Until proven otherwise and on the court instead of potential, this is how I would rank the best players on the Rockets: 1)Harden 2)Dwight 3)Lawson 4)Ariza 5)DMo/TJones 7)Bev 8)Brewer 9)Capela 10)Thornton 11)KJ 12)Harrel 13)Dekker 14)Depends on who this is, if they then move up 15)Depends on who this is, if they then move up
DMo was the only player last season that McHale ran the offense through (according to McHale) besides Harden and Howard. DMo was also the best defensive player on the Rockets according to his on the ball, against, shooting percentage. (In other words when he was guarding someone they shot the lowest percentage against him of all the other Rocket defenders.) He is very underrated as he can play the stretch 4 and also defend very well. (He's doesn't have great shot blocking numbers, but he does do a great job of defending straight up and down.) I'd think that would answer the question, consider both
Brewer can go anywhere from best player when he is in Crackhead mode and Harden is in headsnap turnover mode to being the worst player on the team at times. 1. Harden 2. Howard 3. Lawson? 4/5. Ariza 4/5. DMo 6. Brewer 7. Bev 8. TJones 9. Capela 10. Terry 11. KJ 12. Thornton 13. Dekker/Harrell 14. Dekker/Harrell 15. I think Capela and KJ could rise. Capela in the playoffs had me really excited to see him this season. I am so pumped for this season.
I voted D-mo but should've went with T. Jones seeing how we gets no love from 99% of the fanbase. I think some people forget he beat out D-Mo 2 yrs ago as the starter when D-mo was still having trouble adjusting to being a full time starter and gave us a legit shot creating option, he's also an under-rated passer. D-Mo is a more skilled post player but T. Jones put up similar stats 2 yrs ago and was hampered by the nerve injury last yr. yet was beasting before it happened (Celtics game). I think we take this kid for granted. We have alot of weapons. Ariza, D-Mo, Jones, Beverley, Brewer can all go off and then we have the unproven but talented/atheletic wing in KJ, Vet shooters in Terry, Thronton. Capela, Harrell will be a nice surprise also. Hopefully Dekker recovers and is able to contribute also.
Ariza is our third best player. He's our version of Draymond Green. We would probably be first round fodder without the defense/toughness that he brings to the table. He's made a noticeable impression on this team and has definitely helped make us into a serious squad with deep postseason potential. That said, it's very possible (perhaps likely) that Lawson will challenge him for that spot. With any luck, that will be the case. Him or D-Mo.
I'm assuming those putting DMo ahead of Ariza are envisioning the team finishing a clear 2nd this past year and winning more than a game in the WCF with a healthy DMo and no Ariza. That seems pretty crazy to me.
It's close between DMo and Ariza, but I think DMo gets the nod going forward. If Ariza can get back to hitting 40% of his 3's as opposed to 35% then that would change things IMO
DMo is nice with a lot of POTENTIAL. He hasn't proven anything LONG ENOUGH to be considered a 4th best option over Ariza, or even TJones for that matter. He just has the POTENTIAL to be, he hasn't consistently proven it over a full season yet....period. Lawson and Ariza are proven.
Ariza. Easily. D-Mo might be able to pass him. He improved a ton last season. If he can contniue his improvement at a similar rate, then he would definitely pass him. But right now, he's not there yet.
Ariza. Both DMo and Jones when healthy showed great promise last year (Jones got scared after the rib injury and sucked but before that he was good). Either of those can surpass Ariza for 4th best IMO. If both of them do, then we have a chip, lol.
All the players above DMo/TJones have PROVEN themselves to be better, more durable, more reliable and more successful than DMo or TJones. Bev could possibly be higher, but he can't stay healthy either. Brewer, while a spark plug, is not as valuable as either DMo or TJones as a starter. And as I said before, until DMo proves he can deliver his potential consistently, or TJones does the same, either of them could beat out the other this year as the starter and play more minutes than the other....which includes their staying healthy. We can all speculate with a 50/50 chance of being right about their potential, but one of those two has to really prove himself first this upcoming season for me to crown him as the better player for this Rockets' team, than the other is.
