Assuming the Melo trade goes down

Non gauranteed's (with attitude) full acronym: NGWA

 

Hollics thread motivations are easy to see from a mile away.

The Rockets should not trade Clint Capela. I know you feel vindicated about your clairvoyant analysis of Terrence Jones, but Capela is a different animal. A pick and roll threat like that who can suck in the defense is key to our offense. Nene and Black can't do what Capela does nor can the majority of NBA centers.

His interior defensive presence will continue to improve just as his rebounding has last year. I'd also like to see some metrics around tip to rebound on difficult rebounds. He was really good at those last year.

Honesty I picked shooting if you are assuming a Melo trade is completed because I'm in the camp where I think Morey will have to include EG in the deal. Losing Ryno alone hurts the Rockets shooting and ability to spread the floor in the high P&R. Losing more shooters too would bring back the need to get more shooters other than Ariza being the only spot up guy.

 

Rebounding

 

Lol...should be able to select multiple options. Clearly Interior D AND rebounding.

 

How GSW Gets to Rim, in the Paint
GSW has the best shooting team ever assembled in the history of the game. (Name me one better.) Combined with superior chemistry/execution in their well-oiled system, they also are one of the best in the league at reads and cuts to the rim....but that is powered by their shooting, not dribbling and athleticism (relatively speaking).

How Rockets Get to Rim, in the Paint
We, on the other hand, have players with better skills at driving, dishing, ooping and getting to the rim and scoring in the paint ... because Harden's one of the best in the league at it, Paul can penetrate almost at will, and you better keep an eye on Melo.

How our Superior Rim/Paint Attack Might Beat Their Shooting
If GSW can win both the outside shooting game and beat us at our game of attacking the rim, dishing, scoring in the paint ... then we have no shot at beating them....no matter what further tweaks we can make this year.

We have to hope our improved rim attack can win the battle of the paint and, by extension, produce more open looks from 3 than GSW gets ... because since they are the better shooters, we need more open looks to match them.

And we also have to hope Melo occupies Green and keeps him out of the paint, thus neutralizing Green's defensive rebounding and help defense at the rim. If Green leaves Melo even by a half-step to try to pick up Paul or Harden, he needs to be toast for cheating off of Melo. That is possible, because we have the superior rim attack and scoring-in-the-paint game. Our Big 3 is just naturally better at it.

Yeah, but can we do it for 48 Minutes
All that said requires us to match GSW's high-level of execution all 48-minutes ... since they can blow anyone out in the blink of an eye. imo, it's still just theory we have enough depth to match them. MDA will have a buttload of new faces and superstars to mesh together. If we need to shake things up with a trade at the deadline ... I again think that means we have no chance beating them. We need to be methodically winning by trade deadline ... allowing MDA to steadily tweak the offense, and for the bench to take on an identity ... and the defense to lock in.

Stand Pat after Melo Trade and Work It
I know a call for No-New-Trades isn't popular around here, and isn't sexy or doesn't give you anything to talk about. No trades doesn't give the GARM Roster Moves chatter. Or like you, a reason to critique a Game Analysis by tangentially using it to talk about Roster Moves. It's cool you are already starting the trial balloon polls to fine-tune your post-Melo trade arguments. I see you.

I will be hoping for no new trades after the Melo trade, because that's how much I believe in system execution from chemistry, which GSW has schooled the NBA at. GSW hasn't made a significant trade or signing during the regular season in over three seasons. If Chemistry was an athletic measurement, GSW would be Freaks.

Lastly: Why doesn't your poll include Low Post Scoring
Given up on the DMo angle, finally? Ten years ago, would you have ever thought in a million years that you'd create a poll like the above that didn't include one of Basketball's cornerstone areas of skill/play -- Low Post Scoring.

 

The competing threads would be Polls asking if we should make further trades or stand pat -- after Melo.

holic's thread is easy to see through, because his thread motivates you towards the conclusion that we are "not championship mettle" without further trades.

It's obvious by his avatar and past, that his main goal all season will be to persuade the bbs of his Cousins for Capela + EGo trade, which will also deliver a backup PG, resulting in Harden moving to SG 100%, where he should be.

 

If the Melo trade goes down , we will beat golden state book it

 

Yes, I agree. We are better in the Low Post and in the Paint vs GSW, because of Melo.

