Rockets are on pace to finish season 32-50.

Even the Lakers and Knicks are striking out on star free agents lately(no offense to Robin Lopez and Aaron Afflalo fans). The Rockets are a bad basketball team even without tanking. They're not going to get Kevin Durant this summer, people. Just deal with it. If you really want this team to rebuild, it's gonna require a few years of pain. The Warriors went through it as most of their core is from the draft. The Cavs were so bad, they got the #1 pick 3 out of 4 years(which BTW helped lure LeBron back). The Spurs sucked one year and were rewarded with Tim Duncan. The Thunder sucked for years and got Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka. And so on and so forth.

I get that no one wants to hear this, especially Daryl Morey and Les Alexander. But there's no quick fix for this. There is talent on this roster, but nowhere near enough to compete with true contending teams. Hell, right now we're barely competing with the likes of the Sixers. Just set aside the untouchables(Harden, D-Mo, Capela, and maybe Harrell), blow up the rest, and then focus on specific needs at each position. And for God's sake, this time get players who can D up and knock down open jumpers!

 

What were we doing differently doing the 4-game win streak? I didn't get a chance to watch those

 

WTF dobro. Are you seriously comparing the Cavs and the Rockets? Do we have two former no.1 picks lying around and another young guy to trade? Do we have Lebron to decide to join us? The situations have no semplance of similarity whatsoever.

Yes they strike out..but they are sitting on the table. LMA had TWO meetings with the Lakers. And that's with a team that has now a total of 2 wins. For the rest of the league they have to be contender status or near contender status to sit in the table with the premier FAs.
And another comparison between a Robinson who has absolutely no similarity character wise with Harden, couldn't be more far apart, and his injury situation. He was legitimate injured even if they sat him out more than it called for. Harden is healthy. You are asking to sit down a star who is completely healthy and has two more years in his contract after this one, with such a love for the bright lights, to tank.
Opening the Aeolus bag.

 

I didn't say to sit Harden. Others may have, but not me. I do want Morey to have a firesale though if things don't change between now and X-Mas when the schedule gets really tough.

 

To win 55, they need to play a .750 clip the rest of the season, which is a 61 game pace over a full season or around what the Spurs and Cavs are currently doing.

The Rockets weren't expected to be that kind of team even coming into the season and their early play has done nothing to suggest a 60+ win caliber team lurks within.

If they started from scratch (0-0), all the players worked on every possession, offensively and defensively, and Harden and Lawson integrated their games, sure, they could be a 55+ win team. The first one, though, is impossible and the other two don't seem to be in the cards any time soon.

 

20-62 is my prediction.

 

I don't think Morey will blow the team up and I don't think he should. Yeah, this season has been a tire fire so far, but there's no good reason to explain it, like age-related decline, losing top players to injury/free agency, etc. In the absence of that, I'm far more likely to ascribe even this 18 game sample to a flukish slump. Or, to put it another way, which do I better reflects the reality of this team's talent: the past three years or so or the first 18 games of this season? These 18 games are the most recent, of course, but a far smaller slice of recent reality than the preceding seasons.

Bear in mind, I'm not one of those who believed that the Rockets were an elite team that "should have" beaten the Warriors and was a top-tier title contender coming into this season. I felt that they were better reflected by winning the Mavs series with ease and then losing a 6-game series to the Clippers (as they were on the verge of doing).

So, yes, that still leaves them short of a true championship-caliber team, even if I'm right that this 18 game sample mostly reflects a temporary struggle rather than the flaming wreckage of this core. But I think you're far closer to a championship-caliber team with a 55+ win core (that isn't about to crash and burn due to age) than you are selling off and trying to rebuild through the draft.

 

Unreal how slow we started this season. They gotta get this it going.

 

Come on now. Don't start that game (the you are crazy for comparing X player to Lebron/Jordan/etc). You know damn well that's not what I'm doing.

What I'm saying is that three role player transactions mid-season can completely alter the way that a supporting cast operates and behaves... on and off the court.

What I said was that a 50+ win team built around Harden is proven to be more than capable of being put together. Morey did 3 years in a row. The Rockets obviously can't have the success that the Cavaliers had last year to turn poo poo into Pecan Pie, but long term, its not like three or four good role player transactions CAN'T happen that have an similar positive outlook to getting that team built back around the star player... especially with Morey as GM.

........

The whole point of the argument was "What is the best way to rebuild" assuming our crap season continues down the path where its statistically impossible to even make the playoffs. My only point was showing how literally 3 role player transactions can significantly alter the way a team operates and behaves on and off the court. The Rockets don't just have 2 or 3 guns in the barrel either. They could make a whole flurry of moves. One could conjure up 1000 different types of teams you could rebuild around Harden, and the other players you want to keep (obviously Capela and probably D-Mo, Harrell, and a couple others).

So are you saying you disagree with me that the most appropriate way to rebuild from this catastrophe would be to rebuild around Harden with another supporting cast? Please tell if you think we shouldn't, and you think blowing it up to either rebuild through the draft or free agency is your method you would choose and why?

