18 replies to this topic

[Red94]

New post: A look at the Houston Rockets' schedule for the week of January 11 through January 17
By: Rahat Huq

 

To begin, it's interesting to note that despite a disappointing stretch that included an obliteration at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Rockets have licked their wounds and sit again at third in the treacherous Western Conference.  One should expect Houston to maintain this current pace as the recent losses were probably a direct result of the integration of Josh Smith and the accompanying confusion it caused.  The Warriors probably will run away with the conference, much to the delight of the national media.  Glancing lower at the standings, as has been my routine, the Pelicans have managed to stay alive in the race, though no one expects that team to beat out both Phoenix and the Thunder.  With the arms race escalating (Memphis became even more terrifying with its acquisition of Jeff Green), I fully expect Daryl Morey to cash in on what has to be considered the most valuable draft pick remaining on the trade market (in New Orleans' lottery pick).  But for what?  Surely Phoenix is in buy mode with its addition of Brandon Wright.  And lastly of interest is the Thunder's stagnation: most felt they would have climbed to sixth by now, and continued to climb; on the contrary, Oklahoma City appears to be in a dogfight with Phoenix.

 

 

The Rockets will get two more chances to beef up their record, visiting both Brooklyn and Orlando.  Then they come home for a pair against the Thunder and Warriors.  Houston must show it can win against good teams when they are at full health to actually be taken seriously.  I've been saying since last year that the Thunder and Clipper matchups are all that matters because those teams render Dwight Howard completely useless.  But if those teams end up not even being threats (ie: if both are eliminated before even facing Houston), does it really even matter?  Still, I'm interested to see how the insertion of Donatas Motiejunas affects Dwight's production against the Thunder frontline.  Serge Ibaka paid little attention to Terrence Jones, being able to make life miserable for Howard from the weakside.  That won't be the case against the vastly more talented Motiejunas.

 

The Warriors, despite their sterling record, don't scare me.

[Steven]

Since when did adding a below average player make a team more terrifying? Jeff Green is terrible.

[clydesmoustache]

Since when did adding a below average player make a team more terrifying? Jeff Green is terrible.

I agree I think Green is an average player on a terrible team but he is an upgrade on the bag of bones formerly named Tayshaun Prince.

[Steven]

Advance stats on Jeff Green says even though he has been the number 1 option on the Celtics, he is a below average player.

[Jatman20]

"vastly more talented DMo"....really!! .........................................................................................................................
[D-Mo 14-15] ..................................................................................................................................................
PER]13.6 TS%].547 ORB%]7.9 DRB%]16.7 TRB%]12.3 Ast%]9.8 Stl%]1.4 Blk%]1.6 TOV%]15.9 USG%]18.4 WS]2.4 ORtg]105 DRtg]102 .........
[TJ 13-14] ................................................................................................................................................................................................
[PER]19.1 TS%].577 ORB%]9.2 DRB%]18.5 TRB%]14.1 Ast%]7.0 Stl%]1.3 Blk%]3.5 TOV%]8.2 USG%]18.3 WS]7.3 ORtg]119 DRtg]105......
[TJ 14-15]..(4 games) ............................................................................................................................................................................
[PER]19.0 TS%].563 ORB%]12.6 DRB%]16.6 TRB%]14.6 Ast%]9.7 Stl%]1.7 Blk%]4.8 TOV%]13.9 USG%]21.5 WS]0.2 ORtg]109 DRtg]99....
4 games is a small sample size; but people turn me off to say D-Mo improves from last year with more playing time....but TJ would not improve
from last years numbers. That's bogus to assume. If you Goggle a game summary of the Rockets(1st)4 games, you will read TJ was everywhere.

[D-Mo 14-15 per game] .........................................................................................................................
Pts]10.6 FT%]61% 3p%]28% FG%]51% TRB]5.9 Ast]1.6 StL]0.8 Blk]0.5 .......................................................................
[TJ 13-14 per game]. ......................................................................................................................................................
Pts]12.1 FT%]61% 3P%]31% FG%]54% TRB]6.9 Ast]1.1 StL]0.7 Blk]1.3. .................................................................
[TJ 14-15 per game]....(4 games) ............................................................................................................................
Pts]14.0 FT%]75% 3P%]43% FG%]52% TRB]7.5 Ast]1.5 StL]1.0 Blk]1.8. ...............................................................................................
D-Mo has improved; especially with his hook shot/flip shot with either hand....(which to me is like a good running game in football--more consistent).
I would debate, "Vastly more talented".

Edited by Jatman20, 11 January 2015 - 10:51 PM.

[Jatman20]

The D-Mo /Terrence Jones stats I citied are from Basketball-reference.com

[Cooper]

whether dmo is better than what jones was is certainly debatable but 2 things are for sure dmo is a tougher matchup size wise for ibaka and jones can't play yet and will need a lot more time to get back to where he was if he does at all. 

Also you don't need advanced stats to tell you green is 10x better than tayshaun prince/pondexter duo of misery even though he has perfected the  vanishing act.

[Lucas Daniel Uribe]

He is a solid veteran J. Green is. He will help Memphis a lot IMO.  Thunder and Clippers now have to work against Rockets PF and C rotation & I hope we get at least 1 win against GSW and the Damn Clips. I think the Rockets are going to win in NY and in Orlando, (Dwight Boo Birds will surely be in the building, hence he is the one who is making them money, No Disrepect) #RedNation

[Steven]

I didn't say that Jeff Green isn't better, just saying adding a below average player doesn't make a team terrifying. Terrifying would be them adding a SF who could actually shot like Prince was (41% from 3) or like Pondexter used too before he got hurt. If they were to have added a Tervor Ariza type, then I'd be terrified. Jeff Green is a meh. If they would have traded for Wilson Chandler, then I'd be scared.

