Can Asik play the 4?

I said in the rumored deal thread that him being able to play the 4 or not is another discussion, so I thought I would start that.

In my opinion, we need a vet who can play both spots well

 

He could if we had a stretch 5. I don't know really.

 

We don't though. We have Lopez.

So I guess I am asking, can Lopez and Asik play together?

Same question for those that want Hawes. Hawes is a stretch guy on offense, but can he defend 4's?

 

Eh... It'd be like having a better Freeland on the team. No offense really.

 

I am def. for hawes... more for his stretching the floor abilities... his defense isn't the greatest, but it is passable.

 

I guess the real question is can Asik play with Freeland or Lopez for 10 minutes a game? I'm sure it wouldn't be worse than Leonard.

Lopez could drop down to 28 minutes a game, giving Asik the opportunity to get 20 minutes at 5. Maybe another 8 minutes at 4?

 

Talk about Mo having to jack up a ton of shots if that is the case!

 

It would be really interesting to see a Lopez/Asik front line. Talk about rebounding!!!!

 

Very true.

Asik/Wright/Mo/CJ our second unit? That's not terrible.

 

CJ truly is our missing piece. That is of course he can play to his advertise. He's like a Lillard-light! But you put Two great rebounders in, then shit gets real quick!

 

We have a stretch 4 in Aldridge; could Asik play half of his minutes with Aldridge? Use him like we use Mo Williams, kind of. I gotta think how this would work....

 

At the very least, CJ is our measuring stick to see what we do at the deadline. I still think we get a back up defensive big. We are in win now mode.

If we got A lopez/Asik frontcourt even for 10 minutes on our second unit, that will be huge. Even Asik/Freeland I think could work (Asik at the 5, Freeland at the 4).

The big difference is that Lopez is a team player and will bring Asik in and tell him to get his shit straight and rebound for the team. I think that's a big reason why Asik and Howard (underneath it all) didn't work.

 

I thought the whole reason for Asik being shopped is he can't play effectively with Howard on the court.

I don't see Hoston sending Asik anywhere but the east. OKC, SA, Clips and the Blazers could all use Asik, but if Houston is in win now mentality, they don't trade Asik to a contending team in the west.

 

I nominate Taj Gibson. He would be a great fit next to Leonard and could play next to Freeland. Might be able to sell the blazers on something like Gibson for Robinson

 

I would shit egg rolls if Chicago did this. Taj would be a great addition with playoff experience. His age would work out well for this team as well.

There really isn't a player in Chicago that is "untouchable", but I doubt they would like T rob for Taj

 

Taj would be very good as an active backup '4' but I don't think he has much of an outside game which is the issue with T-Rob. Now he is a much more accomplished player and used to being an impact guy off the bench but I'm wondering if he would fit the offense....haven't seen enough of his game to know for sure.

He's tremendous on help defense and does a good job of crashing the boards and keeping plays alive.

FWIW, Freeland/Meyers combined for 15 (25%) of the Blazers rebounds against the Clippers and as Meyers gets more comfortable, the kid does have a nice offensive touch. Interesting to see him subbing for Aldridge instead of Lopez and going 'Twin Towers' for a small stretch.

 

This question was emphatically answered by the Rockets early this season.