NIKE, I like Chuck and he has great technique and plays some very good man on man defense like he did at the end of the Washington game against Blatche but the Rockets help defense has just been atrocious this season with or with out Chuck. I love Chuck but he has proven over and over this season that he does not solve the Rockets problems with help defense which can be witnessed with every lay-up scored against an opposing team plus tall have had a lot of success shooting over him this season. Look at the Rockets DRtg last season of 103.1 with and 108.5 without Yao Ming in the line-up. Tango pointed this out in another thread, this years DRtg with out Yao Ming in the line-up is 107.1 so if you subtract 5 from the DRtg then a lot of the Rockets defensive problems will be solved. Chuck just does not provide that kind of presence.
I hope they trade #31. There isnt a plan trevor cant be a part. His age and championship experience. Ideally, chase would play all the backup minutes at 2/3 which would kill lowry/brooks backcourt. Martin and ariza starts, chase would play 30 mins. If martin continues to miss chunks of games as he gets older,you trade him and start chase.
In addition to the big 3 types of defense (interior, perimeter, help) that makes up team D there is also scoring defense. It is also a type of defense based only on offense where you negate your opponent by scoring and contributing as much as he does. If Chris Paul scores 20 points and dishes out 10 dimes with 50% efficiency, we would normally say that Brooks is doing a bad job. However, if Brooks also scores 20 points and dishes 10 dimes with the same amount of efficiency, then much of the damaging affect is diminished and it remains to be seen on the rest of each team does. With Yao and Martin in the mix, I like my chances.
I didnt realize we traded yao, so he'll never be back....and this whole time silly me thought he'd be back next year!
Agree. Way back when I was hoping Trenton Hassell would drop to the Rockets because he was such a great scorer/shooter at Austin Peay. After coming into the league, everyone forgot about his offense. He was celebrated for his defensive prowess instead, something that was little known while he was in college. While Chase may never be known for his great defense, he seems to be in the right place at the right time this year. Next year I think he will learn to aggressively front his man, which will mean much greater effectiveness. His defensive improvement game by game so far is evident. I'm a big Budinger fan, huge. However, I don't think he will be ready to start full time at the beginning of next season. He still needs a little more seasoning. Then, give Bud the ball and get out of his way. I agree with leebigez. It's time to trade Shane Battier or, better yet, offer him a coaching job as a quid pro quo for retiring. He will be a great coach and learning under Adelman will accelerate the process. If this happens, Budinger's growth is accelerated by solid coaching and moving up in the rotation. Shane needs to realize he has lost a step or three, and its time to leave at the apex rather than on the way down.
You're talking like Battier is struggling to stay in the rotation and it would benefit him for the rockets to take him out of his misery....there's no reason for him to do them a favor when he can play for another 2 years or so, here or elsewhere. also, many many players do well right after they start to decline, especially right after. the important thin is not to stay int he game when you're no longer useful, that's too much of a decline, but players still contribute signfiicantly the year or two after they start to decline. Many even win rings at that point.
Actually, there is a thing called defensive talent. Yes, good defense requires effort. No lazy player can be great defenders. I am not going to argue playing hard is a talent. It's debatable and we have had a thread on that a while back. A lot of people overlook some inborn abilities attached to good defensive players. One of it is defensive court vision. Similar to offensive court vision, it is mostly a natural talent which can only improve marginally with coaching and experience. Knowing when and where you position yourself is not as simple as just effort and athleticism. For example, there is a reason why guys like Battier, Hayes, and Lowry always get to the point where they can draw a charge. You have to KNOW the movement of all players on the floor to be able to have that kind of defensive success. And there is quickness that is usually not attributed to traditional athleticism. Morey once commented that Hayes has one of the quickest hands in the league. That's why he can frequently strip opponent's ball. The eye-hand coordination that can successfully pull it off consistently is not just a matter of effort and learning.
Hes good offensively but Battier/Ariza is still our starting SF. Bud would fit perfectly coming off the bench in place of Kmart.
I never said otherwise. Chuck was never meant to play big minutes. However, the idea that opposing big men will "figure out" Chuck with any consistency and torch him by shooting over the top of him just has not come to fruition over the course of his 4+ years in the league. That's what I was referring to.
battier is still our best defensive player whoever thinks he is overall the hill is high...sure he struggles on offensive but he always has, he leads our team in blocks and hes a freakin 2, if yao was playin this year or we had any sort of defense in the paint he would be on the all defensive team hes getting looked over because he is the only guy on this team that plays defense anymore i think battier should start next year, i betting ariza will though and thats fine, c bud will get his spot minutes and come in when guys are having an off night
If u think the defense is bad now....lol make that move. We'll be playin Suns/Knicks/Warriors defense lol
Just increase Budinger's minutes. Kyle Lowry's shooting just as horribly as Ariza this year. Both of them are way under their career FG%. As is Battier. We prefer to make excuses for some and persecute others. 26 year old Landry could keep getting better. 23 year old Lowry is on the upswing. 25 year old Brooks just has to keep getting seasoned. 31 year old Battier is just hurt and worn but provides valuable veteran presense. 24 year old Ariza sealed his fate as a loser for life. Let Ariza start but dont let him "expand his game" and make him a 40+ minutes player ever again. 28-32 MPG is still way above his career average. He's a Rockets player doing it the Rockets way now, he shouldnt be complaining about that.
I would like to see the Shane stay with the Rockets as a player coach under RA. Like you I think he would be a great coach. I think as a player he has an opportunity to have an effect on players like Chase in a way that he would not have as a coach.
It seems our fundamental differences is that I'm a much bigger believe of sample size than you. And that I hold a much more cautious projection than you in terms of young players. Mainly because I've seen a much greater share of young players who show promise at first, due to various reasons like taking opponents by surprise indifference by defense who focus on more established players, etc. Only to fizzle eventually once everyone has his scouting report. And it's rare to see players actually maintain their steady improvement. I guess we can agree to disagree.
The only reason I hesitate in starting Budinger is for 2 reason's 1. His defense, Ariza at 6'8 is athletic with a 7'3 wingspan 9'0 standing reach, that allow him to challenge shot and get steals....while Chase sports a poor wingspan for a sf, a 6'7 wingspan, and doesn't have the greatest lateral quickness.... which will make him struggle against faster players... 2. Scoring of the bench is a concern with out him.....I like him off the bench in a six man role, where he can get as many points as he wants being the 1st scoring option of the bench.... compared to being the 5th scoring option as a starter behind Yao, Martin, Brooks, Scola.... stunting his growth as a basketball player... --RB
Trevor's lateral quickness is pretty bad though, he can't stay in front of anyone. His entire rep seems to be garnered from his passing lanes, and reach ins...which are sometimes good, sometimes leave the team exposed. I would be in favor of trading either Shane or Trevor....I would prefer to trade Trevor as I don't think he is all that efficient, and Shane expires next year anyway. DD
If we have serious defensive problems, why some of you want to trade Shane or Trevor? I think they have proven to be complementary and they will play better defense the next year with less offensive responsabilities and a big presence behind. I agree with conundrum.
Because you do not need 2 defensive specialists at the wing position, you only need one. To quote a great movie... "There can be only one" DD
As you said, do you think Trevor is a "defensive specialist"? I don't think so, but I think on a better defensive dynamic he can do it better than this year. Defensively and offensively. By the way I prefer Shane as starter with him as backup, I thinks he comes out with more energy off the bench.
