Not so optimistic: we still have a coach who's outplayed by other teams; we still have a shooting guard who iso too much and plays little defense; Howard can't create for himself; our PF position is still not good. Unless these are greatly improved, passing the first-round is the most Rox can do next year.
I think we're better than last year. Other than Parsons, we didn't really lose anyone of significance and we replace Parson with Ariza, whom is better defensively, which is where we were lacking to begin with. I don't think our offense was ever the problem. Speaking of offense, we were a 3 point shooting team with no true 3 point shooter, we found our true 3 point shooter in the playoffs with Troy Daniels. I do expect TJones to get better along with Beverly, these were young guys, and minus injuries, they showed growth throughout the season.
of course we can make finals...and this way, it will be even more exciting and fun to follow the team...i like this squad and there a a couple of guy that will be interesting to follow...i also like a new emphasis on defense.... btwi was always wondering how in the world heat fans can extract any joy out of 2 titles conquered by big 3 led by LeBron...
Harden is getting better every year so we're still in good hands... Especially if Howard can continue with his post game and become a consistent 22-25 ppg player. Trevor is not better than Parsons _ not even close (yes, I know the #'s are comparable but the game ain't played on paper) but Harden and Howard will compensate for him. TJ should take a big step forward this year with Parsons out (TJ even has better ball handling skills than Trevor). I'm expecting Canaan to make a splash this year as well. McHale/Morey is the Achilles heel. Unless they get better at managing the game and installs a legitimate offensive system... 1st round or 2nd round (if we're lucky) at the most.
I find the constant drum beat of "our bench has gotten much worse" a little peculiar. This is making a lot of assumptions. Just as Mark Cuban is "assuming" Chandler is about to blossom into a no 2 guy, ( he might....but I doubt it) many Rockets fans are "assuming" that the players who are currently are on the team are all going to be mediocre or worse. Could it also be the case that Canaan is about to develop into a real off the bench scoring machine who oh by the way was one of the top assist guys in college ? (Thereby nullifying the JLin worship services to a footnote ?) Could we also "assume" that Trevor Ariza last year was just reaching his talent level after 10 years and in fact we will be the beneficiaries of this for 2 years minimum ? Can we also "assume" that DMo will bring his talent to a new level also, as will T Jones and also our new rookie sensation ? And finally of course, we might even "assume" that Daryl Morey is far, far from finished in wheeling and dealing up to opening night and beyond. That is a very small leap of faith. Omar Asik is one of the saddest chapters for me, as I was stunned by his immature reaction to the Rockets landing Dwight Howard and there was no way he was going to continue here in his own mind regardless. Did not see that coming. So I am not getting aboard the "our bench now stinks" train, and will see if in fact that was a wise move for my own Rockets peace of mind, or just star dust in my eyes. Yes it's true, In Morey I trust. But he can't control everything and neither can you, only your own reactions to them.
I know this is beating a dead horse, but it's the coaching. Our team makeup last year could contend. Yeah, Jeremy made boneheaded mistakes that cost us games, but if he didn't we would've just barely made it past through seven games. San Antonio? Please. I like Ariza, I think he will replace if not exceed Parson's production. Johnson is also a solid piece. But if you think the late game isos, lazy defense, and no set plays are going away just because we traded away a decent player with bad fans, think again.
we made it to the playoffs without ever seeing a Harden/Howard pick and roll. like a blind squirrel, eventually someone is going to find that nut. Whether it's McHale wikipedia-ing "Basketball Plays" or Howard setting a pick for Harden and Harden missing the resulting shot so badly that it becomes an alley-oop... they will discover the gold mine this season. or we'll fire McHale.
Some of you guys act like the regular season starts tomorrow. Dwight is hitting his prime, Harden will only be 25 when the season starts, Ariza brings an upgrade on defense and hit 180 3s at 40% last year. Terrence Jones will only improve. And there's still space to add players better than Casspi and Garcia. Why the hell are we so obsessed with the Miami 3 star model? No one for San Antonio played more than 30 minutes per game last year. Yes they have an advantage with Parker playing for peanuts, but they played 12 deep and still won 62 games, even with us sweeping the season series for the first time in forever. Follow San Antonio's model closer.
We still don't have someone to defend big, strong 4s - Dorsey might be able to, but the spacing would be really bad with him and Howard. And we still have no playmaker off the bench (or actually no playmaker at all outside of Harden). Those are two areas we need to adress. A stretch 4 that can defend and a wing that can initiate offense when Harden is on the bench. Last season we went with a 7-men playoff rotation - and we probably will this year as well. Right now I can see 5 guys in there -Bev, Harden, Ariza, TJones, Howard. I see noone else that is a clear player here. Dorsey, Daniels, Canaan, DMo, Johnson - all are possibilities, but all need to really surprise us to be valuable pieces. So I don't feel too comfortable with our roster right now. I believe we are two pieces away (not necessarily stars) - and a defensive coaching assistant. I am not saying we have no chance, but I am saying today we are worse than we were a week ago.
Yeah making the playoffs will be too challenging in the end. You're right. We have still have two superstars, nice defensive complimentary pieces, and youth that played well last year and should play better this year (Jones, D-Mo, Canaan). You're so negative, it's comical. It's like people like to just jump on a side of an issue because it gets them attention. "We won't even make the playoffs" Really? Spurs, Clippers, Thunder are the only teams that are clearly better than us. Rockets, Mavs, Portland, Warriors are all similar in talent and will occupy 4th to 7th seed. Maybe the Lakers, Pelicans can sneak into 8th. I don't see as much of a problem as some of the cynics do on here.
