True measuring stick - How we are doing against winning teams

I think we should kept parsons and gone hard after Lowry.

 

Atlanta is legit, that's for sure.

We are not and indeed need a Lowry / Dragic to get us over the hump. We also need Canaan to play PG for now, Terry as a back-up SG, Brewer to play some SF and SG since Terry cannot log many minutes, then some minutes for Papa st SF and occasionally PF. Then a coach who can run some plays late in the game in particular and we are set

 

After a hot start (albeit playing weaker teams), we've certainly cooled down the last 14 games or so, sigh ...

Opponents are daring anyone else except Harden to beat them. If coaches can't find a scheme around that tactic, I'm apprehensive we'll fall down the rankings further. Golden State looks legit this year.

 

This is definitely thread worthy -- thanks for posting.

Very interesting numbers here. Some cases seem a little un-indicative of how good/bad the team in question actually is (case in point: PHX is not that good). That said, as a Rockets fan this does cause me to pull on my collar nervously.

I am not sure if a trade is necessary, but we either need to add another play maker on the perimeter (like Dragic) or run a more intelligent offensive system (something utilizing DMo's post skill perhaps).

The Rockets played perfect basketball against the Bulls last night for 3 and half quarters, so much so that they were overcoming terrible officiating. But then their offense hit a wall against a good defensive team, and they had no recourse to overcome it (which this chart indicates is not uncommon for us).

They either need better personnel or a better plan, and, despite how good of a coaching job McHale has done this season, I don't really trust him or the coaching staff to come up with such a plan.

 

I don't see how PHX will let go of Dragic. Him and Bledsoe are beginning to play well together again. They were devastating vs Lowry and the Raptors the other night.

 

I think it's a combination of things with the recent struggles. Harden and Ariza logging long minutes (probably affecting his shooting), re-integrating Dwight into the lineup, new additions to the team, etc. They may end up losing to some games to the better teams now, but i think as long as they build their chemistry until the All-Star break, they have the ability to go on a tear after.

 

This is why I'd like for Canaan to get some more burn. He is one of the better shooters on this team and he is just rotting on the bench.

Terry is probably not going to be here next year and you need to give Canaan time in case Bevs is not retained. He was getting hot until he got hurt so I hope they give him another chance to be an offensive weapon for this team.

 

Rockets can beat good teams if they get back to consistent defensive effort (and a little better shooting would help too). The defensive effort has slipped, and our record has slipped as well.

 

Parsons was somewhat helpful, but he was causing chemistry problems off the scene. DM did the right thing by improving our perimeter defense, despite our shooting woes. In hindsight, it may have been the right thing to go after Lowry, but he may have had problems with McHale again,if he felt that he was being slighted by Harden's presence.

 

Wasn't Morey and McHale on Lowry's doorstep at 12 AM the morning free agency opened last summer?

 

I'd like to know what the W/L is split by when we had everybody hurt to when we were pretty much healthy (besides TJones)

 

Yeah, and then put him on ice while we chased Melo.

But re: that chart -- our offense is putrid. No surprise there.

 

Yes, but IIRC they didn't make him any offer and said they wanted to wait to see what came of the LeBron and Melo situations before they made any moves.

IF that's true... ouch. That's bad.

 

Yeah, I understand waiting to see where the cards fell with Lebron and subsequently Bosh. But the whole courting Melo thing is really starting to seem like it could've been a huge error. Maybe Lowry and Ariza should've been the main targets last offseason. The offense would def be better off with a PG rotation of Lowry and Bev.

 

I've started noticing that too. We need to either get our alternate options/scheme straightened out (I'm looking at you, coaches) or start locking down on defense like we did early in the season. Forcing Harden to work harder on offense is going to impact us negatively across the board. I'd like to see Canaan and D-Mo get more regular touches. If they continue to consistently produce we might have some options when teams start implementing the Harden Rules.

 

I think the Rockets will be fine. Ariza's shot will come back at some point. He's not a 27% three-point shooter.

The new guys will find their place and fit in better.

McHale will figure out who fits in best with who and his rotations will look better.

They'll be fine. They are going through some growing pains with the recent acquisitions and the hangover from the injuries. Players who were playing their ass off to win games while guys were hurt are taking it a little easy right now.

There has been a lot of volatility this year due to injuries and trades.

They'll get it all back together and will be a very strong team when playoff time comes.

 

Funny... my offseason wishlist was Lowry + Millsap + Ariza. The one we ended up with appears to be broken.

 

This season seemed to go downhill fast. From something special to more of the same. From hopeful to dreadful.