Wings and forwards

I'm not opposed to concept generally.

But I don't think Ariza is all that great at it. I don't think Hayward would be all that great at it. PG13 would be the best of the group at it... but doesn't really want to and doesn't excel at that spot, rather than SF. So you'd be limiting him in a sense.

And KAT and Davis are the prototypes. They would dominate any small ball 4 offensively because they can both play inside and out. Not sure if there will be more of those coming or not, but my gut says there will be.

Basically, give me Shawn Marion on his prime as a small ball PF and absolutely it works. Give me KD as a small ball PF and it can dominate. But if you're just "average" at it, then while you might have the advantage over them in some ways, they have the advantage over you in others. That's how OKC almost beat GSW last year...

 

just a note on horford. he starts at the 4 for boston with amir at the 5 (how GS lets zaza start) but the fact that amir is ineffective for the most part, boston goes to their own small ball lineup with horford at the 5.

 

I generally agree. Its cart before the horse, but what PF would you have in mind in that scenario that would be available, cheaply, and be a good fit??

 

Ppat first came to mind if he made his way out of toronto

 

Part of the problem with Ariza as the small ball 4 is you actually need Ariza on defense to be guarding the opposing teams better/best wing/backcourt player.

That's how we ended up with Harden guarding Gasol against SAS. I did not care for that matchup, personally. Gasol didn't dominate Harden, but I absolutely think it contributed to Harden's "tiredness" down the stretch. That's part of the problem with the Harden can defend bigs somewhat effectively argument. It's true, but it really drains him. As a non-athletic bballer myself who knew/knows how to guard bigs but stands at 6'1 with no athleticism, lol, you really hurt after banging down there.

 

well imo that's alot better for the team than harden guarding wings for obvious reasons. when do we get the point where people stop catering to this guy at every single detail. there just seems to be an excuse for every single thing no matter how little or big.

 

Ariza obviously isn't the best at it, but he's definitely not the worst. At most you still have guys like Harrell and whoever else you sign as the backup wing/bigs to help out when matchups such as those arise.

Keep in mind that if we (SOMEHOW) conjure up enough wizardry to pull of CP3 and PG13 to the Rockets I can imagine that we'll do a great deal of switching and moving off the ball to create lanes for our playmaker(s). The matchups will often be null on the defensive side when you have teams basically practicing the same tactics and methods in their own schemes.

It's not like the old days where Maxwell is guarding Jordan about 95% of the time or Shaq is posting up down low on whoever you have to throw at him if your name wasn't Hakeem.

This NBA has become more of a chess match trying to figure out what pieces can cancel each other out and create advantages... regardless if we have those 3 on the court at the same time our tempo will also likely dictate the pace of the game to our advantage.

 

We need Ryan Anderson....we just don't need his contract

 

I guess that's right. He's not the worst at it.
But if you look at Trevor Ariza by position per 82games.com, Trevor was fine at PF, but the team was much worse than when Ariza was playing SF. They just barely had ap ositive net rating when he was at PF
http://www.82games.com/1617/16HOU11.HTM#bypos

But then interestingly, the team was much better with Dekkar at PF than at SF... so it's really hard to gauge.

And who know show relevant those stats are. They show the Warriors as much better net rating wise with KD at SF and Green at PF... which may be true, though a lot of people try and say the "Death" lineup which is their small-ball lineup is their best.

 

Yeah, it makes sense because Dekker while being about an inch slower in quickness versus Ariza due to age he still has the "sand in his pants" that our beloved Clyde Drexler always speaks of when playing in the post against big men. Again who knows if Dekker remains on this team IF we manage these moves but I get it you used it just as a comparison tool against Ariza playing PF.

If I were the Rockets I wouldn't be opposed to starting Nene against those bigger lineups and bringing Ariza off the bench for the first 13-20 minutes of the game, then going about business as usual once the big (KAT or AD) goes back to the bench, while subbing them the way Bev does when Russ sits or Roberson when Harden sits.

There's way too many moving parts to predict the roster structure and matchups because of the players we will be giving up and possibly obtaining. So I guess we shall see once we cross that bridge!