if you thought the rockets were going to win +60 games you were the one being fooled and didn't set realistic expectations for yourself. that's on nobody but yourself.
That's not true. The Rockets are not where they were expected to be at this point in the season. Daryl Morey and everyone expected them to be further along. This rough start isn't indicative that they aren't capable of being a 60 win team. It means they are behind where they expected to be. And if they don't win 60 games due to playing catch-up, it doesn't mean 60 wins wasn't realistic. Nobody expected them to be behind.
those expectations were only if the entire team was completely healthy. obviously they are not and are having to adjust accordingly. Thats not something thats easy to do on the fly especially when you're trying to integrate players like Ty in the lineup.
Stop being ridiculous. I am sure even Morey expected close to 60 wins. We won 56 games with Dwight playing half of those, tons more injuries and some 38 year old washed up folks at PG Now you add a top 10 PG, less injuries, keep the core together and anything less than 60 wins will be a disappointment. Maury himself has said in the past something along the lines that just keeping the core together and their continued development should result in about 3-4 extra wins Funny how people move goalposts to blindly defend everything.
Morey's right. Harden's getting a lot of (deserved) blame for his play, but really nobody outside of Thornton and Harrell have really been playing up to expectations. Seems like everybody is in a funk.
The only unexpected injury before the season was Jones's. They knew where DMo was. They knew where Dwight was. I think the injury excuse is overused. The fact is, nobody other than Howard and Thornton is playing well. That's unexpected. If you listen to what Morey said, that's below expectation.
winning +60 games is completely different than being in the 50 range like the rockets are. DM would not expect houston to win +60 games at the beginning of the season because he knows they are not at full health So with all that being said whats going on this year. Dwight is still going to miss a handful of games. Dmo remains out for the foreseeable future. TJ is out. They're now forced to play small ball way more than they want to. They're trying to integrate an all star caliber pg onto a new team. Plenty of question marks for DM not to expect a +60 win team. He's smarter than that.
Were you freaking out when your team was 0-3? There was a little freaking out. We knew James Harden wouldn't shoot 9% from three. We're still not playing great. We won 4 in a row, that's great but to make hay in the west, you gotta play really well. We're hoping to have a very special season. We're still grinding trying to get better. We're not where we want to be but thank goodness got big wins over the weekend. A numbers game, eventually you'll even out or something [Harden] has done differently since those first three games where he couldn't buy a bucket? We didn't have Dwight for all the games. James plays well with Dwight there. Dwight obviously had a huge game against the Clippers. We've spaced the floor more, some due to injuries, some due to strategy. That's helped get our guys going. We're playing better offense, we still need to tighten up the defense. You took a chance on Ty Lawson. Take me through the process, even with the flaws and his background, you decided to take a chance. It's a point guard's arm race. To add the talent of Ty Lawson was an easy choice. I can only judge a person how he is with us. He's been fantastic with us. No issues. Obviously he had some things he had to work through. It was definitely the right move for us. Any rules you put on him? Can't go out, no beer, any rules that say "You have to do this"? We didn't have to. He put all the improvement on himself. He said "This is how I'm gonna be. You don't have to worry about me." There are no special rules for him. We got our team rules that every team has, we have our own version of that. So far, no issues with anyone. Stephen Curry doesn't like the idea that they were lucky. Is it fair to say they were fortunate or lucky? Let me dispel that notion, the Golden State Warriors were not lucky to win the title. They were the best team last year. They're the best team this year so far. They're just an unbelievable team. You can always point to any champion and say maybe this could have gone different or that could have gone different. You'd erase every championship. This Golden State team is special. It'll go down as one of the all-time teams. We're hoping to take them down this year but they've beat us 9 out of 10, they have our number, we have to figure out how to beat them. Do you have the Clippers number? Ha, I hope so. I really hope so. It's pretty hard to say when you're down 19 about to get eliminated that you have their number. They're a very good team. We've