[The Athletic/Hollinger] On the Rockets and the early-season 'when do we worry' question

At this point the articles are like Salt on a wound! Like they Hurt! They really hurt because we know! A bunch of us on this board have been saying this since day one and the acquisition of WB.

 

It goes beyond Westbrook, unfortunately - although it’s clear Russ can’t focus on that end

 

We really needed a graph to confirm this?

 

Middle of pack in girth, bottom of pack in length.

6ers lead in both.

 

Well... while I am in no way surprised, the level of their shortness relative to the rest of the league actually is somewhat shocking. For a team that prides itself on analytics / advanced anlaytics, how'd they not see this huge (pun intended) issue?!?!?

 

There is no single reason the Rockets defense is where it is ranked.

First teams will not keep shooting over 40% on threes but that doesn't mean defense isn't a problem.

If the Rockets are going to play at a fast pace, and rely on penetration and spacing created by 3 point shooting........ that limits the type of defenders you can realistically play. You are likely going to play a switching defense with athletic wings with long wingspans that can quickly switch and defend multiple positions. The Rockets really do not have the personnel for that. There is the reason that Bzdelik went to work with the protege of MDA.

Honestly, there is no way that Daryl Morey and the coaching staff believed that the roster as constructed would be good enough to win a championship on the defensive side. The good news is that there is a chance the Rockets by the deadline can get the type of players they need.

The players are also adapting to a new system and the security blanket known as Chris Paul is gone and the free lancing Westbrook has taken his place. PJ Tucker is a year older and Clint Capela has issues as well with spacing and switching.

Just with familiarity the defense will improve some but this personnel group right now isn't good enough for June. The team has to add a starting PF that can guard multiple spots with a long wingspan and a bench player than can do the same.

 

Tired of this same narrative crap. Wake me up when we’re good/decent. I hope we get 3-4 seed and get an easy route to the championship. I’m glad the lakers are starting off great... that means they’ll have pressure on them and Dwight’s gonna go schitzephrenic and cancer spreads. Lol jk.

 

I don't know man. If a 3 foot guy was sprinting towards me while I'm shooting that might throw me off a lot. Don't want to land on him and mess up my ankles/knees.

 

better record than last season so far at the same point. No point worrying

 

Right there, this...

This sums up the Rockets issues for the playoffs, perfectly if things remain the same.

In football offensive players play offense and defensive players play defense....in basketball they do both.
The Rockets offensive minded players are not suited to playing good consistent defense. I don’t care
what great defensive coach you insert on the team.

SF’s help create position less basketball as they take on the bigger PF/Centers or defend against the smaller PG’s/SF’s.
Playing a bunch of guards just present a bunch of mismatches when trying to switch everything defensively.
Rockets will have to abandon the switching defense because teams know the only rim protector is Capela....
and every team knows they can take Capela out of the paint by forcing a switch on the perimeter.