losing ariza/moute/Bzdelik. established high iq defensive vets. adding unproven journeymen to replace everything. A surprise? it shouldn't be
Yet there are those who attack anyone who says this team isn't as good as last years …. That kind of thinking is blind homerism. Its quite obvious the loss of Ariza , Moute and Bzdelik was a BIG step back defensively and even if its just one game , their replacements don't bring other skills that make up the difference. Last years team winning 65 games was historically great …. despite the fact that they lost to GSW.
It really was just one game. Ariza and Luc would not have changed the defense on Davis. And even if you want to argue they would have made it a different game, that’s mainly because of communication and the comfort the players have. As long as a guy like Ennis has the right attitude, with the leadership of Chris Paul, our guys will improve the more they play with each other. By the end of the season everyone will be on the same page.
We have Clark one of the best college defense men in a long while that needs playing time to show his value as a leader yes a rookie leadership. We need nothing but focus on the defensive development from him. Asking a lot from him will get what is needed long term.
This whole the Rox took a step back is really irritating.Even if the team stayed exactly the same that would have constituted taking a step back because the entire league has gotten better. What Morey did is took what was available at the time the advantage of that is he can see what will be needed to win a championship this year not what worked last year. The needs of this season is not known yet. The team has the talent but they have to have time to mesh and really become a team thats on the same page with each other. Scrimmaging isnt the same as facing opponents with totally different skill sets in an actual game. We have to be patient even if we win between 56-61 games thats ok.
Yeah it was one game and the Pelicans are a matchup nightmare for the Rockets , just like last year they struggled with teams who had real good big men - Memphis beat them twice. But defense wasn't the only issue … like I said , they don't make up for not being as good defensively in other ways. The offense was a hot mess , its looked out of sync most of the preseason. They do have a lot of new parts to incorporate and I don't expect them to be playing at their peak in October but to argue that last years squad was superior isn't a stretch at all. Not many teams have won 65 games …. 16 teams in the history if the league going back to 1949. To say this years squad isn't as good as last years is not knock on this team - its giving last years team the respect its due for a historically great season. Over / Under wins this season ? . SportsBook - 56.5 (Also has them with the 2nd best odds to win the West after GSW) BangTheBook - 55.5 Westgate Superbook 54.5 We can argue all you want but they put their money where their mouth is …. and they all have the Rockets winning significantly fewer games. They believe they took a step back./
