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1st Impression of Harden and Westbrook Sharing the Court Together

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Reeko, Oct 16, 2019.

  1. chenjy9

    chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie
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    Keep in mind that everyone who was actually involved in the process flat out stated that there would be challenges, but eventually Harden and WB would figure how to coexist. Not sure why people are raising such a fuss about it after a single game.
     
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  2. jiggyfly

    jiggyfly Member

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    That's not how you spell that.

    In ISO ball you especially need chemistry because it takes much more sacrifice to wait around for the ball.

    Genius.
     
  3. subtomic

    subtomic Contributing Member
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    Why does it take more chemistry to wait around for the ball then it does to move the ball around?
     
  4. BasketMAD

    BasketMAD Member

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    Mental gymnastics from Harden stans here. "It takes more chemistry to dribble around a ball and take turns dribbling around a ball." Hmmm...
     
  5. amaru

    amaru Member

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    Not encouraged but not discouraged either. It looks like guys that need to get the chemistry together. It can work, but we'll see if it does. Personally, I think the ball needs to be in Westbrook's hands more with Harden on the wings. He's the superior shooter.
     
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  6. jiggyfly

    jiggyfly Member

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    Because if the chemistry is bad the ball does get passed around and everybody is going for theirs.

    Its actually pretty simple to anybody who knows team basketball.
     
  7. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    'Just figure it out': Inside Houston's plan for a Harden-Westbrook backcourt

    [...]

    "We're not going to make it too complicated," D'Antoni said. "They're MVPs. They'll put up MVP numbers. I don't have to interject how smart I am. That'll just screw it up. They're really f---ing good."

    One certainty is that D'Antoni will stagger his stars' stints on the floor, as he did with Harden and Paul; Harden and Westbrook will actually play together less than half the game. D'Antoni said if he sticks to his tentative plan, they'll share the floor for about 19 minutes per game, including crunch time.

    D'Antoni said he wants to get Harden down to an average of 35 minutes, which would be his fewest since he was the Thunder's sixth man. The goal for Westbrook is 32 minutes per game, which would be his lowest for any season other than 2013-14, when he was coming off the infamous playoff collision with Patrick Beverley that led to multiple knee surgeries, including one in the middle of the season. Eric Gordon will return to the sixth-man role, allowing D'Antoni to have at least two dynamic scorers on the floor at all times.

    The Rockets are adamant about another significant change: revving up the pace, which plays to Westbrook's breathtaking speed, as well as Harden's overlooked skill as one of the league's best look-ahead passers.

    The Rockets moved only slightly faster than Houston's horrendous rush-hour traffic last season, when they played at a slower pace than all but three teams. General manager Daryl Morey believes there's a "good chance" that this edition of the Rockets will play faster than any previous team coached by D'Antoni, including the Phoenix Suns from the "Seven Seconds or Less" era or the 2016-17 Rockets, who ranked third in the league in pace.

    [...]

    Skeptics among opposing executives, coaches and scouts wonder, though, about Westbrook's role when the Rockets can't get out in transition. What will Westbrook do without the ball while Harden works his unique brand of off-the-bounce wizardry?

    "That's the billion-dollar question," one West executive said.

    The doubts about Westbrook's fit with Harden, who has evolved from the Thunder's No. 3 option into arguably the best scorer of his generation, focus on Westbrook's perimeter shooting. Defenses will dare Westbrook, a 30.8% career 3-point shooter, to beat them from beyond the arc.

    "We'll be fine with that," Morey said. "That's going to be a very good shot for us, I think. I do agree that that's going to be one that teams will choose, but I think that's going to be a tough choice for them. I think he's going to have his best year shooting."

    The Rockets anticipate that Westbrook's defender will often sag off when he spots up on the wing, which is where he'll be on most Harden isolations. The extreme version of that was seen in Houston's preseason loss to the San Antonio Spurs, who planted Westbrook's defender in the middle of the free throw line, almost 10 feet away.