matched up well with them the last three. We've won the last three but I'm not sure we're good enough to say we have anyone's number. We're gonna keep working at it. We're hoping to get our execution where it needs to be. When Steph Curry came out, you've said before you're a big fan. I was cautious. It didn't appear to be a true point or maybe explosive enough to get a step, didn't know if he could run a team or defend the position. I knew he was a great shooter but didn't know how he'd be used. The shots he's taking, shots anyone else takes, they used to be considered bad shots. The shots he's taking, the way he's playing, the dominance he's been able to play with for this length of time in the NBA, is it fair to say he's a transcendent player? Where we have to re-think how we look at a player coming out because of the style, shot taking, shot making that he's able to use in a NBA game? I have to be careful. NBA is sensitive to talking about other team's players. He's a very special guy. People will find the next top player X vs. finding the next Steph Curry, I think he's gonna be someone that people will look for and will have a difficult time finding. He's special. Our game plans to try and slow him down haven't worked well and that's true of most of the league. And your own James Harden. There have been others that could play multiple positions but I don't know like Harden, that unique skill set. I guess my thought on Harden is this, have you had the conversation about the Kardashian thing. There's a curse there in terms of winning a championship. Ha! No. Definitely not. We just worry about basketball. One reason players love playing for the Rockets is we focus on basketball, we focus on winning, we focus on what's on the floor. We have professionals who manage their own business off the court. Dwight said he wasn't healthy last year. You know his medicals. Will he back to Dwight Howard that was such a dominant presence early in his career, in terms of physically, is he there, will he be there? He's been incredible for us. He's a warrior. He battles through anything. He was definitely our best player two years ago in the playoffs and last year, he and James carried us to the WCF. He's a guy who has played injured. When he sits out, it's because he has to sit out. He's putting up 20/20 like back to early 20's Dwight. We're pretty excited about him. Our medical and performance team has put together a great plan for him. You mentioned despite the wins, still not playing as well as you'd like. What's missing? I just think we had a tough training camp. A lot of guys in and out. Didn't develop the chemistry defensively we wanted to get to that we were playing at at the end of last year, so the defensive side of the ball. Even offensively, adding a new PG, as good as Ty is, that's the hardest position to insert a guy into. We're still working that out. It's a little tough. Guys are figuring out where Ty is gonna be on the floor, where James, when each of them and how they're gonna play together. That's been a work in progress. Offensively we got that going a little better now. Now we need to tighten things up defensively. Officials said they missed a crucial goal tending call in your game. Is officiating better or worse than it's been? I think it's better. I know it's best in the world. Last year they missed a big call on Memphis against us that we lost the game. This one they said they missed it. That happens. I always wonder why they choose to say what plays they miss because they have a report where they're missing quite a few each game but I know their accuracy level is higher than anyone else in the world. That was a missed call but as Doc said, that wasn't why we won. We had played well up to that point as well. What are your expectations for this team ultimately, if healthy? My expectations are we're playing our best basketball in April and we get ourselves in position where we can play Golden State, the best team in the West and we're playing well enough to take them down in the playoffs. We didn't play well enough last year. We need to get to where we play well enough to beat them in this year's playoffs. Appreciate having you on and looking forward to see how they develop, grown and hopefully they're healthy. Thanks. All our trends are positive. We'll have Donatas back, Capela is taking off, we have a bunch of you guys. We feel good about the future. Thanks for having me on. <iframe id="cbsembed" width="560" height="315" src="http://cbsloc.al/1MwcQ22" frameborder="0" /></iframe>
Morey, of course, is correct in his assessment that this team has to be much better, despite injuries to some very important players. To beat GS in a playoff series, this Rockets team will have to play like a machine ---- 48 minutes of efficient offense and defense. Anything short of that goal and we are not coming out of the west. That's how good the Warriors are playing at the moment.
