I'm calling it now, Rockets will win the 2020 championship

because they have a much easier road to the finals

 

ya that aspect is clear, but i was commenting on the general media narrative for us that smallball won't work against big teams like the fakers. well, boston plays just as much smallball as us and would have to contend with superlong bucks and possibly philly in order to reach the finals

 

Same here, Harden take us to promise land!

Amen.

 

See what I did here? I litteraly called Harden a god.

 

I'm not good enough with the googling to figure out your answer to your question. I think the team was 8-6 with RoCo. Small sample size but record wise would indicate they were somewhat worse. But the sample size was small, so the 8-6 consists primarily of runs... a 6 game winning streak followed by a 4 game losing streak. There were some players in and out as well. And they were incorporating Green and Carroll as well. To me that type of performance speaks to "figuring it out" a bit. When it worked, it clicked and worked for a bit. But once it stopped working in that NYK game, it fell apart for a 4 game stretch. So who knows...

As for the second point... I mean, maybe. Aside from his MVP year, I don't think of Russ as a clutch, down the stretch of tight playoff game performers. Frankly at this point, he's been on the other end (see Dame last year). And Harden, too, has had similar problems deep into the playoffs.

Are Kemba/Tatum those clutch guys? No, not definitive as of yet. But they can be, theoretically, and again will have other guys around them, too, that you would trust more than the other guys around the Rockets stars, except for EG.

From a "pressure" standpoint, I'd say Harden/Russ have way more pressure to do what you said down the stretch than any of the Celtics... just a matter of whether either or both guys will come through. I wish I could feel confident they would, but at this point, I don't.

 

@pippendagimp

offensive rating before trade - 113.5 (3rd)
defensive rating before trade - 109.6 (15th)
+3.9 net rating

offensive rating after trade - 112.7 (12th)
defensive rating after trade - 111.2 (14th)
+1.5 net rating

we started off 7-3 after the trade
offensive rating - 115.5 (6th)
defensive rating - 109.7 (11th)
+5.8 net rating

then the wheels started coming off and we got blown out by the Clippers and Magic at home and lost to Charlotte

to keep it real, if the season had went on, I think we would’ve had a hard fought 1st round series and then lost in the 2nd round...small ball 24/7 is too taxing, and Harden wasn’t looking right...we’ll see what happens down in Orlando after such a long break and with a slimmer Harden

 

AND STILL 93-94 and 94-95 NBA Champions!
AND STILL 2017 World Series Champions!

I don't give a FUHHHHHHHHHHHK!

 

which tells you why the media and people are so stupid. It’s the same teams. Same players. Same coaching staff. Same season. Following this logic of the season being tainted with a break then wouldn’t the All Star Weekend ruining the season fall into this line of thinking? A break is a break. Teams already have chemistry and given few weeks to train together everything should be up and going again. If u already have chemistry and a style of play you don’t lose it in a couple months. Stupid people stupid media.

 

@JayZ750 @Reeko

just played an 80min pickup game tonite (20min quarters)

the 2 clowns choosing teams decided to divide it up, 6'3" and taller vs 6'2" and shorter

i was on the shorter team and we kept pace, w/ the game mostly tied the first quarter and a half

but having to go against bigger heavier guys on both ends every possession eventually took its toll and we lost by 24

nba is a different game for sure, but suffice it to say my smallball enthusiasm has come a bit back down to earth

 

They all thicc as linebackers.

You fighting the good fight.

 

I haven’t played any basketball since February...you’re lucky

I’m not a fan of 24/7 small ball, but I value Covington more than Capela, and that squad with Capela was looking real suspect and wasn’t gonna win the title anyways, so I’m rolling with it.

to me, small ball should be an option that u have, but not your only option...I value spacing, but can we for once get a legit big like an Ibaka or Christian Wood that can space the floor so we don’t have 35 yo PJ Tucker being our 35 mpg C? The closest we’ve got to that is signing that scrub Ryno to that hideous contract.

 

That's not usually a good sign for the Rockets. They do best when the media is constantly downplaying them.

This might counter the above. Despite the coverage you mention, who would the media hate to see win? Rockets, of course. Crow would be on the menu for many months.

 

But not micro ball doe.

That is least to say another extreme.

But I get it, high variance and what not.

 

Ok, I’ve made up my mind: The Rockets will win it all in 2020 barring significant injuries.

Teams will not have enough data on us. James Harden is going to be elite. Covington will surprise us with his big man defense.

Here’s one I’m way more sure of: the Rockets will be - by far - the most potent offense in NBA history and it’s a shame we can’t display it over a proper season. We are going to annihilate records. Teams don’t have time to scout enough and adjust. The team played almost a month together and now get a training camp. We will improve at least more than most teams.

I’m very optimistic. I’m voluntarily raising my hopes.

 

I like our odds in the playoffs. with no home court advantage for anyone, it won't matter when we have the lower seed. it comes down to bucks, lakers, clippers and us. yes the nuggets, jazz, and thunder fans are saying the same thing. but none of those teams want anything to do with microball. I think we're solidly the 3rd best in the west. the rest depends on who sits out with covid, who declines to report, and who's conditioning isn't playoff-ready. those are a lot of variables which opens the window for upsetting one of the top seeds. for them to maintain their edge they need everyone to report in midseason form and stay healthy for the duration of the playoffs. those factors will decide the champion.

 

Keep fighting the good fight man!

 

lol