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@  rockets best... : (09 August 2014 - 12:27 AM) this eases some of my backup SF worries
@  jorgeaam : (09 August 2014 - 12:00 AM) correction, first year is for 4.8 million, second is a team option for 4.6
@  jorgeaam : (08 August 2014 - 11:59 PM) I don't know if I like his price tag tough, 4.6 million for a bench player?
@  txtdo1411 : (08 August 2014 - 10:58 PM) Yes! Apparently we were very close to signing Villanueva, and backed out for an undisclosed reason. I wonder if it is because we knew we were bringing Papanikoloau over?
@  thejohnnygold : (08 August 2014 - 10:36 PM) Papanikoloau coming to Houston
@  jorgeaam : (07 August 2014 - 08:34 PM) To my liking, they look stronger than the heat team that won the finals
@  jorgeaam : (07 August 2014 - 08:33 PM) Would you bet against a LBJ, Irving, Love, Varejao and Waiters lineup? With Marion, Miller, Tristan Thompson on the bench?
@  rocketrick : (07 August 2014 - 02:05 PM) LeBron and Cleveland will most likely lose in the Finals the next 2 seasons because the West is Title Material.
@  jorgeaam : (07 August 2014 - 03:50 AM) Well, obviously Cleveland will go all-in for a win this year and the next one at least
@  rocketrick : (07 August 2014 - 03:13 AM) It's not official yet but likely per Woj.
@  rocketrick : (07 August 2014 - 03:12 AM) Cavs can only offer Veterans Minimum of $1.4 million for Marion. Pacers could offer him $5.3 million disabled exemption (PGeorge). Clearly, Cleveland has the inside track to a Finals berth as weak as the East is so I don't blame Marion for choosing the Cavs over the Pacers.
@  jorgeaam : (07 August 2014 - 03:00 AM) According to Rotoworld Shawn Marion is close to signing with the Cavs
@  jorgeaam : (05 August 2014 - 07:10 AM) A little bit of humor, just read it on B/R : Harden might be outstanding on offense, but he’s normally just out, standing on defense.
@  Cooper : (05 August 2014 - 03:05 AM) Surprised millsap got bounced from the USA team before Faried.
@  rocketrick : (03 August 2014 - 10:08 PM) Marion is probably shopping for a minimum 2-year deal and probably expects the MLE. I just don't see that working for the Rockets.
@  Buckko : (03 August 2014 - 07:10 AM) If he was looking for a contender, he would've gone with minimum. Most contenders can't offer anymore than that. My bet, he wants one last big payday.
@  jorgeaam : (02 August 2014 - 05:26 PM) I don't think he would play for a team without real championship possibilities
@  Buckko : (02 August 2014 - 02:33 PM) Anyone see marion going to the pacers now since they have a disable player exception and lack a wing.
@  Buckko : (02 August 2014 - 02:24 PM) PG just suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula. Would be a lot worst if he hurt anything knee related.
@  Buckko : (02 August 2014 - 02:23 PM) West's contract is too big at 12m.

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Houston Rockets' summer assignment list: Part 1


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#1 Red94

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    Posted 06 August 2014 - 01:07 PM

    New post: Houston Rockets' summer assignment list: Part 1
    By: rahat huq

    The summer before I began third grade, my mother resolved to teach me multiplication before commencement of classes.  I taped the entire 'times tables' onto my closet door, every morning drilling through the combinations.  By early August, I had them down cold.  I finished the year with something like a '99' average in 'math', more importantly developing a reputation as a 'times' assassin amongst my peers.  We'd play a game in 'math'--the name escapes me--where all of the students sat in a circle, with one standing up behind someone else.  The pair would battle, getting a multiplication question, with the winner advancing to the next pairing.  I'd absolutely kill it.  9x9.  Boom.  81.  6x5.  Boom.  30.  They didn't have a chance.  My self esteem was soaring.

    Looking back, my mother and I never did this again in any other summer and consequently, I never again enjoyed such a head start over my classmates.  My mother will tell you it was obstinance on my part.  But I wonder what made me so driven that one year.  The point of this story was to attempt to tie in the larger moral that success is built in the heat of July, or something poetic like that.  For NBA players, the greats always come back one notch better having added a new move in their spare time.  The middle class works on flaws, hoping to either take the next step or not get swallowed up by the most competitive labor force in America.

