You know who would be a good, realistic and semi cheap option for the point? Avery Bradley, young, good defender and solid 3pt shooter on a fair contract. Celtics also have Thomas, and Smart at the point so he should be available for the right price.
Of course there's no guarantee. But the Rockets for the first time in forever are actually on the right track toward winning a title. The last time they won a playoff series was 2009 and it was a hollow victory once Yao went down. Once it was revealed he'd miss the entire following season, that was it for that core. Before that was 1997. That was an aging group with very little depth that had at best a couple cracks at a championship. Once Stockton hit that 3 and the team was riddled with injuries the following year, it was over. Before that was 1993-96. Those guys made to at least the 2nd round every year and won 2 titles. If there's any previous Rockets team this group resembles the most, it's that early-to-mid 90's one. Only Harden is 4 1/2 years younger than Dream was when that run began.
FA that wants to win will come to Houston. They are watching and they see our potentials. This year might be the year that sets up a DYNASTY
Problem is OKC will be back next year. KD, WB, Ibaka, Kanter etc. That is a team to be reckoned with.
We need a third star. We will beat anybody if we have one. I think we have the best in-out combo, that's really hard to come by.
He's not a playmaker and Celtics already denied a middle first rnd pick for him. Can't imagine accepting the 18th pick now. Ainge like Bradley a LOT.
Great post as always Yoyo. I'm just gonna say it ...i don't want Josh Smith on our team next year. yes i really like his defense, and yes he's a great passer with strong offensive skills, but it seems like for every good thing he does, he does something really stupid. I can't stand his lack of fundamentals: at the foul line and in terms of high percentage shooting, and he turns the ball over too much. i actually don't think we need him if one assumes that Jones and DMo will continue to get better on both ends of the floor. Every time Smoove jacks up a 3, i cringe; and i now understand why he frustrated so many people in Detroit and Atl. Don't get me wrong, he's a good basketball player and we don't get to the Western Conference finals without him, but I hope he is one and done in Houston (especially considering what it will cost to keep him, and the need for more court time for DMo and Jones). As far as Brew, i'd really fight to keep him. I just think he's one of the best role players in the NBA; and he's so versatile on both sides of the ball. He's also got the heart of a champion. Hopefully he'll take a discount and resign. It's hard to find a guy like him that can play 2/3 at a high level. But there are ways to mask his loss as well. Agreed about the need to bring in a dead-eye shooter in the back-court. We don't have one on our roster presently and it's clearly a weakness for our ball club. The guy I would recommend (though obviously not as cheap as Morrow) would be Wesley Matthews. He is an excellent shooter (very underrated) who can also defend at a high level. Portland won't be able to bring back. He's basically 6th man of the year material, so he may cost us resigning Brew too, but i think it's worth it. He's not as long as Brew, but he's a way better shooter, can play small at the 3, and defends at a high level. a 2/3 rotation of Harden/Matthews/Ariza, with McDaniels getting remaining min. is a scary proposition. That is a very strong defensive and offensive rotation. I do think Matthews could be the missing piece. Yes, get Capella in the weight room and rent him a room at Dreams house for the summer. We have our backup center as far as i'm concerned. Agreed we need to prioritize developing KJ (he has a chance to be a great Brewer replacement). As far as the draft...only use the pick if we are absolutely in love with a player. If not, trade it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We've got plenty of young prospects with McDaniels, Capella, and Johnson on the roster, and perhaps only one more year with our 2-man core. We need to win this year or next!
For some reason, I feel a star PF is where they can benefit the most. Any PG on the team would just be relegated to a spot up shooter since Harden is very iso-heavy and ball dominant.
I wish I could be more excited for next year, but at the moment all I can focus on is now. The Rockets had a great chance to steal both of these games at Golden State and unfortunately came up short. You never know if or when we will get this close and have this chance again. Reports are the Mavs and Spurs are going to go hard trying to land either LaMarcus Aldridge or DeAndre Jordan. Baring injuries the Warriors will be just as tough next year. Every year some super star free agent joins Lebron in an attempt to win a championship, and I'm sure next year will be no different. As far as the Rockets are concerned odds are next year some combination of Smith, Terry, and Brewer will be gone. The Rockets played half of this season without Howard, and he's not getting any younger. There's also no guarantee Harden will stay as healthy next year as he has this one. This may be our best chance at a championship for years to come. So while I agree there is reason to optimistic for next year, I'm really hoping the Rockets can rally in this series and find a way to win it all this year.
Holy **** Sam and DD agreeing? That's just as rare as the Rockets making the Finals It is a cold day in hell today
I just wonder how much longer Dwight is going to be a superstar. Barring any huge changes, next year might be our last shot with this group.
This season rockets are still alive and fighting. Couple more special games and who knows... Though next year Rockets could be special. Harden will be Harden. Dwight needs to be protected and healthy. Nobody expected DMo to play this season like he did. And I still think that he has room and will to get better. I posted this on 3/11 "Since 12.3 DMo is 37/88 on threes, that's 42.04% - best in that interval for the Rockets." - not bad for a sneaky lefty-ambidextrous seven footer with a crazy post moves. Jones is young and athletic. Bench is deadly. Everyone knows what Rockets needs: upgrade at PG and backup C. These problems are fixable. Maybe Rockets next year will need to defend champions title?
I hope we keep this team intact. It might be time to replace Terry and Prig as they are getting way old. So a good PG addition would be great. But keeping this team and not changing too many pieces will help the team build more chemistry. This will cut down turnovers and allow us to expand the playbook according to the skill set we have like what SA has done each year. Cutting down turnovers alone will win us at least 5 more games - making us a 61 win team and helping us achieve our ultimate goal of a championship or 2 or 3.
That's if Durant ever fully recovers from a brutal injury that could prove career altering if not ending. When you are dealing with big guys like Durant that are extremely explosive, a foot injury can be the end.
Defensively, Dwight could be really good for a few more years. I don't know how much longer he can catch some of those lobs(like Terry's in Game 4 at Dallas for example), but I think he can play at this level at least a couple more seasons. Of course the problem will be that the Rockets will be forced to re-sign him next summer to a costly deal that keeps him here til he's almost 36. Another issue is that he may need to sit out B2Bs in order to protect that knee going forward. That means we'll have Dwight for only 2/3 of the regular season.
we really need 3 players..a starting PG, dwights backup who can really start (any euro player with veteran experience will do while waiting for Capela's emergence) and an off the bench scorer/shooter who can relieve the Beard
27 guys this year shot 40% from 3 or more. Only 12 of them averaged more than 3 attempts per game. Most of them will be under contract next season. There just isn't that much shooting around that comes cheap and doesn't have flaws. We signed Terry, a 40 year old, just because it's that hard to find a shooter let alone someone who is more than a shooter.
Whether you realize it or not you are by posting this thread basically making it clear that in your mind the series is over. Save next year for next year. There's still a series to play, jeez.
