Guys, I know Miami is not a true indicator with its thin big man rotation, but I think we might have seen a revelation today. I think we all know by now that Howard doesn't like the pick & roll game, but with our new depth we could actually play him Orlando style like the second quarter against Miami. When Harden is on the bench resting- put around Howard a bunch of off the ball trey masters (like brwer, Ariza, k-pap and beverly/canaan) to spread the floor and give the big guy the ball. Harden is not a good "off the ball" player but a very good pick & roll player and the line up with him, smith and d-mo as center can do a lot of dammage. That way we'll have a lot more offensive power at all time instead of one player diminishes the other, and both players can get extensive rest time during the game. What do ya'll think?
I noticed that during the game too. mchale giving Howard a different line up excluding Harden and i think it works well if they practice it more. as JB have mentioned during the game, they're trying different line ups to see which unit meshes with the other.
Not taking anything from the OP, but it was obvious that McHale is sending out two different lineups, one led by Harden and the other led by Howard. Now that he has got plenty of healthy players, he can certainly utilize a 10-men rotation, keeping everybody's minutes down. I think this will work.
I think Howard just needs to commit to the pick and roll and do it right, not that half assed **** he usually does. The rotation of bigs I like very much and McHale has indeed being running a line-up of either Howard or Harden so that it's a little twist I hope that sticks.
It's a good work around for the problem, but it's not solving the main problem: Howard and Harden need to mesh.
I figured that was always McHale's intention. Having one of the two stars on the floor at all times. Obviously that plan was derailed by Howard's injury and the somewhat limited minutes he's played(30 or so a game) since returning. But this will work a lot better with D-Mo starting. The offense can run through him in the post in the 1st quarter. And then Dwight can feast on the other team's backups when he becomes the primary option inside late in the 1st and early in the 2nd.
Are you saying we should remove Dwight from the starters and have him come in when DoMo sits? Or are you saying Howard should play the entire 1st Q plus then become primary post option when DoMo sits, getting relief around the 8 minute mark of the 2nd? So, Dwight starts the game playing 16 straight minutes?
Having 1 star on the floor while the other rests and supports the 2nd rotation is a great strategy. I didn't think Howard's ego would allow for it long term but that's a dangerous combination moving forward that other teams may have to deal with. I like it.
it's a complicated answer. Most nights it will be dictated by who gets in foul trouble first, DMo or DHo. I like the idea of staggering Harden and Howard as much as possible since they seem to have low chemistry (STILL!?). Howard seems to only be a legit low post threat when going against back ups while DMo can actually post up starters because he has more finesse to his game. I hope McHale continues to experiment and continues to find minutes for a 9 or 10 man rotation. This was a blowout and it was against a defensive rotation of Bosh-Birdman-Whiteside. We'll see how we do against some of the more physical teams. Really like the idea of Howard getting very few touches against big centers. Good teams find the mismatch and flow the ball through it. Hope we can continue to do that.
Obviously Dwight starts. But D-Mo starts alongside him and gets a lot of shots in the post. Take Dwight out around the 6 or 7 minute mark. Then bring him in late in the 1st or at the beginning of the 2nd when Harden usually takes a seat. At that point, Dwight is the primary option with the 2nd unit.
Take Dwight out around the 6 or 7 minute mark. Then bring him in late in the 1st or at the beginning of the 2nd when Harden usually takes a seat. At that point, Dwight is the primary option with the 2nd unit.[/QUOTE] Ye this is what I had in mind. Wonder if we'll get to see it against the bulls.
Ye this is what I had in mind. Wonder if we'll get to see it against the bulls.[/QUOTE] Now we have the option to GO BIG (DMO/Howard/JSMOOVE or not when dealing with the likes of Golden State,Clippers,Memphis. At the same time, staggering Harden/Howard seems like it can be very effective.
was brought up in the post-entry passing thread but, it's relevant here. The second unit will look to see if Dwight has an early seal on his man and make the pass. they will also wait for dwight to get GOOD post position and even re-post if necessary. It's been noted that this is something Bev-Harden-Ariza will not do. It's one game against a team that is thin on big men, but damn i hope McHale and the team learn some lessons from it.
