We are going nowhere with small ball Mark my word. With Delfino at PF, we will get blown out every game.
This series can possibly be blowouts every game. Unless in one of those games Harden goes crazy for 40-50 points. This team need more athletic 4 and 5 to compete. As for Lin, it is Miami game all over again. Unfortunately he need to face the same team 3 more times in a row. Talking about cruel reality. Interesting to see him fight or fold in the rest of the series.
Rockets should rather play DMO and run some postup plays for him to open up the offense little bit. DMo's defense will be as bad as Delfino , but at least rockets will have a postup threat.
Agree with you mostly. But, 1. Lin will be fine. He will come back in the later games. 2. We need the most is experience. So yeah, the Thunder is a great team to learn from. They will review the tape again and again trying to find out what had made the 29 point difference.
Pretty sure the only time the team looked even sort of decent tonight was when Delfino was at PF. There was more defensive intensity, more spacing, and better ball movement.
Maybe I am already desperate, but I'd actually like to give D-Mo a shot here. Greg Smith isn't really helping on offense or defense.
False. McHale needs to start a stretch 4. He needs to force either Perkins or Serge to guard the perimeter. Miami did the same thing against OKC & that was a huge adjustment Spo made that led them to a title. McHale needs to sit Greg & start Carlos. Or maybe have Parsons play the 4, Delfino at 3 & Lin & Harden. We can't defend OKC at all. Only way to win at least one game is to out shoot them.
I thought the Rockets looked the best tonight when we went with small ball and had a lineup of Bev Lin Harden Delfino and Asik or Greg.
When Greg Smith is playing the way he did today, then we seriously need a stretch 4 even if the stretch 4 is ridiculously inconsistent with the 3. Greg Smith's strength when he started at the 4 was the fact that he was for a while a decent post presence. Our players could throw the ball to him at the post and he could come up with something. Also, he was a good finisher. If Smith played the way he did today he would be of less use than D-Mo. At least D-Mo gives you a chance with his 3s and will force defenders to be somewhat further away from the paint, thus preventing guys like Ibaka from clogging the paint. There are two ways for Harden and Lin to thrive. Either a reliable stretch 4, or a good PnR big man. With a stretch 4, they get room to operate. With a good PnR big man, he will be fed the ball all day long with PnRs. They will absolutely not thrive with Asik and Smith from the way they played today. Asik is a stronger screener but a horrid catcher and finisher. Greg Smith provides no range whatsoever and only serves to clog the paint. Small ball is really the only answer at this stage.
No having bev Lin Harden out here is way to much. All those guys needs the ball in there hands to be effective & none of them are good off the ball players they all just stand there & look, don't move around. And none of them are reliable enough perimeter threats. Also Beverly is to small to guard Westbrook. I would rather go. Lin harden Delfino Parsons Omer to start. Just start your five best players & hope for the best. Also don't put Harden on KD. Let Carlos guard KD.