    I got to thinking yesterday about what each player on this team should be focusing on this offseason and decided to write this post.  It made sense because there's only like six players I need to write about.  So here it goes:

    Patrick Beverley:  What hurts about the Bosh thing is that it represented resource efficiency.  A simple massive upgrade at the team's weakest spot.  No robbing Peter to pay Paul.  But all of these other scenarios being tossed about--the likes of Rondo, Dragic, Bledsoe--involve relinquishing assets to improve an area where there really isn't that much need.  You can win a title with Patrick Beverley as your starting point guard.  As things stand, I'm not entirely sure the same can be said about Terrence Jones.

    I made the argument a few weeks ago that Beverley was basically the ideal fit next to Harden.  He protects the ball, manages the game, rebounds, shoots threes, and when he doesn't have torn ligaments in his leg, is a terror defensively.  (Don't let Lillard's output in the first round fool you: it's not easy moving around on a messed up leg, even if you've been cleared to play by the medical staff.  NBA players represent the very cream of the athletic crop.  Every split second, or nanosecond, matters, and when one loses even the slightest bit of reaction time, unlike the case with amateurs, performance can drop off drastically).  Several of you scoffed.  While I stand firm, there is no doubt some validity to the counter sentiment.  How many times last year did the Rockets seem to close out the game with James Harden and four scrubs?  Beverley will never be a player who can attack the rim - while he has the handles and quickness, like his forebear Rafer Alston, he just doesn't have the body strength to finish near the rim.  What he can do is make himself into a better three point shooter.  Last year he shot 36% from deep, and for a guy whose only job on offense is to hand the ball off to James Harden and stand in the corner, that's not acceptable.  That number needs to go up to around 39%.  The form could stand to improve.  A few on Twitter scoffed when I brought this up, but its a a very slight subtlety.  Beverley's wrist doesn't seem completely taut on the release, introducing variability to the mechanics.  If he could fix this, I think the results would improve, but of course, that won't happen - NBA players very rarely put in the work to alter their form.

    Trevor Ariza:  Trevor Ariza needs to burn every tape of the 2009-2010 season, destroying with it any preconceived notions that his role this time around will be anywhere similar.  Also, he needs to try to somehow hypnotize himself into thinking this is a contract year.  If Ariza duplicates his production from last season, it will be all Houston could have asked for.

    Donatas Motiejunas:  I'm not really sure what he can do.  The guy improved drastically upon his biggest weaknesses--defense and rebounding--and still couldn't get consistent burn.  Maybe he should just work on his people skills and find a way into Kevin McHale's good graces.  Motiejunas could stand to add more arc onto that flat jumpshot, but as I said earlier, that won't happen.  The range people had been raving about since before D-Mo was drafted hasn't really paid off, primarily I think due to the flawed form.  Overall, he just needs to keep his head up and keep trying.  Skill-wise, there is not really much to improve upon.  His problems are that he fouls too much and doesn't see consistent playing time, with the former being a factor of the latter, I'd argue.  It was a numbers game last year, but with Asik gone this time around, this is Motiejunas' last chance.  He either breaks through, or that's it for his Houston Rockets' career.  In all likelihood, the 7-footer doesn't pan out, and that's really a shame.


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    #2 timetodienow1234567

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    Posted 06 August 2014 - 02:01 PM

    I would not be surprised to see DMo make it somewhere else as a quality rotation player.
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    Why so Serious? :D


    #3 thejohnnygold

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    Posted 06 August 2014 - 02:18 PM

    That's because he is still very young and tossing him to the curb this early in his career would be a mistake.


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    #4 Cooper

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      Posted 06 August 2014 - 04:42 PM

      Dmo has a 2mill team option 2015 even if he just has an average year thats easily accepted. Can't imagine finding another 7ftr that isn't hasheem thabeet for less.


