No, we shouldn't. I just wanted to be preemptive and get this out of the way. This topic arises with every guard we add. There have been threads in the past arguing for Lin, Lawson, and Gordon to start over Beverley and every single time Beverley has won the nod. (I'm not sure if they ever got threads, but I also recall even KJ and Marcus Thornton's names being thrown out there to start over Bev.) Patrick Beverley is a great complement to Harden in the backcourt and is integral to team chemistry. Lou Williams has shown for years he's an excellent option coming off the bench. It's simple.
You get better offensively.... tremendously.... and then you bring defense and offense off the bench when harden is taking a breather or when he is not.... It is a good formula for the Rockets. Makes everything easy.
Some are already saying put Gordon back in the starting role, too. Our NetORtg in the 1st quarter is +9.3 with the fastest Pace of the game...at 104 ... Harden plays the entire quarter. Our NetORtg in the 4th quarter is -1.1 with the slowest Pace of the game...at 98 ... Harden often has to rest for the first 6 minutes We don't have a 1st Q problem. No need to obsess over the Starters. We need a better attack when Harden sits. I would have Gordon and Lou create a bond off the bench, to step on the pedal when Harden sits. And I'd play more 3 guards.
First off, you make it sound like Bev plays every minute with Harden. Bev sits at the 6 minute mark in the 1st, when Gordon comes in. Harden plays the entire 1st Q. Now for the stats, which are actually opposite to what you wrote We lead the league in ORtg in the 1st Q by a big margin over GSW. We don't need more offense in the 1st. We need more offense in the 2nd, where we drop to 8th in the league, but ironically, play our best defense. It is the 4th quarter that we get outscored. Focus on that. Forget the 1st Q and first substitution, that's fine.
While I agree with you I don't think that it's about the averages in this case. I think you have to look at what gives us the best chance to beat the top teams in a 7 game series. But I agree. Keep Bev as starter. Would definitely like Lou and Gordon to see more minutes than him though because they are both better overall players.
Do not get any ideas.... it is not the time for experiments... could do it barring an injury or resting the said player
No, Bev should remain the Starter. The whole point of the Lou trade is to shore up the bench production, and get E. Gordon a side-sick other than Dekker/Brewer. Lou fits the bill. Keep Bev a starter. Give half of Dekker' and all of Brewer' minutes to Lou. The other half of Dekker' minutes, give it all to K.J. as Lou need options to with E.Gordon and K.J., on the wing.
Harden and Beverley compliment each other very well and have good chemistry. They're the starters and leaders of the lettuce squad. Lou and EGO are the 6th dudes of the year and they will run the 2nd unit. Either of those dudes could start for many teams in the league right now, we just have to hope there are no chemistry issues there because if they gel then our bench might have several games where they outscore our starters, which is just flat out sorcery. EGO and Lou are the leaders of the spinach/kale squad. The thing I like about Lou is that he features a nice mid range game but is also dynamite from the corner three. The problem I have with Lou is that at times he's an unwilling passer and our offense could suffer from that if he starts playing hero ball too much with the second unit because we don't have the super athletic pieces that he was accustomed to in L.A, and you have to keep Gordon involved and our bigs involved in the PnR's. I'm assuming Lou will be handling the ball for most of the time that either Harden or Bev are out of the game. Should be interesting to see how that works out. Lou won't be starting, though. He will need time to get acclimated to the team and he and Gordon will be the bench guys.
Beverley and Ariza should both start over Gordon/Lou, here's why Bev/Ariza can't create for their selves, they NEED Harden to find them, our bench does not have a passer to facilitate them. Gordon and Lou do not need a facilitator, they create their own shots. We need scoring when Harden sits. I think I'd vomit if Ariza/Bev were on the court trying to create their own shots without Harden/Gordon/Lou. Every minute that Harden is off the court, both Gordon and Lou should be in. Simple as that, plus you have better defenders setting the tone to start the game.
Can't believe Im agreeing with you 100% on this post, for the first time. Unreal! Because sometimes you need to be SLAPPED for your stupidity.
I think Bev should start, but we'll probably plenty of time where Lou/Gordon/Harden are playing the 1-3 positions. That's just crazy offense. It'll be a nice experiment to see how Harden meshes with a scoring and playmaking combo guard of Williams' caliber. Will the foul drawing ability stack? I'm also curious to see how Williams performs on a team with this much spacing. He put up these stats with an absolute garbage roster that can't shoot. Can he improve even further in this offense?
No, which means Dekker will likely be starting next game. He just got promoted to the lettuce squad. Hopefully, he goes for 30 points again.
He also needs a lot of screens to free him up. Problem is he hardly rewards screeners even when they roll hard to basket. And he floats on D, away from action. When Lou is on floor he is the offense otherwise he's not contributing much. Needs to buy in to MDA as well as Bzdelik's systems.
Cool, I'm getting really excited in my pants right now. Anytime Bev gets hurt I always look at it in debbie downer fashion.
Lou doesn't play defense so we should never start him alongside Harden. Lou modeled his career after Jamal so he should always come off the bench.
