Then what happens after Chase's man burns the Rockets for 8 early points and draws two quick fouls against Chase? THEN does Shane come in? And from where would the offense off the bench come? That may be a bit much to put onto Courtney Lee by himself. While I am definitely in favor of giving Chase more minutes (as long as his shot is falling), starting him alongside Kevin Martin would be a disaster.
I don't think it is a disaster at all, that is overstating it a bit, don't you think? While I agree Shane is a great defender, Bud has made strides there.....but admittadly not even close to Shane. Both Kyle and Kmart need other offensive threats to help them in the starting lineup....CBud could fill that 2nd creator role. However, the team is probably going to lose anyway, time to see what the young guys have..... And yes, Shane comes in as a defensive stopper, kind of like Hayes should be. DD
That's not going to help the bigger problem, which is defending the paint...you need to experiment with the frontcourt first. Battier is worn out because he's trying to be a one man defensive rotation and scola is worn out because he's trying to be a one man scoring machine. You can't have those two being the primary paint defenders when they're already exhausted. It hurts their game overall. Hill needs to see more minutes to give scola, battier, and bud less to worry about when they're in there. Put JJ in for a min or two each half and tell him to go 100 mph on defense and create some confusion for the opposing team.
Well it all depends on what the plan is. If we are giving up on the year then 2Pat, Hill, Chase, Lee, Ish, JTaylor should all see 30+ a night.
I would be more willing to start Courtney Lee as an undersized SF than to start Bud. At least Lee can get up on someone and defend him. If you're playing a team without an offensive SF, then put Martin on that guy.
Not really. He's got the highest +/- on the team and is really good at directing the offense...I dont think RA has used him as much as he should. What is really off is that the rockets havent bothered to get a defensive big. Dampier would have helped tremendously. They need to get someone who's a shot blocking threat inside. I think maybe you're saying they missed out on that player by signing Miller instead? But i dont think there was anyone out there to sign with those skills, other than Damp, and he was making teams wait. They need to find someone in the NBDL, overseas, etc. A minor signing.
I think you need to find out if Budinger is the SF of the future or not, and play him in that role...sink or swim. Lee is a nice player, but he doesn't look like he knows what he is doing out there. Either way, Battier needs to play a lot less, his shot is terrible, and that is probably due to the overwork on defense. I agree, that we need rim protection, I would start Hill and Scola.....and bring in Miller or Hayes off the bench based upon matchups. And honestly, I am not concerned with winning right now, I don't think the team is good enough without AB, and Yao. DD
Budinger is flashy and easy to get excited about, but overall I think Lee is a better player. I think we should trade Budinger once his stock gets back to where it was. We have to restore some semblence of a defensive identity.
I have not seen that vaunted D from Lee yet....and he looks lost out there too often and makes bone headed decisions at crucial times. DD
Budinger's D has been atrocious this year though. I usually watch the game for the game and then again for the mistakes and Budinger on the defensive side of the ball I think has been our worst player-even over Martin. Either way, both have been an incredible let down though I didn't expect as much from Lee as I did Bud. It was nice to see Bud at least have a good offensive showing. Perhaps he's on track on both sides of the ball after this.
I don't think Budinger has enough trade value (even when his shots falling) to fetch us anything that would make trading him worth it. Nobody is going to give up a lottery pick for him.. and I wouldn't want a pick in the 20s just to get rid of him.
The only criticism I have of Lee right now is he seems to crack under the pressure of "game on the line" Otherwise his offense and defense has been solid.
lol, touche. My emotional outbursts often make much more sense in the moment than they do once I have calmed down. I guess I am really lobbying for more heart simply because it is more fun to watch than intangibles are. You caught me.
He's really good in the open court though...we don't have anyone who can avoid defenders and the charge like he does. I think they need to play him strictly with a running team and just run run run. It's going to take him a while to learn the offense completely, much like it did with everyone else. Just let him run for now.
He barreled right into guys last night and got called for the charge. Agree about the open court, but in the playoffs, we need guys who can play in the half court. I like Lee, just not sold on him yet. DD
That was one of very few :grin: He usually does a very good job of sidestepping it, like Manu, and avoiding them. He just needs time to learn the offense...i dont think he's ever been in an offense with as many options as this one.
Honestly, I would rather keep Lee and trade Kevin Martin, I am sure he could net us a very good player....and I just don't think he plays hard enough on defense, and his flopping dies out in the 4th. DD
I agree with the above, but Bud is still quite horrible on D (for the most part). He has his moments defensively, but overall is still quite bad. No one is as bad as Martin, from time to time I find myself amazed at how bad he is defensively. Whether Yao and AB are healthy, this team is not what we thought it may be. I am all for seeing what we have. Jordan Hill has shown enough to earn the starting spot at the 5 next to Scola, while Yao is out, and I would say it is in the teams best interest to continue starting him when Yao is back. Chuck, as effective as he can be, should be nothing more than an Amare stopper, a defensive beast who comes in to slow down the teams best post player. Shane, he is more than that, but not by much. 4-11, with what this team lacks (an alpha dog, a long/athletic 3, and a consistent JHill), it would be best if 4-11 became 26-56 instead of 41-41. What I will say is, I will watch ever game, tear my hair out with the failures, and cheer for all the successes. Go Rockets!