But the trick is, can you explain why "Shooting" is a votable deficiency in the Poll, but Low Post Scoring is not? Surely, we should include both,if we include one ... as it's such a cornerstone skill and poll option for basketball

Sumpin is up with that. Holic doesn't make mistakes in his poll like that, unless he has a hidden agenda. Or he has just finally accepting low-post scoring from Dwight was always a lost cause.

 

If we get Melo and keep the rest of the basic core players, except Anderson (assuming he's in the Melo deal), I like heypartner's suggestion of Chemistry. I think it has been underrated here, to a degree, and until fairly recently, underrated by Morey. Yes, Morey's moves that might have had a negative impact on chemistry could have good explanation in the realm of building a team, but with or without the addition of Melo, the Rockets have made significant changes. We should give the group a chance to gel. Considering the talent we have today, sans Anthony, it's going to take awhile for find a rhythm with the rotations that makes sense. Certain players, like Harden and Ariza, need reduced minutes compared to recent seasons. I think they're both more effective at both ends of the court when that happens. Morey made acquisitions that addresses that, assuming MDA takes advantage of those moves.

Adding Melo? The Rockets are a more powerful team. I don't doubt that. You still have to incorporate him into the system and develop that chemistry that's so important. Anthony won't have the fate of an entire team on his shoulders here. With some time, I think he would become more effective than he has been in recent years. How are they going to double him with Harden and Paul on the court? An opposing coach's nightmare. So I would add chemistry to 'Holic's poll options, and I'll add that I think he's too optimistic about how long it would take to incorporate Melo into a team that has other new players coming on board that will have significant roles. These are "problems" I'd love for us to have.

 

Capela is a good, productive young player but it's been reported (in one of Zach Lowe's podcasts shortly after the CP trade, I think) that the Rockets view Capela as their best trade asset in the pursuit of another star. So, I don't think that any of us should be surprised if Capela gets traded in a significant deal.

With the NBA teams shifting to only playing one "big" on the floor for more and more minutes, a team can probably fill the Capela role-- rebounding, finishing around the basket-- with a reasonable approximation fairly easily.

 

I see what you're saying now. I personally don't think we need much post scoring and the little we need would be provided by Melo provided the Knicks provide his services to us. But I also think Hollic knows the NBA world doesn't need a post player to be successful these days. I'm not sure what his agenda is here other than discussion but maybe I'm naive. Afterall, I did outline how to defend without a rim protector and got zero response.

 

Your slow ... this whole thread is about trading Capela and EGo for Cousins.

That's the only reason anyone would ever put "Shooting" as a deficiency option in his poll, then respond to me saying GSW is the superior shooters by saying "No, we are or, close enough"

He made it a poll option to show us no one voted Shooting as a deficiency, thus making it a surplus we can afford to package with Capela for Cousins to cover the two poll options that are winning.

See how holic does that. @don grahamleone and @dobro1229 from now on, when Holic starts a thread, we should just focus on seeing who can be first to guess the hidden plot. Better than speculation in the GoTs thread

 

Yeah, Shooting is our best skill, and holic even says it's better than GSW. Just weird he made that a poll option and doesn't include other basics of offenses like Low Post Scoring.

You see, you can't mention Cousins (his avatar) around here without immediate discussion on old-style basketball and Low Post scoring. So, best to just leave that out of the Poll altogether, and keep our best skill in the poll, so they poll shows you that Shooting is in Surplus, worthy of trading.

This is how Team Building Counsultants at business retreats steer you to conclusion on a white board.

 

So, if we make that trade we can make a new poll that has an option for "Depth" as our biggest weakness.

 

We should not automatically assume anything in times of these.

 

Man, I love it when business meetings do that to everyone! It's so nice to force everyone to be on the same page. It's just good team exercise to break the human spirit! It leaves everyone feeling worthful and important.

 

I still don't get everyone's fascination with Cousins. Yes he is skilled for a big man, but I think he would be a terrible fit for this team.

 

Meh... give me the Boobs Man Marc Gasol instead of Cousins.

 

And I'd be happy to explain to him the difference in Harden playing the 1 vs the 2. An additional 4 seconds with the ball in his hands bringing the ball up the court.

Of course he won't listen but it is what it is. He has been deadset on his trade targets on both sides for years now and nothing will convince otherwise.

A better use of our time would be focusing on what should be done next on the court or off to make sure CP3 and Harden work well together because if they don't it's a moot point. Capela IMO is key to Harden and CP3 working cause nobody's else available at his price (already on roster) can have greater impact on their success together. I think he's even more important to their success than Melo would be IMO.