No. Asik's low offensive usage was not due to stone hands. It was due to the fact that if he wasn't going to be able to dunk the ball then he was going to get fouled when the ball was in his hands and the efficiency of the offense goes down significantly when he steps to the free throw line instead of DRose.
Out of all our offseason acquisitions, Omer is the one I'm most excited about, even over Lin and the rookies. He will decide how far this team goes.
I might agree with you here, but lets keep a perspective. He is not a Dwight or Hakeem defensively and may not even be an average player offensively. Even if he lives up to the expectations Houston folks are putting on him, defense is a team concept for the most part. So conceivably, he could be everything we want him to be and still be a poor defensive team if the other players do not sign up to the task. The overall team defensive effectiveness can be either less or more than the sum of its parts depending on how they work together. No one player is going to make a big difference unless there is a team defensive concept that everyone on the court adheres to.
I agree with this mostly. Defensively, he could be as good as Dwight if he stays out of foul trouble and can sustain his energy with increased minutes. Offensively, he isn't close to average. While teamwork helps, having a rim protector is key to any defense that doesn't have Lebron James. With Parson and Patterson as likely starters, I think the team defense will be fine.
What I am most concerned about defensively is not whether our 3-4-5 guys can do a decent job of defending post-ups, its whether our guards can keep their man in front of them. If we are constantly having to deal with guard penetrations into the paint, and the 3-4-5 guys have to leave their man to block this penetration, then we are going to have a tough time being good defensively, especially against teams with good passing.
New York was good defensively while Lin started so I don't see him as a big problem. If Martin is still a Rocket, he would need help. Lamb is a rook and will most likely need help. Lamb has the athleticism to be a good defender if he can add some muscle and accepts coaching well. If Lamb develops as a defender, the Rockets will be very good defensively. Big if though.
This is where having Courtney Lee around would be nice. At the end of the day, I wish Martin had been the one to find a new home and Lee would start at the 2.
I like Lee, but Lin and Martin are the only offense the Rockets have at moment. I'm hopeful Lamb can be the guy that brings it both ways in the future.
I hope your wrong because if we dont get any offense out of the 3 or 4, its going to be a very long season.
I'm not expecting much from Patterson and Parsons offensively. If they get about 36 min/game, I am expecting 12-15 points out of them per game each. I think it is going to be a long season unless someone steps up big time.
12-15 pts would be pretty significant for those two, IMO...Lin could average 20, if he draws more fouls and hits a better percentage from three. That's 15/15/20 = 50 pts.....I think Martin starts, unless Lamb's dropping 20 pt games, so either way that's 70 pts and Omer could go for 8-9. If we get good contribution across the board we'll be ok. you can get away with it during the season, but the playoffs are a different story.
Given the thread title, and what he (Asik) is most likely to give us (Defense), its understandable that is what we are most talking about. But seriously, I think we will have bigger problems on the offensive end than the defensive one.
Asik is, more or less, a blank slate on offense. He needs the prep with CD to get to where time with McHale would mean anything to him. As far as offense... at 295 pounds, position goes a long way. IF he already has a tendency to dunk as preference (as mentioned), that will be his first "instinct" in offensive mode, I think. It's a mindset. Hopefully, the moves he is practicing will become instinctual as he applies them during games. Being able to make quick turns to the basket and score can do wonders to open up the "other" types of shots.
