First time making a thread so be easy! Didn't see something like this in the Dish, so I'm sorry if I'm starting up an old conversation. Since the season is about to start I was wondering, what do the Rockets have to do to get to that final step (winning a ring)? Are we there in terms of being ready to win a championship this season or in the coming years? Do we have all the pieces? If not, what do we have to do to separate ourselves from the rest? I ask this because I was watching old NBA highlights and saw all the old-great teams that didn't win a ring but definitely had the talent. To name a few: the Kings from the early 00s, the 90s Sonics, and the 90s Suns. Man those were some fun and entertaining teams but they never made it to the top! Are our rockets the today's equivalent? I sure hope not, this team is as deep and fun as any in a while. Thoughts?
Good thread. I've thought the same thoughts regarding the Rockets. I think we have it. We definitely have the Talent. We were close this past season as we just ran into a better team with the Warriors. This is our season and year. harden + Howard + Ty will prove to be a deadly combo. No other team can compete against that - especially not in a 7 game series.
We have talent and depth. Chemistry will be important due to some new additions. Biggest thing is health. If we can stay healthy we can win it all.
At this point, I feel we are close but still slightly a tier behind Golden State. I think we can win it all if one of our players takes a huge step forward the Green did for GS. It could be a lot of different players, but the best candidate is Jones. Still, little improvements from Capela, DMO and KJ are to be expected. Anyone of those 4 players could break out.
I agree with this a lot. One other concern for me is we seem to have a few guys in our rotation who don't always make open shots - Brewer, Ariza, etc. Seems like the Warriors' rotation is full of two-way players who make open shots.
Ya chemistry is a huge thing we need to get down quickly. Here's anther question for yall, when do you feel like we need to stop adding pieces? Morley is all about getting us that next star player but when do we stop and move forward with what we have and let them gel a while? If we keep chanungn major cogs how will our machine work? Or, is adding big pieces something we need to keep doing? I know that keeps us relevant, what does it help us win a ring? Thoughts?
Regardless of winning a title or not, some teams definitely had it to be the #1 team in a certain year (span). We had it in 85-86, in 92-93 and 08-09 arguably although we didn't really dominate in any way that season and our bench was pretty thin outside of Lowry, Landry & Deke imo. Last year we didn't have it, mainly because of injuries. We just never truly dominated as a team, Harden was just monstrous. The series with the Clippers showed our weakness and strength and from game 6 onwards, I did get a sense that this team might go all the way. I was confident we could hurt the Warriors and had we won game 1 and or 2, who knows what could've happened. I am not so sure about this year. Too many question marks regarding Lawson, our bench with D-Mo (injury), Thorton, KJ and maybe Dekker / Harrell if we count on them. Too early to tell, you have to see the team together, but I definitely have a feeling this could be a special year. Same feeling I had when we signed Artest is what I have right now.
To be the best, you gotta beat the best. It's simple. We went 1-8 against the Warriors this year. They were our only hurdle. We beat the Cavs when they were far healthier. It doesn't matter if the Warriors step down or not, you have to step up because if you don't someone else will. This team has everything it needs to win big, but the team showed up once in 9 attempts against the best. We can't do that again. You have to treat every playoff opponent with the respect that they can take what you believe is yours. If you don't stop them from taking what's yours, then you didn't deserve to have it. What I learned from watching our 2 championships is that it doesn't matter how bad you play in 3 games. It really doesn't. You can lose by 20. You can lose at home. As long as you click 4 times each series, you've got something. I think our team was just a tiny bit immature, but bringing them back gives them one advantage: They know what they need to do to be better than they were. They'll need to improve a few parts of their games, but none more than the mental one. We have Dwight Howard, but somehow we had 55 fewer rebounds than they did. Rebounding is mental. Rebounding is a longball team's best friend. McHale said simple things during the playoffs and after. During, he said we have to play harder. Offseason, he said we just have to get better. He's exactly right. This team is better than what they showed against the best. This team doesn't need to be bullied on the boards. There were 6 possessions per game all year that went the other way or at our defense a second time. They beat us by 10.55 points per game. It's not hard to figure out where we lost these games. Play harder, don't let them have the ball, don't be mentally weak. NBA Champions only appear to have weaknesses, but they don't let one team exploit them four times.
Why are you questioning the icing on a cake? There are no questions with our foundation. Even without Lawson we still have Bev. If we sustain any injury that is sustained prior to the trade deadline, we can patch it up. What are the questions you have that are substantial? It's like you're questioning if we'll be lucky and have the ball bounce our way. No one can predict that and discussion on it is pointless. We have established NBA players with experience at every starting position and at least one backing them up. Don't establish statements with weak foundations. It's like asking for the ball in the post without having, first, established a good position. It won't work.
I agree with this. But what can we do to click like that 4 times each series? Do we have everything or can we add something else? Are you saying rebounding is the key?
Making a lot out of nothing. If you read everything what I stated then you would've read that we cannot judge it right now, we just have to wait and see if they have it. There's no discussion anywhere in what I said.
4 unknowns: Chemistry, consistent execution in leads and streaks, performing under pressure, and injuries.
Our guys got a lot more experience, usually you have to face adversity before you can prosper. We did that with LA and GSW. We can go one of two ways, fold under pressure or rise above. I think we have a chip on our shoulder. It'll be a fun year
As already mentioned, HEALTH. Rockets had enough pieces last season, except DMo and Bev were injured. They would've clearly made a difference against LAC and GS considering we had zero post game and 40-year-olds (yes I exaggrated) chasing Curry. Our current team has added more talent to withstand a DMo-level injury, but we'll still need our health mostly 100. Not worried about chemistry. McHale is a player's coach, players have freedom to jack 3's, and the team overall is pretty laid back.
We're gonna need a combo of good play, health, and luck, like every champion. It'll obviously help a lot if Harden ascends to 'Best Player in Basketball'-level next year. But I don't think there's any magic quality that pushes a team over the top. Not to be rude, but isn't there kind of a reason why there aren't threads like this in the Dish? Seems like a GARM topic.
No offense taken. I've been a long time "creeper" on clutch fans. I mainly just read the "hot topics" so to be completely honest I don't know the difference between the Dish and GARM lol
We could use a veteran big man. Someone like a PJ Brown or something. Besides Dwight, Tjones, Dmo, and Capela are fairly young and some young guys can make some mistakes in a heated playoff game.
