So far, over half the respondents think Jones is going to start, and about 27% think Motiejunas will start.
Bottom line question... Do you want a free flowing, motion offense of passing and body movement? and in which case JLin and DMo start, or do you want an offense which relies heavily on Harden ISO's and in which case Bev would be there to knock down open threes and TJones would be there to clean up on Harden's misses for putbacks? Neither is right or wrong, just two different approaches.
It´s not Harden ISOs - it`s pick and roll galore, inside out, motion offense and Harden ISO. Last season we had a great offense with Harden handling the ball - stupid isos were usually only at the end of quarters.
If anyone is willing to sacrifice for the team, its Jeremy Lin of all people. Contrary to what people may think, it may solidify his place in the NBA for many years to come if he takes on more of a 6th man role. He's done nothing to lose his starting spot. He is the superior PG of the two, but that means he can help keep the 2nd unit firing alot better than Beverley can.
Right, sorry. It wasn't all ISO's however it was an offense heavily centered on Harden and where he, for the most part, ran the plays. Notice that in the first game whenever Harden and Bev played together that Bev ran the point. In the second game McHale changed his strategy.
It's not about Lin v. Beverley or DMo v. Jones. Lin and Bev are proving themselves to BOTH be exceptional point guards, albeit offering different styles. DMo and Jones BOTH are young and talented PFs, also with different styles. This thread seeks to compare apples to oranges. The real argument is...Harden v. Dwight. Dwight's the focus If Jlin and DMo start with their great passing and penetration ability, Dwight will naturally benefit from this. JLin would play the point and would seek out Dwight as his first option for alley-oops and thread-the-needle passes. DMo is an exceptional passer for a big man and can make split second decision: he too would focus on unique ways to pass the ball into Dwight. Harden's the focus If Bev and Jones start with their average passing ability but great individual play, the point would have to be run by Harden. Outside of the occasional Harden-Dwight PnR Dwight would benefit little from this lineup in terms of easy buckets. However Harden would score 30 points every game, Bev would hit a ton of wide open threes and TJones would rebound like crazy with putbacks to boot. It's not which players you want to start but rather which offensive style you want to employ and which star should be the focus of the offense. That's the question McHale has to answer.
Interesting take. Personally, I think we should stick with Lin as the starter. I actually think D-Mo works better playing alongside Dwight Howard, but McHale might see it differently.
I would like to see Lin & D-mo start. I like Lin's ability to run a half court offense his size advantage and I like D-mo's passing ability for a big man. With a Lin, harden, Parson Dmo Howard starting line up we have 4 players that can pass the ball really well.
What did TJones do this past game that Asik couldn't do in his sleep? Did TJones attempt any three pointers? No Did Tjones take any jump shots? No. Did Tjones shoot any free throws? Yes; and he bricked 2 out of 3. Meanwhile TJones got manhandled by David West in the post then when West took it outside he simply shot right over the shorter 6'9" Jones. Asik would have neutralized David West, have grabbed 2 or 3 more rebounds; probably would have scored a few more points, Asik is a better passer than TJones and has better overall instincts inside a "read and react" type offense. TJones' shot looks turrible...rather have Asik shooting jump shots, the chances of it going in are about the same. TJones at this point doesn't do anything that Asik can't do twice as good.
well Lin won't be needed on the starting lineup since you have Harden to feed and there is already enough scoring in the 1st unit with Harden, Parsons, Dwight and supposedly Jones. Lin's offense would be better suited on the 2nd unit like we saw today
Lin as PG,Asik as the 4 and Howard at 5 is the better way to go as imperfect as it is, in my opinion. Whether that will happen or not, I don't know.
Creator off the bench ala Ginobody and OKC Harden... I like that but IMHO he is too valuable not to start (Lin)
I agree with you about Lin. I am unsure about the PF position until we see the group with Asik, but I love Asik and would love to see it work out.
IMO, if we are against slow defensive type teams, best to start with Lin. let the run and gun offense dictate the pace of the game. if we are against Fast pace teams, we should start with bev. bev's dogged defense will force them to play slow. I want the rockets to always dictate the pace of the game
While I mostly agree with you on that Asik against West would be a good matchup for us, I wouldn't go as far as saying that "West manhandled Jones". Jones didn't go for the West's fakes and played pretty conservative defense where he contested West's jumpers without fouling. In the first quarter West nearly bricked a shot with Jones' hand in his face. The next possession West backed Jones to the basket but Jones forced him to pass it outside (which he did) or take a difficult contested shot. The third time Jones got a little bit stuck on the pick but managed to funnel West into Howard but West made a difficult running floater over him. In the third quarter Jones didn't fare as well and West hit about 4 of 7 of his field goals. All were contested shots. The thing is, if you don't double West in the post, he will do damage against about anyone so Jones imo played him pretty well. What Jones gave us in the offensive end was a couple of good hustle plays leading to two dunks. He missed another two dunks of passes by Harden which I would expect him normally make. I don't have great confidence in Asik making either of those particular plays very often. But yeah, he probably has to show something more in the offensive end if he wants to play more than garbage time minutes.
