Jonathan Feigen: Rockets turn attention to centers in free agency

Agreed. Once Sengun’s creativity leaves the game, a big menacing don’t come down here type would be great as a chop out.

Also handy if things get away from us early on the scoreboard. Out Sengun, in said menace and put some clamps on. This is why I think we’ll learn to love Eason early into the season. He’ll be checking in early a lot of nights as better teams get the jump on us and Silas needs stops.

 

Protecting the rim is the one thing they will not address until this next offseason I bet. It’s one of the aspects of the team that will really contribute to losing some and giving up a lot of points.

giving them a top 10 pick. Two centers going in the top 10 or free agency next season I’m sure it will be then.

 

It always gets me thinking - so many cite "rim protection" as a responsibility of one guy and necessary for winning basketball, but the #1 blocked shots guy last year JJJ only averaged 2.3 per game. Doesnt really seem like this end all be all to good defense. Team concepts that all the players buy into primarily perimeter oriented switching types seem to be the best way to counter the offenses that were successful in the playoffs. Focusing on position as a remedy to what ails our team may be looking at it with an antiquated view. Makes alot of sense what Stone did in the draft. Eason and Jabari are going to suck the life out of the perimeter defensively in the future.

 

Jokic is going to extend this offseason. He won't be on the block.

 

I’m not the person to ask. I’m curious how much a “rim protector” dissuades team to take shots at the rim. Versus if you are weak In that area. Also how much it effects your defense in regards to how close you guard 3’s throughout the game.

 

It's not just about blocking shots, that's an oversimplification of protecting the rim.

It's about not allowing teams points / shots at the rim and in the paint.

Go back and compare how the playoff teams fared in points in the paint .... where the Rockets were dead last.

The top 4 - Miami, Boston, Milwaukee & Golden State.

15 of the top 16 made the playoffs.

 

Great point here. Its not always about making the "block", but it is about making the player that happens to get into the paint have to think about and/or alter their shots due to said "rim protector" coming over. Said "rim protector" should also help our rebounding, therefore, we close out defensive possessions much better. I hope Stone can find us this backup C.

 

That's true, but consider that the Rockets were basically only ever playing one big at a time surrounded by a bunch of guards....and a lot of the guards were REALLY terrible defensively, and that ranking makes sense. You could have put prime Olajuwon on the team and it wouldn't have helped THAT much in the paint due to scheme.

When it comes to rim defense, a lot has been talked about, but going with Sengun who contests a high % of shots and has a very respectable block % (as an 18 year old!) will help improve it over last year, but the biggest thing will be having a second big on the court who is a stellar defender now that they have Jabari. You could even sprinkle in some Eason as they get down the road a bit.

I would be shocked if rim defense was a serious issue going forward.

That said, I would throw whatever we have available at Isaiah Hartenstein if he'd be willing to come back and take a bench role. He was one of the league leaders in contested shots per 36 and his block % is even higher than Sengun's. Also given that he can shoot 3's and space the floor a bit, and his age is in line with the rest of the team, he'd be the perfect backup 5 for the Rockets

 

Yup exactly

 

All lottery teams have a direction, or so they think. Until they don’t.

 

The Rockets have both direction and magnitude, though.

 

@ApacheWarrior
Is Jalen Smith a switchable defender? If yes, he could be a center for us despite being more of a PF. Boucher is athletic, long and physical. He can block shots, run the P/R and space the floor. Can he bring more on defense? I'm not concerned about him being 6'9 and 29 years old. He can be traded later on if needed.

 

Right - so who were the "rim protectors" for each of the playoff teams? Bam, Looney, Lopez, Williams. The other teams who had dedicated rim protectors like Utah with Gobert didnt fare as well with some of those guys unplayable in certain situations. So a "rim protector" by committee seems to be the best approach. TEAM DEFENSE vs specialists. Help defense from everyone not just "anchors" so that looking for centers for this purpose isnt at all necessary IMO.

 

You are exactly correct and why Jabari and Eason were such dynamite fits for us.

 

Even the best team perimeter defensive teams cannot prevent shots at the rim all game long.

This is the era of pace and SPACE.

Having multiple long players who are good-great recovering when beat to swat/alter/deter point blank shots is also rim protection.

The more players like this on team allows team to get away with not having that one traditional paint heavy rim protector.

But Banchero fit neither of those categories.

Averaging less than 1 block a game is criminal for a 6'10 guy built like a brick house with 7 foot wingspan and 40 plus vert.

 

Why do you keep bringing up Banchero? Thats an unhealthy fascination you have there chief.

 

Just to add, go look at how GSW played vs Boston when Williams and Horford was in vs when they went small and compare that to Dallas when they got back door cuts that ended in layups. Having a guy contesting at the rim matter alot in the nba for most teams. GSW was strictly a perimeter jump shooting team vs Boston and sometimes that's what happens, but vs Dallas its was layup city.

 

That's why I wanted Koloko at 26. He would've been a perfect fit with his size and mobility along with his developing 3 pts shot. He was a;ready a good ft shooter for a 7ft er. Not only that, he would've been on a rookie deal for 5 years.

 

Because your penchant to tilt against this particular windmill grew out of your Banchero narrative trying to convince CF that rim protection was illusory.

You created this narrative to downplay Banchero's clearly apparent weakness as a big.