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[2018-2019] The Media Narratives Thread

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Sajan, Jul 23, 2018.

  1. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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  2. yixiixiy

    yixiixiy Member

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    For those who ever again blindly slashes Harden’s defense. (Only ISO on the perimeter, not including posts)

     
    #82 yixiixiy, Aug 5, 2018
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2018
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  3. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    You didn't even mention the games the Rockets took off to end the season to rest. It's amazing the amount of injuries the Rockets had and still got to 65 wins. There was also a stretch in the middle of the season where the Rockets lost 5 straight to garbage teams..
     
  4. MonteMelo

    MonteMelo Member

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    Hmm interesting. I tried to pull out the same stats for:

    Ariza:
    1.00 iso per game
    0.90 pts per possesion
    42.9% score freq.
    44.8 FG
    47.4 EFG

    Melo:
    1,50 iso per game
    0.87 pts per possesion
    41.9% score freq.
    38.8 % FG
    43.2 % EFG

    Soooo where is the biggest Melo hater @Zboy, I have a question for him.... Teams will just isolate Melo on every possesion, right? Right?
     
  5. yixiixiy

    yixiixiy Member

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    Except that these are not the same stats my man. Matt was talking about defense.

     
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  6. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    When the 54.5 O/U came out yesterday Matt Moore said he as taking the UNDER!



    Rockets Twitter (hi @The Cat) came barging in like the Kool-Aid man with stats and eventually (2.5 hours later) Matt relented and took the over with 57 wins.

     
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  7. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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  8. HillBoy

    HillBoy Contributing Member

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    That's just the way it is around here. These yahoos act like what the media has to say actually counts in the standings.
     
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  9. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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  10. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Are We Sure … That the Rockets’ Championship Window Hasn’t Already Closed?
    https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/8/8/17662016/houston-rockets-chris-paul-are-we-sure

    Not that long ago, there was still hope for Lob City to become a gleaming championship metropolis in the NBA landscape. Just two years ago, the predominant preseason story lines for the Clippers were exactly what you’d remember: Will they ever get out of the second round of the playoffs, and what about that long-promised and elusive title? Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and J.J. Redick said all the right things about taking the next step. Chris Paul was closer to defiant about it. After practice one day, I asked him about the narrative surrounding that team and how they might change it. His answer was simple: “By winning. That’s how we change it.”

    [Narrator: They didn’t change it.]

    Just two short years later, Griffin is playing in Detroit, Jordan is in Dallas, Redick is in Philly (when he isn’t busy doing a podcast for the Blog Boys Network), and Paul is about to begin his second season in Houston. Things can change quickly in the NBA. One moment you have a team loaded with talent that’s primed to compete for a championship, the next that same squad is dismantled and its best parts are scattered around the league.

    Paul knows better than most how the window of opportunity can slam shut on you in this league. The Clippers won 50-plus games for five straight seasons—which felt like a good, long time, until it was over and their collective promise went poof. That’s an experience Paul would probably prefer to avoid repeating in Houston; it’s nice to be thought of as a team that’s making the climb toward something great, unless you never reach the intended summit.

    Just more than two months ago, CP3 and the Rockets were one win away from defeating the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs and advancing to the NBA Finals. Paul’s hamstring injury late in Game 5 changed the course of the series, which Houston had a 3-2 advantage in. Sidelined for the final two games, Paul was forced to watch the Warriors fight their way back and win the Western Conference once again. That had to be a tough blow—especially because of everything the Rockets achieved up to that point.

    Houston won a league-best 65 games last season, led the league in net rating, and saw James Harden finally win his first MVP award. The Rockets also did something some of us were skeptical about: They seamlessly integrated two ball-dominant guards in Harden and Paul on the floor and avoided any public spats off of it. By any measure, it was a wildly successful campaign—with the notable exception of that fourth Western Conference finals win that got away.

    Given everything the Rockets accomplished last season, it might seem silly or premature at this point to worry about Houston’s championship window. But when you consider how the offseason went for the Rockets and the rest of the conference, not to mention the league’s ever-shifting hierarchy, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Houston will remain at the front of the pack. The Rockets re-signed Chris Paul to a four-year deal worth $160 million. They also retained the services of Clint Capela, locking him up for five years and $90 million. That’s to general manager Daryl Morey’s credit. They were priorities, and he kept them in the mix.

    But because the Rockets are looking at a luxury-tax hit in the neighborhood of $19 million, they were limited in what they could do with the rest of the roster. Swingman Trevor Ariza fled to Phoenix on a one-year deal for $15 million, while Luc Mbah a Moute signed a one-year contract with the Clippers for $4.3 million. Both players were versatile 3-and-D wings that often served as big men in the Rockets system, and both will be missed by head coach Mike D’Antoni, particularly because they were two of the most reliable options on a Houston team that had the sixth-best defensive rating in the league a season ago.