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      #5 Johnny Rocket

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        Posted 06 August 2014 - 07:46 PM

        I think Rahat's comments on Bev are right on the mark.  I was just reading Kevin Pelton's analysis of next year's free agents, and he projects Bev to have a WARP of 15.1!  For the sake of comparison, that's a tad lower than Kawhi Leonard (16.3) and somewhat better than Klay Thompson (13.3).  People usually have Leonard and Thompson pegged as near-max guys.  The fact that Bev will be a restricted free agent next year was one more reason for the Rox not to match the Parson's contract.  If Bev is offered around 8-10 milion next year, it is hard to imagine the Rockets being able to pay both Bev and Parsons.


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        #6 thenit

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          Posted 06 August 2014 - 10:58 PM

          Thee is no way Bev will get that high of a warp and he won't get a 10mill a year offer unless he explodes. That contract would be even worse that chandler got.
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          #7 Johnny Rocket

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            Posted 06 August 2014 - 11:12 PM

            I was shocked as well, but Pelton considers Bev one of the top defensive guards in the NBA.  That's worth a lot, I guess, but the 15.1 WARP is still surprising.


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            #8 Red94

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              Posted 07 August 2014 - 12:51 AM

              That begs the question I posed in another thread: if Bev has that kind of impact, are any of the upgrades on the market worth the cost?


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              #9 rockets best fan

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              Posted 07 August 2014 - 01:14 AM

              in trying not to be critical of Beverly I really haven't laid out his shortcomings. some here have overblown his abilities. Yes the current upgrades available are worth chasing. Beverly is a solid PG, but keeping Beverly in the starting lineup says that we are satisfied with Harden as the primary facilitator. I disagree with that stance. we need to get that ball out of Harden hands much more than we  are now.


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              you can only warn a man that the bridge is out.....if he keeps driving he's on his own B)


              #10 Cooper

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                Posted 07 August 2014 - 01:40 AM

                Another guard or wing that can handle the ball and facilitate would be nice, maybe Bev can handle a larger role and just didn't have as many opportunities last year its probably worth the wait to find out. I don't see many guys that will be potentially available moving any time soon anyways.


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                #11 rocketrick

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                  Posted 07 August 2014 - 02:47 AM

                  in trying not to be critical of Beverly I really haven't laid out his shortcomings. some here have overblown his abilities. Yes the current upgrades available are worth chasing. Beverly is a solid PG, but keeping Beverly in the starting lineup says that we are satisfied with Harden as the primary facilitator. I disagree with that stance. we need to get that ball out of Harden hands much more than we  are now.


                  Just wondering why you are so keen on getting the ball out of Harden's hands much more? There are multiple reasons for Harden to have the ball as much as he does. He's an excellent facilitator and willing passer as proven by his assists numbers. I would like to see him add another 1-2 assists per game this season. He is able to draw fouls and get to the free throw line more frequently than just about anyone in the league. That's a good thing, right? He's got that euro step move, the stepback jumper, is a willing driver to the basket, solid 3-point shooter. He needs to run the pick and roll more often with D12 although D12 seems to prefer to back his opponent and make a move to the bucket rather than run PnR.

                  Isn't Harden one of the most efficient players in the league and isn't the Rockets offense one of the most efficient in the league?

                  I get that you along with others dread the iso plays at the end of quarters, end of the game, etc.

                  Still, taking the ball out of Harden's hands seems illogical to me.

                  Perhaps you can explain your reasonings more clearly.
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                  #12 RollingWave

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                    Posted 07 August 2014 - 03:57 AM



                    Trevor Ariza was generally quite terrible every year except last, the year before this he was especially horrendous before late in the year when John Wall returned to the lineup and salvaged his stats somewhat.

