At one point we had the starting five w Nene and Johnson and Gordon, Green, Anderson(Somewhat). All getting minutes on given games
The only time they shrink the rotation is during playoffs. And its usually also 8 man. Regular season they are way more flexible
This is good, but it all happened on one freak late season dunk. I wonder if Prince should've taken that surgery.
Small Forwards for the Rockets will get Noticed by the National Media in a shocking manner. Mike D'Antoni always makes quicker forwards play above their level. Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Joe Johnson. Ariza, Luc. Mike always make players get the big bucks. Ennis will get his Money in Free Agency for sure, Carmelo too will reinvent himself and get his value back.
I thought Ennis looked a bit heavier in Detroit/Memphis, but on that video looks like he has trimmed down some to his Miami Heat days. Looks good. I think Ennis will be pretty solid for the Rockets this season.
the problem i see w/ him is being able to stay out of foul trouble. he plays an aggressive physical style of defense and his lateral quickness often isn't good enough to stay in front of people, so he ends up fouling from behind while trying to recover
i was surprised to see the behind the back dribble into a spin move for a jump shot. i didn't know he had any handles. i think solid is the right word. our vet min guys (green, ennis, MCW) will provide nice depth and versatility for the regular season marathon. where guys miss games and we have to go to the next man up, which will be them. quality depth will help us get the #1 record again. however, it remains to be seen if any will make the playoff rotation of 8-9 guys... or if any (probably not after a ryno trade) can make the WCF rotation of 7-8. ennis has the best shot of the 3, while green may still be put in just to get out of scoring droughts. MCW will have the hardest time finding minutes in the playoffs but will be useful during the season since paul misses like 20 games. not to get off topic, but getting HCA against the warriors is the only way to beat them. we need the #1 spot again so this depth is a big deal, and so is paul missing so many games each year. it will be important to have quality backup PGs. who knows if that is MCW or melton (if he's not traded). maybe its tyler johnson. but that 3rd pg after paul and harden, the one that plays backup when paul is out and harden starts at pg, will be crucial to getting that #1 spot and HCA against the warriors which is really the only way to have a chance.
100% agree getting the #1 seed is critical. Rockets are working in the margins here. They have to make up for the fact they don't have FIVE ALL STARS on their team like GSW. The Rockets NEED game 5 and game 7 at home. They need any EDGE they can get. I think GSW will do a lot of "resting" this season. And the West is tougher. GSW proved they DONT need the #1 seed to win. So I could see them taking the foot off the gas in the regular season. Conversely, the Rockets KNOW they need the #1 seed. I expect them to push hard. BUT, having guys like Melo that can carry the weight and "save" CP some wear and tear in the regular season is critical. Not sure many people are considering that aspect.
we never had enough creators in the playoffs. at first it was only james. now at least it was both pointgods and we almost wont it. add melo, and maybe james johnson and we're better than last year even with losing ariza and luc. even for those who don't think melo can play D in the playoffs, we have ennis to play some of his minutes when we need a stop. the last piece is a 3rd PG. hopefully MCW and melton pan out. i agree that the warriors will rest. they're cocky. if we have enough depth to withstand multiple injuries and keep winning, we will be back at #1 overall. i think ennis and green give us that. not so sure about MCW or melton yet.
Everyone talks about how the Rockets defense was the key to beating GSW. Agreed. But what is NOT talked about now is what you said. And is what the "big takeaway" from the playoffs. Is that "on top of defense" they needed "more creators." Media hasn't figured this out yet. GSW figured the Rockets out though. And the Rockets know this. Need 4+ creators on the floor at all times.
