Morey says Rockets "have something up [their] sleeve"

lets take a look at the top 5 teams

1) warriors -- capped out and set in stone
2) cavs -- capped out, impossible to make room, getting older
3) spurs -- "". ""

that leaves the celtics and the rockets. both have friendly contracts and can make room for stars.

The question if your a star is do you believe in the team that was successful in the east or the team the team successful in the west? do you believe in Isaiah Thomas or are do you belienve in James Harden? do you want to be surrounded by shooters or midgets?

 

The Bulls yes.

The Celtics played in an entirely different era of basketball. These other teams you mentioned actually had competition, I asked how many teams won 5 chips in a row? 4? 3? Yet people sit here right here and now and say it will happen with way too much certainty.

The Rockets aren't close to the Cavs because of a lack of talent, that can change in one offseason, which is my point.

The point is, this series wasn't decided by those two. It was decided by poor games by Kyrie and Love. Nothing else. When they both brought it the same night, the Cavs were more than competitive. Every series is always decided by 2-4 players on either team with other guys chipping in.

McGee and West are no Iggy and Livingston. With their cap it won't be so easy to just replace those guys, especially Iggy. He can't be replaced, you are talking about an all-star talent coming off your bench for depth. It's not happening, they won't be able to replace him if they lose him with the cap space they have.

When you say the Rockets have no shot in the next 4 years you are being pessimistic to be pessimistic.

Rockets don't have the talent now, that can change in one offseason, two offseasons this could be an entirely different team.

The Warriors are young, but man you guys forget how much talent is out there in the NBA wanting to win just as bad as they do. You have a team like Minny who has loaded up on young talent. You have Cousin and Davis in NO who are a chemistry revelation away from being the most unstoppable frontcourt in the league. You have the Spurs who are the Spurs...

And actually, if you look at the Rockets vs Warriors, they are one of the teams that has shown they have a punchers chance against them and that is just with Harden. In the WCF Harden put on TWO magnificent games and almost had the Rockets up 2-0...and people just forget that. The Rockets are the only team that can actually manage getting as hot as the Warriors for a stretch, if you add a player like Butler or George, they are instantly 5x better.

You laugh but that's exactly what happened with the Warriors. Draymond Green wasn't supposed to be this good. Curry wasn't supposed to be an MVP caliber player. Warriors were projected to be a solid team, not anywhere close to this.

Paul George isn't a backcourt player though? It is a pretty seamless fit, he's a wing player, he's Ariza with better defense and more of a scoring punch. So that's just incorrect. PG isn't even close to being a backcourt player, HArden plays well with Gordon on offense, why not PG?

0.1% Eh, unless you have sources he's still an option.

 

This is exactly what happened, you don't even have to guess.

Just look up any old MDA thread, most Rocket fans thought we'd be headed for the lottery. Instead, we were a top 5 team in the NBA.

Thankfully we have a GM that is not just going to fold at the first sign of challenge and prepare for the 2018 draft.

 

don't really think it's just automatic bos/hou are the next two after the top 3. a regular season record isn't the lone indicator of true rankings. They're bunched it with the likes of memphis/utah/toronto/washington in that next group.

 

Boston is in the East and they have bigger appeal to players.

 

"Dammit, if they would just do everything I say, we would already have 56 championships. It always works in the video game!"

 

Zhou Qi is about to show everybody hes on Dirks level. And the "something" up his sleeve is Zhous younger brother ZZhou Qi. League has been put on notice. Get it, you fat tripled chinned murrney.

 

So much truth to this.

However, for certain teams, folding is the right direction. Look at the clippers as a case study in that direction. Doc and Co are needlessly spinning their wheels. They are a team on the descent, not the rise. Right now, all their picks are lotto protected. So for them, a lotto makes sense. James Harden is uptrending, always improving. He needs a running mate to help get him over that hump. The idea that we should pack it in doesn't make sense for us. If the Rockets can't show another gear this year then we have a long talk about where to go from there, but as of right now you keep James and try to improve this offseason.

That being said, if the Rockets don't make it to the WCF next year, I think it's safe to call the season a failure. Right?

 

Exactly. Yes, the Clippers need to rebuild. Like the Mavs do. These are teams whose superstars are either aging or trending downwards. It's better for them to sell now, rebuild.

Rockets superstar isn't trending downward. It makes more sense to give him a running mate and see what he's capable of.

It only makes sense to do if you really have no other options. Say what you will about the Rockets, but they always try to get better. So many Eastern teams strive for the playoffs and nothing more. The Rockets try to make moves that get this team a ring. They haven't worked out yet, but it's not something that is just easily done. Takes a lot of luck as well.

 

Seriously - the plan involves trading for Mike Miller.

 

Chow Qi being better than Yi Jian Lian is a success itself.

 

Let me guess, a 6 foot center who shoots threes as well and even more 3pt bombers with less defense.

 

I'm not opining necessarily on whether the Warriors will win 5 straight. But they have already been to 3 straight and are bar none favorites to go to the next two.

