Can Asik co-exist with Dwight (If Rockets get him)

No worries. According to cyberx Lin is worth his weight in gold off the court...

 

That's true, but you're also normally paying more than $900k to your starting small forward position. That savings allows you other luxuries, so to speak. So you're really paying $30M for your center and small forward position. Given that your current PF position makes less than $2M, that's really $32M for three starting positions...

Not ideal, but it allows you to take your time to (1) see if the howard - asik combo works or (2) get real value for asik.

 

I honestly think this line-up could work with D-Mo as the primary backup 4. I think with both Asik and Dwight you basically put your coaches in the best position to respond well to difficult matchups. There are few front court pairings that would be effective against an Asik, Dwight 1 - 2 defensive punch. You put those two in the paint and you've basically shut the garage door on anyone trying to get to the rim. Offensively just tell Asik to get out of the way unless he's going for an offensive board. There are all sorts of ways he can contribute due to his underrated passing skills. I also think we're gonna see a little jump shot start to emerge with him.

 

For those who dont know the Triangle offense. It really is brilliant because Houston already has superior ball movement when iso doesnt happen. I agree with coach nick, alot of options with asik and howard with the triangle, i see alot of Offensive boards for asik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ7QMNUFqMw

 

Good story. Sounds a lot like my dad.

Where it really gets interesting in next year. 8.3 cap vs 15 salary. You can see that trading Asik or Lin will be very difficult for a future owner to sign off on unless they are playing at a star level. So it becomes trade now or keep them through the contract.

 

At first thought, I didn't think they could play together because of spacing issues. But when you really think about it, Howard won't clog the paint anymore than Greg Smith does and that worked fine. With Howard and Asik down low we would lead the league in rebounding.

Plus, we could spread it out with our bench. I could see Dmo being a major factor off the bench next year... Man I can't wait!

 

Idk man, we had problems during the playoffs with that lineup

 

Greg smith didn't work because he was exposed as a bad TEAM defender because of his size, not because he was a center

 

It might work in small spurts but they should be staggered. I could see it being like Amare/Chandler in New York. There were serious spacing issues and the team did horribly during that span.

 

O.T had more moves than Dwight and he complimented Dream perfectly. We would finally have someone that can roll with harden or lin one the pick is set. Oh man, I'm getting hard just thinking about it.

 

You mean our bench? Or Smith with Asik?

If you mean our bench, my statement is dependent on how Dmo improves over ther summer. If you mean our big lineup, I don't remember many offensive teoubles with that lineup. Mainly just problems with Smith rebounding and D, obviously that wouldn't be a problem with Dwight...

 

I was referring to Smith with Asik. I agree that our defense and rebounding will be stronger with Howard and Asik but the problem lies with the offense. James and Jeremy weren't as effective when Smith was in at the 4. I just didn't see a whole lot of ball movement/penetrations in the first playoff game. If Dwight had more of a post game then I wouldn't have any doubts with it at all.

I'm not opposed to the idea of Dwight with Asik, I just have my doubts. I do like the idea of staggering their minutes. There would be no defensive let ups for the whole 48 mins.

 

Agreed, though keep in mind, we don't need to score the most points in the nba to win...just need to score more than the other team Our defense hopefully can make up the difference. GSmith is no where close to the defense that either Asik or Howard would bring.

 

I have certainly had my doubts about it as well. I'm more worried about spacing and how two 7-footers with no outside game clogging up the paint. It would be GREAT if Asik could develope a 15-footer... But that's a lot to ask.

I think what would probably happen is they would start the game together, then stagger their minutes for the rest of the half. Then do the same in the 2nd half.

 

I don't understand why people inherently believe they must play well together to co-exist. Given that they're centers and generally get tired easier, wouldn't it be great if they simply less minutes? Just as Yao should've played less in the regular season, so should Howard. His minutes should be in the low 30s, say 30~33mpg. Then you have Asik play 27~30mpg. Combined 60mpg, or 12mpg where they play together. Well, even Yao and Cato once played together for a season. You can certainly make it work for 10-15mpg.

Asik last season gave up on many occasions against penetration in fear of foul trouble. He also paced himself for the extra minutes. Neither of which he did at Chicago, where he basically flew everywhere and knocked people around as a backup. By giving Asik less minutes, you can get a more aggressive, productive version of him.

Similar with Howard, who is getting to an age where he should be pacing himself in the regular season. If he can maintain his health, then we can see Orlando version of Dwight Howard in the postseason where he was just a beast inside.

Overall, there's no reason to care whether they complement each other's game. The fact that the Rockets will have 48 minutes of top-level interior defense each game is well worth the combined $29mil they're shelling out to both players.

 

Those are all points that I agree with. But I'm not worried about how JUST Howard and Asik compliment each other. What worries me is the issues it would cause offensively for the gaurds/wings. Niether of them are an offensive threat outside of the paint, which is going to allow opposing defenses to just camp out at the basket making it very difficult for Harden/Lin/Parsons to do what they do best, penetrate to either score or kick to shooters.

 

This is an excellent point, and its two fold as well.

Both Dwight and Asik can play super aggressively defensively, knowing their is a counter part with an extra six fouls to give.

Good players are good players and coaches can make it work.

 

He first said it would be awkward. Maybe the triangle works but when we had Cato and Yao or Yao and Motumbo, those twin tower lineups were used sparingly. Asik and Dwight will be the same if they're here together, you may see them on the floor together but not as the starting lineup for sure and certainly not in crunch time.

 

Both definitely can co-exist pretty well together.

The big concern is whether McHale is able to develop a better system for the team.

If McHale use the same 'freestyle' system like the plays this season, then the Rockets would not be a deep playoff team next season no matter who is on the team.

 

I agree, I want asik on the floor when howard is off the floor, and visa versa. But I can see them def getting playing time at the same time, for a good portion of the game. Everone said, Harden and Lin would not coexist and that they should always have lin or harden on the court. Mchale's typical rotation almost never allowed Harden and lin to be seperated for very long. Ive seen them both benched at the same time, alot of times.