Ty Lawson is the Houston Rockets’ shiny new toy. Patrick Beverley is, well…Woody from Toy Story might be the most apt comparison here. Yet the Rockets and coach Kevin McHale aren’t just going to throw Beverley aside to make use for Lawson; quite the opposite. As McHale told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, he still hasn’t decided who is starting and who will come off the bench.
“They’ll determine that,” McHale said before a Rockets event on Tuesday to unveil three new alternate uniforms. “We’ll find out. Can we play them together? Maybe. We’ll put them out there. We had 28 days of camp. We’ll decide who will get the lion’s share of the minutes. One will and one will be a backup.”
Before Lawson can even think of starting, though, McHale says he first needs to get back to the player he used to be. Lawson played at a slower pace under Brian Shaw in Denver than he did under George Karl. McHale wants to see Lawson return to his form from the Karl days, not just on offense, but defense, too.
“And he’s got to get back to playing better defense. He’s got to be the head of the snake defensively. He can. I’ve seen him.
If he just does what he does well, he’ll be a fit for us.”
How the Lawson/Beverley situation develops will be one of the more interesting storylines this season.
Beverley is a more natural fit alongside James Harden, but Lawson is the better player. Beverley is the better defender, but Lawson gives the Rockets’ offense a dimension they haven’t had since Goran Dragic. McHale said they might play them together, but can the Rockets afford to do that for extended minutes? Will they even be able to play together, knowing that both players are more effective with the ball in their hands?
If they can find a way to complement one another while complementing Harden, then the Rockets could have a lethal backcourt trio to end games. Everyone, obviously, just has to play along.
(Via Houston Chronicle)
