So harden is freezing out his teammates yet he's averaging a career high in assists? Ok. Your other major point is lack of pre-game choreography?
Watching clutchfans diagnose the Rockets ills these past few months is like taking a 15th century physician to an emergency room. NURSE- HE'S CRASHING, ILL HUMORS, QUICK OPEN UP ANOTHER VEIN TO GET THEM OUT!
You didn't use a portmanteau of "Harden" or "Rockets" and "Fraud," plus you didn't make any overarching bold claims, so your post is going to go unnoticed by most. But this is an accurate assessment of the issue and it needs to be appreciated. If more posters around here were sensible like you, this forum would be far more enjoyable, and Rockets fans wouldn't be called the most annoying fanbase on the internet like we currently are. Thanks PeppermintCandy. Everybody else, GFY.
It's clearly the defense, who knows why everyone stopped giving a **** at that end all at the same time though.
Did he actually gain weight? He's listed at about the same weight he's always been right? I think he could stand to shed 20 lbs., might be easier on the wear-and-tear his ankles are going through, but then he may lose the ability to absorb contact at the rim.
Dwight is in a contract year and is more interested in scoring than playing defense. He doesn't want to take a back seat as he did last year because it will hurt his contract value. TJones is in a contract year and wants to score as his first second and third priority. Ty Lawson was a flash in the pan that got paid and is now hating himself for dropping his option as he'll be out of the nba w/in 3 years Trevor has lost a step defensively and is playing too many minutes Harden came in out of shape and doesn't have the same passion for the defensive end as he did last year (which shockingly wasn't much) Dmo is hurt and Capela was crowned a starter way too early Brewer regressed to the mean after playing over his head last year. Coming in we knew he was a piss poor three point shooter and defender that gambled and got steals. Our offensive philosophy has been exposed when you lack true 3 point shooters. We went from a mediocre coach to the players friend sitting on the bench. We are up against the wall with the luxury tax line and our GM can't make a move without losing it. should I go on?
I was asking myself the exact same question. Same core guys, deeper bench, same training stuff and two completely diffenet teams. Now i'm not an Analitics fanatics but when everything seems inflamed and symptoms are everywhere, best way to try and identify the infection is to look at the numbers. Compairing both teams of last year's 36-17 by allstar break to this years 27-28 on the same timeline, i saw something, not surprising, but interesting. Offensively, the team has not regressed. 2016 team score more points per game (105 to 103.1 of last year), have similar numbers on assists, less turnovers, and actually more steals and blocks. Harden's numbers are even better this year in every parameter (other than 0.5 more turnover per game and slightly worst field goal precentages). The intersting numbers popping out when looking at what the opponets are doing against both teams. Huge 7 point differential (106.2 this year to 99.8 of last year), teams are shooting 4 more 3 pointers per game with signifcantly better prcentages (36% this year to 31% last year). Other significant number is opponents are taking 3 more rebounds this year per game than last year. So problem is not touches of Dwight in the post, not Harden's Adidas/Kardashian/Lil b curse. Problem is not pure lasyness and lack of effort, although it does explain a lot of what we saw early on defensively. Problem is perimeter defense, guards not boxing out and helping on rebounds and lack of defensibe dicipline. Harden will never be a good defensive player and his lack of awarness on D is overwhelming at times. But last year Ariza and Beverly were able to hide Harden. Beverly regression on the defensive side is what is harming us on a big way. He's still a good one-on-one defensive player but team defense is lacking with him and together with the incompetent defensively Lawson it looks like we are always a step slower on D. On the rebounding side, Terrence Jones, a 4.5 rpg power forward, became more the liability on defense than the promissing offensive potential he was considered to be. There are two options here. 1) Morey goes for hail merry and pulls of a trade to sacrifies future for present. Something like Beverly, Jones and 1st round pick to Memphis who is on restarting point, to get zbo and Conely which can give this team defensive identity, perimeter defense and rebounding and much needed attitude. 2) morre realistic idea- I love JB, thinks he's a good coach, but this team needs a Sheriff, not a deputy. I can think of one person that can fix the issues of rebounding and perimeter defense in a short time frame. His name is Tom Thibodeau.
It's all in my signature, arno_ed, and I didn't realize it until today. We're in danger of completely falling apart as a team. Both the players and the coaching staff are running around in circles, screaming and shouting in a state of confusion, beset by doubt and seemingly helpless to turn this Rocket ship around. Me? I'm screaming and shouting at the TV during games, lost in a sea of frustration and in danger of a coronary because of my team, the one team left in Houston that I really care about. It sucks, arno_ed, it really does, and I'm sinking into the whirlpool, being carried down by the weight of my team's failure.
Rockets dont have an undersized Center on the Roster for the first time since Morey has been GM. The undersized center is the embodiment of Hard work.
DMO is out beverley and howard and ariza have all regressed defensively at least a bit . Howard and beverley by a lot i think james was hurt at the begging of the year and couldnt carry us. Terry is not an NBA player anymore. In hindsight all of this is easy to see. Hopefully DMO comes back and the players that have regressed can battle through it for the rest of the year.
So DMo is the real cornerstone. We went from a 50+ wins team to a sub-.500 team because we missed him. But why? Why have three of the better defensive players in the league suddenly can't play good defense anymore? Don't tell me it's the coaching. They had the same coaching last season.
What're your thoughts on it ? DMO is really important , not cornerstone. But when you are so much worse its gotta be a combination of things. I said in addition to some guys being out, players have regressed. Dwight and Bev's athleticism has gone down. Dwight suffered a pretty serious injury in the playoffs last year. Bev hasn't been quite the same since he had his knee injury. Obviously the " chemistry " hasnt been there. Multiple guys are struggling to get in a rhythm. Hopefully those guys that have " regressed" can recover a bit and we can get into a better rhythm as a team.
Agreed. Embarrassing reading all of this rhetorical nonsense. Its not that hard to see why the Rockets are struggling. Deeply concerning to me that so many people can't see what is right in front of them, and instead come up with these distorted perceptions that are downright comical in some cases.
Yeah, we get it. Everyone you disagree with is just "spewing rhetoric." But you're not, you have the truth.
