How Good is the Rockets Starting Line-up?

You don't need a star to win games in the NBA and make it to the playoffs. You do need a star to advance deep in the playoffs though. Look at the pacers. Who is there star? Hibbert, Granger. Same goes with Denver. Who is there star? Ty Lawson?

 

we undervalue martin soo much in this city its crazy ... last year the his had to make the biggest adjustment not only bc of change in offensive schemes but also bc of change in officiating and that process was hindered by him being hurt .. despite all that he averaged 17 points a game.... it is not unreasonable to assume that martin will improve his ppg by 3 points given a full offseason (we didnt have that last year) and another year of being in the offensive system.. and another year to deal with the changes in calls (most notable the refs requiring you to jump straight up when shooting ur jumper)

 

i think by the end of the year our starting line up will be different then the beginning of the year .. i think the team will be built around defense and will be a team that will look to run. this is my totally hopeful analysis of what the starting line up will be and how they will contribute

lin -- weak on defense, will score 14 plus points and get close to 7 assists
lamb --- (hopefully) will develop into a above average defender ..score 15 points
parsons -- strong on defense (which will help lamb bc he will guard the better player) average around 15 points (that is about a 5 point improvement from last year i hope he gets that by playing about 7 more min per game and through development in his second year)
DMO -- average defender who will on most nights guard the weaker of the 4 and 5 .. average 15 points a game
asik -- weak offensive player .. best defender on the team .. will average around 5 points

thats about 64 points by the starting lineup which would include 2 plus defenders and possibly another plus defender (lamb) they will have 4 players that would very good at running the floor and they will have 2 7 footers in the middle and length has to help in clogging lanes no matter what .. I think with that defense if we can hold opponents to under 100 (or close to it) we could be in a lot of games. We prob wont make the playoffs but that would give us a chance to add two lottery picks and atleast one max player to a team that can win close to 40 games this year

 

For those of you who have not seen Lin play defense, save a few games, and have only heard of Lin's defensive ability, or lack thereof:

Lin is NOT weak on defense. Never was. In fact, he was known to be a hard nosed quick defensive player who was a constant ball hawk always mucking up the offense for the other team, getting tips on passes, steals, blocks, quick unexpected double teams, who showed a LOT of ENERGY.

Yes, he did get lost a few times looking around to apply possible double teams, thereby leaving his man. Yes, he did go under the screen in his first few games, and didn't fight through as hard as he could.

But..

Since then, surprise, surprise, he LEARNED to fight through screens hard and keep a body on them to apply pressure. He's a solid if not really good on the defensive end and will lead the team in steals and get a decent amount of blocks and deflections in EVERY GAME. Always has. Last year, he had multiple 5,6,7+ steal games AND several mulitiple block games.

But team defense is where he shines. Help defense, quick aggressive double teams, I swear he must lead the league in picking up steals from a quick double team. He helps perfectly, he has a natural instinct for defense, and takes charges well.

As a side note, people thought he was poor on the free throw line at first, so what did he do, He went 43-44 free throws or something like that to close out the season.

 

How ironic that our weakest position is pf at the starter position.. The number of power forwards who have walked through our doors this off season has to be a record

 

Hahahaha.

 

Don't agree . I think the PG spot looks weaker ... Not really much outside of Lin and even he has question marks.

 

If we were to open the season with
Lin
Martin
Parsons
Pats
Asik
That would already be a better defensive line-up than last years starters. If Patterson progresses, then we may be on to something.

 

why is everyone so high on Patterson, he sucks! and is a scrub. Please stop it with this Patterson crap.

 

Patterson is a soldier. He played hurt all last season.

 

If Lamb eventually replaced Martin in that lineup, it will be very good in a couple of years.

We are still missing a center piece, however.

 

I agree Patterson is a jump shooting scrub. He can't do anything else. One dimensional player.

 

Patterson in his rookie season was a much more explosive player.He injured his foot and it never healed properly after surgery.He played in pain all last season.You just didn't hear much about it because he didn't complain.

He had a 2nd surgery after this season and say's he is pain free now.So people are eager to see if he returns to the form he showed as a rookie.

 

I wouldn't say he is as great defensively as you say he is. Sometime he gets beat off the dribble by quicker guards. But he trails really nicely and his strength and quick hands usually allows him to get the steal or go for a jump ball. Sometimes he over plays the passing lanes as well when going for a steal, he usually runs back to contest the shot but by then it is too late. You mentioned a few of the other things already. It is hard to say how much of his perception that he is weak on defense is attributed solely to him or to his former team. Under MDA the entire team wasn't playing strong team defense. Under Woodson all of that changed and lo and behold Lin's defense was a lot better lol. I think Asik will work really well with Lin to be honest. Just some perspective.

 

Patterson will be alright. He has been banging chicks with Chandler all summer. He'll return to form.

 

I think that centerpiece will be Motiejunas, Lamb, White and Jones. Lets build around them.

 

Would love to see:
PG - Lin
SG - Lamb
SF - White
PF - Jones
C - D-Mo

Very athletic, 4 guys with range from deep, 3 good rebounders and lots of height out of the SF, PF, & C (6'8", 6'10", & 7'0"), 2 plus passers in Lin and White. I think would be one of our better line-ups to get out and run with.