McHale did not do a good job tonight.

Robin Lopez was the key to this game, he does everything right in a quiet way.

yellowboy90 wrote:

holfresh wrote:Aldridge put up some crazy shots tonight..Not the blueprint to win but worked tonight..

He took some very bad step backs but he also had a diverse game with some catch and shoots, attacks at the rim, and ft line attempts. The worry is that it is taking two big games from Aldridge to squeak by and that scares me.

But at the same time, most of the portland team shot horribly so even if LA comes back down to earth I would expect much better shooting from his teammates.

NYKBocker wrote:Rockets lose and I think Big Chief Triangle can have Morey by the short and curly. If they want Melo..I want Asik, Lin, Parsons, Montijunas, 1st round pick and 2nd round pick.

Melo doesn't fit there...Melo holds the ball, Harden pounds the ball, DHow needs it in the post...

NYKBocker wrote:

holfresh wrote:

NYKBocker wrote:Rockets lose and I think Big Chief Triangle can have Morey by the short and curly. If they want Melo..I want Asik, Lin, Parsons, Montijunas, 1st round pick and 2nd round pick.

Melo doesn't fit there...Melo holds the ball, Harden pounds the ball, DHow needs it in the post...

Yeah...but I think they will panic and make this move.

Also, Phil isn't here to rebuild...

mreinman wrote:I actually think that he can fit it great with houston if McHale can actually get them to play to each others strengths. Melo would give that offense the spacing that it needs if he would be willing to be a wing / catch and shoot player.

Melo shoots in rhythm...He is a volume guy...Harden is a volume guy...Both has to have the ball and their touches...Doesn't mean Houston wouldn't jump on that deal...Does Melo allow a hot Harden do his thing and visa versa??..Also DHow??..Harden is lost watching Howard..

mreinman wrote:

holfresh wrote:

mreinman wrote:I actually think that he can fit it great with houston if McHale can actually get them to play to each others strengths. Melo would give that offense the spacing that it needs if he would be willing to be a wing / catch and shoot player.

Melo shoots in rhythm...He is a volume guy...Harden is a volume guy...Both has to have the ball and their touches...Doesn't mean Houston wouldn't jump on that deal...Does Melo allow a hot Harden do his thing and visa versa??..Also DHow??..Harden is lost watching Howard..

I don't think that Melo needs to or should be a volume shooter to be effective. He is much more efficient as a catch and shoot player and smartly, this is the way he was used in the olympics.

Harden did fine playing backseat in OKC and I think that he should be orchestrating and shooting open looks.

I am not a huge fan of howards game and would like to see a lower usage rate for him and have him concentrate on defense and rebounding.

I think they would fit better if Howard was not there but unless Howard is willing to reduce his role like Bosh did it will not work. Also, Morey is too smart to want Melo, right? Anyway, I do think Harden and Melo can play well together because if you can play with Smith you can play with any wing. lol.

mreinman wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

mreinman wrote:

holfresh wrote:

mreinman wrote:I actually think that he can fit it great with houston if McHale can actually get them to play to each others strengths. Melo would give that offense the spacing that it needs if he would be willing to be a wing / catch and shoot player.

Melo shoots in rhythm...He is a volume guy...Harden is a volume guy...Both has to have the ball and their touches...Doesn't mean Houston wouldn't jump on that deal...Does Melo allow a hot Harden do his thing and visa versa??..Also DHow??..Harden is lost watching Howard..

I don't think that Melo needs to or should be a volume shooter to be effective. He is much more efficient as a catch and shoot player and smartly, this is the way he was used in the olympics.

Harden did fine playing backseat in OKC and I think that he should be orchestrating and shooting open looks.

I am not a huge fan of howards game and would like to see a lower usage rate for him and have him concentrate on defense and rebounding.

I think they would fit better if Howard was not there but unless Howard is willing to reduce his role like Bosh did it will not work. Also, Morey is too smart to want Melo, right? Anyway, I do think Harden and Melo can play well together because if you can play with Smith you can play with any wing. lol.

Bosh can stretch the defense with his shooting while Howard can't. That is a big problem with today's game.

Very true that's why it is not a good fit unless Howard is willing to play a reduced role and/or Melo plays the 4 or they keep Jones at the 4. Beverely, Harden, Melo, Jones, and Howard is plenty of spacing. It's a little like the Hedo/Lewis days in Orl.

yellowboy90 wrote:Houston we have a problem. They picked a bad time to go all knicks like late in the game

Houston has zero heart- Harden, Dwight and Parsons- lots of arrogance, skill, but no heart- I find it impossible to root for those guys.

smackeddog wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

mreinman wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

mreinman wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:Aldridge is going all "last year Hibbert" in the playoffs. Efficiency is coming from nowhere. I still scratch my head at some of his shots but every player takes bad shots.

He is just on this series. Don't really care for his rainbow shot selection.

Aldridge is flowing though. I give him credit for having it going on both ends too. He kind of slowed down Howard in the 1st half too.

Let's see what he does for the full playoffs. You are the one who introduced me to his low percentages, I was not even aware how low it was.

Btw, I am trying to find a sight that tracks passes per touches and assist opportunities per touch. NBA.com has them separate (e.g.):

http://stats.nba.com/playerTrackingPassing.html?pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sortField=AST_POT&sortOrder=DES&filters=TeamAbbr*E*NYK

and I don't want to do all the dirty work. I have seen these stats before but I can't find them.

Yeah, I know that's why I am surprised but will give credit. It's just two games but if he keeps it up look out. Indy became dominant because Hibbert turned his 49 TS% into a 57 TS%.

Also, if you find those stats post a link for me, Thanks.

I love Aldridge's game, and it's great to see him having a monster series. Rooting for the Blazers- it's old school basketball versus analytics!

Same here. Aldridge is one of my favorite players. He actually reminds me a little of Kevin McHale with better range. Not all the up and under moves but the fact that he can take his man down low or take him outside.