Joel Pryzbilla is averaging 4.0 ppg Nicholas Batum is at 1.7ppg Out of the other 15 NBA playoff teams starters only Matt Bonnor from the 1-3 Spurs is averaging less. He is shooting 21% from the field and is the coldest player in the league. Pryzbilla and Batum are both shooting 50% from the field. Thus their paltry PPG aren't a result of a temporary cold stretch, they just don't shoot the ball. This allows the Rockets to cheat off those two and make life extremely difficult for the rest of the team. They have the worst +/- on the team for the series with Joel's at -35 and Nick at -32. Batum should not be playing in this series. Against teams where we need wing defense Batum is the best on our team, but that is not the kind of team we're playing. Joel should primarily just be in the game when Oden is resting and defense/rebounding are needed, usually only if Yao is playing.
Our strength is getting our best players the most possible quality shots available. Houston's strength is their defense. They have a great defender at the SF and a 7'6" center. They are probably the 2nd best defensive team in the league. It's not surprise that Joel and Batum are not scoring. They didn't score much all year, so I wouldn't expect it to go up against a team like Houston.
Against most teams that works fine for those two, they provide enough defensive benefit to negate their lack of offense. But against the Rockets that is not happening.
I think there is a strong case to be made that we can't have both Batum and Joel out there together. It's tough enough playing with only 4 threats on offense, let alone 3. But what is the solution? Option #1: Start Oden. I think this is a bit risky, as we don't need him going down with two quick fouls. Whether you start him or not, I'd like to see Greg get as many minutes as possible, and to do that Nate must use all 6 of Greg's fouls! Option #2: Start Outlaw. A week ago I would have been OK with this. But with Travis struggling so much, it's hard for me to think this is the solution. But maybe starting him would get him easier shots, and let him break out of his funk. Option #3: Start Rudy. Sure we'd be going small, but the offense should really benefit. The problem with this is that with Outlaw struggling, who is going to bring offense off the bench? Asking Greg to do it all himself is a tall order. Whether Nate sticks with the same starting 5, or goes with one of these choices, this much is clear: Greg and Rudy need to be on the floor as much as possible!
