74 replies to this topic

[BallSoHarden]

Josh Smith gives the Rockets something they desperately needed: frontcourt depth and playmaking. Smith is such a gifted passer and a matchup nightmare when it comes to guarding him. Most players being either too slow or not strong enough to stop him. After watching him fit in so well in that first game I'm ecstatic! I think Smith fits in better with the starters because a PnR of him and Harden, with Ariza and Bev on the outside and Howard under the basket is bound to end up with something. DMo still needs his minutes, but a bench role where he can go to work some in the post and get a shot, and not end up in foul trouble quickly. But I loved the competitiveness Smith showed and I'm glad the Rockets have a big man that won't back down to anyone and hustle hard in games. Also wanted to throw in that Corey Brewer played well off the bench too and has been shooting the 3 rather well these last 2 games. Now if we can just get another play maker at backup PG the Rockets would be favorite. Free Canaan!

[Red94]

We saw some of "bad Josh" yesterday with the errant jumpers and the turnovers.  But I think that's just something we will have to live with.  The boons of having another capable big man outweigh some of those warts.

[thejohnnygold]

I only saw 1 errant jumper (which wasn't errant, but according to fans Josh Smith is not allowed to shoot an 18 ft. jumper even when wide open).  The bad passes were pretty bad, but I think SA might have seen something in video--they were jumping passing lanes and snagging passes from us all night it seemed.

 

I wish Josh had been more aggressive when near the basket and looked to score instead of pass.  I give SA credit--it looked like they game-planned to swarm the ball and jump the passing lanes.  It worked, but just barely.  We left 13 free throw points on the floor...those would have been useful.

[bboley24]

I don't want Dwight shooting 18 footers.  I don't want Josh Smith shooting 18 footers.  Even if he is wide open.

[SadLakerFan]

Uh-oh. . .

[Mario Peña]

I don't want Dwight shooting 18 footers.  I don't want Josh Smith shooting 18 footers.  Even if he is wide open.

I don't know bboley. That open corner three that Dwight had against the Warriors when the Rockets won in Golden State last season was pretty sweet.

[Mario Peña]

Okay, maybe I was wrong. Perhaps Smith should be in the second unit and used for less than 20 minutes till he can help defensively in the team scheme.

Beverley looks like he has gone cold which is very bad news. Maybe he is injured, I dunno.

With Howard talking about "staying together" I wonder what's going on.

[txtdo1411]

Okay, maybe I was wrong. Perhaps Smith should be in the second unit and used for less than 20 minutes till he can help defensively in the team scheme.

Beverley looks like he has gone cold which is very bad news. Maybe he is injured, I dunno.

With Howard talking about "staying together" I wonder what's going on.

 

Something is certainly off. We look like a shell of the team that was beating teams down 4 players. The opposite of conventional knowledge happened. We got healthy, and we got worse. Something changed when we put Dwight back in the line-up. I'm not saying it is all on Dwight, but I feel like that is when we started to lose our "mojo". Of course trying to integrate new faces is certainly not helping either, but we are losing these games by more than just trying to work Smith and Brewer into the rotation. It's something deeper with the attitude and focus of the team. I'm not too worried yet as it is a loooong season, and there will undoubtedly be highs and lows, but the obvious lack of effort last night (on the defensive end especially) is really concerning me. 

[timetodienow1234567]

Maybe we overreacted to the start of the season? I thought we would take a step back after losing all of our playmakers outside of Harden(although our defense would improve with our additions and addition by subtraction). I don't know if there's a deeper issue as to our play recently, but why would there be?

I love Brewer, but would much rather have seen us get Jeff Green from Boston. While he's not a great playmaker, he is better than Ariza or Brewer in that regard. I don't know what the asking price was, but he would have been the perfect component as he plays three positions and is fine taking a reduced role.

We will make the playoffs and hopefully improve our chemistry and be rolling once the playoffs start. Who cares about the regular season anyways?

[txtdo1411]

Maybe we overreacted to the start of the season? I thought we would take a step back after losing all of our playmakers outside of Harden(although our defense would improve with our additions and addition by subtraction). I don't know if there's a deeper issue as to our play recently, but why would there be?

I love Brewer, but would much rather have seen us get Jeff Green from Boston. While he's not a great playmaker, he is better than Ariza or Brewer in that regard. I don't know what the asking price was, but he would have been the perfect component as he plays three positions and is fine taking a reduced role.

We will make the playoffs and hopefully improve our chemistry and be rolling once the playoffs start. Who cares about the regular season anyways?

 

Brewer certainly has not been the issue, so I don't know exactly where you are getting at. I would love to have Green, but you aren't getting Green for 2 second rounders a Troy Daniels. We had great chemistry, so Morey wanted to make adjustments without losing any of our core players. 

