So how long before McHale benches Beverley?

[WhyISO]

Saw last night's game and boy, i won't even trade Raymond Felton for Patrick Bev. The dude hustles but he's GOT NO OFFENSIVE GAME and for a starting PG, he has no command of the offense. Just piss poor play. I took a look at his season stats and wonder…HOW ON FOCK'N EARTH is this guy starting???!?!?1

[KungFuJoe]

I like Beverley a lot...he hustles like crazy. But, when I see him play I can't help but think that he is best suited for bringing energy off the bench.

For me, the whole Bev vs Lin deal is this:

Beverley looks like he can be equally effective starting and off the bench. Because his game is energy and not so much "stats" his impact can be felt immediately with hustle, good D, etc.

With Lin, he is NOT an "instant offense" guy. He needs to play long stretches and he tends to take this time then will explode for bunches of points here and there. He's very much an "in the rhythm" kind of player. Because of this, he just doesn't seem as effective coming off the bench, especially when he only gets to play in spurts.

To be perfectly honest, if they insist on keeping Bev in the starting lineup and him and Harden continue to log near 40 minutes a game, the Rockets might as well bring AB off the bench for that instant offense spark and Lin is better off elsewhere.

[cw3k]

Saw last night's game and boy, i won't even trade Raymond Felton for Patrick Bev. The dude hustles but he's GOT NO OFFENSIVE GAME and for a starting PG, he has no command of the offense. Just piss poor play. I took a look at his season stats and wonder…HOW ON FOCK'N EARTH is this guy starting???!?!?1

EZ, he is the non-Lin guy, just like the one before him, Douglass.

Of course, no only he start, he is doing 40 mpg. The untouchable, Harden, Parson and Beverley. The real Trio of the Houston Rockets. Howards? Just another role player that is expandable.

[WhyISO]

Saw last night's game and boy, i won't even trade Raymond Felton for Patrick Bev. The dude hustles but he's GOT NO OFFENSIVE GAME and for a starting PG, he has no command of the offense. Just piss poor play. I took a look at his season stats and wonder…HOW ON FOCK'N EARTH is this guy starting???!?!?1

EZ, he is the non-Lin guy, just like the one before him, Douglass.

Of course, no only he start, he is doing 40 mpg. The untouchable, Harden, Parson and Beverley. The real Trio of the Houston Rockets. Howards? Just another role player that is expandable.

I don't know what folks see in Bev.
He's regressed as a defender and hasn't improved any areas of his offensive game. If you're NOT IMPROVING, then you've peaked….BUT Lin on the other hand has shown drastic improvement in his left hand, defense and 3 point shooting.

You play your BEST 5 players from start to FINISH to give your team the BEST chance to win. This benching of Lin is so bad, it's criminal.

FIRE SAMPSON!

Get his LIN back in New York...

[BaYBaller]

Kendrick Perkins

Ok, but the WORST starting line-up? I'm just pointing it out because clearly they are not the worst starting line-up in the league. It's a very shallow analysis no matter how you slice it really.

Uhm, yes they have been that bad this year. Go check out the OKC forum. They've been complaining about the starting lineup for a while now for digging them into early deficits. The stats bear that out. Can they improve? Of course. I fully expect them to. They've been playing together for years, but so far this year, they have been bad and the stats reflect that. There is really no reason to ignore the stats. They are what they are.

You're missing my point completely. You can say "over 150 mins they have the worst +/-" yes, that is just fact. But to extrapolate from that one single stat that OKC is, in fact, the worst starting line-up in the L, I don't think anybody would agree with that. What I was pointing out was that simply looking over +/- is one of the most shallowest of "analysis" you can get. It's the same deal with the thread I posted on how Casspi's +/- numbers in the 5-man units he is in are astronomically good.

If I was forced to just look at one stat as a means to compare defense b/w Bev and Lin, I would probably try to find PPP vs specific opponents so it (somewhat) mitigates the deviation caused by the opponent, although I don't know of any public database which keeps track of when specific players guard other specific players (since Lin spends a lot of time @ SG as well). There's more to defense than just man defense of course, but Lin has pretty good hands and his rebounding/steals numbers are pretty good.

[13th Man]

Beverley's role is to take the ball up the court and hand it over to Harden or Dwight, float around, take the occasional 3 and try to get offensive rebounds.

I don't see how this formula will work come playoff time. If he was a good 3-point shooter then maybe but he's not.

[Vator]

Ok, but the WORST starting line-up? I'm just pointing it out because clearly they are not the worst starting line-up in the league. It's a very shallow analysis no matter how you slice it really.

Uhm, yes they have been that bad this year. Go check out the OKC forum. They've been complaining about the starting lineup for a while now for digging them into early deficits. The stats bear that out. Can they improve? Of course. I fully expect them to. They've been playing together for years, but so far this year, they have been bad and the stats reflect that. There is really no reason to ignore the stats. They are what they are.

You're missing my point completely. You can say "over 150 mins they have the worst +/-" yes, that is just fact. But to extrapolate from that one single stat that OKC is, in fact, the worst starting line-up in the L, I don't think anybody would agree with that. What I was pointing out was that simply looking over +/- is one of the most shallowest of "analysis" you can get. It's the same deal with the thread I posted on how Casspi's +/- numbers in the 5-man units he is in are astronomically good.

If I was forced to just look at one stat as a means to compare defense b/w Bev and Lin, I would probably try to find PPP vs specific opponents so it (somewhat) mitigates the deviation caused by the opponent, although I don't know of any public database which keeps track of when specific players guard other specific players (since Lin spends a lot of time @ SG as well). There's more to defense than just man defense of course, but Lin has pretty good hands and his rebounding/steals numbers are pretty good.

1. Missing your point and not agreeing with your point are two different things.
2. Secondly, it isn't just a simple comparison of +/- that we're talking here.

[Vator]

And here is another national article on that starting unit. Seems like people are taking notice.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... src=mobile

Lineup: Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, Dwight Howard
Minutes Played: 180
Offensive Rating: 114.6 points per 100 possessions
Defensive Rating: 97.8 points per 100 possessions

How it works offensively
For years, the Rockets worked toward a day when they could employ elite talent to create an offense around basketball’s most efficient shots. With the acquisition of Dwight Howard, that day has arrived in Houston.

The numbers are outrageous: 53 percent of the starting unit’s shot attempts have been taken in the basket area, and another 26.3 percent of them come from beyond the arc. That means nearly four out of every five shots for this unit originate from one of the sweetest spots on the floor -- almost unheard of. Per 48 minutes, this lineup has scored 14.7 points more than its opponents just at the rim, coming into Thursday night.

[adrenaLINe]

This team is a 50 win team in my eyes...and will be for years to come

but I dont see them having what it takes to win a chip

[000001]

he played reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bad tonight

i think hes ok player for his salary but lately hes playing really bad ,not a starter

[x-]

he played reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bad tonight

i think hes ok player for his salary but lately hes playing really bad ,not a starter

Haven't watched tonights game yet, but Beverley was fantastic against the Warriors.

[cw3k]

This team is a 50 win team in my eyes...and will be for years to come

but I dont see them having what it takes to win a chip

Will be a 1st round exist for sure.

Their play is just too predictable.