We aren't winning the championship because we have a flawed superstar and only found the adequate number of complementary players for one season. We still haven't replaced Ariza and none of our players (except Tucker) can guard the perimeter well enough. Maybe Eric Gordon occasionally but he doesn't have the length. We need above average or exceptional wing defenders to cover for Harden's lackadaisical effort on that end. It's that simple and RWB doesn't quite cut that. Neither did CP3 last year but that's a moot point.
There went the biggest building block of the entire league, building thru the Draft and fostering young lottery talents. I think it is appropriate to say that many of CFers are interested in watching a talented player grow up in front of us.
Are you being serious, though? Yes, Russ WB is a better overall player than CP3 the last years, we admit that but WB's shortcomings also spell doom. Turnovers, questionable Defense and above all Shooting....sure, he is a clutch player but his weaknesses are many. There was a reason why the Clippers were better on paper! They have couple of the best defenders who happen to be superstars as well. Only thing standing in their way is durability and a little lack of playmaking. We are short, old, inconsistent, reckless at times, have no Forwards, mediocre bench and are now stubborn and inflexible. We knew what we were getting in Westbrook from the start!
did you know we barely beat the pelicans without jrue and zion playing? barely beat the thunder, and the game against the grizzlies were close?
We thought DMo was that guy. Seriously though, today's players are mercenaries. There is no loyalty on both sides. "It's a business," as they say. The last breed of loyal stars was gone with Tim Duncan's retirement.
Because he HAD to in order to dump those bad contracts, as Tilman didn't want to enter LT territory. If Les had kept the team, Morey might have decided to ride out the last couple of years of Ryno, rather than mortgage the future to dump him. Trust me, Morey isn't out there making these decisions with no input from Tilman. Our careful avoidance of the LT says more about the situation than anything that comes out of Tilman's mouth.
I concur, the thing who does not want to have a rookie like Young or Morant, or even Barrett, that can score 16-18 ppg coming in and on a rookie contract to boot?
Capela's contract is not a negative asset. It's a positive asset. Gordon's contract is not yet a negative asset because people know that eventually he'll start shooting lights out. But certainly if he has a bad year, it will be harder to move him as people start point to a trajectory of decline in his game. Yes we need to get this turned around this month. not sure how realistic that is without personnel changes.
i would say - barring a miracle - you are probably right...i'm still going to hold out for hope, but it doesn't look good...it looks real bad.
I thought Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley were going to be the young core we watched grow up. I thought Yao was going to take them to the next level, and when McGrady got here I knew the Rockets were serious. Then I was ready for another rebuild with 4 young 1st round picks, but somehow we got Lin and Harden and we were serious again. Then we got Dwight! And then Paul, and I thought we were really going to win a title, right up until Paul tore his hamstring, maybe even a little after that thanks you a couple of strong first halves. I was willing to give Westbrook the benefit of the doubt, but I'm done. Been at Clutchfans since day one, but I think I'm done for a few years. I figure we're a good 6 or 7 years before we bring a core back in with rooting for, at best. Love you guys.
Harden's defensive effort is the opposite of lackadaisical in the playoffs, have you watched the past 3 playoffs? or still being a rockets fan by proxy through ESPN?
So he was forced to give Capela $80M? Was he also forced to chase superstars every off-season while other teams were signing quality role players so once we struck out we were left with guys like James Ennis? Didn't know Tillman had anything to do with his hard on for Melo that had been going on for YEARS before Tillman even got here. Edit: For the record I think Morey is a good GM but he certainly hasn't been perfect. And everyone complaining about the luxury tax and how it isn't his fault that Tillman is forcing him to make certain moves...just wait and see what moves we're making the next couple of years, especially if we don't make any noise in the playoffs. Tillman overpaid for this team significantly (e.g. he paid 8X revenue, one of the highest multiples ever paid for a team) and Morey put a HUGE dent into that valuation/future earnings last month. Obviously I don't agree with the NBA's reaction to the tweet but he's going to likely lose his job if this team doesn't get out of the first round, and quite frankly I wouldn't be shocked to see him get fired even if they lose in the Semis.
