In this week’s episode, MK Bower and I assess the first returns from the Asik-Howard experiment. We also discuss Jalen Rose’s Kevin Durant prediction and ESPN’s final rankings for James Harden and Dwight Howard. As always, you can find The Red94 Podcast on itunes.
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Total comments: 10^yeah, fixing that is at the top of my list right now.
great stuff guys, thanks. and i dont like to complain, but the audio quality seems a little lacking.
As I listened to the podcast, I thought the discussion was overly negative on the pairing of Asik and Howard. I mean, didn't we beat the two WC finalists by 20 points on the road? Sure, its preseason, but what more could they have done in the context of those two games? The thinking seems to be if the Asik/Howard combo (AHC) clogs down the lane and slows the offense, its a failure. The goal isn't to create space for the offense; rather, the goal is to win games. If we sacrifice some spacing and speed to totally shut down the other team--and produce turnovers and easy buckets as a result--I think that's great. We shouldn't be afraid if AHC changes our team identity somewhat if it produces wins.
I totally get that AHC will not work against many smaller lineups. I don't see that as a problem, though--we just go small, knowing that it will be very hard for any team to outside the Spurs, Thunder, and Heat to match up with us consistently in a small-ball game. Think of the AHC as a way of taking away one of the opposing team's big men off the floor. Its very existence forces teams to go small, which will often to be to our advantage.
An excellent test will be the early games against the Clippers. I think AHC vs Griffin/Jordan really works to our advantage. And if the Clippers go small as a result, they'll have nobody to protect the rim against our small-ball lineup. We'll win either way.
johnny - after relistening, i realized i seemed more down on the combo than i actually am, though i think MK doesnt feel as highly on them as i do. i felt they were downright dominating defensively at times. but i want to stay leveled b/c that was probably to be expected against those teams. i'm interested to see what happens with a bigger sample size.
careful Rahat and MK you guys are spoiling me :lol:Ihave gotten use to these podcast pretty quickly becauseof thequality of discussion. there was so much here I hardly know where to dive it :) I agree with you Rahat. Asik's value to this team can not be underestimated defensively. however offensively is more the weakness. however I do think enough promise has been displayed on both ends to justify giving the D-12/Asik combo more time to work out the kinks. I agree also that if we do trade Asik it has to be for a player who's impact on the team would outweigh what Asik's value to us is. the only place where we disagree is I think if we move Asik the acquired player must be able to swing over and play some backup center. that's why I don't think Milsap will help us. if we lose Asik........that 48 minute rim protection Idea will be gone......so the player coming in is either an offensive juggernaut( like Love)or can fill PF and at the same time Not allow those 15 minutes with Howard off the floor become a layup drill(like LMA). I say if we can't get Love, LMA or Horford then our best bet is to keep Asik. of the 3 I prefer LMA, but I would be delighted with any of these 3.
agreed - i think everyone agrees now asik should only be traded for a bonafide star, not someone like ryan anderson.
great stuff! interesting bit at the end on whether harden or howard is more important to the team. rockets fans should rejoice at having both players, but i agree, dwight means more to the team's championship aspirations. i feel far more comfortable saying lin/parsons would help fill a void from a missing harden than asik/smith filling in for dwight (essentially last years team). to add a casual observation, i find the difference between this year's rockets and last year's team pretty startling. i think a lot has played into that, not just d12. casspi has filled a need very nicely, and it's clear the young guys on the team put a lot of work into their games this off-season. also, the chemistry looks great so far. i think observers in the league have set a pretty high ceiling for the rockets this year, but, after watching them this entire preseason, i wouldn't be surprised if they exceeded everyone's lofty expectations. thank you rahat.
i agree on that point about the difference being startling....as it should be in adding a player like dwight. but still, it doesn't hit you until watching them dominate on the court the way they have.
Agreed Johnny Rocket and most put the clippers ahead of us so I can't wait for those 2 clipper games in a couple weeks.
As I listened to the podcast, I thought the discussion was overly negative on the pairing of Asik and Howard. I mean, didn't we beat the two WC finalists by 20 points on the road? Sure, its preseason, but what more could they have done in the context of those two games? The thinking seems to be if the Asik/Howard combo (AHC) clogs down the lane and slows the offense, its a failure. The goal isn't to create space for the offense; rather, the goal is to win games. If we sacrifice some spacing and speed to totally shut down the other team--and produce turnovers and easy buckets as a result--I think that's great. We shouldn't be afraid if AHC changes our team identity somewhat if it produces wins.
I totally get that AHC will not work against many smaller lineups. I don't see that as a problem, though--we just go small, knowing that it will be very hard for any team to outside the Spurs, Thunder, and Heat to match up with us consistently in a small-ball game. Think of the AHC as a way of taking away one of the opposing team's big men off the floor. Its very existence forces teams to go small, which will often to be to our advantage.
An excellent test will be the early games against the Clippers. I think AHC vs Griffin/Jordan really works to our advantage. And if the Clippers go small as a result, they'll have nobody to protect the rim against our small-ball lineup. We'll win either way.
careful Rahat and MK you guys are spoiling me :lol:Ihave gotten use to these podcast pretty quickly becauseof thequality of discussion. there was so much here I hardly know where to dive it :) I agree with you Rahat. Asik's value to this team can not be underestimated defensively. however offensively is more the weakness. however I do think enough promise has been displayed on both ends to justify giving the D-12/Asik combo more time to work out the kinks. I agree also that if we do trade Asik it has to be for a player who's impact on the team would outweigh what Asik's value to us is. the only place where we disagree is I think if we move Asik the acquired player must be able to swing over and play some backup center. that's why I don't think Milsap will help us. if we lose Asik........that 48 minute rim protection Idea will be gone......so the player coming in is either an offensive juggernaut( like Love)or can fill PF and at the same time Not allow those 15 minutes with Howard off the floor become a layup drill(like LMA). I say if we can't get Love, LMA or Horford then our best bet is to keep Asik. of the 3 I prefer LMA, but I would be delighted with any of these 3.
great stuff! interesting bit at the end on whether harden or howard is more important to the team. rockets fans should rejoice at having both players, but i agree, dwight means more to the team's championship aspirations. i feel far more comfortable saying lin/parsons would help fill a void from a missing harden than asik/smith filling in for dwight (essentially last years team). to add a casual observation, i find the difference between this year's rockets and last year's team pretty startling. i think a lot has played into that, not just d12. casspi has filled a need very nicely, and it's clear the young guys on the team put a lot of work into their games this off-season. also, the chemistry looks great so far. i think observers in the league have set a pretty high ceiling for the rockets this year, but, after watching them this entire preseason, i wouldn't be surprised if they exceeded everyone's lofty expectations. thank you rahat.