J.R thanks for the recaps and the audio much appreciated I listen to this when I work out much better than music imo. If you or anyone else ever comes across more rockets related audio pls post it!!!!
Daryl Maury on 790 a few minutes back. 790: Daryl, last time we were joined by you things weren't so rosy but now you're two guard just scored 89 points combined in a two game road trip. Your mood must be better? DM: Better, yeah, much better. We got our offense going. 790: Dwight Howard looked good Saturday night. We were just talking about amount of games he would miss if he doesn't play back to back, something like 21 or 22. Will situation change where on the back to back games he might have a chance of playing? DM: Well he played every playoff game. That's all that matters. We are working with the doctors. At some point this year, they could say hey it's looking great and let's do back to backs. We consult with them regularly. 790: When Harden and Dwight play well together you beat Clippers in LA which is a really good team. But the guy who has played really well is Marcus Thornton. DM: He has been a guy we always had an aye on. We thought he would be a good fit on our system. Reason he hasn't had so much demand is because he has always been on bad teams. And when you are on bad teams people don't pay much attention to you. I think he was also pigeon holed as a scorer. But he has made a lot of good passes. His on ball defense has been better than what people think. We are happy for Marcus. He wanted to be on a winning team. 790: Did you find out a little bit more about the roster when Harden wasn't making shots? Did you see some things that gave you a positive feeling on what this team could accomplish if this team gels DM: People were always wondering what would happen if Curry was out for GSW and Harden for Rockets. I think people saw that. T Lawson is starting to come on. Trevor has played well at the 4 and coach will continue to look at that when DMo is out. TJ will be back tonight so we are looking forward to that. Insert random talk. No idea the crap they talking about and it's not Rockets related. 790: I'd like to visit with Harden and watch tape with him regards to my NFL rating. Reason is because the way basketball players open up and defend can translate to other sports. I am sure as you as GM will look at other athletes and transfer to Basketball. DM: We watch other sports all the time, Astros or Texans. Always trying to pick things up from other sports. I do think there is a lot of things to be learned. fascinating how NFL is trying to tap into Rugby talent. Every sport taps into international talent like basketball and baseball. 790: Lance with eggball talk....... About Rudy T and his Robert Horry stretch 4 innovation. DM: Rudy T obviously legendary coach was way ahead of his time. I think the Rockets under Les have always been ahead of time. League is now playing how the Rockets and Suns and GSW last year were playing. Average pace of league last year would have been pace of Suns 10 years ago. League is changing rapidly and how do you make the next change. 790: Barkley saying jump shooting teams can't win a championship. One of the players on the championship teams said I can't believe Rudy T is not a HOFer and not given respect for coaching side of things. DM: He may eventually. League will recognize this and eventually I think he will get in. Chuck is the best entertainer when it comes to basketball going back to the Yao Ming deal. I don't see Chuck much. He is always busy with his TV schedule. 790: Sloan sports conference is something you do besides basketball. Can you talk about it? DM: It's in MIT. This year marks the 11th and 12th year. It's a non profit thing and is about bringing analysis into sports. This year it will be about the moneyball. Some random Jeff Luno and stickball talk 790: You're traveling tomorrow. Are you allowed to tell us where you are going? DM: No its super secret. 790: My guess is Yugoslavia or Switzerland. More Clint Capelas... DM: How about Clint Capela btw? The fact that him and Dwight put up those numbers against LAC. Probably the best production Rockets have had at C position since Dream. Game by game he is coming along quick. He has a really strong work ethic, smart player and is soaking up what McHale tells him
