The Rockets going forward from now until next October

stopped reading at "not going to make the playoffs"

 

I think you are correct about us not competing . But, i think that its too early to say what we have seen is what we will see.

#1 issue for me has been the lack of tate . Having that structure and competing and being strict ... we need veteran enforcers on our team . Tate needs to come back , be vocal , and be the leader that the team needs . KPJ too erratic , sengun , green , and smith too young ... gordon , not invested enough .

#2 issue . Playing time has NOT been meritocratic . Eason and garuba are both ahead of Smith . But , our priority is to give PT to smith to "develop" him. We did the same thing with green last year ... christopher was ahead of him , yet Green got the minutes. I beleive this is mandated by the front office. I feel like a coaching staff would LOOOOOVE to be able to send the message " just cause you are the top pick doesn't mean your spot is given to you" . Their ability to deliver that message has been stripped IMO

i think the thought process that Wemby or Henderson will save us is also misplaced. They could easily get hurt and we are in the dumps , or they may not transition as well as we think.

Its very hard to evaluate how we are doing and how we are growing when parts of the team are designed to lose. I have no idea how smith will look with better players around him.

We need to reward players who are playing well and give the others time in practice etc.

Its sad that the focus for THIS YEAR is already on the Draft and NEXT YEAR . It should not be so . I have not been watching the rockets as much . Its hard to enjoy the B-Ball we are playing .

 

Debatable on how long the road will be to playoff respectability. It has a lot to do with the competition in the West as well.

I think Sengun could be that special player but I agree that our organization isn’t set up to groom him or our other high draft picks properly. Imagine what a guy like Popovich could do with our roster.

 

Astros are done so I will morph into a consistent game watcher instead of a boxscore analyzer. Nice write-up Nook.

 

more defeatism?...just what we needed...

 

It’s not surprising they still suck. Every team that tanks is terrible in years 1, 2, and 3 of the rebuild. Improvement doesn’t come until year 4. And the big leap comes in year 5.

We’re in year 3. We’re supposed to be just as bad this year as year 1, just like all the other teams who do a complete tank job rebuild.

So as of now, it’s still all going according to plan.

 

trust the process

 

Instead of Green they should have selected Mobley and jury is out on Jabari . But he is young so I’ll give him a chance.

Watching Mobley it is clear that young man is mature beyond his years and will be become a annual defensive player of the year candidate for the next 10 plus years. He and Sengun would have formed arguably the best are one of the best frontlines for the next 10 plus years together.

Green is not going to be a cornerstone player with his limitations as a guy who makes others better. He is a piece not a cornerstone where as Mobley potentially could be a downright two way monster for a decade.

 

Thanks for this analysis, but imo, you typed all this out and did all this work to really, say nothing that we don't already know. I think a post like this should really come at the end of the season. Sure, nothing might change between now and season's end...but also, many things might change.

tl;dr for anyone who ain't got time for all that:
NBA draft: Wemby and Scoot are good. Rockets have a chance at them, but it's mostly the same with every other 'bad' / tanking team.
Internal player development - Coaching: Our young players can improve but the coaching staff might need a major overhaul, because Silas is most likely not the answer.
Roster: We have no one with the "it" factor on this team, nor anyone with leadership capabilities.
Now what?: If we don't get a top 2 pick and/or a coaching change, the rebuild is going to slog on for a while.

I mean, not to discourage you from posting stuff like this, but there was no real insight that I personally gleamed. In fact, I don't know what the point of this thread is.

 

agree we need to hit on a top pick and get a new coach. I like the young talent on the team but player development has been a weak point of our org going back to Morey. We built the best nba farm system with the Vipers, why can’t we build out our player development? And why is Nix playing major minutes? Lol

 

Oh one more thing I NEED to see

Ryan hollins has got to go . Bro is a last place type commentator . Shoulda known we’d be fighting for number 1 the second they retained him .

 

I laugh at Joel Troell Embiid every day.

 

Falling back from the high of another Astros world series win... I'm back to just not expecting much and enjoying Rockets basketball. I personally don't think Silas will last beyond this season and looked up possible coaches to replace him. I'm not too enamored with this list lol.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba...-dantoni-frank-vogel/hu1c3chqv1ykwttsbzdf89nb

Spoiler

1. Mike D'Antoni
D'Antoni to Philadelphia almost makes too much sense, which is why he's certainly an option.

With Daryl Morey calling the shots and a roster that includes James Harden, Montrezl Harrell, Danuel House and P.J. Tucker, the Sixers have recreated a lot of
what D'Antoni worked with in Houston. D'Antoni is currently a coaching consultant in New Orleans but he'd surely answer Morey's call to at least hear out the pitch
of a potential reunion.

That said, it's hard to envision D'Antoni leaving his position to go anywhere else in the league.

