117 replies to this topic

[rocketrick]

While the Howard/Asik isn't working, the small 4 isn't working that great against good teams.  The problem is, when we go small, we go SF.  When we bring the SF in, we can't guard the other team's PF.  We need a guy can hit some shots from outside and can guard a PF.  Unfortunately we don't have anyone on our roster who can do that.  A guy who can hit an 18 footer would be great for this team.  Someone like Scola would work fit great.

Except Scola's defense is lacking which is why he is no longer a Rocket nor a Sun. The Pacers traded for him for his offense, not his defense.

[rocketrick]

I would agree the team is still adjusting, but we have to much firepower to be looking this poorly

 

The Rockets are undefeated this season against all teams not in LA.

 

The shots will start falling, they always do. Every team goes through stretches of several games where their open shots are not falling. This is the NBA.

[rocketrick]

I like that example of Memphis. An appropriate seed can ease the competition during the playoffs, which I forgot was an advantage.

 

Even though the Rockets are now sluggishly starting, I'm still seeing them as 3rd-6th seed. OKC has played well so far, and SA with Pop is just too good of a team to drop lower. GSW can contend for a top seed too. I see Phoenix (with Bledsoe it's possible), Mavericks, and the Timberwolves in the mix for the lower seeds.

It wasn't that long ago that the Dallas Mavericks won the #1 seed in the Western Conference only to be upset by the #8 Golden State Warriors.

 

Trying to figure out the seeding the second week of the season is quite impossible to say the least. I doubt Dallas regrets winning the #1 seed, they only regret losing to #8 Golden State.

 

In the overall scheme of things, there are no shortcuts to the Championship. The Rockets proved that well in 1994-1995 by taking on the best 4 teams in the entire NBA and outlasting them all as the #6 Western Conference seed and having the home court disadvantage throughout the entire playoffs.

Edited by rocketrick, 11 November 2013 - 02:14 PM.

[Ostrow]

Except Scola's defense is lacking which is why he is no longer a Rocket nor a Sun. The Pacers traded for him for his offense, not his defense.

I agree. But he is a better post defender than Casspi or Garcia. He was just an example. I know he's an offensive player first but he is big enough to make it difficult on defense. He's decent with position defense, moves his feet pretty well on picks. He won't block any shots but that's not really what the Rockets need.

[Mason Khamvilay]

I can't wait till we get a larger sample size, maybe 20 games, so we can see statically how successful we have been with the pairing vs our smaller line ups. Obviously people will complain about drawing conclusions from a 20 games sample, but if we're only reinforcing our visual observations then it's perfectly fine, and any larger a sample size could cost us home court advantage in round 1.

Edited by 2016Champions, 12 November 2013 - 12:58 AM.

[Drew in Abilene]

I would agree the team is still adjusting, but we have to much firepower to be looking this poorly

 

I'm sure Miami Heat fans were saying the same thing when they started 9-8 after adding LeBron and Bosh, and I think things worked out alright for them. Not saying it'll fall into place for us, but if it took them around twenty games to coalesce, it seems reasonable to me to give them some more time to work out the kinks.

[rockets best fan]

I'm sure Miami Heat fans were saying the same thing when they started 9-8 after adding LeBron and Bosh, and I think things worked out alright for them. Not saying it'll fall into place for us, but if it took them around twenty games to coalesce, it seems reasonable to me to give them some more time to work out the kinks.

I think you misunderstand me I don't think the lineup is useless........just the opposite. it's useful against other big teams, but that's only a small part of the NBA teams we must play. against the rest of the league we should start a regular PF.......my preference is T-Jones. last night against the Raptors McHale abandon the TT lineup in favor of Jones.........I hope that signaled the end of the experiment

[rocketrick]

I think you misunderstand me I don't think the lineup is useless........just the opposite. it's useful against other big teams, but that's only a small part of the NBA teams we must play. against the rest of the league we should start a regular PF.......my preference is T-Jones. last night against the Raptors McHale abandon the TT lineup in favor of Jones.........I hope that signaled the end of the experiment

I'm on board with putting T-Jones in the starting lineup in place of Asik. However, I do expect the Rockets will not completely bail from the D12/Asik pairing and expect that we'll see both playing together, sometimes in the starting lineup, and sometimes in-game substitutions.