    Morey expects that Westbrook, even if his shooting doesn't improve, will be able to "attack that space," using the sagging strategy as an invitation to a runway and creating opportunities to collapse the defense -- and in that way Westbrook could make a positive impact in an off-ball role next to Harden.

    [...]

    Westbrook will be given a green light to crash the offensive glass, but D'Antoni doesn't want him making random cuts, preferring that Harden know where his potential passing targets are located. And D'Antoni says he has no intention of making drastic adjustments to a system that has pumped out historically elite offensive ratings in each of his three seasons in Houston, with Harden's scoring average climbing in each.

    Westbrook has declared that the duo formed with Harden will be "scary" for opponents, but he doesn't expect things to always be smooth. He's already sick of questions about the fit and more focused on gaining familiarity with the rest of the Rockets and playing his way into peak condition after his recovery from knee surgery kept him out of 5-on-5 action until just before training camp.

    He's also dealing with a dislocated right pinky finger but dismissed that as a concern, saying "point guard fingers are always going to be f---ed up."

    "It's going to come, man," Westbrook said after the Spurs game, when he finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting and twice as many turnovers (eight) as assists. "It's just going to be a process, like I mentioned earlier in the season. It's going to be a season where we figure it out. And teams that have figured it out still struggle, so don't be, like, alarmed. Don't be like, 'Oh, s---, they've got it figured out.'

    "Because y'all going to ask the question every game. If we play bad, you're going to ask, 'How you feeling? Have you guys figured it out?' Ain't no need to ask the same question, because I'm going to give you the same answer. It's going to be fine."

    The Rockets will tinker with some sets and plays early in the season. They might experiment with Westbrook working the corner and baseline, as he often did when Harden took over as the primary facilitator late in games during their OKC days. Westbrook might occasionally set a screen for Harden, sometimes to get a switch, sometimes slipping the pick to use his speed to create havoc for the defense despite not having the ball.

    "We can change up some things to help [Westbrook] out as it goes on," D'Antoni said. "Work on a couple of little wrinkles. To have it mapped out right now, no, don't know a whole lot."

    "I'm all ears, man," Westbrook said, all smiles as he pondered the journey ahead. "I'm here, I'm new, I'm excited."
     
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  8. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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  9. xiki

    xiki Contributing Member

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    I was never much into the sciences so, to this day, I just don't understand what 'chemistry' is. I played ball competitively for (seemingly) ever and never heard of 'chemistry'. I guess it's part of this new world that's left an old flahrt out to sink in the rising seas.
     
  10. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    The offense is fine, the defense sucks
     
  11. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    The offense sucked, the defense sucked.

    Going to be a long year.

    We are a midget team too.

    Disaster.

    DD
     
  12. javal_lon

    javal_lon Member

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    Gonna be fiyah!... I'm still as excited now as I was before this loss...
     
  13. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    We won’t beat good teams with this Oompa Loompa roster.

    DD
     
  14. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    WB is good but a smarter, shooting WB would be better fit.
     
  15. Rocketman7

    Rocketman7 Member

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    The Rockets need a coach
     
  16. TilmanFinancialWindfall

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    Russ is so much better than Harden, I hate to say it. Russ plays his game and don't give a damn.

    Harden just try to draw fouls. That's why his game doesn't work in the playoff and why it won't work when Morey screwed the Rockets. Refs have been told to screw Rockets by the Chinese leader $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
     
  17. javal_lon

    javal_lon Member

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    If I recall, we have two 7-footers , and a couple guys that play big for their heights... Rebounding wasnt the problem.. These long ass droughts and pathetic chucking when we're up double digits, are the problems.
     
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  18. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    We have no inside option at all they went to the hole or inside late and we chucked it from the cheap seats.

    DD
     
  19. Rocket_Man_2.0

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    Wb surprised me!
     
  20. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    He was definitely better tonight
     
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