Wayne Winston: Rockets won't be among most improved teams

Wayne Winston = jtr ?

 

He said that if Dwight isn't as good as Asik defensively, then they are already starting out from behind....

umm... what?

Even IF that was true, he completely ignored what Howard brings on the offensive end.

 

No you don't understand. Howard doesn't have elite post moves so he doesn't have an offensive game. Don't let his 18 PPG with .580s TS% fool you.

 

I'd rather read the label on a can of Comet while sitting on the can then read that bs.

 

MEH. After years and years of Rockets hate from the media, I just take it as it is but still get annoyed by it. The media hate does have some material effect on success due to making a franchise more or less desirable in the FA market, our Rockets have continually played above expectations.

Now with out 2 stars, the FA market argument is out of the question, so what the media says about us doesn't mater anymore.

 

He may not be on all the billboards, but Lin is still the unofficial face of the Rockets, and the biggest media magnet. Articles may seem like they're about the whole team, but it becomes painfully obvious that many writers really just wanted to talk about Lin. Critics will say it's all up to him, even though he's now the fourth (or fifth) scoring option. That's just the power of his celebrity.

 

Even Wayne Winston is trolling LOFs :grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:

 

Why you stirring crap up OP? Wayne Winston didn't hate on the Rockets, he said he doesn't know yet. He said the Rockets had potential to be the best in the west next year...

Sound like hate to you?

Bunch of "victim" fans.

 

So basically he's saying Lin is the most important Rocket.

 

Sorry but that guy sounds like a compete moron to me. LeBron divorced his wife? Um, what? He was married to the cavs? Plus he's overestimating the clippers. Really this guy seems like a clown, I would pay him no attention

 

he isn't -- knee jerking again.

 

Hey Wayne................... take notes.

 

Vegas bookies give us one of the highest odds (1 out of 10) of winning it all THIS YEAR. I don't think the pros would rank us this high if they did not see major improvements from last year.

I give the writer a ZERO for wasting ink and paper or bandwidth.

 

Man... F Wayne Winston!

 

Guy seems like a very smart guy who knows his analytics, but might not watch enough basketball to understand everything beyond the stat sheet IMO.

I agree though that if you had to gamble on teams that would improve the most, you look at teams with talent that had injuries last year, and you bank on them being healthy.... like Cleveland and Washington.

With Houston, I get that they might not be one of the most improved team in the regular season as far as wins and losses because there isn't much of an improvement defensively with Asik to Howard, but what Wayne isn't taking into consideration is the drop-off defensively when their starting center left the floor, and he's also not considering that its way more difficult to move from 45 to 50 wins than it is to move from 25 to 35 wins.

Even though its more wins, its much more difficult, in the West especially, to make even a small jump up in wins. Its much easier for a bad team to become mediocre than it is for a mediocre team to become a contender.

Anyways, like all stats, you balance the science with the art and mix in a little common knowledge and experience. Thats why the most interesting things in life are the most unpredictable. You use the information to find out new things you didn't already know and balance that with traditional knowledge and make logical decisions based on your findings.

 

It's sad he's expected to be the "key" and "impact" on whether we win a championship or not, as said by some posters here, when he's not even given a chance to play properly (minutes taken away, yanked when hot, not given the ball to control, used as a spot up shooter)

With the way he's being utilized on the Rockets, Lin could have a 3 point / 2 assist game and it will not change things.

I'm not saying that we should change up the team for him; I'm just saying that we shouldn't expect him to do much. You could have Lebron James on your team but if you force him to be a spot-up shooter and give him less minutes than all your starters, don't expect him to put up good numbers like last year

 

Well said, exactly my thoughts, regarding the fact that all wins are not equal.

It is very inaccurate to use a simple stat like +wins since last season to calculate the best off-season.

If so, Miami would have a below average off-season for every year while the big 3 are together. Ray Allen was a great acquisition, but did he really add many wins to an already great reg season team? No, but he was the deciding factor for winning the title this year (game 6, greatest playoff shot of all time?). It's like adding Robert Horry to a team. He probably didn't add extra wins to the Lakers/Spurs, yet won games for them that led to titles.

An off-season should be valued based on whether or not team needs were fulfilled. Another eg:
If OKC were to acquire a player that perfectly fit the 6th man role that Harden/K-Mart played (JR Smith, J terry, J Jack types), that would be considered a great off-season, even if it only added +2 wins.
At the end of the day, if an offseason acquisition doesn't net any extra season wins, but allows a team to get over a hump to beat a playoff rival, then that is more important.

 

Come on! He's a prof at Indiana University. That's 2 trying in itself. :grin:

 

He didn't sound like a hater, just a doubter. But he'll be teaching at U of H during the playoffs, right? I'm sure Morey and company will enjoy watching him eat crow.

 

Agreed, teams chase superstars so much and forget you need quality role players. Houston had Asik at the 5 they should have went after a player who you can feed in the post and allow to create his own shot (Al Jefferson). Yes Dwight is a better player than Asik but that position/role is not where we were lacking or needed to fill in. Rockets will be the same team they were last season 6,7, or 8 seed