Now that Asik is off the table ( at least for now ), can he co-exist with D12? I am not talking about Asik as a back up center, is Asik a starting 4th material? Questions need to be answered; - does he have a mid range jumper? - does he have foot speed to defense the opposing 4th? - does he want to switch to 4th giving he played 5 all his life? - will he clog up the lane when Harden or Lin try to penetrate, given we have D12 around the middle already?
I dont know but I know he doesn't need the ball and our defense will be stout, and our offensive rebounds will be atop the league Lin Harden Parsons Howard are enough offense
Frankly i think Howard is a power forward who plays centre, no reason why he couldn't play PF and Asik play C
Expect him to play 15 minutes as Dwight's backup and perhaps 5 minutes alongside him. On defense it should work. Both have quick feet and can guard outside as long as the other guy isn't someone like LeBron. On Offense there might be a problem, since both have no jumper. But for a couple of possessions, they might make it work. Dwight is a good driver, so he can catch the ball a little outside. And both are really good at setting picks and rolling - and grabbing offensive rebounds.
In todays NBA, the PF position needs to be able to operate "in space." Asik as a PF is not going to work with Howard. These are not the days of Thorpe and Hakeem. New rules, new types of players. Those days are gone.
Definitely not. Both have limited range, playing them together would just clog the driving lanes for Harden and Parsons.
Morey already said in an interview Asik and Howard would not be on the court at the same time except for occasional twin tower experiments. They are both pure centers with no range and are horrible free throw shooters. Defensively it would be awesome, but there are different positions for a reason. It would make more sense to get a stretch four or an athletic four that could stretch the defense.
If they do play together -- which, I am in a minority of people (which does not include Morey unfortunately) that think they can -- but if they do play together, Howard would defend the 4. Howard does have the speed and athleticism to play the 4, but does not have the offensive game for it to be a smooth fit. The Rockets would have to get creative and use the great pick setting ability of both players in tandem to create a gauntlet style offense that would create open shots on the perimeter and at the basket as well as mismatches. It would have to be pretty sophisticated -- I am not sure if the Rockets can pull that off. Unfortunately the safest thing is to trade Asik.
I don't like the idea. You basically have two defensive centers, both with no shot that can only finish at the rim. Might as well tie them together. Defensively they could be fine at times, but offensively?
if asik's man plays off him to protect the paint, he can just screen for harden/parsons/lin to shoot open jumpers...
Daryl Morey pretty much says no (look up last weeks 790 weekly podcast). He did mention its possible that they experiment a little bit early in the season with some of their sets, but its highly unlikely. However, the good news is- Morey projects that the impact of Asik backing up Howard for the shorter amount of minutes he will be playing will have a great impact in winning long term than that of an upgrade at the PF spot from what they already have. Asik is going to be the backup Center next year unless they can find a great trade beforehand that makes sense, and everyone is happy with that move. I think that Anderson for Asik is a possibility, but it sounds like the Rockets value Asik much more than just Anderson alone. Plus the drop off in defense/rebounding between Parsons/Garcia/Casspi at the 4 isn't that great considering the fact that Anderson is a negative on that end anyways, and all 3 of guys can hit the 3 point shot in relative comparison.... although Parsons/Casspi aren't there yet.... Garcia is pretty close. The Rockets have obviously done their homework on this topic better than most of us have here, and seem to be very comfortable always having Asik/Howard manning the 5 at all times, but with different combinations manning the 4 spot.
I can see asik and howard fighting over rebounds. The problem is, the lane is going to be clogged out there with asik at PowerFoward. I don't know big rockets guy you tell me =D
This is a ridiculous concept...Asik playing the 4 (4th?) But if we have to roll into the season like this...expect them to experiment with Dwight at the 4 and Asik at the 5 occasionally. Besides, Asik and Lin can be moved closer to the deadline for more value, potentially.
Ding Ding we have a winner. For 5-15 minutes a game depending on the situation I think it could work. But Asik is not starting.
They might be worse off than we think if they are playing a team that shoots the ball well from the perimeter. Both Howard and Asik are both accustomed to patrolling the painted area. If you bring in an Adelman coached offensive team, or last years Rockets type of team, they could tear that team a new one with their 3 point shooting, and constant motion with back-picks and screens to get shooters open looks. Asik & Howard together could have problems with their hesitance to come out and close on open shooters.