    Most championship contenders get knocked for not having enough top-tier stars, but that’s not the Rockets’ problem. Harden and Paul clearly possess the kind of outsized talent to buoy Houston, and Capela is a terrific running mate for them. But part of what made Houston so good last season was the complementary pieces like Ariza and Mbah a Moute, players who knew their roles and were happy to quietly execute them. That might not be the case this season when you consider that their biggest offseason addition has a history of wanting to be treated like the main man even though those days seem to be well behind him.

    Carmelo Anthony signed with the Rockets for the veteran’s minimum: one year, $2.4 million. Melo can still score, but there are plenty of questions about his fit in Houston’s system, his history with D’Antoni, and whether he’s willing to come off the bench and accept a lesser role. With Harden, Paul, and Capela locked into long-term deals, the cap sheet will likely continue to make things tricky for Morey moving forward—especially because the Rockets still owe Ryan Anderson more than $41 million over the next two seasons. Ouch.

    Beyond that, the Warriors added Boogie Cousins to an already loaded lineup and are barrelling toward becoming the first superteam to start five All-Stars. LeBron James is still the best player in the world, and now he’s in the same conference as the Rockets (even though he’s surrounded by a host of cast-off characters). And then there’s the rest of the West, which might not have the same immediate championship-level aspirations as Houston, but has plenty of top-tier talent ready to impede the Rockets’ postseason path for this season and the foreseeable future. It should be noted that Paul will be 37 years old when his new deal is done. He’s not getting any younger, nor is the conference getting any easier.

    There was another thing Paul said two years ago when he was still trying to will the Clippers across the Finals finish line. “I’ve had 11 summers,” he said, “of knowing what it’s like not to win a championship.” Make that 13—and counting.
     
  11. HillBoy

    HillBoy Contributing Member

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    That's a pretty balanced article. It touches on all of my concerns for the upcoming season.
     
  12. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Media conspiracy

    Charles: Rockets took a step back. Ariza is one of the most underrated players in the league. I think they take a step back. My sleeper team is OKC. I think they'll be much better this year.
     
  13. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Fresh take! :rolleyes:
     
  14. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Rockets lost Ariza. Not an exciting team anymore.

     
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  15. zeeshan2

    zeeshan2 Member

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  16. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

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    interesting pics they chose for each player. b****ass bspn
     
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  17. thaGREATwall

    thaGREATwall Member

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    Dude has been top 2 for MVP in 3 of the last 4 seasons. Yep, 6% sounds exactly right.
     
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  18. The_Yoyo

    The_Yoyo Contributing Member

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    this is a media driven award. Houston and Harden had such a remarkable season that they didn't have any real way not to give it to him considering what happened the season before. But even at the end there was a lot of push for LeBron and AD, especially LeBron with all the stats being shown comparing the two players were totals and not per game averages and of course leaving off wins. (LeBron played more games than Harden last season). Not to mention last season being the first time you kept hearing ESPN push the "we need two awards, most oustanding player and best season"

    Harden would have to have the Rockets win more than 73 games and average over 30 ppg (doable) and 9+ assists (possible) to be seriously considered this upcoming season. Otherwise the award will go to LeBron if he is able to have a typical LeBron season (which by most other players standards a career year) and help lead the Lakers to a top 4 seed in the west (skeptical on this)

    To me the real interesting thing will be to see if the media will go back to the standard of 'best player on best team' or if it will go more towards the narrative side. My guess is that it will be swung more towards the narrative than what was considered traditional (Hence LeBron, but quite frankly he probably was robbed of an MVP or two himself)
     
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  19. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    Media is going to give Lebron MVP no matter what this year. They will throw in Anthony davis to keep the discussion going the entire year.
    But as far as westbrook, curry, harden..they ain't winning one again.
     
  20. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...team-turmoil-predictions-espn-summer-forecast

    Houston Rockets
    Total points: 11
    First-place votes: 6 percent

    Houston coach Mike D'Antoni admitted last season that he resigned as head coach of the Knicks because of an ultimatum from Carmelo Anthony. With Anthony now on the verge of signing in Houston, it's easy to see why the Rockets landed on this list. How D'Antoni and Anthony coexist in this second act -- with Anthony essentially replacing a strong defender in Trevor Ariza -- will be one of the more intriguing storylines in the Western Conference.

    It's worth noting that Anthony bristled last season at the suggestion that he should come off the bench with the Thunder. Although it seems likely that Anthony will start with the Rockets, how will Melo respond to being Houston's third option behind close friend Chris Paul and James Harden? And how will that response impact the ecosystem of a team that won 65 games last season? -- Begley

    [​IMG]
     

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