Does Russ look like a “square peg in a round hole” to you?

imo, Russ looks like he's in heavy decline. In his MVP year, he looked completely different than he is now. Much faster, more energy, more consistent, better shooting, ft% better, more explosive, dunks everything. That was peak Westbrook and it's been downhill since then whereas Harden keeps going up although, this year might be his peak.

That being the case, because the Warriors dynasty is over, we still have a shot at winning it all. If we don't, then Morey and ownership really blew it.

We waited so long for the Warriors dynasty to be over and it finally is and Harden hasn't even declined but you can't build a successful team to win it all? Then I'd say that's on Morey and Tilman.

 

They lost Westbrook AND George

One of those guys has been a consistent winning player.

I like your passion for the guy, but it’s not rooted in reality.

Doesn’t mean things can’t change, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

We are lucky Harden is capable of some serious heavy lifting.

 

One thing I'll say, Rockets have an in house 'championship odds' formula. 2 years ago we had a great chance, obviously, but then last year it dropped, and then pre-trade it was dropping even more. There was a push from Harden to make the trade, but the formula also supported it increasing our odds this year. Last I heard the odds are actually lower than expected this season, but as our defense tightens up more and Westbrook gets integrated better I still expect them to shoot back up.

 

I applaud Westbrook's level of effort. I applaud his commitment to fit in and make it work. I remain unpersuaded of his actual fit.

 

Had not looked at this stat yet....

Westbrook with his lowest WS/48 of his career since his rookie year. A pathetic .091

His career average is .163(not very good)

For reference Harden currently with his 2nd best WS/48 season of his career at .281

He truly is dragging us down so far.

 

no silly its on scott foster and adam silver

 

IMO, he doesn't perfectly fit the Rockets but he fills most of the Rocket's holes / weaknesses / deficiencies / flaws perfectly.

We have enough 3 point shooters what we need is someone who can up the pace, create havoc, give the rockets offense a different look, attack the rim, attack in transition, relentless rebounder, fighter, secondary person to set up teammates etc..

 

Ok, we will see.....I hope you are right.

DD

 

But he's mean funny like Raphael.

Not sure... uhhhh if this is appropriate but how do you tell the turtles apart without their bandanas...

 

Russ brings athleticism, rebounding, pace, defense (yes), and the ability to create/finish. He almost completes us. (still need a wing)

We're obviously a contender with him (with huge upside)....Efficiency #'s be damned....That said, I'm sure they'll improve as Russ, James, and Co. figure it out. Let Russ get fully healthy too.

This is just getting started, and already we look STRONG.

Relax, and enjoy the ride, as it should be a special season.

 

Artest was square peg ad look how that turned out for us. I remember it started out really rough with him. He was shooting worst than Rafer. At least Russ is shooting average from the field . Ron was shooting like 30% his first month and that turned out to be a great trade for us. Was my favorite season for a rockets until 2015(I came onboard the Rocket Ship during the Pippen season)

 

This game tonight is 100% what I am talking about park a big in the paint, double off of Westbrook on Harden - and watch Russ brick it up.....

The ONLY way it could work is if we have a BIG that can shoot the 3 and draw the big out of the paint or drill a 3.

DD

 

Yeah that's not why we lost. The Rockets created tons of open looks. They were even a +2 when House was healthy. But cheap ass Tillman has prevented this team from having any depth. This team needs reliable wings.

 

That is why we lost, they guarded our 3pt shooters and left Westbrook alone, that was their plan, they executed exactly what I am talking about, park a big in the paint, double Harden and guard the 3pt shooters - LEAVE WESTBROOK all alone......he can't shoot.

And HE TAKES THE MOST SHOTS out of anyone - why? Because he is wide open, why? BECAUSE HE SUCKS at shooting the basketball.

DD

 

Maybe he's a round peg in a square hole.

 

Rivers was passing up open looks, McLemore missed lots of open looks, house started the half missing two WIDE open looks. That was the problem.

Russ isn't a perfect fit and it would be nice if he could hit open 3s, but tonight he was helping in plenty of other ways to offset that flaw in his game. The other guys were offering almost nothing and that's why they lost.

 

Rockets are playing 4 on 5 whenever Harden and Westbrook share the court and Harden has the ball. It’s just an atrocious fit that good teams in the playoffs will easily exploit. Westbrook has no interest in consistently attacking the basket like he should, so he just does the defenses job for them.

 

Blaming role players when one guy shot 22 times overall and was 2-9 from 3pt range is silly.

Russ will help us have a good regular season, but he will kill us in the playoffs.

DD

 

when i say others, that includes every single player not named harden. role player or not whatever you want to call him, it includes westbrook

 

I don’t know what games you guys are watching when you say teams aren’t guarding Westbrook. They absolutely are. As an explosive player that can take up space very quickly you still have to guard him. Think D Wade in Miami. Do you guys seriously think we win this game tonight if we had cp3 instead. Cp3 is obviously a better shooter, the problem is that’s all he can do. He can’t get into the paint anymore. If he can’t drive, he can’t draw a crowd, the there is no open man to find. We must play faster against the nuggets.

This game started to get away when we lost house. Even though he was only 1-4 teams know this is not one of the guys you can’t to leave open, and he is absolutely crucial for our defense.