Its hard to go all in when the league seems to not want to have for trades with our team. Daryl is having to do back deals and around the corner back alley tactics just to keep the team moving forward. No one wants to do business with us.
Well actually his numbers are better this year believe it or not. I looked them up today after him going 1-8 from behind the arc. Get used to the up and down shooting though after he misses multiple games then plays a few more, then misses a few. That won't change, so I hope we can get the team chemistry going strong with and without him and beat any team with him on the bench hurt or resting. Free agency opportunities are over, and a few will be sleeping all content and happy while others are very frustrated and disappointed. All us fans just want this so bad, especially when we almost did it last year. We might be the underdogs now, but what a fantastic ending to this whole story it would be if we made a run for it and finally knocked GSW off their high horse. Go Rockets!!!!!!!
But some people here say he is slow and Clint will run circles on him and Cousins is an easy match for Clint. So, if you want to believe that then I guess those same people would say GSW is easier to beat with Cousins . So why was everyone so upset about him going there and why is he making them better? Conflicting views? hmmmmmmm .
Nice thread but EG has become even more unreliable while Paul has regressed badly. We definitely do seem to have more depth but this teams lack of size remains a massive problem. Mirotic would've been a huge piece to add.
I just have to disagree. That **** start that I still can’t comprehend and more key injuries then almost any team in the league have masked what looks to be a very high quality roster when healthy. Paul has been noticeably better than he did pre injury. Clint’s coming back from a hand injury. I expect a little adjustment time, but it’s not a lower extremity thing where his explosiveness should be in question. Would I take last years team fully healthy over this year? Of course, but I’m not sleeping on what we have. It has potential to be better than what we went into the playoffs with last year.
People also forget last year's team was elite defensively while this team has been atrocious all season. We could throw Luc, Ariza & Tucker at the elite scorers. We don't have that luxury anymore.
Now that you've put some numbers to it, I can finally say what I always end up deleting before I post it around here. And that is how much I ****ing despised watching Ariza brick three after three after three as the team died in front of our eyes during the WCF last year. And through all the perpetual gnashing of teeth about not forking over $15 million to keep him here, I've never cared one iota that he was gone.
I think we're basically even to last year. Though I appreciate OP's attempt at comparing side by side and assuming anything unchanged is equal, it's too much of an oversimplification. The following points are the biggest factors that impact my evaluation, from most significant to least significant factor: 1. CP3 and Gordon have declined significantly since last year. Easy to forget that Gordon was our second leading scorer at 20.8 ppg. You could say that both are still recovering from injury, but until their shooting %s and overall performance improve to something resembling last year, they have undoubtedly declined. If CP3 and Gordon return to at least 95% of 2017-18 levels, I would be very comfortable in saying that this team is better than last year. 2. Harden and Capela have raised their levels. Capela, just by virtue of being in shape to play more minutes, will be critical. Harden has risen to another level, but it is still a question if he can maintain his shooting and stamina throughout a long series 3. The Warriors have gotten better with Cousins. It's not quite clear how this will impact Capela, which I think is the biggest question. Just looking at OP's chart, it is quite clear that when Capela was on the court, we had our biggest matchup and statistical advantage. Does Boogie negate that advantage completely? Or will he be exposed on the PnRs with Harden/Paul? 4. Rivers/House/Shump vs. Ariza/Luc. Assuming we get House back, this should be a hair better than last year. I know people like to ignore Luc since he didn't play in the WCF, but in the reg season, he and Ariza really allowed us to play exactly how we wanted to on defense for all 48 min. 5. Faried/Nene is obviously a big upgrade over Nene/Black. The Rockets fixed some of the rebounding issues that hurt us in last year's playoffs with Faried's addition, but at the end of the day, he is still a tad undersized. 6. Team chemistry. Last year's team clicked on offense and defense, this team has yet to do that (mainly b/c of health), that is a big factor in my hesitancy to conclude they are better. We will hopefully see them gel well before the playoffs. And who knows, we may still add one or two more key pieces via buyout, but I do think there is some reason for optimism
We’ve said this all season long. CP3 was a top-8 player in the league last year when healthy. He’s taken a significant dip which necessitated either a significant swing for another star-caliber player or a roll-over in assets to 2019/20. The Rockets chose to instead churn roster spots while giving up assets to save money. An embarrassing season all-around for the front office.
I didn't think much of this but I did notice that a lot of the big moves were between teams with GMs that were former players and not analytic geeks. Might need a new conspiracy meme for this one...
I have to wonder of this wasn't that semi-punt in hopes that the Warriors are forced to break up that team being in the tax the last 3 years. Keeping that roster together next year is going to cost them a lot of $$$ … We're already hearing talks of Durant going elsewhere. I just wonder what the plan is beyond this season with Shumpert - are they committed to resigning him ? Assuming the Worriers take a step back towards the rest of the league - losing Durant … next year , the West is there for the taking and the Rockets have as good a chance as anyone in grabbing the prize. The kicker is the Lakers - do they get Davis from the Peli's , what is left of that team and who else do they sign ? Or do the Peli's send him East ?!
Last year Gordon averaged 18.0 ppg on 43/36/81 splits Since his return from injury this year(only 10 games I know) he’s averaging 18.1 ppg on 43/38/81 splits He has turned it around big time since that terrible start. Paul I still hold out hope that if he can remain healthy will return to form. These first hand full of games back have shown glimpses of last year. Defense is my main question mark. I think injury and some bad fits thus far have brought our defensive rating well below its actual potential, but still don’t have faith we are going to get back to last years level.
last year’s team was elite defensively...this year’s team is ranked 23rd CP3 was easily a top 10 player last year, this year he isn’t even top 20 (we’ll see how much he’s able to up his game in the playoffs) last year’s team was great at rebounding (3rd in defensive rebound percentage)...this year’s team is 28th last year’s team had HCA throughout the entire playoffs...this year’s team would not have it against GS...last year’s team was 31-10 on the road, we’re 13-14 so far this year last year’s team was special, and sure, the names might look better for this year’s squad, but that doesn’t mean last year’s team wasn’t way better...if Harden was having an identical season to what he was doing last year averaging 30, 5, and 9, I don’t even think we’d be a playoff team at the moment what gives me hope this year is Harden going Wilt mode, Clint’s improvement, and the fact that I think we have the most wins against teams above .500 so far this season
Ah that makes a lot more sense, I for some reason quoted the per 36 min stats for Gordon. I myself couldn't believe he averaged 20+ last year and it makes a lot more sense now. And yes, he has been playing well of late. But either way, I need to see another 10-15 games before I make a conclusion.