                    So yeah, he better hypnotize himself that this is a contract year, since if the previous trend held true the Rockets would be in massive trouble. You could say that hey he only sucked in Houston because he was asked to be the guy, but he played the following year next to Chris Paul, and if your getting the 2010-11 Trevor Ariza that would still probably cost the Rockets a 2 to 4 wins in the regular season from what Chandler Parsons gave you, and yes this is taking defense into account. (in 2010-11 Ariza was an overall -1.6 RPM player, Parsons was around 2.5 last year. )

                    Beverley need to more than anything else stay healthy, though defensively he also needs to have a better court awareness in either off ball situation or more importantly, against screens, he habitually went under screens (if not being wiped out by screens altogether.) last year even when healthy, which was why he was pretty terrible in spot up situation PPP against, the funny thing is when you break down synergy defense it is not entirely clear if Beverley's defense is a good as many seem to assume, as in, he does the fundamental defense part extremely well (probably the single best iso defender in the league) however he is ok to poor in most other situations, which means you can game plan against his defense simply by minimizing iso situation against him, which may have played just as big of a role in his lack of effectiveness in the playoff as his injury, that he's a guy you can plan against.

                    I seriously doubt the team told him to go under screen as a game plan, since in interviews the rockets players stated the opposite, and when you watch Lin play he clearly made a effort to go over screens whenever possible, which probably explain why Lin was vastly better in spot up PPP against despite not having any serious tools advantage to Beverley on defense (he's taller yes, but his arms is also shorter and his vertical explosion is not as good. Lin does have a tool advantage in defending post ups though. where he was predictably much better than Beverley as well. ) and was actually similar in PnR outcome, because when you have Dwight Fing Howard, obviously your going to play against the shot on the perimeter.

                    In short, Beverley needs to be able to defend non iso situations, since you know, vast majority of plays in the NBA aren't isos nowadays.

                    I love his game though, and as other noted there's a good case that your not going to get another PG who will work better with Harden as a tandem. But he has plenty of things he needs to work on.

                    More than anything else though, Terrence Jones need to continue to improve, or the team is in deep trouble. I fully expect Ariza to take a step back / decline next year , the only question is how much. I can't see any of the other main rotation players being meaningfully better (in the context of 82 game regular season anyway.) except Terrence Jones, meanwhile the bench is a completely enigma that has some chance to be surprisingly good but also a larger chance to being downright unplayable.

                    So a lot rides on Jones to develop into a real player instead of just a stats padder.


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                    #13 thejohnnygold

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                    Posted 07 August 2014 - 05:12 AM

                    The best defensive stat for Patrick Beverley is not the fg% numbers--those are misleading.  Instead, it is the lower number of shots taken against him in general that showcases his talent.  I have detailed these numbers more than once.  When guys decide to shoot--they score at a below average rate; but more importantly, they take fewer shots overall due to Bev's defense.  It's all at Synergy for anyone to see.

                     

                    In short, 40% of 15 shot attempts is more than 40% of 11 shot attempts.  Many people overlook this aspect defense.

                     

                    As far as Ariza goes, I think the only concern is staying healthy.

                     

                    T-Jones is gonna ball.  Prepare for awesome.  B)


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                    #14 rockets best fan

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                    Posted 07 August 2014 - 05:38 AM

                    @rocketrick

                    Harden as a facilitator is overblown. sure he gets 5-6 assist a game, but perhaps you've forgotten those 5 turnovers a game? Yes Harden can make good passes, but he doesn't always do it. there are many passes he can't make that a real floor general PG will be able to make (example ally-oop for T-Jones or D-12). with any team your primary facilitator has to be able to get the assist without the high turnovers and needs to be able to make every pass. ask yourself this..........considering our high turnover rate last year.....how many extra games could we have won with 3-4 less turnovers? some people believe if you have a  high usage rate turnovers are just part of the baggage that comes along with it..........I don't. elite PG's usually float in the 3 assist to 1 turnover ratio. could you imagine if for those 5 turnovers Harden is producing we were getting 15 assist. we have a lot of potential weapons that are not being fully and properly used because we don't have a top flight facilitator. that's why I want the ball out of Harden hands as much as possible. Harden needs to concentrate on playing SG and leave the PG duties to a PG.


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                    you can only warn a man that the bridge is out.....if he keeps driving he's on his own B)


                    #15 Steven

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                      Posted 07 August 2014 - 06:18 AM

                      @JG
                      When did you get the new suit?

