#22 mil will get you 4 Delfinos. 4 Delfinos won't win you 10 more games. What are you guys talking about. Money isn't the issue. Guys like Howard don't grow on trees.
Sure, but Howard is a killer three point shooter <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KIzuMq2vXqw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
We needed another star, which star would you have signed last summer? Harden and Howard are a great base for a championship team. Harden is still a little immature, but in a year or two we will have a nice little window. You can't transform from a mediocre first round fodder into a championship team in one season. We are a couple trades away, but signing Howard was the best thing to happen in this organization in a long time.
Oh come on asik over howard?. Just because of one game. I'm pretty sure howard has already had more 20 point games this season the. Asiks entire career of them and howard has had multiple 30 point. Rebounding there pretty similar and defense about the same but I will say asik was more of a wall. Asik would put two hands real high and was like an impassable barrier
Correct. But now it's up to McHale to make those pieces mesh. You can't tell me there's no version of an offensive system that would let BOTH of the fast-paced Harden offense and the half-court Howard offense co-exist.
Rockets have two offensive system: Harden ISO and Howard ISO. They can not co-exist because both should not exist. Fast-paced Harden offense is gone with Asik.
Agreed... But the improvements aren't just to the PF and backup C rotation. I see a few more holes that need to be filled as well. They are still a few upgrades (internally or externally)a couple years, and some tweaks to find a system that works long term away from truly being up there with the upper class of the NBA. However the 2nd class of the NBA is interesting enough to where the fans should be more excited in Houston. You think Golden State or Clippers fans are this down on their team as CF's??... Not sure... Its arguable. And that statement about trades wasn't just directed at you. There are way too many fans on here with unrealistic expectations of what Morey can get for our players in trades, and what it takes to get a player that jumps up into that next category of rotation player on a bad contract to a better player. Look at the what Memphis gave up for Courtney Lee vs. what Toronto was asking for Lowry for instance. Even an incremental increase in value both on the court and contractually can make an asking price sky rocket. And now with the reputation that Morey has & other teams knowing how close Houston is from being a top notch team, he's probably going to have to pay even more than market value in trades for good players. I dont think any team in the west is in a hurry to help the Rockets and even some team in the East are hesitant to make a deal with Morey as well.... which is probably why we've seen so few moves from Morey in trades since Dwight was signed. He's not going to make a deal that isn't a no-brainer for Houston, and very few teams want the Rockets to be that good.
why do you need stars ???? and if he was so much of a star, why are we looking for another one just to make it out the first round ?
Dwight > Asik. The one big surprise to me about Dwight so far is... defensive rebounding when challenged. He struggle to grab critical rebound because of that when the opponents go after the offensive board. All of his other issues are somewhat well known.
Analyzing positions other the center, last season Lin was terrible until about mid-season because of rehabbing & Parsons is a lot better than last season because he took a step up in the playoffs & from off-season training. Bev & Jones weren't playing at this point last season. Casspi is probably equal or better than Morris or Patterson last season (not saying much I know). The only thing better last season was Delfino who was HUGE & Douglas played pretty good. So this team would be better even if it made no changes in the off-season because the starting positions 1-4 are better factoring in how Jones has been playing lately. I would be intrigued to know how Lin, Harden & Parsons would be playing if Dwight was not signed because they all have untapped & under-utilized potential currently imo. You would think Morey would have learned you need to give players room to play their best from how Dragic played after Lowry got injured. Unfortunately, I think he wants to be the star. Anyway, there is no way the Rockets would have difficulty making up for the scoring of Dwight if he wasn't on the team. I also think Parsons has a higher probability of taking the Rockets to the Finals than Dwight, so it is ironic that Parsons brought Dwight to the team & that turns out to be stifling Parsons from maximizing his potential. As far as defense, I don't think a lot people remember how Asik challenged nearly every drive to the basket whereas Dwight challenges a much, much lower percentage. Asik would never say, "the defense starts on the perimeter" like Dwight did & Dwight also implied the Rockets need to "play the right way" after the loss to the Thunder meaning pass the ball to him as the first option. Well, the center-centric offense is a thing of the past & the biggest problem with that gameplan is Howard telegraphs whatever he is going to do. If he is going to try to score it's obvious. He never changes from looking to score to passing in the middle of his move. As soon as he decides he is going to try to score, then he is not going to pass. He doesn't have the handles to survey the court while dribbling which you need to do to keep the defense guessing. Furthermore, his post-up percentage isn't even very good & since his free throw shooting is woeful that isn't "the right way to play". I don't think the Rockets coaching has had any positive influence on his game almost like he gets zero coaching. Finally, my response to anybody who says the Rockets are better than last season is that you can always tell by the team morale which teams are the best because players know better than anybody. It shows their belief (if they expect to win) & about what they are capable of as a team, not just from game to game but for the whole season. A lot of times the Rockets do not display a lot of emotion I think because they have too many misfitting parts, unhappy players & an indiscernible team concept, especially when you compare them to the other playoff teams in the West, the Rockets are easily the most lacking in this respect. Sure they might win games on talent alone but what about hustle plays, outworking teams & wanting it more? Dwight isn't going to set the tone for being that type of team the way Asik did & you can only go so far as team if you are not willing to do the dirty work. Right now, Morey is evaluating the team until the trade deadline to see if they are a title contender. My assertion is if Harden & Howard can't take the Rockets to the Finals adding players won't make a difference. It begins & ends with them. They will either get them there or keep them from getting there. So if the determination is made the Rockets are not title contenders or that getting to the Finals will only occur if Parsons turns into a superstar, which is what I contend, Dwight should be traded next month because Asik can play a support role better & I feel if Asik is a backup after the trade deadline, he is still not going to give a full effort. I don't know if the owner or Morey's ego will allow him to trade Dwight, but there is no reason to stick with a team that is sure to get eliminated quickly. I tried to come up with a realistic trade. You aren't going to be able to commit highway robbery or make fans happy honestly, but ultimately Morey will be judged by what happens in the playoffs & in the future, so I wouldn't rule anything out. This trade I think will set the Rockets up better for the upcoming playoffs & the future. The Rockets will also get 24 years old 6'8" shooting guard / small forward Bojan Bogdanović rights. I would try to keep Lin if possible, but I think Brooks could be the ideal backup PG & I don't think this trade can happen without including Lin & the Rockets could also try to get a draft pick from the Lakers. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mmpsxqh another trade idea: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ke22frs
Asik is definitely better than Howard at the Defensive side of the court no doubt. But Howard definitely brings a new opportunity and stability on the offensive side of the court. So it's a trade off in the end. NOW if Asik would only play for us, then we'd be sooo much better on both ends.
How is that true comparing our records this year and last year? I agree that if we had spent $$$ instead of Howard for another player to pair with Asik we would be better but strictly Asik vs Howard our record indicates that we are better with Howard.
Give me a break. Howard is what we need for the Center. Asik is horrible when it comes to receiving the ball and dunking it. Remember last year how many times he got the ball and fumbled it? Or how slow he is in rising up and dunk and then got stripped of the ball?? I would say Asik is probably better than Howard in help defense!!
Lol Howard ISO is not an ISO is call post game offense been done for years. If Harden want to go to the paint and ISO there like Lebron James do this days or Kobe have been doing later in his career I'm all for it. Guess who ISO in the post as you call it. San Antonio with Duncan (31-9) Indiana with a West, Hibbert and Scola (31-7) Miami and James(28-11) Porland (30-9) with Aldridge. You get the best open 3 pointers out of the Postplay (ISO), you get cutters in those (ISO) low post, you can get players in foul trouble and go to the line out of that offense. Can we get better? Yes, but time and heath is key. Rockets need to have a set rotation, only when players get healthy so the can practice that offense and with TIME the can get better. We are good right now with a low of potential to grow with Howard. We were decent last year with no potential to grow unless a mayor trade with Asik. Houston inconsistency can only be cure with time, be patient. You like Asik Harden in this team, may love Howard Harden in this team, guess what? We can have both, so blame a professional player pay millions in a contender team for hurting his employee and fans because his feeling were hurt.
Rockets' defense could be way better with than it is with either of Asik or Howard. They are both elite on that side of the ball, or at least can be. Look at what GSW is doing with Bogut as their only real defensive big: Jermaine is on and off (injured and inconsistent) and recently they've been playing Mo Speights out of position to back up Bogut. AND, that's with David f****** Lee and undersized Harrison Barnes as their only other post defenders. I'd love to see how the Rockets play with Asik coming off the bench and giving it his all - something we're yet to see, and might never. If Howard doesn't want to contest Durant dunking on his ass twice in row (or just gets into foul trouble), bring in Asik, play him 30 min. if need be. Defensively, it looks like there is no accountability, and there's no buy in to a defensive philosophy as a team. Our superstars need to lead that front, and so far, I'm not seeing it.
Meant Draymond - but same idea. Didn't even get into the personnel they have on the perimeter but I will now: Rockets have more talent/athleticism and aren't showing it defensively.