 

They're losing against scrub teams so what makes anyone think they actually have a shot to make the playoffs? Also... does ANYONE have a shot at beating GSW this year? If someone's out there it's definitely not us. This is the perfect sneak attack tank season. Morey needs to figure out how to get it done. Then you go with a mini-youth movement. Ship out your older vets. Keep your younger core.

 

Now that I look at the standings I realize that I was somewhat wrong. The west isn't as stacked this year as it has been in seasons past. Outside of GSW/SAS every team has a so-so record. If you're at .500 you're a 7 seed. So being 3 games below .500 makes you think your team could turn it around. But the longer they win/lose at this pace the less likely it becomes they'll be able to sneak in.

 

And all these predictions are pretty pointless. The only thing I care about is can we get above .500 by Christmas?

IF this team makes up ground by that point there is still plenty of time to make ground, and get in the playoffs with THIS team.

If they continue at this pace by Christmas I think you are done as a playoff team, and obviously major personnel changes need to be made if they haven't been made already.

So there is no point of looking at the season as a whole. We need to break things up into milestones to appropriately gauge the right decisions to make at the right times.

All I know is Christmas will be here before we know it so if the Rockets are going to go on a run, they need to do it here pretty soon. There are 16 games left before the end of the year. The Rockets need to go 10 and 6 to be where I think they need to be to seriously make a run at a playoff spot.

10 and 6 over the next four weeks will be tough so they need to really get their act together here pretty soon. We shall see. Looking at the entire season right now and making wholesale reactions to rebuild your team as drastically as tanking for a draft pick are so irrationally thought of right now.

 

This is not totally true. It's much quicker when you already have a star. A young one at that.

 

Honestly d league players couldn't play worse then our guys. If you keep Dmo harden Capella and Howard and you trade the rest this month we might turn around.

 

Dobro agree with pretty much everything your saying but realistically with the way this team has played from the beginning of the season up till now do you really think they can go 10-6. There are players on this team who are dramatically much better players than what they've shown so far this season and with the teams familiarity from last season there's really no excuse for their overall poor play to me other than the coaching. Objectively if this team were to sneak into the playoffs right now they don't even look like a tough out. The defense has been atrocious and they still have the same defensive coach who's now head coach, so go figure.

 

Short answer.... HELL NO.

But.... If its a possibility, does it really matter if they at least see what they've got for this next stretch? If you have James Harden, Capela, and D-Mo at the very least you aren't going to contend with the Lakers & the Sixers for a top pick with the worst record (not like you'd want to do that anyways) so what's the point in at the very least seeing if lightning can strike and this team goes on a run?

That's why IMO you should give it some time to see if the it really was just a fluke crazy bad season starting slump. You know for a fact that this team has the talent to do perform at a high level.

Reg the coaching - Yeah I think McHale should have accountability here for the training camp & preseason which I think is where Morey & Les are really holding him to the fire. TRAINING CAMP MATTERS, and I think this team did not take it seriously this year. People here and in the media keep on saying that obviously it wasn't McHale... well that's not entirely true. Training camp, and the preparation that comes out of the preseason is a big part of NBA coaching. Hell.. the Summer preparation you hold your players accountable for is a big part of it to. The Rockets as a coaching staff, and organization obviously didn't do their part to establish an appropriate prepared kickoff to the season with the Summer and camp.

That's a big knock on the coaches including Bickerstaff for not conducting a top flight training camp even with the injuries they had to deal with.

The coaching after training camp... well they already lost the lockeroom anyways so whatever they were saying has fallen on deft ears. Bickerstaff is going to be a very good NBA coach for many years, but I'm not sure the Rockets will keep ANY of the same regime next year anyways. Bickerstaff I think will get a good offer elsewhere to be the lead dog in a different situation.

At this point if they are good enough to make it to the playoffs then they have already made a drastic mid-season turnaround defensively. Defense is something that typically doesn't change much mid season. You really need a TRAINING CAMP for a major turnaround. They aren't getting that, and so its likely this team doesn't make much improvement based on past history... but I think we need to judge where we are going by breaking this season up and looking at this next CHUNK of games rather than jumping to conclusions now at the beginning of December.

 

This team has a 2004-2005 minnesota twolves feel to it.. also ran by yours truly.. KEVIN MCHALE

came off a west finals appearance with KG, Sam I am, Spreewell.. with the lakers breaking up and shaq going to the heat.. everyones offseason prediction was twolves gonna win the west.. they didnt even make the playoffs and stumbled to 44-38 record after being 58-24 the year before.. that team was then broken up and KG eventually won a title in Boston.. WE ARE THE 2004-2005 TWOLVES.. everything mchale touches goes out in flames

 

I watched a lot of the Bulls vs Spurs game last night and the Bulls defensive intensity and defensive BBIQ compared to this rockets team is absolute night and day, plus the Bulls IMO don't have the overall talent that the Rockets currently possess. I don't know if Bickerstaff has the ability to get through to these guys and if he does its going to have to happen very very quickly. I don't claim to be a basketball expert like _asketballhollic and some of the other Minions in here but I've been around long enough and played long enough to realize when you have a talented basketball team and your offense and defense both aren't working the coaching staff has gotta looks itself in the mirror.

 

It takes alot time to find the right coach, the schedule is tight and you got to hold interview sessions and sort out coaching candidates, those sort of arrangements