 

I do believe there is a deeper issue here. How is our defense worse when we swap Black and D-mo with Dwight and Smith? It should physically be impossible. Two players with years of experience and dominance on that end, and all the sudden our D falls apart? I would say Smith isn't used to our switches and rotations, which is probably partially true, but he has been yanked early in the 1st quarter each game he has played so far, and we still can't seem to stop anyone. I don't know if Dwight is hurt or whatnot, but what I watched last night was brutal. I have to say, it is the worst defensive effort I have seen from him since joining the Rockets. I'm not lobbying for a trade or anything knee-jerk like that, but he seems off physically and mentally. The defensive intensity is just no longer there (except in spurts like the 3rd quarter against the Grizzlies). I believe the chemistry is off, and someone in the locker room is disgruntled. From what I am watching on the court, I have to believe it is Dwight. I could be way off base, after all I have no way of knowing what is going on inside the locker room, but that is just what my eyes tell me. The team is in a slump, and it is to be expected throughout the course of a season, but when said slump coincides with your best player coming back from an injury, I start to worry just a tad bit more. 

[thenit]

I don't think he meant that Brewer has been the problem, just that Green would have been a better fit because he would at least add some playmaking skills to the lineup. Since Brewers shooting will probably regress close to his career numbers he is an Ariza lite in a way. 3 and D guy with not much playmaking. 

 

I am afraid that since Harden and our other guy who can attack the rim (canaan isn't playing) is the sole player who can create his own shot it will wear him down to carry the offence. Also in the playoffs the ref usually swallows the whistle. Dmo post up is a good option but the West is stacked at PF so its a question mark. 

 

I think we will be fine and defensively we will get back to norm and hit our stride. I'm not worried but there are some wrinkles that needs to get ironed out.

[timetodienow1234567]

Exactly thenit. You got what I was saying.

Never once did I say brewer was the problem.... Not sure how anyone could have inferred that either.

But yeah we all knew who Bev was on offense, but there was a lot of anti-Lin people here and Bev was toted as the savior here. A lot of people have said he's on the level of Fisher and Chalmers on offense. I don't think so. He's a great defender but below average offensively for a PG(especially a starting one).

That being said, we will be fine on offense as long as Harden is rested enough for the playoffs. If he isn't 100% we will get swept.

Edited by timetodienow1234567, 03 January 2015 - 08:43 PM.

[txtdo1411]

I don't think he meant that Brewer has been the problem, just that Green would have been a better fit because he would at least add some playmaking skills to the lineup. Since Brewers shooting will probably regress close to his career numbers he is an Ariza lite in a way. 3 and D guy with not much playmaking. 

 

I am afraid that since Harden and our other guy who can attack the rim (canaan isn't playing) is the sole player who can create his own shot it will wear him down to carry the offence. Also in the playoffs the ref usually swallows the whistle. Dmo post up is a good option but the West is stacked at PF so its a question mark. 

 

I think we will be fine and defensively we will get back to norm and hit our stride. I'm not worried but there are some wrinkles that needs to get ironed out.

 

TTDN I know what you meant, I guess I just don't understand why you chose to mention getting Green instead of Brewer. It's not like we had our choice of the two players all things being equal. I would love to have Green, but it would've taken a key rotational player to get him (just my assumption here) plus the Pellies pick possibly. Depending on who it was we had to give up, is it even worth it at that point? Brewer was cheap and attainable, Green was not. Anyhow that's neither here nor there. 

 

thenit I agree with all your points about the offense, but for some reason I am just not that worried about it. If Ariza and Bev could hit a shot, it would help out immensely. Plus this roster, as currently constructed, is just not going to be great on offense. It can however be good enough.

 

Now this roster should be incredible defensively. Bev, Ariza, Smith, and Howard are defensive players, and the thing I am worried about the most, is that all the starters seem disinterested in playing D right now. I understand it takes time to gel, learn the rotations, etc. but the effort and pride just hasn't been there. I just want to see them go out there and hound people defensively like we did at the beginning of the year. Maybe the first month of awesome D spoiled me. I would love to see another 69-65 win right now 

[thenit]

I agree that if Bev and Ariza hits their spot up shots we will be fine, but neither of them has good career averages, Bev started off hot but we can only hope that its sustainable or that he hits it at 37% or higher. Ariza had a career year shootingwise, but looking at his year to year, it feels like while improved I can't see him hitting at that clip either with that volume as Richard Li put out on his graph. Thats for elite shooter, and I just dont think Ariza is. I think our improved D can even it out but if the shots don't fall, we don't have a lot of options especially if Harden is cold ei. last year against portland. That was with a perfect matchup for dwight as well. There is plenty of time left to make adjustments as well as possible trades so it will be more relevant to revisit it then after the trade deadline.

[thejohnnygold]

This article was linked in the Rockets' Daily from the front page (which is not finding its way to the forums).  LINK

 

It is an article from SBNation delving into the turnaround the Rockets and Pistons have experienced since the trade.  Basically, his argument is very little of it has to do with Smith at all.  I found it to be a good read.