on and you beat the Mavs and P Bev walks in game 1 of 2nd round and saying he is playing.... DM: Doctors would say NO... 790: Prigioni doesn't make game winning plays but he keeps things going. He is not going to hit a game winner and such. DM: You'll say what about Prigs making that pass for the DH dunk or the Corey break. He had that unbelievable timing pass to a guy in traffic in transition. We wanted Pablo for a couple of things. He has been in big games like Olympics. He is somebody who can make every pass. We wanted someone there to step in and who can make a pass to DH. 790: On the post entry pass beignga lost art. DM: You have to fake the defender and consider the defenders. Try making a post entry pass with Ariza on you and all the length out there. Our defense has a lot of length in Ariza, Brewer, Dwight and even James Caller: With FT situation we have 4 guys on the roster who are below average and if NBA doesn't change their rules, will you change your view point on that? You viewpoint is if you hit 50% FT you should be fine. 2nd QN is with the cap situation in 2016 I know owners and Gm's are going to go crazy. Do you think it'll go crazy to the point where mid level guys like Parsons get max dollars or is it just the top 10-15 DM: In terms of FT shooting, I know someone in the league is looking to change it. On the FT %age if you do go more than 50% you're doing fine. Not only with the PPS but you get the opposition going against a set defense. We do feel comfortable with DH, Smith and TJ. Joey is a bit different and he is struggling a bit. Overall if you have someone like DH hitting 55% you are fine usually. 790: Most Qn's I have got whiel you have been on air in twitter and text messages is why did you bring Joey Dorsey DM: Joey is giving us a lot of solid minutes. In the off season we needed someone to defend and rebound if Dwight went down. If you look at the minutes Dorsey has given us out there, we have played solid. Bottomline is he is one of the top rebounders in the league, good at pick n Roll D, good in setting screens but in general we have won a lot with Dorsey on the floor. 790: On Tj he is the real X factor this playoffs DM: TJ has given us good minutes. He always beats up the Spurs. He is good on both ends and is a young player. Reality is he is a load on offense and can do different things. I'll briefly address the caller's other question. Max moves up with the cap so it doesn't really create more cap room. Not sure if I have answered the QN but wanted to address it a bit.
Part 3: Caller: DM, I was wondering on your approach on scouting a player. You have been all over the world, college players Europe etc. Do you look at need or best fit or potential or what exactly? DM: Need doesn't really come into it. We look at players who can contribute over time. If you're looking at need it's probably the wrong thing. Only exception is in the 2nd round if you have a college player coming and need a specific fit. Caller: DM, I wanted to ask you if it was your decision or McHale's to keep Dorsey over Backa nd if you regret it DM: NO - I just talked about Dorsey and how he has helped us. We feel very good about Joey's ability to help us win. All that said we do agree that Tarik has more upside but sometimes we train upside to keep guys who help you right away. 790: Speaking of upside, KJ did get hurt but we don't know much a out him. Tell us a bit about why you targeted him DM: Folks don't know much about him. He is a highlight reel. We have been targeting him for a while. Supreme athlete with length and great defensive ability. We had him right after Capela in our draft board. If we can work on his offense he can contribute a lot. 790: Talk about your focus on defense. DM: Pretty much every acquisition has been focused on D. All decisions are grouped between myself, coaching staff, owner etc. Bottomline is we said if we want to be the team we want to be we have to focus on D. All our acquisitions players and coaching have been focused on that. 790: A lot of people are asking if Capela has taken Joey's minutes for the playoffs. DM: That's something for coach McHale. Obviously Capela has been getting the minutes lately and playing well.
Morey with the good old 'one of the top .... in the league' when referring to one of our players, you can always count on it haha :grin: Glad they asked that final question about Capela, positive answer at least.
Part 4: 790: How disappointing it is without DMo and you really wanted to see him in the post season and how he helped you get here. DM: I spoke to DMo on this and told him we're not here without you. He was another guy to give you an offensive option in the playoffs but he has a fantastic future. Enter G6 music, Tony the hatchetman Valentine Some garbage................ 790: I lost a bet o a listener. He said Rockets are going to win 55 games. I said you're crazy. Rockets lost Parsons. I think Parsons all around is better than Ariza. Someone told me James and Ariza are very close. I didn't think James had championship DNA to come back this way. DM: His # 1 goal is to be a great great NBA player. How much work he put in this offseason with the USA. He is very engaged in how much he is going to improve and how much we are going to improve as a team 790: With all the exchanges with Chandler and between you and Cuban I know this is important for you DM: I was talking to Tad Brown and when we made the decision to not match, we thought this would be likely and obviously NBA schedulers are happy. Good bye.
How unfortunate that after assembling such a good roster he has to leave the stands because of fans giving him trouble. And that is in the club seat sections, many of whom show up late and leave early. Bad form people.
All valid observations about the support players, but its besides the point- If... -Harden plays like his normal self -Aldridge doesn't average 40+ -Lillard doesn't hit a ridiculous dagger The Rockets win the series in 5 or 6. The role players do what they can, and obviously when the game is on the line, and they are put in a position of reliance (see Lin example) they have the ability to swing a game. However if the stars on your team are doing what they are supposed to do, and the stars on the other team aren't playing at a high level due to your defense you almost always win the series. If the Rockets keep Dirk, and Monta in check, and if Harden & Howard play well, I think it should be the Rockets series to lose. Pretty simple stuff. Rajon Rondo scoring 30 a game isn't going to be the thing that beats you. It starts and ends with your core stars doing what they do.
