I hope Mchale doesnt bury the rookies on the bench and gives them atleast 10-15 minutes per game during the season. Even though Utah is a rival, i value their method of letting the rookies take their bumps in the normal lineup so that they can grow as players. Burkes 2nd, Kanter 2nd, Favors (2nd year) and haywood( 2nd year) all have grown tremendously since last season with their increase of confidence and becoming accostomed to the physicaly nature of on court play. Mchale wants to win and he most likely wont have royce or lamb getting many minutes but i hope i am wrong
Look for the rookies to not play much early on, but eventually get into the rotation and take on a bigger role (especially after the trade deadline).
i dont think any trades will happen. Martin makes 12.4mill this season and they cant trade that much salary for a draft pick without taking back additional players. ALso over cap teams most likely wont take him on at all which cancels any contending teams with set rosters. Mchale wont let it happen either and maybe its better to have the additional cap according to Moreys plans of flexibility
I hope a guy like Jeremy Lamb remains on the bench until he learns how to play winning basketball, in practice. If your only demonstrated traits so far are jacking up contested 3s, ball stopping, whiffing wide open dunks, and playing lazy defense, you have no place in the actual games. By entitling a player such as this with playing time, merely for the sake of developing rookies, sets a bad precedent for all the other rookies and young players on the team(which is nearly the entire team). It tells them, hey, even if you don't listen to the coaches and play losing basketball, you still won't be held accountable, just because you are young. The rookies will progress by the team building a culture of playing the right way. Not entitlement.
Jeremy needs to spend a few months in the DLeague. JLin said that it helped him. Marcus seems improved. He needs to be playing competitive basketball rather than sitting on the end of the bench.
good thing we have mchale , he doesnt show favortism and if lamb cant produce and plays lazy D, he will ride the pine for months until he plays better.
Terrence Jones has shown he's worthy of 10-15 min a game and could possibly step into the 6th man spot by mid-season at the earliest. Right now, my bet is that Delfino will fill the role of 6th man on the roster, due to his experience.
Lamb may take a year. I don't worry about him long term too much though. Same thing with White. I think Motie and Jones will have a tangible impact this year.
If lamb wants wants to get playing time all he has to do is play better D,not shoot to many 3's,shoot inside more and attack the basket
thats very logical thinking...I think when the Dwightmare didn't happen, Morey wanted to move on and let Martin contract expire....dont be surprise if they sign Martin to a new contract in the off season. I don't believe the Rockets are into Harden like everyone is stating they are but who knows i just want the season to start...so i can be in my seat Nov. 3rd
Lamb just needs time for his body to fill up then he will be fine. He's only 19. His body is not yet developed and strong enough to make contact with nba veterans now. We still have Martin. Lamb can be brought along slowly until he's ready. If it take half or a year, do be it.
My only worry is that Lamb ends up becoming the next Nick Young. While Nick Young is a super talented player, he's a ball stopper and has terrible IQ. I think Lamb can be better than that, but he's gotta get his head straight.
In his first year, where he was a complementary player (to Kemba) on the title team, his decision making and shot-selection were far better (not to mention his defensive effort). He was a shooter before a driver, but took it when it was there. Then in his sophomore year, Calhoun got sick, there was no discipline and order on a talented U-Conn team, and all went to hell. Lamb's offensive arsenal grew significantly (far better ball-handling), but he developed many bad habits, including his propensity to shoot contested Js, not attack the rim/get to the line, and below average defensive effort.
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I do agree that I thought Lamb would be further in his development in his rookie year,but a season learning behind Martin and Delfino can be good and driving to the basket more is better for him to get more open looks from the outside...As far as T Jones I like how he knows the playbook already and doesn't always settle for the three but drives in when his man plays him tight to the hip...He might not start as a rookie unless the injury bug hits the Rockets early...But I can see him settling as the 6th man early in the season because he seems to know his role out there on offense and has shown that he can have a few blocks and can rebound the ball regurlary... I just hope the Rockets don't play him at Center like Jordan Hill but keep him as a Power Forward and maybe a little Small Forward and if he can improve his outside shot just a bit he can become a pretty good starter down the line ala Josh Smith type of player...
