Are you just going to ignore they lost both Harris and Gallo who contributed a hell a lot to those 48 wins
They traded Harris at the deadline and didn’t miss a beat. Gallo isn’t that much of an impact.... ok add gallo to that lost of rockets. Do you think they now have the same success as the clippers did ? I don’t. There is no question they are deeper than we are IMO especially adding harkless and green. I would trade our role players for theirs without hesitation.
Clipper players 3 point shooting last year regular season : Shamet - 42% Beverley - 39% Lou Williams - 36% PG - 39% Leonard - 37% Green - 41% Harkless - 27%(41% in 17-18) Not quite what Steph, Klay, and KD could shoot, but still well above average for a full slate of rotation players who all defend at a very high level with the exception of Lou Will. Zubac probably will not average any more than 10- 12 minutes a game. Trez and Green will split most of the minutes at the 5. The GS team was built on great shooting, finesse, movement, and good to great defense at times. This Clipper team is laced with 2 way dogs at nearly every position. They will be much more physical. With Doc leading them i expect a perfect mix of iso ball with Kawhi, PG and Lou Will, and a more traditional but efficient approach to the offense. They wont be as 3 point heavy as GS. They will post up Trez and Kawhi when they have the advantage. They will take a ton of mid range shots. One thing that stood out to me during the Clippers GS playoff match up, was the lack of fear from the Clippers. They were severely out gunned but they competed like they belonged. Trez was actually getting the best of Draymond and Looney. They had a hard time defending Lou Will. They showed incredible heart and effort in that series. Now you basically replace Shai and Gallo, with Leonard, PG and Harkless? You could target Gallo,defensively but you cant target any of his replacements. P Pat for added depth at the 4 helps, and they seem to be excited about what Mcgruder can bring as well. If you are going to build around 2 stars, the Clippers went about it the right way. Jerry West is a genius and the ultimate basketball whisperer. This team may have beaten a healthy GS last year IMHO. Hell we could have beaten them if............never mind.
All great points. Rockets have never had great 3 point shooters; they beat you with volume. Always have. When you ISO one guy at a time it doesn't matter how many great defenders you have. I'm really only worried about Montrezl's hustle nobody else. I just want to see how the Rockets play against the Clippers. The 60 win season, I didn't think the Rockets were 60 wins good on paper. The Rockets were the best team after the all star break last year, still it's always surprising when you looked at the Roster how they were competing against the best. When I look at the roster again, I don't know, but something always seems to click with the Rockets in the regular season - Probably more a testament to the greatness of regular season James Harden.
PG/Kawhi will lock down Harden. This isn't a knock against Harden, but it's the fact that PG/Kawhi are two of the premier wing defenders in the league. They'll be able to take turns guarding him in a 7 game series. There is no way anybody wouldn't wear down. Shut down Harden, shut down the Rockets. Clips are a nightmare matchup.
Clippers looked like they were the same team with a vastly better player in the mix in Leonard on Tuesday after the 1st period. Only thing I can hope for is that, once George is on the court and getting lots of usage, Lou Williams goes back to the last time he was a role player on a contender-ing team which was - *checks notes* apparently somehow on the roster during the Rockets 2017 playoffs.
When you have the best player in the world in HARDEN, noone is better than you. Harden is out there playing with kids at this moment.
Montrez has always looked ready to body and man handle anybody in the paint Can’t say the same for Clint
Lou is not a primary ballhandler lol. Shamet? Harkless? Average as hell, shamet averaged 2 rebounds and 2 assists per 36 last season lol