2 Regardless of who's starting, Rockets coach Kevin McHale wants his team to employ crisp ball movement and adequate spacing on offense. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff / © 2015 Houston ChroniclePhoto: Brett Coomer, Staff Regardless of who's starting, Rockets coach Kevin McHale wants his team to employ crisp ball movement and adequate spacing on offense. The NBA's tallest coach would rather not have the NBA's shortest team, despite the stats that lean otherwise and Clippers coach Doc Rivers' suspicion that the Rockets secretly enjoy their small lineups. It sort of worked out that way for Kevin McHale, but he would not mind having more than one healthy player who can look him in the eye. The question now, with the 6-9 Terrence Jones ready to return to the rotation, is whether the Rockets will have more than one person in the starting lineup who can at least come close to McHale's 6-10. The Rockets' offense got rolling after McHale switched to a small lineup when Jones went out with a cut eyelid. Marcus Thornton (6-4) became a starter, Trevor Ariza (6-8) moved to power forward, and the ball moved to open shooters. McHale wouldn't say Tuesday if he'll immediately go back to the lineup he used before Jones was hurt. If he does not make the switch for Wednesday's meeting with the Brooklyn Nets, it would seem to be a matter of time. McHale, however, would not offer clues. "Sometimes, it's (about) matchups," he said. "Sometimes, it's do what we do. Sometimes, they have to match up with us." ROCKETS Regardless of who's starting, Rockets coach Kevin McHale wants his team to employ crisp ball movement and adequate spacing on offense. Big or small? McHale just wants lineup that works Rockets report: Beverley returns to practice Regardless of who's starting, Rockets coach Kevin McHale wants his team to employ crisp ball movement and adequate spacing on offense. Big or small? Kevin McHale just wants to go with lineup that Cowboys-Eagles fan fight was a family feud NBA: T-Wolves beat Hawks after blowing 34-point lead With that, McHale launched into a long explanation of why he really does not know. "If you step into a basketball game saying I'm only going to do this, you're limiting yourself," McHale said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I watch the game. If our small lineup is rebounding the ball, they're having a hard time guarding, we're getting shots, you like it. If you're not doing that, you change it. "I think about how we're playing once the game starts. If I knew what was going to happen during the game, I'd run Wall Street … I'd be a multi-trillionaire. I'll wait and see how they play, how the matchups are, what's hurting us, what's hurting them, and make decisions from there." Clicking with Thornton The argument for sticking with the small lineup is clear, if based on exceedingly small sample sizes. In the two games with traditional lineups (one that included a power forward), the Rockets ranked 29th offensively. In the five games since Thornton moved into the starting lineup, even with a second-half collapse in Miami, the Rockets have been seventh in the NBA in offensive rating. There is a compelling case, however, for switching back to a traditional lineup. The Nets and Nuggets are two of the league's better offensive rebounding teams, ranking eighth and 10th in offensive rebounding percentage. Power forwards Thaddeus Young and Kenneth Faried do the bulk of their scoring going to the basket. Though Dirk Nowitzki, whom the Rockets face Saturday, is much more of a jump shooter, the Rockets built much of their success against the Mavericks last season going at Nowitzki on the other end rather than allowing him to defend catch-and-shoot scorers. Looking ahead Beyond the schedule this week, the Rockets said their traditional lineup will have to develop the spacing and driving lanes that they used so effectively when the extra shooter forced teams to defend from corner to corner. "I think we've just got to move the ball better when we have a traditional lineup," Ariza said. "We have to have more ball movement, more cutting, more playing for eachother. That's something that we have been working on and something we're going to continue to work on until we get it down right." There has been a league-wide trend toward having four shooters on the floor with one big man in the lane. But the Rockets' offense worked with power forwards sharing the floor with Dwight Howard (6-11) far better in the previous two seasons than in those two games to open the season. "We've got to get better spacing, better movement," McHale said. "Our spacing has got to work in more coordination with each other. It's going to have a little bit different of a dynamic. They have to set more wide screens. They have to set more picks for others. Their man is just not going to guard them outside the paint. We have to take advantage of thaT - MCHALE ^^^ this sums up why the stretch 4 is important mchal is a smart it he's doing what he can't, but don't blame him for lack of movement it's hard for Ariza to be setting picks agaisnt bigs up top, but mchale has to play him at the 4 if he wants spacing
