As I watch the few minute of the finals and the box scores. I have come to the conclusion of why Durant's decision bothers me so much Mainly because it was so THE EASY WAY to the Championship. I lot of people here worried about his foots but . . . .hindsight etc I have no doubts in my mind that Durant + the 2017 Rockets could have also won a championship. It might have required more work than the current team but I think we would have been the #2 team at worse Remove Anderson and Ego (Salary Cap stuff) and It would not change my position. They would/could have upset the Durantless Warriors. I say all that to say this AS IS . . . the Rockets are still a TOP 5 team in this league We have deficiencies and consistancy issues more than anything the NBA has weakened the Center position but I need Capela to work on scoring Sam has to work on his 3 ptr . . . .He needs to take Anderson's place in the starting line up not AS IS but he had to earn his way to that position with play and focus . ..if he can do that the Rockets improve DRAMATICALLY I originially wanted to say Ariza . . but I prefer him in the starting line up over Anderson We may not be as far away as we think I do think we need another STAR but . . .we are in the mix Rocket River
We need Sam to take Ariza's spot and Harrell to take Anderson spot ... Both through merit. If that can happen we are VERY close. We need a legit second option , and we need it to come from the 3/4 (IMO) maybe Dekker or Harrell can improve their handle and playmaking abilities enough to fill this role. Even if they don't become stars, if they can play within the system yet be real upgrades over our current starters , that's probably enough to overtake SA and Utah to firmly spot us at #2 in the west . GS looks unbeatable, but all it takes is one injury and a slight opening appears. Praying for the other team to get hurt isn't a great strategy, but it's the best anyone can do for the next couple of years assuming the status quo
defense, first option, coaching. thats a lot to cover in short time if you wanna contend. we'll be lucky to get 2/3. underrated move woudl be for ariza to bulk up and move to pf. he's still fast enough to play decent defense as an overplayed- starting 3. he'll have plenty speed at the 4 and with some strength a much better starting pf than ryan. in a contract year too. he'd also be able to demand more money as a defensive stretch 4, which are rare. his rebounding will def be better, he's already a 5rpg rebounding sf, while not have a huge size advantage oover most of players at his position. with some bulking up and being lcoser to the rim he can get 6-7 maybe even 8 a game. good enough and perfect next to capela. best way to salvage his career a starter instead of moving him to the bench. i'd much rather pay him 20m per than ryan and wouldnt hate it one bit.
Ariza maybe can bulk up but he still only like 6'8 and Horry was 6'10 There is a possibility . . .. but I dunno if he can bulk up at this point Rocket River
well it already happened so no point talking about it. plus, Durant already said he's taking paycut to keep that super-rigged-team together for the next 5 years.
The Rockets don't defend. KD would obviously be great but the lack of defense would be a problem. Also there's the fact that... you know, KD did and will be there for the foreseeable future. If there was a KD clone and thebrockets added him they'd still obviously be behind the current GSW.
he wont be playing sf so why are you guys concerend about his speed? he'll be playing against pfs mostly, he'll have enough speed against them. and this is a small ball era, his height wont be a problem against most pfs. his defense, experience, and threes will make up for any size mismatches. this move would not only make the rockets better, but make ariza a much richer man since he can get a min-max contract of at least 70 million. i dont think he's even made that much in his life? a defense stretch 4 who can rebound and has tons of playoff experience who btw rarely missed any games while playing superstar minutes in his 3 years with the rockets? he'd be a busy free agent for sure. he def has to learn how to play pf. he cant just bulk up and do nothing else. boxing out and post defense and screens and playing closer to the rim on defense. wont be mcuh different on offense.
I don't even think that the 2017 Rockets plus Durant (minus Ryno and Ego) are doing better than OKC did against GS last year OKC's speed, length, rebounding ability, and defensive versatility were huge for them in that series The Rockets would've been lethal offensively (although the loss of Ego and Ryno should not be ignored), but you're not beating GS by outscoring them...I still don't think that we'd be able to defend them
You have to remember. . . . they have holes at Center and SF They would have Barnes the Second at SF? or would Iggy start which weakens their bench Curry - Bev Klay - Harden Iggy - Ariza Draymond - Durant Pachulia - Capela Livingston - Lou ??? - Dekker I dunno . . I would like our chances. Rocket River
This is what bothers me about this post. Being top 5 in the league means NOTHING! We where top 3 in the league and got bounced by a SA team that was riddled with injuries bc our "superstar" can't get his head out his ass and our $20 mill forward can't make a shot to save his life! I DGAF if we are the #1 seed in the league if we can't win it it don't matter (ask GS how that feels)! The problem with this team is that they seem to find NO MOTIVATION to compete sometimes. You look at GS and they find any little thing to piss them off and motivate them. Why? Bc they have real competitors (except for KD) who play smart unselfish basketball! I don't care if your core shoots 2-10 but if your superstar is turning the ball over 10+ times a game and not being he'd accountable be either the coach or organization than expect more of the same BS to come as long as our "superstars" is still here.
I agree with a lot of what you said, but you are leaving out the crucial scenario that if Durant were on this team, we would have a legit 2nd star that can take over when our other star is floundering. We are a better version of OKC with Durant.
I left him out on purpose bc I don't believe on "IF's" fact is he didn't join and we need to move on. But for fun I will comment on your scenario on "IF" KD would've joined that it would've elevated us. Yes it would've, however, it wouldn't change the amount of times Harden turns the ball over, disappears in the playoffs, or the amount of time he ISO's and holds the ball. I see why KD wouldn't even consider HOU and that's bc he was NOT about to play with another player who is identical to Westbrook when it came to accountability. I've always said that as long as a team let's its superstars run their organization that that organization is bound to crumble.
Harden can't do it all by himself. Nobody criticizes Westbrook for losing in the first round.... oh yeah brodie lightskin
he's right. bieng top 5-10 doesnt matter. only thing that matters is are you a contender/superstar? if thre's only 2 contenders and what i believe is 3 superstars then top 5 doesnt matter. harden cant do it by himself but he hasnt played like a true superstar in the playoffs after 8 straight years in the po's. before the po's there were only 2 other teams that can come close to contending and one of them, rockets, showed they aint close. cant knocks purs cuz they were injured. cp3 and trading lma for depth would make them contenders.
That would've been stupidest decision I've seen anyone make if he went to Rockets instead of Warriors.
