It seems we really have a defensive rebounding weakness. This could perhaps be due to Tucker (who is listed at 6’6) playing the 4 while EG is playing the 3. Did anyone see Farieds game today? We started to build that 19 point lead when he was put in there at the 4 with Capella at the 5. By the way, you may think this wouldn’t spread the floor? Well, Faried indeed can knock down threes when opened. He is shooting 43% from threes for the rockets, yes 43%. This way EG can go back to the 6th man position which we also desperately need and also sliding Tucker back to the 3 and start Faried at the 4 so he can crash those boards alongside Capella to secure more possessions. I know it’s a long shot but interested to hear what you all think? At this point, I’m willing to try anyway to get us back to winning form.
I don’t think Faried defends the perimeter well enough to be full time at the 4 spot for us. I liked the way that line up looked tho and would definitely use it situationally. Gordon does need to move back to the sixth man slot, hopefully Shumpert recovers from injury and plays well enough to start at SF.
Tuck has not been the same as the beginning of the season. He's not been able to hit 3s since early January from the corners. I imagine he's no longer the league best at 3p% from the corner. If Faried can play the 4 near the wing, I think his 3s are more valuable now. I want to see him miss 2 or 3 of them before he stops shooting rather than seeing PJ shoot his from the corner. G Money is inconsistent. Rivers is good a lot of times, but can be having a bad night. PJ has not been able to hit that 3 consistently for a while now, and he's also been a defensive liability. Not sure what's going on w/ Tuck. I know the playoffs will be different, but it's annoying to see one of the more consistent players in Tuck not being able to show up night in and night out.
To be honest I like the idea of Shump starting at the 3 for that veteran defensive presence but one thing is that it still wouldn’t resolve our bad defensive rebounding numbers, but if that means EG goes back to his 6th man role to get his confidence back then I’m all for it
Completely agree, he’s been in a bit of a funk for a while that’s why I think if we slide him back to the 3 with a bigger guy supporting him to box out and rebound more then we can run more and get more fast break even more open threes to get his confidence back. I think his numbers are down due to him guarding the bigger guys night in and night out and exerting all his efforts on that end.
I’m an advocate for bringing House back. He was a solid rebounder at his position. A lineup with him and Shumpert at the forward spots would be interesting. We’d be much more athletic and longer than we are now.
Maybe he's just getting old, he has a lot of mileage on those knees. Minutes restriction would be good, maybe 17-25 mins, but nothing more. But we both agree, gotta give more minutes to someone else who can be a bit more productive, take some pressure off from PJ so he can actually contribute instead of just mindlessly spending a lot of energy.
teams will eventually exploit the lack of spacing...this is not any sort of solution or long-term option to me teams aren’t starting 2 bigs with neither of them being able to shoot these days for a reason...and no, I don’t trust Faried’s jumper just because he made a three last night, and teams definitely aren’t gonna respect him from out there
Yeah Tucker to me is a liability. IF faried can seriously shoot the 3 like he has been doing so far then he needs to be our 4. Shump at 3. Harden then cp3. Or if they "must" keep Gordon in the starting line up so he can keep having "fun" then allow that. Faried brings incredible rebounding and shot blocking. Him and Clint especially looked good at that double pick and roll alley to Clint. & also those 2x block shots.
I wouldn't hate it. Tucker has been an abomination, and really has no business starting at this point.
I agree with that. What else can we do to get defensive boards? This lack of size/rebounding issue has become depressing. Our defense has also been depressing. I was thinking last night that maybe John Lucas can work some miracle with Faried and get his 3 pt% to a steady 35% during the playoffs. Far fetched maybe, but this roster is short on options.
I've always said our gameplan is like playing Russian roulette... if the 3s are falling - we're gold... if they aint we're dead.... we're hovering right around dead last for points in the paint... Plus we're so predictable its easy to game plan against us... We should be running 2 diff primary sets - switching it up to keep defense on their toes... and giving a little more size to our defense as needed... A) The standard Harden ball dominance spread everyone out at the arc gameplan... Harden + CC + PJ and shooters.... B) Conventional set with 2 out of 3 of CC, Nene and Faried.... with CP3 as the primary facilitator... with more cutting and working the ball inside... Then alter the minute dispersal based on match up... The prob is MDA always says "we're just gonna play our game" and he wants 50+ 3pt attempts a game.... we need to cater our game to maximize our potential based on opponent... Why do we play GSW the same as the Pelicans the same as 76ers the same as Utah.... If you got MJ or Kobe and a great enough team that you can just force your game down the other teams throat - great... we don't... we need to be smarter...
Trust me, he can already shoot a steady 35% from the three now it’s just he doesn’t take a lot of shots. He’s sorta in the later stages similar to Milsap/Lopez where they can be a three pointer shooters but early in their careers they never tried a lot.
See if we had House back then I wouldn’t mind keeping Tuck at the 4 and starting House at the 3 as he is a legitimate thick 6’7/8 rebounding, defending swingman. But oh wait, rockets are too cheap to afford him....lol
Good point also with Capela back, On switches Faried can just funnel perimeter players inside to Capela...
We do need to get House back. I think House is being stupid turning down that offer but the Rockets should at the very least sign him for the rest of the season. Worry about the offseason in the offseason. If another team offers him more than he’s worth then so be it. Our window will only get smaller and we absolutely need to optimize our chances for this season.
It's worth a shot. Tucker is a negative player at this point. Tucker and Gordon need to be on the bench. I'm not optimistic the FO will humble themselves and bring House back but I would love to see House and Faried finish the year starting at the forward spots.
