I agree that they're playing better than I thought they would. Both of them. Dorsey started out slow because of injuries but seems like he has his legs back. They are good backups. I like them. If we got rid of DMo though, they would get more PT. That worries me. Better?
Few people here still believe that trading D-Mo is a viable option unless it brings back an all star. If Howard and D-Mo begin to really click together like they did in the Denver game Houston might suddenly find themselves starting the best front court in the NBA. I would like to point out that D-Mo's post game acts much like a second very good creator in the flow of the offense. An offensive creator when he has the ball scores at a very high rate, and attracts the double team where his passing ability gets open looks for his team mates. That sounds like Harden's game and the developing post game of D-Mo.
But how much is it worth? Come playoff time when there's no back 2 backs, every 3rd game is a 2 day rest, potential rests if win quickly, and the minutes ramp up to 39+ for James. The front court minutes get tighter too, but it's also far more likely that Dwight or Dmo (or both) gets in foul trouble before James, and that Denver game, we jumped off a pier in that first quarter when that happened.
At this rate Harden will have very little left in the tank at the end of the season for the playoffs. It should be the biggest worry for Morey IMO. Morey and coaching staff have done a fantastic job addressing the defense this season which was their #1 problem, now #2 problem is addressing the lack of a 2nd playmaker to take the burden off Harden.
Drawing your answer to my previous question I think you're saying we can acquire Gibson and bolster the bench without using the nop pick. Let's set PG fit aside for a second and focus on the economy that is the nba. That pick should really only be used to bring back a starting level possibly borderline all star to this team. Anything less and your not getting fair value for the pick. With that said, are you suggesting holding onto that pick until an all star level player becomes available at the pg, SF, or pf spot? Or are you think if nothing materializes by draft day next year to draft a rookie with it? My thought is if the pick can acquire you dragic without including DMo then you've parlayed that pick into a player that can definitely contribute but can also be traded if a better player or fit arises (the same could be said for Bev). Summary: if you have $100 that you have to use by next summer or it turns into a gift card, do you spend on something now that can be of help and can be traded later or just hold onto it and wait for something better to come up next year to use your gift card on?
This does seem to be playing into our hands. The playoffs in the west are essentially set. Phoenix and New Orleans are struggling, which means Dragic is closer to being on the market and our NOP pick is rising in value.
I honestly thought b4 the season started with the addition of Asik, the PELs would make the 8th seed. I couldn't have more wrong.
Set? Nearly 60 games to go and with so many teams bunched injuries can upset the apple cart. No, nothing is set, yet. Other than Kobe is staying home in the Spring.
Nothing is set, but OKC is easily in the playoffs barring further injury and the rest of the Top 8 seems pretty solid. Does anyone honestly see any of those teams dropping out? The Suns are a mess right now. They could always turn it around, but it's not enough to win 42-45 games if the goal is making it to the postseason.
Dragic would be an upgrade at the starting PG spot, then you'd also have an upgrade at the back-up PG spot with Beverley now taking that role. You'd also have an upgrade when Harden sits because Dragic can score. You can even go with 2 PGs with Beverley and Dragic at times. So getting Dragic wouldn't just improve the starting PG spot, it would make the team better in many different ways.
No way to tell until they actually get on the court together. Dragic is versatile enough of a guard to where I don't worry much about fit. However the one thing to note: The all-star level Dragic you saw last year wouldn't exist in Houston. Its just the way it is. The ball is going to be better off in Harden's hands, and Dragic will be playing off the ball. He's also a decent defender, but he's not the defender Beverley is. Harden is really the point guard for this team for really good reasons. You upgrade where you can whenever you can, but always consider value in areas you can get value in relation to where that allows you to upgrade in more important areas. Maybe with the emergence of D-Mo it makes upgrading the big spot less of a need, but I'm not going to make a hard stance on that just yet. However if Dragic or another all-star caliber PG is available and you don't have to "rob Peter to pay Paul" to get him, you just go ahead and jump on it, and worry about fit after the matter. But there is alot of things to consider if you have options.
Dragic played a lot of off ball last year in Phoenix (50%). Indeed his percentages and efficiency was higher playing off the ball. Last year Goran Dragic was the third best point guard in the NBA. he averaged 21/6/2 and shot over 40% on 3's, 55% on 2's and went to the line. He also played average to above average defense. This year is playing point guard on 10% of the time and still overall is performing at a high level. This year Harden is playing small forward at a career high, 14% of the time which would allow the Rockets to trot out a small ball line up of Harden/Dragic/Beverly and also go to a 3 guard rotation at the 1 & 2.
I agree with all this and take special note of the bolded part. This is true for any 3rd option player that's all star caliber. Just as Bosh diminished with LBJ and Wade, Dragic would diminish his impact if he were to be here. The value is in the ability for that 3rd option to pick up the slack should one of the other two falter for any reason or if they just aren't on the court. This is the dilemma when considering the merits of going for a 3rd star vs. investing into your bench depth. The 3rd star gives you more insurance. In the case of Dragic though, if you don't have to give up as much it is less of a predicament. Acquire the guy with the NOP pick and change, and you still have enough to fill out the roster depth.
