I think it was great they were replaced with guys who fit in instantly. It definitely doesn't hurt that guys like Terry and Ariza are vets with championship experience.
I posted this about a month back: Ariza is obviously a HUGE locker room addition! so glad he's back and perfectly playing the role we got him for the first time around. Redemption for him!
The biggest change in chemistry is everyone playing they're role. Lin/Parsons would take turns trying to run the offense while we already have a guy on the team that does it better
Honestly, Parsons and Lin were two other guys that wanted to handle the ball. So it's like...they had their ISOs as well. Now there is Harden ISO and that's it, everyone else works out of that and the team runs smoother because of it so far. If Harden wants to play PG, he does. He doesn't have to worry about deferring to Lin and letting Lin run PG or he doesn't have to worry about the random Parsons ISO. The roles are clearly defined. Harden gets the ball...Dwight gets the ball...the rest have roles and understand that. Also never underestimate vets that can still bring it like Jet and Ariza. Hopefully Morey will see this and when he looks into acquiring players look at guys that have been there and done that... Hopefully we can keep this going, convince Ray Allen to to hop on this bandwagon
i think mchale looks happy because his team is actually playing defense. kind of strange. it all starts with Harden, and coupling the youtube videos with his time with Team USA seems to have made a world of a difference.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Rockets may have less "talent" this season, but the parts fit better. An understood hierarchy with everyone playing their roles well.</p>— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) <a href="https://twitter.com/TasMelas/status/529830192747773954">November 5, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Speaking of McHale, I'm really impressed with his rotations this year. REALLY impressed. He seems to understand to keep Howard or Harden on the court at all times but sometimes it's more important to let them rest for the end of the game. So many times last season they'd work so hard that when clutch time came they looked tired. Tonight we saw that both Howard and Harden got some rest before clutch time, even when the Heat made a run to bring it down to three he didn't panic and realized that getting Howard back in fresh was more important than just throwing him right back out there.
I think it has most to do with the fact that ariza is a superior 3pt shooter, also a superior defender. although parsons wasnt selfish in the least, ariza ALWAYS makes the right play. I would still love to have asik.
I actually wasn't nervous at any point in the game, just that thought the back of the head that harden would bail us out LOL
I do not see a major talent drop there, maybe a slight one. I like how well the team has meshed so early into the season and we are close to midseason playoff form. We still need one or two veterans coming off the bench and we are really ready to rumble. (Depth issues) We got rid of some major disgruntled bench players and a phony who went after the money. (JK but he is not humbled that is for sure)
Terry, Garcia and Ariza have something to do with it but also maturity by Harden and Howard, though jury still out on the latter.
THIS ^^^ Refreshing to know that Ariza and Terry are veterans who recognize that Harden and Howard are the leaders of this team and let them be the leaders. No pouting or complaining if either makes a mistake, unlike the past two years when there would be verbal sparring on the court. Kostas also is a team player. Howard got frustrated in the Philly game because the ball wasn't going to him, so Papa made it a special focus to get Howard the ball in the 1st quarter. These guys know how to complement stars.
Pros: Ariza & Terry have are helping Harden with their defense and consistent shooting. Cons: The Rockets have lost Parsons & Lin's ability to feed Howard. As much as Ariza & Terry have improved Harden's game I'd still rate it as a lateral move. Just like last season, the Rockets still need a third go-to-guy when Harden & Howard sit. This third guy doesn't have to be a star just someone who can run/lead the bench. Jones has been fantastic on offense. Finally playing like that energy guy from Summer League a few years ago but his D is still bad. So, still 2-3 players away. Again, just like last season.
Difference is terry won't give away games like Lin and Ariza makes us a better defensive team with similar offensive numbers of Parsons. That alone makes us better than last year but hou gotta understand the game of basketball to truly see that.
