Remaining Holes for Contenders (ESPN Insider)

They're completely ignoring the most obvious point of need; a solid starter at the 4. I believe Terence Jones is going to be outstanding this year -- but the writer didn't even mention it.

 

Well, this is a pretty r****ded snippet. The Rockets need a ball handler??? No, they already had too many last season and nothing has changed. If they need anything at point guard that might be better 3P shooting and defense, but they problem could easily solve itself with Jeremy improving or PBev taking over as the starter (if Jeremy does not get better).

The biggest REAL hole is at the 4, obviously. We have no idea what we're gonna get out of the young guys, and it might be "not much at all".

 

A ball handler isn't even in our top 5 of biggest needs.

 

I would love to try and bring in two guys that were mentioned for the vet minimum or room exception if possible, Byron Mullens or even better, Greg Oden. Both are better fits for this team for me than Marcus camby. But I do think a guard that can handle the ball would also be good.

 

The author just described Patrick Beverley

 

who the hell wrote this!?!?

 

I'm glad I didn't pay to read that article lol...

 

does a ball handler fill a hole?

 

what kind of hole?

 

I think what they are talking about is what teams can do now. Don't think major trades gonna happen, though occasionally those trades do happening in the beginning of the season like Harden's case.

 

I don't think the Rockets' problem is that they don't have enough guys who can handle the ball. Their T/O rate is high because of the team's strategy is to have guys attack the paint. Getting yourself into a crowd typically causes T/O rates to rise, but this is outweighed by the benefits of getting higher % shots, more FT attempts and more open 3s.

OKC has a similarly high T/O rate and it's not because they don't have guys who can handle the ball.

And I think the Rockets will continue to be a high T/O team next year: Dwight Howard won't help with it because he is also a high T/O guy.

 

I was not aware 1.1 TO per 17.4 mins is now considered turnover-prone.

 

Exactly. Beverley does not turn the ball over all that much. Bev does foul a lot , but ball handling is not a problem for Bev.

 

Maybe not the biggest need but I feel like the writer does hit a sore spot. The Rockets usually had a few sloppy passes per game last year. Any team can say it but they need to take better care of the ball.

 

Need a legit four who can make the outside shot. After that, everything else is gravy.

Though a junk yard dog would be nice.
And another swing man.

And if one of those two players had playoff experience, that would be swell.

 

I think our biggest need is time. As in, three months need to just pass by, right now, so I can watch my Rockets kick ass in the regular season.

After Dwight Howard came, I was like, "Oh man, here comes the hype." But now with the backlash, we've actually become UNDERRATED in the national media. How did that happen?

I don't care. Man, we're going to pound everybody into submission this year. I'm standing by my prediction of #2 in the West behind OKC.

 

His premise is a bit off, but his conclusion makes some sense.

Daniel Gibson would be a great fit as a bench guard for this squad.

My thoughts are that we need a dead-eye marksman and a legit starting 4. I'm reasonably confident we're able to either trade Asik for that 4, OR that one of Jones/Motie will step up to the plate.

 

Our biggest need as of now is a starting 4, we have 3 prospects that could grow into that roll but nobody to rely on if they dont pan out.

I keep seeing people say another back court/wing player, we already have a jamned pact backcourt though, hell IMO just as jamned pact as our 5 spot. Wich leads again to the 4 being the only weak spotbon our team.