I voted Refs and the new rules, Morey inadequately replacing Booty n Ariza, and injuries. You cannot play defense under these new rules and as a result our switching D has suffered. Tell me exactly how you're supposed to stop somebody from scoring now? The answer is you cannot, you can only hope your hand in the face of the shooter is enough.
CP3 missing games and not shooting as well as he can and EGO shooting horribly and not having Bigleydik set the defensive mindset from the go. We do need a new 3 and backup 4, or a starting 4 that moves Tucker to 3(backup 4) and Ennis to back him up.
only 3? There are plenty of arguments to made for most options... but let's start with 'other'... there's some dysfunction goin on... Let's call it what it is - these guys act like they dgaf a lot of the time and are just going through the motions.... last year we had a scrappy team that was hustlin, diving for balls and doing whatever they could to contribute to the teams success - that aint happenin with any consistency this year. It seems that some guys got paid, some guys got trophies, and some guys were let to walk... and now there's no cohesiveness... The great thing about last year, was it seemed that the 'cornerstones and roleplayers' nonsense disappeared - it was a team! Now it seems like there's an even larger gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.... Perhaps a guy like EGo realizes its not a family and it is a business... they'll let him walk once his economical contract runs out - same as Ariza or Luc - if they dont trade him first... I'm not getting the team vibe... cordial sure... but not a brotherhood like last year... I wonder how much resentment exists that CP3 demanded every last dollar...? I'd love to know the real info behind Bzdelik/Melo arrivals and departures... was it "screw u, jeff, we're bringing in Melo..." then "oh hell our d sucks and Melo's not providing that much... so screw u Melo, we're caving and bringing Jeff back?" How does that fly with CP3 and Harden? Defense hasnt gotten any better - and that includes our stars... Next, it's coaching.... MDA looks like a genius when it works - and looks like he's lost when it dont... A) MDA needs to actually put guys on the floor and coach and develop them... Melo got his 10 games - didnt work so done with you... Clark was pulling minutes - then he disappeared... House was brought in and getting rotation minutes - then he's waived... for god's sake - pick a horse and ride it! It's like Trez all over again... Get decent minutes - then exiled to the bench and development stops... You have to endure growing pains and develop guys... not just decide after 10 games or a month that 'nope, aint a potential star - next up...' B) Defense is everyone's job... if the HC is just gonna delegate it - and then look as lost as he did to open the season... the rest of the team (esp stars) aren't gonna work it... C) MDA sold his soul to Moreyball... the constant isos, the sticky ball... that aint MDA offense.... Granted the pace had to change to accommodate an older roster... but the lack of ball movement is a killer. You gotta get guys involved on an ongoing basis and keep them engaged...Why have an offensive coach if yer just gonna reduce the offense to a gimmick routine and not make adjustments? D) Accountability is nonexistent for our stars - while the lower level guys live or die with every game (see above). I realize Harden is a tremendous talent - but even he needs to be held accountable on occasion... I flash back to game 6 vs the Spurs where the wheels came off the cart - and MDA and Harden sat a couple seats apart and weren't talking... Idk if MDA is afraid of getting 'McHaled' if he steps on Hardens toes, but the dude needs to find some stones when James appears disinterested and is in turnover mode... Unfortunately, Ariza was the guy that held Harden accountable - and he's gone... and last of the big 3 problems is Morey's offseason... On paper his moves didnt look bad... but as usual, it had no regards to chemistry... Melo/Bzdelik drama is the most obvious example... Plenty of blame to go around - and nobody is exempt imo...
Almost two pages and the word “rebounding” has not been mentioned. Not only are the rockets not focused on it, neither is CF
Here is my opinion. 1. Melo, the tension with coaching staff was a wrong move. I think the coaching staff begged morey and ownership to not sign melo... 2. Profile players requesting melo 3. Terrible crowd support. It's embarrassing 4. People got paid. Why work hard??? 5. $$ 6. Disgruntled locker room 7. Ariza 8. Anderson 9. Gordon poor shooting 10. Harden can never be Kobe in clutch time. Good news we like what 6 games back? That's nothing...
Way to much too type. Rebounding Leadership Bench Scoring Defense No change in offense No hustle You get the picture
Stars Morey Hangover I'm including Gordon in "star" category. Paul's contract is/will be a problem. Morey didn't replace Ariza/Luc but our money is heavily tied with 4 players. Rockets haven't had same urgency as last season = Hangover.
Gordon is still in his 20's !!!... Turns 30 on Christmas. Paul though... I wonder the Vegas O/U on his GP these 4 seasons. 200 or less ??
https://fansided.com/2018/12/06/nylon-calculus-houston-rose-mitchell-robinson/ According to this article(and well eye test) are defense got worse in every way. We were one of the best teams in the league last year at limiting fouls and now we are one of the worst. These FOM rules man......why like what the hell. How's that even possible, my guess is that Luc and Trev were really good at not fouling...idk.
-Health issues -Lack of depth to buoy the team during health issues. -Team wide rebounding problem. -Not enough consistent shooting. EG's slump / CP being up and down. Depth could also help buoy this issue. Rebounding & Depth has done wonders for the Thunder this season. Even during injuries to Westbrook and Roberson.
For me it’s got to be style of play. All we do is jack up contested 3’s. We don’t have any what I call pure shooters on this team. Harden/Gordon imo are more scores than I would say shooters, with EG probably being the best shooter on the team but he’s very streaky. Even GSW who have three of the best shooters in modern NBA history don’t live and die by the 3 ball like us. If you are going to adopt the philosophy of only 3’s and layups, you need to have the right kind of personnel to implement it. However I still believe that there is plenty to gain from taking midrange shots. The smart teams like the Spurs, Warriors, and Patriots of the NFL take what the defense gives them. Rather that is taking the lane, the midrange pull up, or the 3 ball. We need to be a plan B team because sometimes plan A doesn’t always work out. I think we do a better job when we play inside out. Attack the rim to establish the layup, foul, or kick out. Also way too much dribbling out the shot clock. Watching the Rockets makes me feel like I’m back in the early 2000’s again watching, way too much hero ball/iso ball. What’s the point of bringing a third star here when Harden/Paul/Gordon are going to have the ball in their hand 85% of the time? Harden is a top 3 offensive player in the game today. Now Chris Paul might not be what he used to be but he can still be a top 5 player on the court on any given game. The drop off from let’s say a James Harden to a LeBron James to a Kevin Durant is not that big of a drop off. So in essence if Houston was to attain LeBron and Durant next year by some miracle, if Houston doesn’t change their playstyle and go away from iso ball nothing really would change much for this team. You still have a top 5 offensive player with the ball in hand dribbling out the shot clock that can score as good each other on the opposing player. This means no drop off but no gain either. I was watching NBA TV the other night, and they are already starting to count Harden’s dribbles. One play in particular he dribbled the ball 46 times. Eventually the narrative from the big sports outlets is going to be that James Harden is a ball hog and why would anyone want to play with him just like that narrative is out now on LeBron. I’m not saying it’s a fair narrative for Harden but it’s one that the media eventually is going to try to use against him.