2. Sam Cassell
There's something to be said about continuity, which is what gives Cassell a leg up on most other potential candidates for the Sixers job.

Cassell followed Rivers to Philadelphia in 2020 after spending six seasons on his staff in Los Angeles. Cassell has yet to earn a head coaching job in the NBA but during every cycle is a hot name on the interview circuit. If he were to take over in the interim, Cassell would be a familiar voice that could implement some minor changes with hopes of a different result.

3. Igor Kokoskov
Defense is the chief concern in Brooklyn, but Kokoskov is already on the staff and is a well-known offensive maestro.

Kokoskov is in his first season with the Nets but does have one year of head coaching experience that he picked up during the 2018-19 NBA season with the Suns. Perhaps we'll find that Kokoskov was brought in to be an option to assume the helm if and when things go awry.

4. Charles Lee
Throughout the last several hiring cycles, Lee's name has been one of the hottest on the market.

Lee, who will be 38 this season, is now listed as the associate head coach of the Bucks. It is only a matter of time before he's tabbed to take on a head coaching job. If a team is in search of a fresh face to reinvigorate the culture, Lee is a great option.

5. Jacque Vaughn
It turns out that Vaughn is next in line for the Nets. At least temporarily.

After joining the organization in 2016, Vaughn took over as the interim coach for the Nets in 2020, leading them to play inspired basketball at the NBA "Bubble." After losing out on the head coaching job to Steve Nash, Vaughn was retained and given the title of assistant head coach.

In order to avoid shaking too much up, the team has elected to go with someone that's already been around.

6. Frank Vogel
Defense? Check. Championship pedigree? Check.

Vogel's time as the Lakers' lead man came to an end less than two years after he led the franchise to its 18th NBA title. After succeeding under the scrutiny that comes with coaching LeBron James and the Lakers, any pressures that Vogel could face moving forward should feel like nothing.

7. Kenny Atkinson
Atkinson agreed to and then backed out of a commitment to lead the Hornets this season, instead staying with the Warriors for a second season.

Perhaps Atkinson is in line to succeed Steve Kerr or maybe he's waiting for a better opportunity. Atkinson was technically the lead man of the first season of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn, but resigned 62 games in and never coached a game with Durant in it. That could be rectified with a reunion … or he could make his way to Philadelphia to ultimately stick it to his old team's divisional rival.

Atkinson is largely known for his player development and connection with younger players, which would actually fit in Brooklyn, as the Nets have a group of young players that need to be brought up to speed in order to contribute to a team with high aspirations.

8. Adrian Griffin
Griffin was known for his defense throughout his nine-year NBA career and that is again his calling card as an assistant coach, as he is in his fourth season as a member of Nick Nurse's staff in Toronto.

If there is any coach that could be grabbed from another staff mid-season, it would be a member of Nurse's staff. Toronto's lead man is adamant about his assistants getting opportunities and in 2021, allowed Chris Finch to take the Timberwolves' job mid-season.

9. Dave Joerger
An in-house hire for Philadelphia that does have head coaching experience.

Joerger has six seasons as the lead man under his belt and while the Kings stint didn't go too well (that might say more about Sacramento than Joerger), he took the reins of the Grit-and-Grind Era Grizzlies from Lionel Hollins. It's important to know what it's like to coach a team with an established identity.

10. Terry Stotts
Stotts last coached in the 2020-21 season, when he led the Trail Blazers to the NBA Playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. A veteran coach with over 30 years of coaching experience, Stotts would raise the floor wherever he lands, but that might not be enough for a team with title aspirations.

11. Jay Wright
It doesn't get much more Philly than Wright.

While Wright recently retired from his post as Villanova's head coach, the Hall of Famer could take on a new challenge if he were to accept the Sixers' job. It might take a lot, but if Wright were to take any NBA job, it would almost certainly be in Philly. Wright's set to become a CBS analyst this season and with his next career set to begin, it's hard to place him higher on the list.

 

This board really makes too much of the coaching. It hasn't been great but has nothing to do with the big let down this year.

We were all looking for Green and/or Jabari to show signs that they're rising superstars in the making and they haven't shown that yet. If Green was that guy he would show it with any coach just like many before him have done with bad coaches.

Once you find 'the guy', everything else starts to fall into place. It's even easier to attract the better coaches. There's still time but there probably isn't a generational talent on the roster yet.

This team desperately needs a player that can consistently put pressure on the defense by attacking the basket with finishing ability. Our perimeter guys don't scare anyone going into the paint and their effectiveness just depends on how well their shot is falling that day.

 

Did you mention new coach? Yah? Then yeah, new coach could work.

 

Actually this is beginning of year two , the tear down was Harden trade which made it a throw away season, then it began with Jalen pick (and other 1st rounders) with now Jabari (Eason/Ty W.) which begins now year two of the said rebuild