You are right, but Rodman had as much lateral quickness as any big man who ever played the game. He was able to guard all 5 positions on the floor. Add in the fact that his speed, strength and determination made him one of the greatest rebounders in the history of the game. The point that people are making is that Asik wouldn't be a good matchup against power forwards that can shoot from the outside. On the other hand, Rodman would be a perfect matchup against a stretch 4. Many people don't realize that in his Detroit days it was Rodman and Dumars who matched up against Michael Jordan.
If you put them both on the court, you'd put Dwight at the 4, not Asik. But it'd only work against bruiser teams where neither big can shoot, since Dwight doesn't do a good job putting a hand up against shooters.
I doubt that the Rockets plan to have one of the league's elite shot blockers chase forwards on the perimeter.
I think Morey will pull Omer to the side and let him know that the moment he can trade him to situation that he can start we will but in the meantime do your best and hold our value or else you will be stuck here.
I think Lin should play center but guard the point, Howard should play PG but guard Cs, Harden should play PF but guard SGs, and Jones should play SG but guard PFs..
I love Asik, but I think he would be terrible as a PF; too slow, no shooting range, not much of a shot to start with....etc. On the other hand, Howard as as a PF is intriguing, but not going to happen. Asik is likely gone. He did a great job last year.
Run the low pick and roll on whoever has the mismatch with the guy on the other side crashing hard. Unbeatable 2.0
If the Rockets have to play Asik and Dwight together, it's pretty obvious that Dwight will have to play the 4. He certainly has the athleticism for it. And if he had played in another era, he probably could've spent his career as a power forward. But realistically, the Rockets will never play those two together. I seriously doubt Dwight will relish the prospect of playing out of position. He has repeatedly said he wants to be the guy posting up on the block. He doesn't want to be the pick-n-roll guy. One of the main reasons he chose Houston this summer is because of their promise to utilize him "properly" with an inside-out game. I think that's the reason why -- in the midst of Dwightmare -- Morey adamantly refuted the rumor of Asik and Dwight playing side-by-side. He said "absolutely not!" because otherwise Dwight would re-think his decision. Dwight came to Houston to be a center, not a power forward.
I definitely don't think Asik is suited to play the four. He has two great strengths: (1) Defensive court vision to be in the right place at the right time. This is built on memories from years of playing as a five. I don't think it's fair to assume that this would translate (or translate quickly anyway) to defending fours who often wander farther out. (2) Tremendous strength: He has the ability to push other NBA centers off the block. This strength is also more suited to the five. He doesn't have great lateral foot speed. I don't think Asik makes any sense as a 4. Howard would be better (still not great) as a 4, but he wouldn't be happy there.