Edited by Steven, 12 January 2015 - 03:07 AM.

[NorEastern]

The D-Mo /Terrence Jones stats I citied are from Basketball-reference.com

Sigh. The xRAPM stats from last year when D-Mo was vastly inferior to what he is today.

 

 

This data is backed up by SportVU and most well regarded statistical measures.

[thenit]

But you know Jatman loves PER, thats all he bases on talent evaluation.

DMO has so many more tools than TJ and plays much better D.

Its like saying Arizas and Bevs PER are below league average, so majority of the players in the league are better than those players.

 

BTW I think Jones is a good young player but his size and lack of post moves puts him at a lower ceiling. He is a great fit on last years pace when we ran a lot of possesions in chaos and he can feast on the spaces left for him by being the 4th or 5th option.

 

He doesn't have the talent to play well against example Noah, Zbo on both sides on the floor. He lacks the size and strength. I still think Jones can be a starter for some teams or a rotation player in the league

Edited by thenit, 12 January 2015 - 04:11 AM.

[cointurtlemoose]

Really looking forward to that OKC game, mostly just to watch the frontcourt battle; how will OKC choose to matchup on the Howard/DMo pairing?

 

And to me, Howard has look pretty out of it for the last 5 or 6 games, so I'm curious to see if he turns it up for a nationally televised OKC matchup.

[bboley24]

It's the JSE.  

Detroit knows it.

[rocketrick]

Really looking forward to that OKC game, mostly just to watch the frontcourt battle; how will OKC choose to matchup on the Howard/DMo pairing?
 
And to me, Howard has look pretty out of it for the last 5 or 6 games, so I'm curious to see if he turns it up for a nationally televised OKC matchup.

D12 is probably deferring to Josh Smith when both on the floor together.

I really don't mind seeing D12 defer as he is not the same force as he was when leading Orlando in the Playoffs.

Does anyone, anywhere really believe the D12 Orlando teams were ever superior to the current Rockets team? Even when D12 was arguably more effective in the lane.

[thejohnnygold]

First, @Jatman,if you aren't going to format your stats so people can read them then, please, don't bother posting them at all--just put a link to the page.

 

Jeff Green is a good addition for Memphis.  It isn't too different from when they had Rudy Gay, but I think he is going to play more off the ball and within the flow of the offense.  Conley, Gasol, and Z-Bo have established the team as theirs and Green will be great as a 4th option.

 

This addition is a lot like us getting Josh Smith--so no surprise people are split on the subject.  His game logs are just like Smith's--feast or famine.  LINK

 

Since, like Smith, he isn't being brought in to lead anything I think he will bolster what is already a good team and afford them the ability to match-up better with different teams when they go Big/Small.

[rocketrick]

Plus Memphis has been really lacking at the SF position ever since dealing Rudy Gay to Sacramento, whatever your opinion of Rudy Gay as a quality NBA player may be. Personally, I just have never been a fan of Rudy.

Jeff Green is an interesting upgrade, in my opinion, for Memphis, and just makes them likely that much tougher going forward.

I'm just not convinced that Memphis has a strong enough bench, especially first 3 off the bench, to get them far in the Western Conference Playoffs this season. Only time will tell.

[thejohnnygold]

Plus Memphis has been really lacking at the SF position ever since dealing Rudy Gay to Sacramento, whatever your opinion of Rudy Gay as a quality NBA player may be. Personally, I just have never been a fan of Rudy.

Jeff Green is an interesting upgrade, in my opinion, for Memphis, and just makes them likely that much tougher going forward.

I'm just not convinced that Memphis has a strong enough bench, especially first 3 off the bench, to get them far in the Western Conference Playoffs this season. Only time will tell.

 

I don't know.  Is Green going to start?  They like Tony Allen out there for defense.

 

They can go with Koufos, Green, Carter, and Udrih as first 4 off the bench.  That doesn't strike fear into anyone, but it's not chopped liver.

[rocketrick]

I think Green does stretch the floor better for the Grizzlies starting 5, especially now with Z-Bo back in action.

Udrih has been solid for them off the bench this year. Vince can always hit those crazy shots with 1 second or less on the shot clock, or airball it. Who knows. Koufos is just a tall stiff on the court, in my opinion. He really doesn't have any skills on the offensive end of the court other than sitting a pick or an occasional rebound and put back at the goal.

Yeah, Tony Allen still has it on the defensive end but just sag off him on the offensive end of the court, he's useless there.

Everything slows down in the playoffs. Tougher for Tony Allen to be a quality role player then unless Udrih can hit some outside shots which is clearly not his game. Easier to defend the Grizzlies bench players as they don't have anyone that can hit an outside shot consistently. Unless Vince is feeling it that night.

Edited by rocketrick, 12 January 2015 - 07:16 PM.

[Red94]

Regarding Jeff Green, I think he makes them terrifying because he adds a completely different dimension to that team.  You could say it's just the same as Rudy Gay, and that they got better without him, but Green won't affect the team's usage hierarchy.  He'll be able to play 4th option, a role I think he should excel in.

 

And the Grizzlies already were terrifying.