RAVE: We have our second star!

I am not one who typically creates threads, so this should indicate just how EXCITED I am right now and I ask forgiveness in advance if this thread ends up one of those dumb ones we all disdain. Anyways, onto talk about the Rockets.


ON POINT

Chris Paul… I will say it again since it is still sinking in… CHRIS PAUL! Statistically, CP3 is the best PG the league has had IMO since John Stockton. This is a guy that if you looked up PG in the dictionary, you will see a picture of along with Stockton, Johnson, Kidd, and Nash. That’s how good this guy is, even as his career is slowly winding down. Now, he is a Houston Rocket. Damn it feels good to say that! That said, it doesn’t matter how good a player is if he doesn’t fit in a system or gel with his teammates. Let’s take a look at how the pieces of the puzzle could come together.

THE BEARDED ONE AND CO

Harden is still the best player on the team and arguably, one of the best players in the league. Anyone who denies this is, respectfully, a complete idiot who knows nothing about basketball. In past seasons, he has put a team full of playmaking incompetents and put a collective group of players that no one believed in on his sturdy shoulders and carried them as far as he could. This has typically worked well, but we all saw in past playoffs that he will eventually run out of gas and stall out. Enter CP3!

I envision CP3 actually taking a role as secondary PG in a 2-PG system under MDA. This means that typically CP3 will be playing the role that Beverley had; be our glorified 3&D guard next to Harden. So how well will CP3 be able to do this? Well, even at a ripe age of 32, he is still hands down one of the top defending PG’s in the league. He is also an amazing catch and shoot player. In fact, he is arguably an even better shooter than Bev. In a nutshell, CP3 can do everything Bev was asked to do next to Harden. Offensively, it is not even a contest.

CP3 is a better playmaker than anyone on our team in the last decade not named Harden. Remember all those times when Harden sits and our bench has to up the pace to catch the D off guard? It worked well when our shooters got hot, but when they didn’t it REALLY sucked. It was a parade to see who could clank off the rim more because only Ego could consistently drive to the rim and only Bev could run the PnR or Drive and Kick at a barely above average rate. Now, with Harden sitting, we have CP3 to run the offense and he is every bit as good at it as Harden. This means the trend of open shots and lobs will continue even when Harden rests.

I promise you that tonight, MDA is going to bed with a smile, dreaming up all the various ways he can brutalize opposing defenses every single minute of the game. It’s going to be a wild ride guys!

DEARLY DEPARTED

And now for the sad part… the ones we lost. The trade for Harden aside, any big trade is going to have its share of sadness by fans of either party (OK fine… Lakers trading for Gasol was very one sided). In this case, we definitly lost at least one that stings.

Patrick Beverley
I am sure that most (by that, I mean Rockets fans who are not insane) would agree that losing Bev is a heart wrenching punch to balls. This guy was literally the only nutsack we had on the court a lot of times. When Harden is stuck in La La Land or Ego/Anderson’s shot got lost in the freezer, we could usually count on Big Balls Beverley to hit a timley three, make a great steal/block, or hustle for that bewildering rebound. Now that is gone and it hurts, it really, really hurts. That said, he is thankfully being replaced by a significantly superior player in CP3 who skillwise, can do everything Bev can as well as everything he can’t. So, as much as it hurts now, it will be OK and the Rockets should definitely be OK!

Lou Williams
While I was hoping we trade him for a lottery pick, fact of the matter is that losing him doesn’t really hurt us. Sure he had his moments (his debut, the Lakers game, and a couple of playoffs games come to mind), but overall the man was very inconsistent. His shot was up and down and he actually seemed to shoot better on the move or with a hand in his face. I also did not like that he drove with the complete intention of getting a foul 100% of the time. At least Harden tries for an And-1 some of the time. With Lou, it was simply Whistle or Bust. He did some good work for us and part of me is sorry to see him go, but at the end of the day, my reaction is mostly “meh.”

Sam Dekker
This one I am conflicted about. Guy had some great moments, especially before his jumper went AWOL , and I was really hoping he could take up the mantle Parsons left behind. Unfortuantely, that never happened. He may still find his shot in the North Pole one day, but until then, losing him doesn’t hurt all that much either. I wish the young man the best of luck in the next stop of his journey.

Montrezl Harrell
I am actually more pained about losing Harrell than either Williams or Dekker. I really had high hopes for this kid to develop some range and be the spark plug we sometimes need. Yes he is undersized and currently has very little range, but he showed some promise on that midrange jumpshot and all teams can use the type of energy he brings. That said, he has not yet developed any reliable range and he will always be undersized, so again… not a lot of pain with this loss.

Cash Considerations
You are the real MVP here. If we had squandered your abilities on picks like some fans wanted, this trade may not have been possible (I am fairly confident Morey would have found a way, but it may have hurt more), so I think you from the bottom of my heart!

Fillers
This goes out to all the Wiltjer’s, Liggins’s, and Hillard’s type players out there. You guys will most likely never play any meaningful minutes in a NBA game, but you still have the ability to help out your team. Thank you guys!

 

I completely agree and said as much. MAN, AM I STOKED!