ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Pelicans 12/29/2019

Ariza was the heart and soul of the team. Two WCF appearances with him anchoring our defense.

Miss him dearly.

 

I miss him too. But resigning him for 15M at age 33 was not the answer. Prime Ariza doesn’t exist anymore, and Present Ariza is a shell of his former self. Our best hope is that House or Clark can improve their defense to get it to the level of a Bazemore, admitting that they’ll never have the length or instincts to pick off passing lanes the way Ariza would routinely do it.

 

Ariza is definately past his prime, but what hurts me more is that Phoenix was able to flip that 15 mil for Oubre Jr. Washington coudn't wait to get rid of him. We could have added that young horse to our roster and locked him up for the next few years. He's Ariza on steroids.

 

of course other teams hate rockets and would never cooperate with morey in such a way
@DreamShook

 

yup and by the looks of things the rockets are in a pretty big need for expiring and salary fillers to actually execute a significant move

 

actualy by the looks of things we are in no need of significant moves...all these thinly disguised signals silver was sending say outloud you are not winning it this year either!
WHO IN HIS RIGHT MIND WILL PAY LUXURY TAX just to get robbed 3rd straight year in a row

 

the fact that ariza/moute still haven't been replaced says otherwise. still very much a huge hole with a cheap owner

 

I agree with most of what you are saying ... but the “proof” was one year and we had an insanely talented roster ...good enough to beat GS at its peak if we were fully healthy.

I definitely acknowledge Tilman’s or Morey’s role in our current state (whoever you wanna blame more)

The problem with getting MDA “good defensive players” is that those players also have to fit in his offense or he won’t play them. The front office does consider this.

The reason we are salivating over Covington is that he can shoot also .

If we got some defensive player like Thaddeus young or MKG would they see real time ? Or would they get spot minutes at the 5 like Hartenstein?

You’ve got to make do with what you have on the roster and imo plugging your ears and only playing the good players you deem worthy isn’t the right strategy

 

Questionable for DENVER.

 

GSW, Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, 76ers also salivating over Covington. Every contending team covets 3-D wings for a reason.

One dimensional players are not going to help win a championship.

Do not let your feelings for MDA confuse the real issue, Rockets need talent upgrade to better challenge for a ring.

Adding longer, more athletic, better defenders who can shoot 3 ball consistently is imperative. Further, these upgrades should also be able create scoring opportunities for themselves or even others. When Harden doubled, he makes the right pass but our current players not consistent shooting 3 or driving lane or passing to take advantage of the 4 vs. 3.

Adding a 5 like Harry Giles who can dribble penetrate, post up, pass or shoot the 3 (while still being able to rim run, roll, rim protect and defend on perimeter) would burn defenses trying to double Harden and sag off 5 spot. Love Capela but he's still recovering from injury and/or not skilled enough to maximize our offense.

Trade Nene and SRP for Giles. Sign Jeff Green or Anthony Randolph for vet min. Trade Thabo and SRP for Bruno. Three team trade with Boston (Capela, McLemore, Agustin, Clark, Frazier), Orlando (Hayward, Edwards) and Houston (AGordon, RWilliams, Iwundu). Trade Harty, House or even Tucker if opportunity to improve for postseason, ie Robert Covington.

With Frazier traded, sign 6'10 Ray Spalding to 2 way.

Russ/Rivers/Clemons
Harden/EGo
Tucker/House/Iwundu
AGordon/JGreen/Bruno
Giles/Tyson/RWilliams/Spalding

Or if Covington acquired for Tucker & FRP then trade Harty/GGreen/House for Josh Jackson and Memphis SRP :

Russ (6'3)/Rivers (6'3)/Clemons (5'9)
Harden (6'5)/EGo (6'3)/Jackson (6'8)
RoCo (6'7)/Iwundu (6'7)/Howard (6'7)*
AG (6'9)/Green (6'8)/Bruno (6'9)
Giles (6'10)/Tyson (7'0) /Williams (6'10)/Spalding (6'10)*

*2 way contracts

Rockets get longer, more athletic, better defensively, younger and more adaptable vs. Harden double team plus more flexible cap wise.

