http://stats.nba.com/teams/advanced...son=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular Season&Month=3 1 in overall record (2nd Warriors 7-2) 2nd in Offense and Defense rating 4th in assist % 2nd in EFG% (0.2 behind Jazz) 3rd in true shooting % 2nd in Pace We haven beaten 3 quality opponents, scored more than 120 in 6 out of 9, kept 5 out of 9 at 100 or less and scorched teams from three. We are in a very good place, hard to argue against Rockets as a top 3 team in the league right now so let's hope they keep it going. Regardless of competition, we are taking care of business which is breath of fresh air from the McHale years. I'm still not sure about the impact of D'Antoni, since having a Ryno, Gordon, Nene, a healthy Dekker, a revived Beverley, a committed Capela and a determined Harden helps a lot. Then again, MDA made Harden PG and Ryno & Gordon might not have been another coach's choice. All in all, we are witnessing some great basketball (how can people even suggest this is boring is beyond me) and it can only get better. We have some great chemistry, because people buy into their role (ask Rudy T how important that is to being a contender) and embracing MDA as a coach. It's amazing we're clicking this early into a new coach's tenure, which speaks volumes. Let's hope our effort on defense continues and this streak + overall record means we are indeed among the best in the league and can keep up with the big dogs. Spurs, Grizzlies & Clippers before the new year will be the real tests. I'm positive we can end this year with the streak alive, but we have to keep playing this way and 1 loss is inevitable given how these 3 are playing.
My only real hesitation about the quality of this team is the apparent lack of quality through the rest of the league. I'm amazed to look at the standings and see how little we've gained because the teams above us doing the same. I feel like there is great talent in the league right now, but it sure isn't showing through to results.
Rockets can afford to drop games to more challenging teams as long as they take care of business against weaker teams. Other than the game against the Nets, in which the team lost focus, they have dominated all the other teams they were supposed to win again.
James Harden has now changed his focus from drawing fouls to getting his teammates better looks. This is the main difference in our offense. He's your MVP. I mentioned after the GSW game that I believe his new found trust in his teammates would bode the Rockets well moving forward.
Sure MDA has an impact. MDA is one of the reasons we are so potent. He made a few adjustments including having Harden play the point. The magic Harden has found sure has to do with MDA's vision. Remember the skeptics were saying it wouldnt work. Things like that cannot be dismissed as trivial. Those to me are strokes of genius. The offense flows so harmoniously. You see players dashing to their positions with purposes. Those to me are evidences of good coaching. It only has been a few months but the differences are so obvious. It is MDA that is making it happen. On the other end, this group of players are good fits for for his philosophy. But we don't have 3 top 15 players and West, igoudala, Livingston on the bench. Gordon was signed relatively cheaply because people were not valuing him as high as others like Evan Turner. Hindsight is oh he is so good because he can produce so much, but remember he wasn't viewed as being this good and to make him this good is genius
The stats and the eye test tell me that the Rockets are at an elite level. They are at a point where even when Harden struggles or the team is not hitting its threes, they remain competitive. Only when both of those things are happening at the same time will the Rockets get dominated. Health is the main concern, as the roster has some key pieces with injury history that don't have adequate replacements, such as Gordon and Beverley.
They are good enough to win some of those games. I want to see how they do this next time around against SAS and Memphis. Hopefully they can entice both teams to play at our pace.
Truly great teams find ways to win games. There was a game IIRC where we lost on the boards, AND we had a lower field goal percentage, yet we won. How often do teams win games purely from creating possessions out of nothing? I'd hazard a guess and say not often.
Plus MDA was man enough to admit he wasn't a good defensive coach and made the smart move of hiring Jeff
Well, to be fair, they didn't have shooters MDA has, and when shots are falling winning is a lot easier, like a LOT, and chemistry is automatically better and that in turn improves shooting and team play and round and round it goes. And they didn't have Dwight to pander to. Under mchale and jbb dare i say, rockets have created all the best and easiest looks/shots in the world, just couldn't hit em at this rate. Perhaps the only credit that I would give to mda with 100% certainty is playing ariza and harden less in order for ariza and harden to be able to shoot higher percentage and give more quality play.
If you feel compelled to "Apologize to D'Antoni," I suppose you also have to fee compelled to apologize to Morey. It's not like D'Antoni is magic for all teams he's coached. So, Morey matched him perfectly with what he and Harden needed.
Given how the Clippers, Grizzlies and Spurs have been playing recently, I'm not as concerned about facing them as I've would have been a month or so ago. Clippers are very talented and we will have trouble guarding their big three especially Griffin and Redick always seems to light us up but they are the same team from previous years, mentally speaking. In short, they are weak mentally. Get them off their game by getting off to a fast start and they'll crumble more times than not. Grizzlies and their grit and grind style will be a huge test for us. It will be a test of wills of who's style of play will overcome the other. But if we can force our style on them, they don't have the firepower to keep up. The Spurs are probably the biggest test. But they're not in top shape yet. For all three of these games, it very important that we get off to a fast start and make them play from behind. If we are in a back and forth or let them start fast while we sputter early, it's going to hard to close them out. Make them play catch up with us and we will be in a very good position to win those games.
I think this gets lost in the euphoria. I don't know if Morey wanted, MDA but he made sure he got players that would fit his style. The Lakers and Knicks were hoping MDA could force players to fit his style. Didn't work.
