I'm annoyed about not getting another rim protector, or a flashy SG/SF at the deadline. And there's lots of chatter here about how Morey sucks, Tilman is in financial trouble, Harden deserves to leave, and everything we're doing is backwards and we're saving money at the expense of winning. At the same time, a pretty typical Clutchfans-ism is to compare the team we have now to the team that dueled the Warriors last year. "Is this team any better than the one that took the Warriors to 7...?" Well look at them side by side. What do you think? These are the stats for the Rox-Warriors series we so fondly(?) remember last year. Next to it is our current lineup - assuming NO further buyout luck or magical g-league signings. There's a lot of PTSD and jitters around here from having Melo, MCW, Ennis, Knight, and Chriss grace us with some helter skelter YMCA basketball. BUT, the past doesn't define the future. I think Shump can shoot better than 20% from 3. I think Rivers and Faried are infinitely more playable than Tarik Black, the corpse of Joe Johnson and whatever an "Aaron Jackson" is. And House is just gravy. With open roster spots there's hope to think that something will shakeout. We're about 3 rotation players deeper than last year, and Morey had chickenscheisse to work with. I realize other teams, INCLUDING the Warriors have gotten better. Yet... Am I wrong for feeling OK about this year's healthy team?
Yeah. Just revisiting how BAD we were after spot #7 in the rotation brought it home to me. We hit a single at the deadline, not a sexy homerun. But quietly, we've been churning out the dead weight.
We are not just better than last year, we are much better. The issue is that the Rockets haven't been healthy, which hopefully won't be an issue going forward. MDA has a legit 9-men roster that he can use almost interchangeably. Yes we lack height especially without Capela, which means defensive rotations will have to be crisper and sharper as well as rebound positioning.
This is the type of post that provides quality Rockets content you can't get anywhere else. This is the type of post people should aim for.
Sure but maybe Paul and Gordon aren't as good this year . We haven't signed House or a minimum guy so those aren't guaranteed. Also Luc isn't given enough props .. we were a CP3 injury away from winning it all I agree ... we were also a Luc injury away from winning in 5 vs GS . Our level when he was healthy was insane . So while I appreciate the optimism and even agree with the idea of looking at things in perspective.... I can't say we are better yet . Given our situation at the end of last year , it's impressive that Morey has been able to change out so many parts for what seems to be good fits AND get under the Lux tax . But in the end , when you have a guy playing as well as harden 99% of the time you go all in to get him as much help as possible THIS season . We didn't do that and valued flexibility over the next 3 more . Time will tell if Morey was right . Or maybe Morey didn't want this and tilman forced it . It's possible that a semi-punt / stand pat move was already planned for us this year based off our cap situation and how good GS looks .... but Harden playing at this new level changes things .
Plus, Ryan Johnson and Luc were playoff no-shows. Honestly, our playoff self wasn't exactly the 65-win squad, but I do think that on paper (if healthy) I feel really good about our team. Do I feel good vs Warriors + Cousins? Sigh. Lol. There's always hope!
Great thread. This should really put things in perspective for a lot of the doubters and whiners. I'm confident with the group we have now. My concern now is just getting everyone back to 100% and keeping them healthy while further developing our on-court chemistry and more specifically our team defense.
Valid. The risk you run every year. Can't necessarily turn over the whole roster. At some point, guys gotta perform. Mentioned. True, but not relevant for that GSW series. 13% field goal shooting on 15 shots in 4 games. Dead. I don't disagree. But the point is that the sky isn't falling. Agreed. Yet, I just don't think we had the assets to pull off something that would've really made us better. Sure, give up Gordon, but is he worth anyone immediately impactful and better than himself?
@napalm06 Also . It's gonna be hard to compare our rosters until we actually see how they perform in the playoffs . ( in terms of deeming guys "playable") For the first half of last season most people were ecstatic about Ryno's resurgence and thought he was gonna be a contributor . He had an injury , lost confidence , and became unplayable . I'm hoping agaisnt it .... but , I could totally see rivers going cold and riding the pine ; or farried's lack of D be a big enough issue that we can only give him 10 minutes . I think the season is still teetering a bit . We need a really really strong post ASB in terms of guys coming together and being consistent . THATS how we won 65 games last year . Those 65 wins were in the regular season but they definitely helped give us the confidence in the playoffs .
Glass half empty guy, we have the best player on the planet, Done!...health issues right now, and a few loose ends to tie up. You are correct Luc was a BIG part of our regular season dominance...but he's done, sadly. We have a youngster that showed flashes of being that type of player (loose end) Trevor is missed moreso due to the help he gave PJ...team defense has shown when they are focused they give people problems...We'll see what Shump brings, I have a feeling it's gonna be good. But then again, I'm not the one bringing this thread down...leave sir, you are not needed hear
I was hopeful about Ryan Anderson. I'm still kind of confused how a professional ball player just implodes like that. But it was obvious that Black and Johnson were never rotation material. It was just heartbreaking the way Moute was injured in a meaningless game at the last second. When Gerald Green is your 6th man, you have problems. Rivers, Faried and Shumpert won't suddenly become Lillard, Embiid and Thompson, but we don't need them to. We just need capable role players at #6-10. We sorely lacked that in the WCF.
I'm definitely a glass half empty type of guy by nature . I'd like to think I'm more of a glass half empty until proven full guy Last year the team exhibited incredible focus throughout the season ... And so far for various reasons ( many of them out of our control) the team hasn't shown the same level of play . Hey if Paul and Clint and come back rolling we are gonna steamroll through 90% of teams anyways (regardless of having made improvements to the roster ) I'm really hoping our plan works out . I'm just not sold on tilman... and the deadline did nothing but make my gut feeling stronger