They may lose to the Cavs one year (Cavs are more likely to get PG13 or Blake, for example, than the Rockets, since the Cavs at least have an asset in KLove they can trade). They may lose to the Spurs one year in the WCF.

Cause the one year thing happens. Like the 2006 Heat-Mavs.

But the Warriors are as heavy favorites to continue this dynasty as ANY TEAM EVER. This isn't my opinion only. This is oddsmakers.

It can. I've just asked repeatedly for a path for it to change for the Rockets that is at least somewhat based in reality. We're at the point of the season now where there should at least be rumors. When we added Dwight, there were rumors. When Lebron went to Miami, and went back to Cleveland, there were rumors. There's rumors with PG. There's rumors with Hayward. There's rumors with CP3.

The Rockets just have something up their sleeve.

Also, lack of talent isn't the only problem. The Rockets had more talent than the Spurs in the playoffs, especially in game 6, and got blown out at home. There's also coaching disadvantage against some teams (Spurs, Warriors, Celtics as obvious). There's also the lack of defense, which isn't completely talent, but also effort and leadership. The Rockets still have cultural problems organizationally relative to doing 100% the right things that contribute to winning rings.

Not to mention the locker room hasn't been amazing, even apparently this year

You do realize there's a reason why Kyrie and Love weren't amazing every night?? Klay and Dray are both the defense first guys and, coincidentally were guarding Kyrie and Love.

Hmmm...

Well Iggy is definitely not an all star talent at this point, but he's also clearly a guy that can have a strong impact. Iggy's role and upcoming free agency is the biggest ? for the Warriors going forward. But it's still one they can easily overcome.

On the contrary. If the Warriors stay healthy, the Rockets have no shot. That's just factual. They are not as good and you can add ANY two players in the NBA, excluding current GSW/Cavs players and excluding Kawhi and young players like AD, KAT and Giannis... and throw out that lineup on paper, and they'd still be an underdog, if not a meaningful one, to a healthy Warriors team

The Cavs were a meaningful underdog going into these Finals. And that's with Lebron, who is multiple orders of magnitude better than Harden

I love the young talent in the NBA. I'm very high on the Wolves. I REALLY like the Bucks potential. Giannis is a 35% three point shot away from being, basically, better than KD. I'm not sold in any way on the Pelicans, principally because I'm not sold on Boogie, but also because they have a horrible roster around those guys and basically no cap space, unless they renounce Holiday.

C'mon dude. I promise I'm not being pessimistic just to be pessimistic.
I'm being a realist.

The Rockets were 1-8 against the Warriors in 14/15
The Rockets were 1-7 against the Warriors in 15/16
The Rockets were 1-3 against the Warriors in 16/17

The Warriors have an 86% win % against the Rockets the last 3 years, which equates to a 70 win season.

I mean, I get it, the Warriors have dominated everyone, except the Cavs ... but that's basically exactly my point

Of course the Rockets are better if you add PG, or Jimmy or other better talent. I've addressed the gulf of the talent gap above already.

I think he could be an ok fit, or a meh fit. I don't think it's a scenario where A+B is greater than the sum of the parts. I think Gordon Hayward is a better fit in that regard. Lower usage than PG, not as ball dominant, and just seemingly less of an alpha only mentality.

Whatever. He'd be a huge upgrade and I'll hope for the best but it is what it is.

 

I'm hearing a rumor that it could be Pat Patterson. Carl Herrera has us pegged as the favorite after this major development.

 

I'd argue the opposite about the Clippers.

More than anything they can't afford to rebuild because their assets are FA and if they lose them for nothing they are looking at a LONG rebuild.

Secondly because they at least do have multiple very very good players. Who have indeed either failed or been injured in the playoffs. But CP3, Reddick, Blake and DJ... if they just had all things go right for once, is albasically close to a superteam. THey just have to stop relying on Austin Rivers nepotism and the crap bench they've put together. Plus I don't really think Doc is a great coach or anything.

In any case the Clippers will absolutley try their best to bring all their horses back. If they decide to rebuild later at least then they could move those chips for assets in return.

 

Morey has found the key to a championship formula!

 

I don't see the choice being their's. If CP3 leaves Blake might stay and vice versa, but I don't think they actually all like playing together. JJ will get paid, no doubt. Retaining all that talent will be pricey, especially for a team that struggles in the second round. You are correct, the rebuild will be slow, but I think it's their only shot.

The Rockets don't have to have a winning record against the warriors, and while the Warriors have dominated for some time, I think the Rockets strategy of shoot threes until it goes out of style is the only chance to beat them. The issue is, if the Rockets have to give up a lot to get that second player next to Harden then I agree with you, a rebuild is better. If the rockets can keep most of their role players and their core, and pick up a guy in chase of a ring, I think they can beat GS. It won't be an easy series, but it will be more entertaining than the shitshow the cavs put up.

 

Something up their sleeve is taking 70 3's per and hoping they go in.

 

There is no other formula than superstars who are friends, tons of threes and hard nosed Defense.

We have the threes.

 

Unless he knows there is a team right now that would be willing to take Anderson. If he could pull that off and offer a FA $30m, that would be a pretty nifty trick.