Rockets #1 in Offense (by far) since benching Melo (27th prior)

it was kinda dropping the sandbags from an aerostat to avoid hitting the ground

 

Well, there goes the greatness of my Eye Test.

 

nice metaphor.

 

That was my point - I knew we would go up in the rankings. I absolutely appreciate how stats drop for road teams.

It is 100% a defense issue at this point. And lately it isn’t much of an issue.

The hole is too big to get back to top seed, but this time will be top 4 by the end of the season. Still want a solid defensive wing, and there will continue to be hiccups, but I believe the sturm and drang phase is over.

 

People need to recognize and appreciate that the current Rockets are one of the greatest offensive teams in NBA history and may end up being the GOAT if they sustain the current level of play for 2 or 3 more seasons.

When (not if, when) Gordon and Paul recover to the mean, the Rockets will consistently start destroying teams on a nightly basis.

I think Morey needs some credit for bringing in House. House + Green are carrying the Rockets bench and no one else wanted either player. As bad as Anthony and Carter-Williams were as signings, House and Green have more than made up for it.

 

That is precisely what happened last year but because CP3 is 33 and about to turn 34 things are not that easy.

Those players can only play half a season or 1 season but not as well the next season. You have to deal with this kind of decline.

But nope, every year people are just doing the same, hoping it would work out on its own.

Devising a long term plan would be good instead of just trading for some bandaids.

 

Yeah I was thinking something like defensive rebounding % in wins vs losses and if there was any correlation to opponents pts per 100.

Curious to see last year in comparison to this year.

Edit: check post below I dug up the numbers

 

Dug it up myself @aelliott

Last year

Houston had a 74.8 def reb % in wins.
Houston had a 75.8 def reb % in losses.

Opponents Ortg in wins 103.3.
Opponents Ortg in losses 114.6.

No correlation last year. We were just dominate on securing the boards a season ago

This year

We have a 72.8 def reb% in wins.
We have a 65 def reb % in lossess.

Opponent Ortg in wins 107.8.
Opponents Ortg in losses 116 5

There appears to be a correlation there but after seeing last years numbers I'm not so sure.

Its definitely a defense issue in losses both this year and last. Last year tho, we kept the intensity up on the boards but not so much this year.

I'm sure the rebound issue isnt helping but starting to think the losses this year have a lot more to do with effort and execution with rebounding being a by product of that.

 

lol...Melo is such a scrub.

A team killer, if there ever was one.

 

He's right. It isn't just Melo, it's a bunch of problems.

Luckily we have Harden. If Harden wasn't playing well this season, we'd be bottom with no chance of the playoffs.

 

what drives me crazy is how 33 yo PJ and CP3 are routinely logging 36, 37, 38, 39 minutes in games... not good for long term success.... we're just playing Russian roulette regarding an injury...
Green and House are playing well - although somewhat sporadically... Work Clark and Hartenstein into the rotation (on a limited basis) and lets bring PJ's and CP3's minutes down already...
We can do it by design - or we wait for the injury - and do it by necessity...

 

Oh boy, these takes are bad. "Based on a 3-game sample of a career bench player and a sophomore, I think we should celebrate." Remember Gary Clark's nice run? Until the Rockets acquire a legit wing that can consistently score and defend, the Rockets aren't going to be contenders. I'm not getting fooled this time. The team--as it stands now--is too dependent on Harden, Capela, and some random role player to get hot (plus play over-extended minutes because the defense is inconsistent), and that's scary

 

Until we get help, if harden goes cold, it's possible we will lose the game. I don't feel as confident someone else is going to go off like last year's team.

 

Ty for the info.

Hopefully CP3 can stave off injury while logging 36-39 minutes for 2-3 more weeks - until MDA 'feels more comfortable' - lol

The dude has the worst ways of stating stuff sometimes... just say "Since BK is coming back from a substantial injury, we want to be cautious and bring him along slowly... but I think in another 2-3 he'll really be able to help us" ...it aint about you, Mike... lol

 

Let’s keep it real.
We are talking about the first 10 games (in which Melo played in) and he was only a starter for 2 of those 10 games.
We might be giving too much credit or blame on a backup. Players tend to come into the season flat or out of shape.
I remember Tucker was out of shape at the start of last season. I’m not letting the rest of the players off so easy.
Basketball is a team sport.....this isn’t singles tennis.

Player (18/19)........1st ten games played in.............................................pts....3P%....3PA....FG%....FGA
Eric Gordon.....7 games (missed gms 8,9 &10, started games 2 thru 6).....15.0.....23.6....7.9......32.1.....16.0
Ennis......7 games (missed gms 4,5 & 6, started 7)........................................8.0......48.1....3.9......48.1.....6.3
CP3........8 games (missed gms 3 & 4)...........................................................16.8....27.1.....6.0......39.3....15.3
Harden...7 games (missed gms 5,6 & 7)...........................................................?....41.4......4.1......44.6.....18.6
GGreen...10 games............................................................................................7.6....26.3....5.7....36.8......7.6

Melo.......10 games (started gms 5 & 6).........................................................13.6....32.8....6.4......40.5....12.1
Melo in my opinion bailed on the team after game 8 because
of all the scapegoat talk blaming him. Take out the last two games...........15.5....37.3....6.4....44.6....12.6

In those first ten games of the season, the Rockets were experimenting with:
Hartenstein: played in 9 games (DNP in game 2) .....7.6 mins......2 pts
MCW: played in 7 games, started in one...................13.8 mins....5 pts....20.0 (3P%)....43.8 (FT%)
Chriss: played in 3 games..........................................5.7 mins......2 pts & moving screens galore.

Again, I said the Rockets didn’t use Melo correct or well enough. per NBA.stats.com
Players-Tracking-Post Ups
https://stats.nba.com/players/tracking-post-ups/

Melo: 2.8 (post ups)......................73.7 (FG%).....analytics say milk this play until they stop it.
CP3: 3.1 (post ups)......................40.0 (FG%)
L Aldridge: 11.6 (post ups)...........46.2 (FG%)
M Gasol: 7.8 (post ups)...............40.9 (FG%)
Durant: 6.6 (post ups)..................54.1 (FG%)

And Nene was out the first 21 games.....matters. Rockets look much better since Nene’s return. You don’t see
me mention Nene in trade packages anymore.

I’ve got your back CP3. Not just going to let them do that to your friend.

Plus OKC was 9th in DRtg at 108.03 (adjusted DRtg) last yr w/Melo. Rockets needed to help the
helper better earlier this season

 

It's a cool graph - but what is it actually measuring??? Might help us understand what it means...

Fits with the general idea that Paul/ Gordon are leaving Harden to do all the heavy lifting (currently) - one hopes that might turn around in time.