.....and you want Brooks to start, and him and Martin go off for 50 against everybody......and....... .....and....... and..... ......and....... .....and everybody they play go off for 60 against us.
Dooling? No thanks. He can't get to the line, rebound, or dish like Lowry. He's a shoot first PG who can't shoot. His TS% is horrible. He's a decent defender, that's about it. If Dooling is the kind of backup PG out there, then no wonder we paid up for Lowry.
See this is just silly, we had a rough start trying to integrate Yao into the game, and we were playing great teams. Brooks and Martin can start together and be effective, same as Parker and Manu in San Antonio... You don't have to be defensively great at the PG and SG spot to win in the league. It is all about balancing out their weaknesses with other's strengths. Lowry, btw, has been awful at one on one defense, he can't stay in front of anyone this year.....where he has been good is in team defense.... And when the refs are falling for his flopping he is outstanding, when they aren't like last night, he can be rendered average to below average. I think this whole thing is one silly argument, and Rick Adelman and DM have arleady decided who is the better player...this is backup QB controversy 101.....nothing more...nothing less. Because if folks were being real, they would be talking about how much better Ish has looked than Lowry.............. DD
Prove it. Name me a single championship contender in the past 30 years with as weak a defensive backcourt as Brooks Martin.
Uh, Parker and Manu......I already listed that in this thread I think. But looking at how other teams are constructed is a futile excercise, and totally irrelevent to how the Rockets work together. Peering over the fence at others and how their players fit together is interesting, but not totally conclusive when talking about players on our team with vastly differing skillsets. Trugoy, We are not going to agree on this ....ever......sorry. I think Kyle is a career backup....who is a nice off the bench player, who hustles, plays hard, and tough...but if he is your starting PG, you are not ever going to contend for anyting. As for Brooks, read what Morey said in my sig..... DD
To be fair, Manu was injuried for the past two years. He used to be a really good defender. Not a lock down defender but played great team D. But I see where you're going with your post though.
here's the thing, you have proven my point with Parker and Manu. 1. Parker is a way better defender than brooks 2. Manu was a very good defender in his prime, certainly better than Courtney Lee and probably equal with where Shane Battier is right now. 3. in 2007 the spurs last championship, Manu did not start for the spurs, it was Finley who started
Not really and since duncan has slowed a bit, their defense have been avg to say the least. Manu gives effort, but he isn't a good defender either.
If you look at his defensive ratings, he was an elite defender his first five years in the league, after that he has slipped. Co-incidentally, his last great defensive season was also the last time the SPURS won the title.
Manu, look at his defensive ratings his first 5 years in the league. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/ginobma01.html
Manu is an active defensive player, but not a great one. He rebounds, he gets deflections/steals, and tries to draw charges. But like Scola, he doesn't have great strength and he struggles 1-on-1. His defensive rating has to do with the activity that translates into the boxscore, having a great defensive anchor behind him, and sound team defensive principles.
I hate to say it because I like AB a lot but I am starting to think the Rockets should start looking to trade him. The Rockets do seem to move better with Lowry and Ish and at the minimum they aren't worse without AB. Its been great watching AB develop as an offensive threat but I don't think he is crucial to the Rox success.
I guess all the concern over the team (no matter how outrageous) shows how much people on Clutchfans care about their Rockets.. I would rather have fans who jump to conclusions than fans who just don't care.
Which is why they have been very average the last few years with duncan slipping. Trugoy, you have to understand these rating before you can speak on them. No one called pierce or allen great defenders prior to garnett,perkins,and thibs. The years after shaq and prior to gasol, the lakers were below average defensively. You have to take all those stats and rating and put them to the eyeball test to really see whats going on defensively. Like durvasa said, manu is active and puts in effort, but when duncan was in his prime and along with bown on the wing, they could suffocate opponets, but its not like that anymore.
You have to get defense from somewhere DaDa. There has been zero teams win the championship without playing defense. So, since we are looking at this current team with these current players, when you look at the balance of what we have, you cannot have a porous perimeter defense, playing with a more porous defensive interior. Who is your top defenders? Hayes, Lowry, Battier, Jeffries....in that order. Some of those guys gotta get on the floor and get on the floor with regularity. So, who do you put on the floor? The defenders which bring you the most on the offensive end. Of all our defenders, Lowry brings us the most on the offensive end. He gets to the line at an extremely high rate and he facilitates. Ish? Yes, he has been a ton better than expected. I like him. I think the combo of Ish and Lowry shows that we don't need Brooks as much as you seem to think we need him. But there was a reason Lowry started last night and got major burn and Ish got limited minutes. It is because Lowry is a total disruptor on the defensive end. He is that good defensively. You can talk about him getting beat but you are wrong. Lowry plays great defense. He plays some of the best pick and roll defense on the NBA bar none. The efffect of Lowry's defense is greater than the effect of Brooks' offense on this team. Now if we were loaded up on the defensive side of the ball, ala Jeff Van Gundy era, then the effect of Brooks' offense would be greater than the effect of Lowry's defense. But remember, if Van Gundy were here, we would have a starting lineup of Brooks, Lee, Battier, Jeffries, and Hayes.