 

^^ I feel that’s a pretty dreamlike scenario you’ve got there

And even in that case do you trust second year player who isn’t even in the rotation for SAC right now to be our big vs den or la in the playoffs

 

That's not really a hot take now is it? 16 games in the playoffs so you are telling me you are only wrong if the Rox fail to win the championship otherwise you are right? Lol.

The Rox roster is already as good as it gets you aint finding a guy who can defend Lebron or Anthony Davis thats why those guys are generational talents.

 

Not sure if Houston had a chance to win this game, but MDA's timeout usage will prevent Houston from winning a championship by itself. Houston does indeed have roster issues, but some of the decisions by MDA are flat out insane if you are coaching to win games. I will refer to the early 4th qtr as an example. Moore hit two 3 point shots when Houston was up by 7 and the offense was in complete disarray and MDA does not call a timeout. Houston then goes down six then he finally calls a timeout. Then I believe later when down 9 calls another timeout. Both were called in a little over a minute of game time. Sometimes as a coach you should call timeouts to prevent runs not to handle them, absolute horrible 4th qtr coaching by MDA in my opinion.

 

Honestly, I really believe Giles will break out in right system and if load managed.

SAC overflowing at 4/5: Bagley, Barnes, Bjelica, Holmes, Dedmon, Swanigan, Gabriel

Too much $ locked up at those positions and Giles is UFA next season.

Giles would have easily been first pick in his draft if not for his knee injuries, compared to KG (intensity, physicality, build) and Chris Webber (shooting, passing, handles). Giles also not one of Luke Walton's favorites.

 

MDA can barely play 6 people a night all that finaggling you are suggesting is a waste of time. MDA will go ultra small ball with that roster with Roco at center/Harden at PF/EG/Rivers/WB cuz those are the only guys he knows on that squad.

More importantly a lot of your trades seem to be fantasy ones. You hype up this Giles dude as Capela with a 3 but somehow obtainable for SRP and Nene? All the contenders salivating for Roco but we get him for Tucker, House and Hartenstein? Jeff Green signs with the Rox and bipolar MDA when he could be in LA? Bruh.

 

SAc overflowing with 4/5 so they trade Giles for a useless 4/5 in Nene lol.

 

the only year we had legit good defensive personnel, we were an elite defense team

his 1st year here, we all thought we would finish bottom 5 defensively, but finished 17th

last season we were adjusting to losing Bzdelik so abruptly and our offseason acquisitions were Melo and MCW...2nd half of last season we were an elite defensive team under MDA

if the player is a vet or someone with a lot of experience who is willing to take and is capable of making threes, MDA will play them...the vet wing we gave him this year is Thabo who can’t hit a shot and looks like he needs to retire

Thadeus Young would absolutely get PT here, that’s not even a question...he would be a godsend tbh...Young would split the PF minutes with PJ as well as play small ball 5

MKG maybe not, but the dude can’t shoot and is a huge liability on offense...we already have Russ and Capela on the court who can’t shoot...playing MKG just gives the defense another dude they don’t have to worry about guarding as they load up on Harden

MDA is under championship or bust expectations, and he’s also coaching for a new contract...if these young guys aren’t scoring, and if we’re also butt cheeks defensively when he plays them, then he’ll just continue to ride his core guys until the end

 

You forget that MDA had plus 8 man rotation going into 2017 postseason, not his fault that LMAM never got right or Ryno cracked and Iso Joe petrified overnight. If D'Antoni has the players that he trusts to execute (Harden reiterated after playoff ouster last season that team needed more vets), he will play them.

And I'm not Morey, these are simply fan discussions. Some of the presented trade scenarios would obviously be tweaked.

RoCo may need more (but he has not played as well as last season plus bigger names are becoming available before trade deadline) but Giles trade is spot on IMO, Kings have severely devalued their asset by not playing him. Same with Grizz and Josh Jackson (former 4th round pick).

Most importantly if you do not shoot, 100% guaranteed you will not make a basket.

 

Stop being obtuse, Nene is just salary match.

The SRP allows them to recoup something for a player that will leave next season.

 

If Rockets don't improve this team, just like the Texans, it will be another wasted year. People will look back and say, why didn't the Rockets give Harden more help when they had the chance to win Championships.