We Have an Exciting Roster, but Lack of Two Way Players?
by flipasta on Mar 2, 2010 1:19 AM CST
9 comments
Doesn't it seem like we have a lot of either offensive or defensive specialists? I imagine it has to be an effect of Dork Elvis (of whom I'm a loyal follower) finding individuals with undervalued skill sets and accumulating them onto a dynamic roster.
A couple of things got me thinking about this...
1. On DraftExpress twitter (which you can see on their main webpage), they report Chase Budinger as among the worst one on one defenders (judged by performance against an iso set) in the league.
2. The potential Martin/Brooks starting backcourt might be one of the most offensively charged and defensively anemic in the league (as evidenced over the last few nights). Too lazy to seek out stats, just from observation.
3. Jared Jeffries CANNOT shoot, and he really finishes surprisingly poorly considering his size and length.
But you could easily classify a lot of our rotation players into one of two categories:
Offensive "Specialists": K Money, Aaron Brooks, David Anderson, Chase Budinger
Defensive "Specialists": Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier, Trevor Ariza, Jared Jeffries,
That's EIGHT rotation players who are markedly better on one end of the court than the other.
I understand the concept of mixing and matching around Yao and playing match ups on the wing. But, I do have some concerns about being able to put out a consistent rotation that can play solid two way ball next year. I know how much better we get defensively with Yao on the court, but will that alone propel us to a top 10 defensive team (something that Morey has implied as an important bullet to check off if you want to be a championship caliber team)? I'm not sure, but it looks it'll be up to Sleepy to get creative for that to happen.
Some notes: I realize the term 'specialist' is a gross over simplification concerning something as dynamic as an NBA basketball player's skillset. For example, I know Shane has value on offense with his ability to space the floor and competent passing; and Chuck is an elite high post passer. I'm just trying to express a concern about a roster of which I am (despite the tone of this post) a huge fan.
PS. A little off topic but... we need a low post defender ASAP. Early returns on Hilton and Jeffries don't look promising. I mean, Jeffries had trouble stopping Reggie Evans on the block tonight. Since when was this guy a low post threat?
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I think Buddinger will develop into a good Defender
He is still young. Also, Scoal is a two way player for sure. When Yao gets back, this team will be a top 5 defense. Look at the Gs we had the last few years. I dont think Tracy was any better than Martin defending. We need a low post scorer and atleast adequate defender. this offseason.
I don't think Budingewr will ever be a "good" defender
I beleive he can become adequate on the defensive end though. And Yao coming back will help that.
Bringing Yao will help the D next year
Kyle Lowry (our 2nd best 2-way player to Scola) will help us out THIS year. During this rough patch we’ve shown that we miss our bench a ton. Lowry coming back will fire up the second unit and ramp up the intensity even more. K-Mart, ABZ may be the speed guy, but Kyle’s the wreckless abandon guy.
I can’t fault Garrett Temple. He’s shown himself to be a player out there, and wherever he ends up in the future he’s going to get some minutes because he’s long, quick and plays BOTH ends (though I think he’s better defensively).
B^2
In Daryl Morey, Rick Smith and Ed Wade we (usually) trust.
I think...
These stats might be oversimplified. If you take one on one defense in this league you’ll find that roughly 95% of the league falls in to your classification of a specialist. How many lockdown defenders do you know will tear up the offensive end of the court? Crazy Pills put up good numbers offensively (Albeit, not efficiently) and was a lock down defender. Lebron fits that mold. Very few others.
When you look at the Rockets, there are several players who are labelled as one dimensional but it is that blend that highlights the Rockets concept of the last few years. Team ball. Yes, Aaron might not be the best defensive point guard in the league, same with Martin. But when you pair them with one of our wing defenders and either Hayes or Yao at the center, they play good enough help defense to choke out defending players.
It’s like people’s knock on Shane Battier. Sure, he’s not a muscle bound one on one defender, but he has helped teach this team that you have 5 players on the court, not one. Prior to some defensive let downs and collapses this year, the Rockets have a history of showing just how useful that help D is by being one of the top defensive teams in the league.
I'm always right, this isn't conjecture, merely statement of fact.
I'm Not Saying Isolation Defense is the End All Be All...
Obviously that is a very very small part of perimeter defense. My point was simply that he is one of the worst in the league (like Arenas/JRich bad), and if you look at his poor lateral quickness, its easy to see him as a liability out there.
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I WOULD beg to differ that we have more offensively or defensively polarized players than other teams.
Take Orlando, as an example:
1. Dwight Howard: Obviously has a role on both ends of the court, we know this, moving on…
2. Rashard Lewis: Offensively he’s a walking mismatch at the 4 (probably one of the biggest reasons for their success), defensively he can guard the 4 position effectively enough to keep himself on the court, even against physical defenders. This establishes a role for him.
3. Vince Carter: I don’t know if he plays defense or offense. We’ll call him a no way player? Just kidding. We know he knows how to play defense, its another question if he will do it.
4. Pietrus: Perhaps a “Rockets-esque” player as hes established a role as a solid perimeter defender and playmaker who on offense just plays a role in spreading the floor, knocking the 3 down at a so-so clip.
5. Jameer Nelson: Maybe a liability on defense, but point guard is without a doubt the position hardest to defend, and thus has the lowest need for a solid defensive player. Likewise, Brooks isn’t the issue, and the defensive upgrade Lowry brings isn’t as big a deal as it would be in another position.
None of those guys are as polarizing as the Rockets on my list. When you get to their bench with Redick, Barnes, and Anderson, the story changes, but we’ll ignore that. ;)
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But you are right, team defense is a whole different beast than individual defense. And much like our offense, we’ll just have to trust Sleepy to put out lineups than can maximize their effectiveness on both ends of the court. But I think, more than any other potentially elite team’s coach, he has a puzzle to figure out.
I see it a bit differently.
I think Morey has given Adelman an excellent tool set for creating mismatches.
This is a stingy defensive unit: Lowry, Jeffries, Ariza, Battier (PF), Hayes/Yao. Everyone but Yao can play another position if the matchup requires (we’ve seen Lowry guard 2s when in the game with Brooks). Jeffries can play center if needed, in certain circumstances.
This is a high-scoring unit: Brooks, Martin, Budinger, Scola/Yao/Hill/Andersen (I expect to see Andersen at PF sometimes with Yao in – we get that “stretch PF” effect with him.
The thing is you can mix and match to either create mismatches, or to try to nullify a big time offensive threat.
I’m still not sure why Temple is gone, as you could put out a very tall unit with him at point, but oh well.
Significant gravitas shortfall expected in 2010.
Too hard to judge team D at this time.
Without any shoot blocking presence it makes it too difficult to tell what our team defense will look like. Although Ming is not playing this year the team must still be built as if he were playing. Nothing short of a trade of LeBron to the Rockets would have propelled us into contention this year. It’s not about playing one on one defense, it is about team defense and we will know a great deal more next year. This year was a wash, who knows what will happen next year, but I’m excited about seeing the full roster.
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