                      Agreed T-Jones is going to ball. Canaan is going to prove all the naysayers. D-Mo is going to man-up. Daniels is going to shoot 50% from 3. Covington is going to lock down the wing. Is it November yet?
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                      #16 Red94

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                        Posted 07 August 2014 - 11:52 AM

                        RollingWave: Interesting observation on Beverley.  I had not noted the screens issue before.


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                        #17 Doug

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                          Posted 07 August 2014 - 02:04 PM



                          Harden didn't average 5 turnovers a game. He averaged 3.5. His assist to turnover ratio was 1.68. While not great, it was just ahead of Eric Bledsoe, Dwayne Wade, and Kevin Durant.
                          http://espn.go.com/n...rRatio/count/41


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                          #18 rocketrick

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                            Posted 07 August 2014 - 02:13 PM

                            Trevor Ariza was generally quite terrible every year except last, the year before this he was especially horrendous before late in the year when John Wall returned to the lineup and salvaged his stats somewhat.
                            So yeah, he better hypnotize himself that this is a contract year, since if the previous trend held true the Rockets would be in massive trouble. You could say that hey he only sucked in Houston because he was asked to be the guy, but he played the following year next to Chris Paul, and if your getting the 2010-11 Trevor Ariza that would still probably cost the Rockets a 2 to 4 wins in the regular season from what Chandler Parsons gave you, and yes this is taking defense into account. (in 2010-11 Ariza was an overall -1.6 RPM player, Parsons was around 2.5 last year. )
                            Beverley need to more than anything else stay healthy, though defensively he also needs to have a better court awareness in either off ball situation or more importantly, against screens, he habitually went under screens (if not being wiped out by screens altogether.) last year even when healthy, which was why he was pretty terrible in spot up situation PPP against, the funny thing is when you break down synergy defense it is not entirely clear if Beverley's defense is a good as many seem to assume, as in, he does the fundamental defense part extremely well (probably the single best iso defender in the league) however he is ok to poor in most other situations, which means you can game plan against his defense simply by minimizing iso situation against him, which may have played just as big of a role in his lack of effectiveness in the playoff as his injury, that he's a guy you can plan against.
                            I seriously doubt the team told him to go under screen as a game plan, since in interviews the rockets players stated the opposite, and when you watch Lin play he clearly made a effort to go over screens whenever possible, which probably explain why Lin was vastly better in spot up PPP against despite not having any serious tools advantage to Beverley on defense (he's taller yes, but his arms is also shorter and his vertical explosion is not as good. Lin does have a tool advantage in defending post ups though. where he was predictably much better than Beverley as well. ) and was actually similar in PnR outcome, because when you have Dwight Fing Howard, obviously your going to play against the shot on the perimeter.
                            In short, Beverley needs to be able to defend non iso situations, since you know, vast majority of plays in the NBA aren't isos nowadays.
                            I love his game though, and as other noted there's a good case that your not going to get another PG who will work better with Harden as a tandem. But he has plenty of things he needs to work on.
                            More than anything else though, Terrence Jones need to continue to improve, or the team is in deep trouble. I fully expect Ariza to take a step back / decline next year , the only question is how much. I can't see any of the other main rotation players being meaningfully better (in the context of 82 game regular season anyway.) except Terrence Jones, meanwhile the bench is a completely enigma that has some chance to be surprisingly good but also a larger chance to being downright unplayable.
                            So a lot rides on Jones to develop into a real player instead of just a stats padder.


                            Whatever.

                            The doubters came out of all possible and potential holes in 1993 begging the Rockets to fire Rudy T and trade Dream.

                            I clearly remember, I was there wondering what the hell............

                            Anyway, NBA History clearly proved the opposite as the Rockets won back to back in 1994-95.

                            There are always doubters even in the Precambrian...........sorry pre Dream era.

                            Haters had no clue then and certainly in my opinion have no clue today.
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                            #19 timetodienow1234567

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                            Posted 07 August 2014 - 02:20 PM

                            Because Bledsoe/Jones are the equivalent of Hakeem...
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                            Why so Serious? :D


                            #20 rocketrick

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                              Posted 07 August 2014 - 03:13 PM

                              Because Bledsoe/Jones are the equivalent of Hakeem...


                              Huh? What did I miss?
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