87 replies to this topic

[rockets best fan]

Ha, I was just about to write something akin to this....Lay-ups are very soft shots and are easy to miss when trying to muscle through big, strong guys while still maintaining control.  If I'm not mistaken, Asik shoots a better percentage on FT's then he does lay-ups (Feel free to correct me on that) which actually lends credence to the notion that he has better control of longer shots than the closer, softer ones.  I'm not saying we should start running an offense predicated on Omer shooting 15-18 ft. jumpers, but I do think he can be a threat to keep defenders honest.

I disagree Asik will never be a good jump shooter......he simply doesn't have the touch.....sure he hits one every now and then, but he will never shoot high enough percentage to make the defense honor him from there. I more concerned with his ability to catch....if he could learn to catch he could drive his scoring up at least 4 points per game

[Buckko]

Agreed, don't underrate asik people.

[RocketTim]

Thank you for the article Rahat. That is exactly the opinion I have been espousing for the last two months. The Rockets defense last season was the 7th best in the NBA when Asik was on the floor, and 27th when Asik sat. It is not much of a leap in logic to say that the Rockets should have a top 5 defense next season because either Howard or Asik will always be on the floor. If the Rockets traded Asik and next season Howard gets hurt, then the Rockets would be in a world of hurt. With Asik available the Rockets would still field a competitive squad.

In addition it should be possible to play Howard and Asik 6 minutes or more together over the course of the season. Up 10 with 8 minutes to go and wanting to slow the pace down, play them together. There are many other situations where they could co-exist on the court. That would push Asik up to 22-24 minutes a game.

The Rockets do not need much from their power forward. The ideal player in that position would shoot 35% from behind the 3 point line, get paid on the rookie scale, and play average defense. There are realistically few shots to allocate to that position.

This is the reason I think Morey has yet to trade Asik because the scare of Howard....sounds oh so familiar with Yao Ming and having Chuck Hayes back him up..

[Buckko]

I disagree, a player can always learn a jump shot.

[Cooper]

I disagree, a player can always learn a jump shot.

Plenty haven't

[Buckko]

That depends on if a player is willing to learn.

[Red94]

New post: Howard-Asik experiment could already be over
By: rahat huq

I wrote back on September 4 that finding a way to make the Omer Asik-Dwight Howard pairing work should be the Rockets' top priority.  To Houston's credit, they took a stab at it, trying desperately for eight games to fit a square peg in a round hole.  Kevin McHale may have finally seen enough with sophomore forward Terrence Jones starting the second half at power forward on Monday night.  The Chronicle reports that a change now could be coming to the starting lineup.

Quote:

With matchups against the smaller lineups of the 76ers tonight and Knicks on Thursday ahead, Rockets coach Kevin McHale apparently decided it is too big to succeed, at least for now.

McHale would not specify the lineup change he had in mind, but said there would be a change to go smaller than the combination of Dwight Howard and Omer Asik that has started every game this season.

In the 93 minutes the two centers have appeared together thus far this season, the team has posted a -15.8 net rating, scoring just 87 points per 100 possessions while giving up 103 points per the same amount.  Even more egregiously, in the 48 first quarter minutes in which the pair has appeared, the team has posted a -49 net rating, scoring just 71 points per 100 possessions while giving up 120 points per the same frame.  The marriage has been a downright disaster.  But hold on a minute.  In 45 third quarter minutes, lineups featuring the pair has produced a +21 net rating, scoring 106 points per 100 possessions and giving up just 85.

That third quarter production seems to indicate that it can work, that the pairing is not fundamentally flawed.  Kevin McHale seemed to feel the same, stating the other night prior to tipoff against the Clippers that the team just had not come out with any urgency in first quarters.  Still, it appears he may have seen enough.  If he truly has decided to scrap the experiment, it's difficult to blame him.  It's difficult enough winning games in this league; it becomes almost impossible when having to claw back from big deficits night after night, especially against good teams.

It's anyone's guess what happens going forward.  One solution--which I posed in this week's podcast--might be to pair Howard/Asik together during a middle part of the game, when offensive flows have already been established and might be more difficult to disrupt.  If that doesn't happen, it would mean relegating Asik to the ten or so minutes Howard is resting on the bench, a definite waste of the former's value.

[Opasido]

Trade Asik for Korver and maybe a 2nd rounder