Asik and Howard to start next game (Updated w/ Blog Post)

It´s been one preseason game, a couple of minutes on the court together and after only a handful of practices. A little early for a judgement.

This is a big adjustment for everyone on the team - it will take time. And remember, we are not talking about having them together on the court for 30 minutes a game - in the end it will probably be closer to 10 or 15 minutes. One of the two will always be on the court.

So the question is: will it work to have them on the court at the same time for about 10 minutes a game? I´d say it doesn`t look bad. Now we just need to learn to get a good entry pass.

 

I think "twin towers" is only one element. Another one is: Asik defends on the second unit. If Asik is traded for a PF, who will defend on the second unit? We were ranked 27th or 28th in defense last season. Also, Howard has not been totally healthy lately.

I think you shouldn't judge Asik after his first preseason game.

I think if you say it's not going to work, then this should not be the "official" thread. If you had your wish, this thread would be unnecessary.

 

Key to consider, in that first quarter 7:30 stretch when they played it, Dirk scored 2 points on 2 attempt.

I'll trade any spacing issue for that any day. I'll bet that Calderon can't hit pull up jumper at a 80% clip in front of Lin on most nights.

Offensively, it didn't look good but it's not entirely evident how much of that was the pairing, they did blow a few bunnies (most notably via layups by Lin) and Lin did make several great PnR pass to Dwight which puts the doubt that it clogs up the lane to driving. they need a slightly different configuration for that set up but I didn't see that much reason to think it couldn't work... at least work well enough.

 

26 rebounds in limited minutes and you guys are complaining?

 

Another point to consider, Dallas scored 95 in a ridiculously fast game, they had 94 shots(!!!!!)

 

Are you serious? This was Asik's first game and he was injured. What did you expect? I think he looked ok. especially in the second half.

 

I say it already worked...the experiemnt was sucessful. Period. If it wasnt catastrophic in the first game together then it can only be better as seasons progresses and when asik is not rusty and is used against more appopriate teams or matchups...and it will only be used for 12-15 minutes a game..we need Asik as a backup C for another 15 minutes....then we need him for back to back games and when Howard is injured etc.. It worked perfectly.

 

Are you serious? The Rockets were destroyed when Howard and Asik were on the floor together. If they get three minutes on the court together this season I will be surprised.

 

These two should only play together against certain matchups, Memphis and the Clippers comes to mind. I think they could improve and become great defensively together, but offensively I can't see it ever working. They are both paint cloggers, with no use more than 5 feet from the rim.

Thats a bad recipe for any team, much less a a team with Harden's paint attacking style.

Asik is just gonna have to live with 15-20 minutes as a backup, and spot starter. But I'm willing to try it out for a while.

 

Then, barring a trade, you will be very quickly surprised.

 

Are people really saying the defense looked good??? Wow. I think some folks need to go back and re-watch the game .... this time lay off the acid when watching.

When Jose Calderon destroys your team by using Dalembert & Dirk picks that tells me two things.

A. Lin isn't a good enough defender to fight through screens and stay on top of a scoring PG.
B. Howard/Asik weren't quick enough on their rotations to come out on the guards.

I dont know the actual stats, but I would assume that from a +/- perspective this is the worst starting unit rolled out so far, and I'd guess that 31 pts in the first quarter is the most they've given up as a starting unit in the 1st quarter.

Just imagine if that was Stephen Curry or Tony Parker last night.

I do believe the Twin towers can work against certain lineups, but I'm not drinking the cool-aid just yet. They have alot to work on defensively before they can count on it as a starting lineup. You dont want to consistently have poor starts like last night. You want to be the first team to throw the first punch.

 

i didnt see them destroyed....cadleron just got into rhytm and couldnt miss...was it not preseason and experiment in progress it could have been easily stopped by a simple change in linup

 

You truly do not have a clue do you?

 

It was bound to be tried. And it proved worthless. Have you looked at those first quarter stats? Offense bad. Defense bad. Rockets bad. What do you want? The Rockets to play those two together for the entire season and end up with 49 or so wins?

 

Asik was rusty. I thought they looked good together but just missed some gimmes. I did not see offensive spacing as a big issue. Dallas was amped up, Dalembert blocked some shots, and Lin/big did not get out enough to challenge Calderon (either Lin made a mistake by going under the screen or the big was supposed to go out and challenge and did not). The fact that Dwight was still able to get some dunks and they got some offensive rebounds was good. They looked better in the second half as well. The more they play together the better they will get. Asik will get better as well.

 

Why do you think he was in rhythm and couldn't miss? Maybe its because he was open. Why was he open.... well... think about that one for a little bit.

 

I agree. Either Lin should've gone over the screen or the big should've gotten out on Calderon. You let the roll man be free and trust your teammates, including your other big who can defend the rim. This will come with more time on the court together.

 

It will not work - in a lasting manner, both of their offensive skills are not varied enough, and on D they are not good at guarding PFs.

DD

 

didn't really like it, but they haven't been able to work together yet (as D12 stated in his post-game interview, they have some meshing to do).

I don't expect us to start Asik. I like him coming off the bench (not necessarily for D12). I want Dwight to play about 35/night and Omer to play about 25. Adds up to about 12 minutes overlapping (we should almost always have them both on the floor)

 

Calderon had a hot hand to start the game, so there's not much you can do to change that.

However, Lin should've made the adjustment to go over the screens sooner. You have Howard and Asik in the back. What happened to "funnel them to Dwight"?