Agree Omer has room for improvement and Smith is a decent compliment to his game. However, I don't think Omer will ever hit 16-18ppg without SIGNIFICANTLY dropping in FG%. I don't think we should aim for that. As long as he keeps working the way he does, improving piece by piece of his game, we're good. First and foremost, free throws. After free throws post game. After post game, mid range.
I think Trob will be a lot better next season... he still has to unlearn a lot of the things he got in sac... offseason will do wonders on this kid
I'm lovin what I'm seeing from Greg Smith. He puts the Power back into Power Forward. He doesnt have the best hops but when he goes to the rim he goes strong! He has good post moves when he plays within himself and doesnt try to get to fancy. His rebounding since McHale put him back into the rotation has been terrific. With Smith and Asik in the game there will not be many times that the Rockets will get bullied in the front court. I think Greg can be a really good free throw shooter and if he can develop a consistent 10 to 15 foot jumber he is going to be lethal.
I hope McHale will at least see this through the next couple of games so we can see how it works against Grizzlies, Nuggets & Blazers. To me it's also not really necessary to have stretch 4 for Harden to be effective. Indeed the key is body movement, screens and passing. Back in the day, Drexler or Max for that matter did not need Horry at the 4 to be effective. Drexler had great games with Herrera, Barkley or Willis next to him. Maxwell when he put his mind to it, was great in getting into the lane even with OT.
The question I pose is - if this sample size gets larger and larger - and it's deemed that the two play well together and Omer doesn't require a stretch 4 to play alongside of... Do we make a play for Howard and have the two of them play together.
Please stop hating on Robinson for no reason. It's really annoying. The kid didn't do anything to you. This thread was about Greg Smith and Asik. No one was talking about Robinson. You feel the need to bring him up in every post. You're obsessed. I bet you stalk your x girlfriends too.
ERMAHGERD. Give it a rest, man. DD has been great since he has returned but you're acting like the way he used to. We've gotten the point. T Rob is busty bustkinson. Patterson is a boss. Edit: Btw, Patterson is averaging a whopping 7 points a game in 26 mins per in lhe last 5 games. He's also 0-6 from the 3 pt line in the last 3.
Robinson is mentioned by the OP, and everything Carl said was correct. It may get old to hear it over and over, but it is still true. Robinson sucks.
Let's see how things turn out for a few more games. Relatively favorable matchups for Smith in the last few games. The starting line-up with DMo had insanely good team adjusted +/- for his first few games started as well. But I like what Greg Smith brings. I hope we can re-sign him after next season.
That's what I was thinking. Interested in seeing how they continue to perform and progress but matchups recently have been quite favorable. I like Smith a lot tho.
All I know is the last couple games we have gotten off to ferocious starts. If that continues I'm for bringing Harden off the bench! You go with what works. On a more serious note, there is no question that Smith has helped anchor down our defense early. And the truth is we are not good enough at the 4 spot to settle on any single player. Smith is foul prone. DMo is a defensive mismatch. He can't defend in the NBA yet. TRob is a raw rookie that can't be depended on. We're just not good enough at that spot to be set on anyone. It looked for a couple games like DMo was going to nail it down. But alas, he's got a lot of work to do in the weight room and learning how to move his feet and get his body in position to contest without lunging and getting taken out of the play. TRob's game needs work all around. So basically we have to match up with other team's starters instead of having them match up with us. The good thing about last night's game was we saw that we had a mismatch on the interior coming out of the gates and we exploited it by getting the ball to Asik and Smith, Smith especially. That Smith/Harris mismatch could have bit us on the behind if we hadn't went to Smith and they had gone to Harris early for a couple long balls. But we took advantage of it and obliterated Harris from the opening tip. Looking forward, once the playoffs arrive we are going to be playing either the Spurs, Thunder, or Denver. Those matchups are Duncan/Splitter, Perk/Ibaka, Koufas/Faried. Asik/Smith makes the most sense with the first two matchups and probably even Koufas/Faried. Of course I would prefer to face the Clips. I actually think we would have a chance to beat them with a healthy Harden. But that's probably not going to happen now with their slide and with Denver playing so well. I do expect the better teams will exploit Smith defensively. He is foul prone and a few isos on him sits him on the bench and then we have no true paint bigs when Asik takes a rest, which is and has been our Achilles heal all season.
I like the smith/asik front court as well (brought this up in another post). Smith is athletically underrated and by that I mean, I think he can become a good defender against guys with mid range shots. I also like what smith brings to the offense. My main concern is who would backup if they both got burned on minutes or got into foul trouble. Dmo can't body a 5 and while I don't mind Trob in there, he leaves something to be desired (but i give him slack b/c he's a rook). I think it's pretty obvious to Morey that the first upgrade on the roster will be at PF.
and yet another thread where the attention starved poster turns this into a Patterson vs. Trob thread. well done? if you want to completely destroy the garm I guess. the leader of the TOH's has risen.
On topic - I like the pairing, but Smith is a foul prone as the others. They all need development to get where they are going. However, I future is bright having so many players with upside potential at the position we need it most.
I'm glad Smith is getting some well earned playing time and that he's taking on a more prominent role. Most of all, he's doesn't look lost out there on defense the way he did early in the season. If he can learn to reduce his fouls, he's going to be an important piece for us. Our rotation at the 4 has been a work in progress all season. I guess i'm an old school guy. I like big physical banger 4's. And what's great about the emergence of Smith, is that we can play matchups accordingly. We can exploit size advantage with Smith like we did last night, but when the matchup calls for us to use our speed, or stretch the court at the 4 spot, we've got the players to do that as well. They're all somewhat raw and inexperienced, and there's gonna be some inconsistency, but they're only gonna get better. The light seems to have come on for Greg Smith; indeed a very exciting development.
I don't get the Trob hate he's a rookie and looks active and getting better every game I look at the box score and was at the game last night and while he did miss some easy shots he got to the paint at will and got good looks. 2-9 is bad but 7 pts and 8 reb in 14 min is nice off the bench and he's a rookie big man. All rookies struggle, lets not forget him having 10 points in one quarter and getting us back in the game vs the pacers. All in all he's showed alot of promise for a rookie big and has skills you can't teach. I agree he needs to get better at finishing around the rim but that comes with practice and hard work. I think he's been far more effective than dmo at times. These guys are young and new to the NBA they all show promise a d none of them suck as some of you guys put it. Overreact much?
Generally, I agree with you. For Rockets, I like a guy that could spread floor, first. I see Motiejunas as being a guy that could do both if he got stronger and improved his shoot. For who the Rockets have, I am all for giving Smith all the minutes he can handle. He can finish. When a team like Indiana focuses to take Harden out, Smith seemed to be the only player on the Rockets able to take advantage.
Definitely a small sample size, but Asik and Smith DOMINATED a depleted Orlando team in the first quarter last night. They both were fighting for good post-position and finishing well.
