The Rockets get exposed by hanging their hats on D

It's nice seeing diehard fans still holding out hope. I can't say I'm there with you. I think it should be pretty obvious to anyone without a homer bias that this team is not going far in the playoffs and pretty much has no chance at a championship. The Dwight we signed is not coming back. His condition isn't going to magically go away. That changes everything. Even with Dwight, I don't think we would have had a legit chance. I don't like what Morey has done to our roster the last couple of years. We have all these Ronnie Brewer clones on the perimeter - defenders who can't shoot worth sh#t - and they are overrated at defense at that. If you have an offense that requires a lot of 3 pointers, why not get guys who are good at that. 3 & D players - there were some available - but I never heard of them being in talks with Houston. Ariza was a 3 & D player - for one year. Why not go for players with a consistent history of performing.

 

I literally, lol'ed at this!!!!:grin:

 

Thank you, finally somebody who don't wear thick glasses. To be honest with yall, I don't think the Rockets can beat any of the playoffs teams in a series.

 

That's exactly where I'm at.

 

It is expected when u are missing your anchor. The Rockets need to play the D they played the last half of the forth quarter. Without that type of intensity we are doomed, cause letting every ball handler just get to the rack ain't gonna cut it when you don't have that shot blocking presence.

 

Crazy fans here

And it should be. Look up the root word where fans come from.

But there was no chance from the beginning for this team to win it all this year.

And that was with supposed rejuvenated DH. Not the one with no knees.

MVP Harden help hide the weakness of this team but not against top teams.

The 3rd star didn't come because without DH playing you cannot trade away the only other decent big on the team. Yes DMO.

So while the team looks good. It wasn't going all in because getting a 3rd star on rental while the 2nd star is out MAKES NO SENSE

1st round exit is distinct possibility.

But you are Fanatics right. So compliant on.

 

Because they aren't available for what we have? We could have emptied our clip of assets on a game changer like Afflalo or Dragic at this year's deadline, but the contractual situation isn't great with these guys, and if you lose them, you're without assets, no cap space, and you're stuck in the awkward "first round exit" every year zone. Right now you can say that Morey punted again this deadline, but at least we can still make quite a few moves in the offseason.

The kind of players that "have a consistent history of performing" as you said don't grow on trees and are usually quite costly to get.

 

The defense is average at best. Nothing to say you "hang your hat on"...



We have far too many fantastic athletes and defenders to not be a suffocating defense, even without Dwight. That is on McHale and Bickerstaff, who are not doing a great job.

 

They got rid of Tarik Black after 25 games.

 

And kept flexibility over basketball ability. It is why I don't believe the PR spin from the org when they make monetary decisions while talking out the side of their mouth about going all in.

Actions speak louder than words.

DD

 

I'm not talking about Dragic at the deadline. Read my post. I'm talking about the Paul Pierces and the PJ Tuckers. Instead, we're stuck with one way players. We need guys who can defend AND make that open shot consistently.

 

A very high probability, not a certainty.

A very high probability, not a certainty.

No need to go to worst-case scenario to counterbalance the optimists.

We don't know what's going to happen. Might as well just buckle in for the ride.

 

LOL what exactly is Black doing that warrents such a comment? Dorsey is better defensely and Black is a better finisher around the rim. Neither was going to figure into our long term plans.

Flexibility is what got us Harden and gave us a franchise player. There is no strategy that works 100% of the time, but having the ability to upgrade your roster at a moment's notice is pretty important. You'll just have to trust that Dragic and Knight were unattainble.

 

I wouldn't say it's a very high probabilty, not sure why people are so pessimistic. It will all depend on who we will play and how healthy Dwight is. Obviously, without Dwight it's pretty bleak for a long playoff run but you just have to trust he's gonna be back.

 

Without Dwight our interior defense is nonexistent. Absolutely no rim protection.

Worked okay for awhile but teams are starting to figure us out, we will not win against elite teams without him.

 

Yes, the Rockets D is slipping without Dwight. In other news, water is wet. Moving on...

 

So what does it say when the Rockets start the post All-Star period by getting blown out by those Mavericks for three quarters before making a cute little rally at the end? The answer is that this is a fundamentally flawed team which lacks size, passing ability, and above all, shooting. Houston has focused heavily on defense since the loss to Portland and “defense wins championships” is a nice catchphrase which coaches use in practice – but the reality is that a championship team needs both offense and defense. And I sure don’t know where the former will come from when teams gang up on Harden a la 2006 Kobe.

 

It's actually a good sign the casual fan is freaking out.

Must mean we're gonna win the title.

 

What does it say about the Hawks or Blazers? They both were blown out too after the all-star break...