By: mitchell felker
Dynamic Duo - With injuries to James Harden and Francisco Garcia recently, and no other shooting guards on the bench even when Harden does play, the Rockets have had to play Patrick Beverley and Jeremy Lin some pretty heavy minutes together lately. But it sounds like that may have been the plan all along.
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“I like those two playing together,” McHale said. “I thought earlier in the year, they were our best combination on the floor. Those two have a nice symmetry between them. They both enjoy playing with each other. They are very respectful for each other, and they work to help each other.”
Injuries have forced the Rocket's rotations pretty much every step of the way so far this season, so don't get too comfortable with anything the team is currently doing. But with extra depth at the point in Aaron Brooks, a dual point guard lineup might become a thing in Houston. It worked well for the Warriors last year when they had Jarrett Jack come off the bench to play alongside Steph Curry, and its working for the Rockets when the option has been available.
You might have thought all the nice things Beverley and Lin said about each other this summer, when Beverley was in the process of taking away Lin's starting job, were coach-speak. But Saturday night after Jeremy Lin picked Kyrie Irving's pocket to start a fast break, Beverley, who was still (and would remain) scoreless, passed up an open bucket to get Lin the ball for an easy lay in. It's the type of play you'd want your point guard to make, but not necessarily expect to see from guys cutting into each others' minutes. They generally seem to enjoy playing together and it's always nice to see your players know and accept their roles.
Another interesting takeaway from the game against Cleveland this weekend was that Chandler Parsons didn't play another minute after getting subbed out four minutes into the second half. What's even more interesting is the reason why.
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As a starter, (Lin) was more assertive and looked to bring that to his role off the bench, especially when he returned to the court less than four minutes into the second half following an 11-0 Cleveland run in which they completed a comeback from down 19 to a two-point lead. Rockets coach Kevin McHale said he made the move, also bringing in Donatas Motiejunas, to get more disciplined work defensively in dealing with the Cavs’ screens.
Never mind that McHale didn't return to Parsons after a shaky start to the second half; he was the only Rocket to post a negative +/- for the game. And granted, this is a team playing without Omer Asik (and Greg Smith for that matter). But when the team needed defensive consistency and energy, McHale turned to...Donatas Motiejunas? When have you ever heard the word "disciplined" to describe D-Mo's work on the defensive end?
There has been a lot of debate about Motiejunas and what should be done with him. Some say he should prove himself in practice and only get playing time then, and others say a player of his ability and talent should be thrown into the deep end and learn to keep his head up. I just love his skill-set, so I've always preferred the latter with Motiejunas, while McHale is old-school and makes his guys earn it first. But that's been one of the positives about all the injuries to the Rockets frontcourt. D-Mo has surely still gotten McHale's hard coaching, but with the immediate reward of playing time. He's being counted on for his defensive work, and even though he only scored 4 points, he joined Beverley and Lin as the only Rockets with a double-digit +/- (each had at least +15 point differential) against the Cavs. Motiejunas is still too inconsistent to be counted on by a championship team, but at least the fruits of his labor are starting to show.
Making His Mark - In Hickory High's Weekly Stat Pack, Kyle Soppe had some nice things to say about Patrick Beverley's performance against Cleveland Saturday night.
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The most productive 0 point game in the history of the NBA? After ten rebounds (including a team high three on the offensive end), eight assists, five steals, a blocked shot, and a +15 plus/minus differential, Patrick Beverley certainly has a claim.
I was unable to look up other productive box scores without scoring to compare to Beverley's, but if I had to guess, I'd say Dennis Rodman probably had some pretty impressive zero-point games in his career.
The point differential is what always stands out the most with Beverley. Another elite offensive point guard to defend, another stellar plus-minus. As was the case with Damian Lillard the week before, Beverley has the most impact in games with tough match-ups at the point. He's still missing too many 3's, but with the Rockets next game coming against Goran Dragic and the Phoenix Suns, Beverley will have another chance to prove his mettle.
Play of the Night -
We had the @NBA play of the day yesterday with @patbev21 throwing it off the backboard to @JHarden13 for the slam: http://t.co/VRrbKsmuKq
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 2, 2014
Goodbye to the GOAT - David Stern called it quits the Saturday after 30 years at the NBA's helm. In my opinion he was easily the best commissioner of my lifetime, if not ever. There was no better interview, always witty and thoughtful, and he made his sport more accessible than any other league in America.
Stern replaced Larry O'Brien in 1984, and shortly thereafter the league renamed its championship trophy after O'Brien. If there's any sense in the world, Stern will get the same treatment. After 30 years and all that he's done for the sport, it's the least they can do to honor his name.
Only eight different franchises won titles during Stern's tenure, so not many fan-bases were always happy to see him on-stage at the end, but at least we'll always have fond memories of the Commish.