I think that the value of the D12/Asik pairing could be a boon in the playoffs when the pace of the game slows down considerably. So the regular season is the time to make all efforts of trying to make the D12/Asik pairing workable.

[Mason Khamvilay]

[Richards]

I'm on board with putting T-Jones in the starting lineup in place of Asik. However, I do expect the Rockets will not completely bail from the D12/Asik pairing and expect that we'll see both playing together, sometimes in the starting lineup, and sometimes in-game substitutions.

I think that the value of the D12/Asik pairing could be a boon in the playoffs when the pace of the game slows down considerably. So the regular season is the time to make all efforts of trying to make the D12/Asik pairing workable.

it is true that pace slow down in playoffs. but having two bad FT shooters is a liability. we should have and could have won raptors game if howard's make FT

[Mario Peña]

It's actually pretty simple in my mind, the open 3 point shots the Rockets are getting just aren't dropping like they usually do.

I believe once the Rockets shoot their normal percentage of 3 point shots, the ship will be righted quite quickly.

I agree the horrendous three point is one large problem along with chemistry building as the other which wouldn't as evident if the long ball was dropping.

Hopefully they stay small against Philadelphia tonight.

[Rahat Huq]

Terrence Jones starting tonight.  That pretty much ends the Howard-Asik marriage.  So how long now until Asik is traded?  There almost definitely will have to be a trade at some point.  You can't just keep Asik around to play 10 minutes a game and then have him leave in a year when you had a chance to upgrade your team.  The question is, what can you even get back right now?  We know Daryl Morey is never one to rush a deal...he'll take his time and wait until something he likes presents itself, even if the player's value diminishes (see Kevin Martin.)  But if Terrence Jones plays around the level he played the other night, and Omri Casspi continues at his pace, who can you even get that would be that big of an upgrade?  You're not getting Aldridge or Love - that's not happening.  I'd almost be inclined to deal Asik for a borderline star point guard/small forward if someone like that was on the market..

[timetodienow1234567]

Gay?

[ItsAllGoodBro]

deal asik for someone that can hit an 18 footer

 

frankly i find this team embarassing in that regard.

 

I know it's en vogue to eschew the midrange shot, its so "inefficient"

 

but without a midrange threat defenses clog the lanes and cling to three point shooters.

 

this is what made MJ so great, the pull up J. Kobe too. CP3 has it. Nowitzki's step back. Olajuwon's turnaround, Garnetts pick n pop. Name me a team to win a title in past 30 years that lived/died by the 3 and layups. Miami. That's it...and it's because of LeBron - of who there is only one.

 

Morey is a great GM in the technical sense but goddamn i wouldn't want to play for him

 

thank goodness for McHale

Edited by ItsAllGoodBro, 13 November 2013 - 11:42 PM.

[rockets best fan]

Gay?

NO WAY.......................two numbers 11-37

[rockets best fan]

now that it appears the experiment is dead should we turn this to the what can we get for him thread?

[rocketrick]

I'm not convinced the D12/Asik pairing is completely dead yet. Coach McHale should be given credit for changing the lineup against a much smaller 76ers and Knicks teams rather than forcing this.

Even if D12/Asik pairing does not start both halves, it would behoove the Rockets to see how the pairing can work at other points of the game. Again depending on matchups.

If the Rockets don't come up with a reasonable trade, the D12/Asik pairing could become very important to the Rockets success in the playoffs when the pace slows down significantly and defense becomes much more a priority.

Asik must be more positive mentally and be willing to sacrifice for the team in order for any of this to have a chance to work.

And by doing so, Asik could prove his worth to the league possibly resulting in a quicker trade which he quite obviously wants. So far by my count he's already officially asked for a trade twice and we are still very early into the 2013-14 season.

[rockets best fan]

I agree the lineup has potential against some teams. however Asik appears to be burning all his bridges at this point