Do you agree this team will win around 50 in the reg. season, but not much in the post season?

55W

WCF

 

Haven't seen a regular season game yet, so it's tough to say. Bzdelik's in there so maybe there will be some give and take.

 

depending on capel an and nene and harden, on paper they have enough to be a good, not grat, defensive team. if they can do that then they're 2nd round locks.

 

We have to temper our expectations here, or this board will melt down.

Just recently the prevailing opinion seemed to be that we'd be fighting for a lower seed.

Let's not let that escalate to "WCF" by the time the season starts.

Lots of new renovations on the team & coaching staff, and still some fatal flaws that need to be addressed.

 

I'll keep my opinion to myself on their defense but I firmly disagree with you about "no half court game". I think their half court game will be elite. Give me a starting rotation where James Harden is only your 4th best 3pt shooter and a legitimate floor stretching power forward and there is absolutely no reason for the Rockets not to have an elite half court offense.

Toss in the fact that you have Eric Gordon coming off of the bench as the 6th man and this is a 50+ team in my opinion. Of course all things change if the Rockets can not maintain their health.

 

The prevailing opinion yes, but many of his have claimed all along that this was a 50+ win team. I am not changing my stance, this team challenges for another Southwest Division Championship and another trip to the Western Conference Finals.

 

Absolutely agree that with MDA we will run but we will also have more ball movement in the half court game. Added Nene to the starting rotation also gives the Rockets a legit passing big man out of the post. If DMo is resigned I think that just helps what will already be an elite half court offense.

 

If we're going to play as I imagine MDA teams play then there shouldn't be such a huge drop in playoffs like with McHale. Because in theory we won't be relying on James iso every possession any more. We may not win 50 games, but we should be as competitive in playoffs if not more, because a lot of new parts takes time to mesh together and at the start of the season or more they will struggle. After that - smooth sailing. Am I right, boys?

 

Teams with elite offense and a good/bad defense tend to win a lot in the regular season.

I think they can absolutely win 48-52 games. I think that should be the goal and highest realistic expectations we should have as fans.

Sure they could be worse or maybe even better but I think if everything is right and we have good health this team can win right at 50 games.

But in reality this is a very important year for the team. If they can win 50+ games get a top 4 seed and make it to the 2nd round or deeper..... Another legit star will be on the roster at the start of next season and that's what this season is all about.

Were auditioning for other superstar on teams that are not true contenders or could majorly flop.

Im looking

 

No, I do not agree

 

To be honest, I never know what to make of teams any more. What appears on paper at the beginning of the season vs the final outcome is usually very different than what I expect. However, I think given what was available, we did alright. I would have preferred a different coach... But the high-powered-offense, with defensive assistant coach philosophy could work out.. We shall see.

 

I'm going with 45

 

Agreed

Also, Les sucks as an owner

 

Need defense, rebounding, and distribution/playmaking.

 

I agree they will be 45-50 wins depending on injuries.

However, I think it's 100% a function of the roster. It will be very very difficult to make an impactful trade right now because the assets we wouldn't mind trading are undervalued even for the poor assets they are. For example, Brewer is an atrocious player, but his trade value is still below his real value right now. D-Mo is has an unpredictable future, but his value is less than unpredictable right now. Same for Ariza and KJ.

If we are lucky, our players will play well before the deadline AND SIMULTANEOUSLY some other high potential talent will become available in trade at below market value.

However, I'm not going to be that impatient. We have done well to renovate this thing, and the cost of that is to wait 1 year to become a contender. I'm fine with that because even with an elite roster, we were not going to be elite contenders in the first year of an entirely new coaching philosophy that has even raised some question marks in recent times.

I'm not one of those people who thinks we should go all offense or all defense or 50-50. I think all of those strategies can and do work, it's just about execution and openness to innovation. The most likely scenario is that we spend this season putting this roster through a rigorous stress test and see what's possible. Next summer we make our move to add one impact player to the roster and we take it from there. The philosophy and culture will have been set, the kinks will have been worked out, the roles will be clearer and James Harden will be a slightly more versatile player. I'm fine with that, which is why I'm looking forward to ENJOYING this season for what it is - a stepping stone to a long term contender, hopefully.

 

45-50 wins with no real shot...

this is just a some bells n whistles with no real foundation... something to fleece the rubes... so glad the team sold its soul to harden to get off that treadmill of mediocrity...smh...

 

40 wins. 4/5 of the starters are little more than good bench players. 1/5 HOF. Upgrades needed everywhere.